News-Record.com

"Carolina coach Roy Williams should have pulled back, too. He should have seated Hansbrough and other starters before the altercation occurred. When the game is all but over, but emotions are still running high, it's better to separate the principal combatants before something like this happens. Duke's coach K should have done the same."

I heard that Coach K offered the same criticism of Coach Williams: that Williams should not have had Hansbrough or any other starters in the game at that point.

And I believe that was an Isiah Thomas excuse for an unnecessarily hard foul near the end of a New York Knicks/Denver Nuggets game that led to violence among some of the players, as well as some suspensions.

When he has had much better teams, Coach K has never earned a reputation for pulling out his primary players, even when his teams have enjoyed much larger, more secure point margins than the one Carolina had over Duke in this game.

Though the lead seemed formidable for the amount of time remaining, Duke and Carolina have both overcome being behind by seemingly insurmountable margins, even with very little time left.

If Coach K was sincere in his criticism of Coach Williams, then why were his players still playing so aggressively?

Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts were out of the game for Duke by that point, but probably only because they had fouled out.

Coach K was still calling timeouts pretty late in the game also.

If he thinks Coach Williams should rethink his end-of-the-game decision-making, perhaps Coach K needs to do the same.

But the biggest suggestion I want to make is that any athletes who are too weak-minded to handle losing or just the overall intensity of playing competitive sports should simply quit playing and accept that that is best for them and everyone else.

Now Duke has lost Henderson for a full game next time out, and I wonder whether Hansbrough will be able to play, or play effectively, when the top-seeded Heels compete in the tourney's second round Friday.* Doug

Oh good heavens Doug! If Henderson wanted Tyler out, he would have gone for the knees. Besides Coach K has never taught that type of game and never will.

Billy was right! It was a accident. You are starting to sound like me as a conspiracy theorist in sports.

Besides! You should hear the stories of combat among the teams in the 30's.

In 1938, in the opening game of the Southern Conference tournment [Southern Conference later became the ACC in the early 50's] play at Raleigh, between Washington and Lee and NC State. The following combat occured. Washington and Lee was undefeated and had ususual player for those times who was 7 foot 1'. The first big man in college basketball. In those days, when a team score, the ball was bought back to center court for a jump ball. Also there was no 3 second rule for the foul lane. Therefore a Big man could control the game from the jump ball to standing under the basket all day long and racking up points like gang busters. Most Centers in those days stood about 6 foot or a little more since the game revolved around fancy passing and a two hand set shot with low scores.

NC State was very fortunate that year in having a Center 6'4," who could leap and score like crazy. This gifted athlete was the Michael Jordan of that era.

At the start of the game with a pack house of over 6000 fans in the old Raleigh Arena. The jump ball was going to be toss into the air by the referee with the Giants standing beside each other ready to leap upward to control the jump ball. As the Ref toss the ball upward, the Washington and Lee Giant suddenly fell to the floor in pain clutching his foot and rolling on the floor crying out for help and pointing at the other Center for State.

It appear that the State center had stomped on the foot of the Washington and Lee star just before the jump with the Ref looking upward at the ball in the air and miss the intended foul by the State Center. The other Ref view was blocked by a State player who step in front of him during the jump and miss the foul.

The W&L Center was rushed to the hospital with a broken foot and a basketball career ended along with the W&L basketball program for the future and the famous Washington & Lee marching college swing song was selved into the history books of College March songs.

The State Center was later inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame as the only professional athlete in the history of professional sports to play on the 3 diffent World Sport Championship teams in the same year. Football, Basketball and Baseball.

The next year Duke embarked on building Cameron Stadium as the future in big college Arenas and State follow just before WW2 to start Reynolds Coliseum. The race was on for big time college basketball in the Carolinas and the nation after that.

Name the State Center and the Washington & Lee Center Doug and I will shipped to you to Tampa next week to watch the ACC tournment. Who ever thought that a ACC tournment would be played in Tampa after all of these years? Something must be terrible wrong for this to happen to North Carolina basketball tradition!

Doug,

My take is that Henderson didn't intentionally inflict harm on Hansbrough, but he was playing out-of-control. Any time that strong, young athletes such as this are swinging their elbows in other players' faces, it is dangerous. I witnessed an Oklahoma player swing his elbow and hit a Texas Tech player who was guarding him closely, and he did some major damage to the player's face. I believe that his eye socket was damaged. The player was lost for the season due to the injury, and it's possible his career may be affected. Did he intend harm to the other player, I don't think so, but he was playing recklessly and aggressively, as was Henderson. The bottom line is that even if a foul is not intentional, physical harm can be done. It's probably a good idea for Henderson to be disqualified for one game. It should be a reminder to him to play more carefully, so as not to do permanent harm.

As far as Hansbrough is concerned, it is reported his nose is not broken, and he appears to be physically fine. It is not likely that he will experience any ongoing problems as a result of this incident, fortunately, although it could have been much worse. And, I agree, Packer was carrying-on about it, and he was off-base. He even said that the officials were taking too much time to sort things out. In my opinion they addressed the matter quietly and carefully, dismantling what could have been an explosive situation. Packer was running his mouth way too much. He should have waited to see what the officials decided.

I think it is a credit to both teams that this didn't escalate into a complete, out of control melee'. Many places in the country this would have erupted into complete pandemonium.

Many places in the country this would have erupted into complete pandemonium.*Skeet Club Savage

Are you kidding Skeet? 22 thousand liberals in Chapel Hill rioting after a game! Listen, true loyal fan riots only occured after a another Oakland Raiders lost to the worst NFL team in the leaque.

Now if that was Detriot and the Pacers going at it yesterday, the Chapel Hill liberals would have been charge twice for the tickets since they got a extra event of Smackdown with the players.

K is a dirty coach and he coaches dirty players. End of story.

K is a dirty coach and he coaches dirty players. End of story.*Kenny

Coach Williams is a secret member of the new communist party and his cell meets once a week behind the new Taco Bell on Dean Smith Drive at midnight to discuss on how to get DA Nifong to arrest the whole Duke Basketball team.

An x-ray taken today shows Hansbrough's nose was broken, AP reports. He'll probably play Friday, with a protective mask.

It was pretty amazing to see that blow to the face. Haven't appreciated anything that much since Joe Theisman's leg bent backwards at the knee.

An x-ray taken today shows Hansbrough's nose was broken, AP reports. He'll probably play Friday, with a protective mask.*Doug

Yep! And in fact the Mask and Helmet has already been given to Tyler today. The Duke equipment manager for the Le Crosse team personally gave it to him this morning during Tyler class break at the hospital therapy session learning how to breath again with his mouth close. He beat the Carolina Canes hockey equipment manager by 10 minutes who claim that the way the Canes were playing that a Mask wouldn't be miss anyway by the team.

Jim Cary of dumb and dumber and " The Mask" movie fame fed-x his Mask to Tyler today too with a note attached that said " The Mask that the Duke Le Crosse team gave you today has a disclaimer on it. In small print it says, If arrested by Durham DA Nifong Thursday during the game. Claim it was a gift from The Golden Girls Strip Club out on I-40 and you shall be set free."

A another Mask arrived late today from the Producers of the movie "Vee for Venditta" which said " Use with extreme care when slam dunking Henderson in the 2 nd tournment game."

Frankly! I think all this masking going on is all Anne Coulter fault and Blogging writers like Ed with too much time on their keyboard.