Aug. 9, 2007

By Adam Lucas

No practice summary from anywhere in North Carolina this week would be complete without a mention of the heat, so let's get it out of the way early. Exactly how hot has it been? Veteran Tar Heel trainer Dr. Dan Hooker said the wet bulb temperature yesterday was among the hottest he has ever seen. We could try to explain wet bulb temperature, but you'd be better off reading it here...Because of the heat, the Tar Heels worked inside for the first part of Thursday afternoon's practice. Then the entire squad switched from turf shoes to grass shoes and went outside for the final hour...

Old habits die hard. As Tommy Thigpen worked with the kickoff coverage team Thursday, he barked, "Get up here, T-37!" He was referring, of course, to Kendric Williams, who earned that moniker for his previous special teams play. The only problem is that Williams is now wearing jersey 14...Credit Scott Lenahan for the phrase of the day. Describing Sam Pittman's coaching style, Lenahan said, "One thing I really like about Coach Pittman is he'll give you a compliment sandwich." Greeted with a slightly quizzical look, Lenahan explained, "He'll tell you how well you're doing, then tell you what you need to work on, and then give you another compliment."...

Lenahan, who is running at first-team center, unearthed another interesting nugget. He opined the Tar Heel offense might have been tipping some plays in 2006. "We ran the same formations a lot," he said. "There must have been something in our offense where someone was tipping it. A lot of times when you scout an opponent you can point to one guy who is tipping and the team may not even realize it themselves. A lot of times we'd come to the line and the defense would say, `It's a run to the right!' and we'd say, `Uh-oh.' This year we have a lot of different formations and different plays and we attack from a lot of different angles."...

Mark Paschal is working with the first team at MLB after entering camp listed in a tie at second team with Quan Sturdivant. But after intense work with Jeff Connors, Paschal has trimmed down to 225 pounds and has seen a resulted speed improvement. "Whenever you lose some weight it affects your speed," he said. "I really worked on it over the summer with Coach `C.'"...Carolina will have two practices on Friday and then hold their first scrimmage of the preseason on Saturday. The scrimmage will be closed to the public, but the public is invited to enjoy what are expected to be more reasonable temperatures on Saturday at Meet the Heels...Fans will hear more about this in the coming weeks, but expect the sound of Phil Collins's "In the Air Tonight" to become very familiar in Kenan Stadium. Butch Davis-coached teams have used that tune as their song that accompanies pregame stretching at both Miami and Cleveland and he plans to use it at Carolina as well. Since pregame stretching usually occurs around 30 minutes before kickoff, it's also a nice audible cue to fans outside the stadium to let them know how much time they have left to get inside the gates.

Adam Lucas most recently collaborated on a behind-the-scenes look at Carolina Basketball with Wes Miller. The Road To Blue Heaven will be released on September 1. Lucas's other books on Carolina basketball include The Best Game Ever, which chronicles the 1957 national championship season, Going Home Again, which focuses on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.