April 4, 2008

By Adam Lucas

SAN ANTONIO--After two days of practicing in a smaller, quieter environment, the Tar Heels finally got their first look at the Alamodome on Friday afternoon. Carolina was the last team to take the floor for the traditional 50-minute open practice.

"You can enjoy this to a certain extent, but you also know you're here to play," Deon Thompson said minutes before taking the court. Thompson had a reminder of that necessary focus when he went to practice earlier this week in San Antonio without his normal practice shoes. He had to borrow shoes from a teammate...Tyler Hansbrough had a busy Friday morning, picking up the USBWA Player of the Year and AP Player of the Year awards before the team's scheduled 11 a.m. practice. The packed schedule left him with one very important question: "Coach, when are we going to eat breakfast?"...

Carolina is slated to wear its white jerseys against Kansas...Tar Heel players and coaches were unanimous that the Jayhawks are the best team they've faced all season. "They present more problems than anyone we've faced all year by far," said Roy Williams...The Jayhawks suffered a loss when Rodrick Stewart fractured his kneecap during their open practice after slipping on a wet spot. Stewart was averaging 11.6 minutes and 2.8 points per game...As all Tar Heel fans know, shooting in a dome (Calabria) is (Fox) different (Williams) than shooting most anywhere else. "The depth perception is different," Ty Lawson said. "It might be tough to get adjusted to."...Bobby Frasor compensated for the different depth perception by sharpening his shooting skills while seated on the Tar Heel bench during the open practice. He did eventually sink one, which drew a roar from the eager crowd...

The family of Danny Green is attempting to make arrangements to get Green's father to San Antonio. "If he does make it, I'll be excited to see him," Green said. "But if he doesn't, I've played every game without him this year."...As a Carolina person, you naturally go to Carolina places and see Carolina people, so the perception is that there are more Tar Heel fans here than anyone else. But if there's a school challenging for that spot, it's Kansas, as there seem to be Jayhawks on every streetcorner...

You probably knew that Larry Brown had a connection to three of the four Final Four teams (played at Carolina, coached at Kansas and UCLA), but you might not have realized he also has a close connection to Memphis. Brown hired Calipari at Kansas as an assistant coach and the Tigers coach said the pair still speak three or four times per week. In fact, Brown was at the Alamodome on Friday and attended Memphis's practice...Calipari, surprisingly, also has another Carolina connection. He was at UMass when former UNC chancellor Michael Hooker was the president of the five-campus University of Massachusetts system and credited Hooker with recognizing that basketball could be a big-time sport for the Minutemen...

For many fans, watching CBS's annual championship-ending video of "One Shining Moment" is the capstone to the season. Players and coaches from the participating teams got a sneak peek at this year's edition on Wednesday night. Attendees at the Salute Presentation in downtown San Antonio were shown the first three minutes of this year's video. UCLA's Darren Collison wasn't particularly impressed, as he said he's tired of the song. It's a safe bet that the team standing at center court--even if it's UCLA--after Monday's game will have a much different view...

The oddest line of the day came from Kansas coach Bill Self. When queried about a report in a Tulsa newspaper that quoted his supposed agent, Self replied, "He's not my agent. He's my attorney who looks over my contracts." Got that?...Self's take on Saturday's game: "We have to do a good job defensively for the first five or ten seconds of the possession. Then it becomes a rotation and rebounding game. They are fantastic in running to the glass in transition."... Sasha Kaun only averages 17.8 minutes for the Jayhawks, but he'll play an important role tomorrow night. "Sasha is our best low-post defender and they have a guy who scores a lot in the post (Tyler Hansbrough)," Self said. "So obviously he will be important for us."

Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.