Yearly Archives: 2015

Versus

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Wednesday night’s instant classic in Durham resulted in bragging rights for Dookies until the teams meet again in a couple of weeks in Chapel Hill. Not only that, it means the rest of us are left with the insufferable whining of a select subset of Tarheel fans who think their HOF coach has lost his edge. Thankfully, there are national writers who, armed with a broader perspective and at least an average level of intelligence, are able to bring some semblance of reality back to the conversation. Here’s Chris Chase, writing for USA Today’s FTW:

Since returning to Carolina, after losing that title game with Kansas, Roy Williams has been the better basketball coach than Mike Krzyzewski. And not even the craziest at Cameron could say otherwise.

Chase certainly cites some interesting stats to support his assertion1. I don’t necessarily buy into his particular choice of statistics to compare the two almost equally great coaches. Coach K has a knock-out resume even outside of college basketball and Roy has the distinction of establishing substantial success at two different institutions, a not insignificant accomplishment even though he left Kansas without having won a title. But their respective personalities almost perfectly embody their programs2 in ways that, despite budding coaching trees, will be difficult to replace.

I think the subtext of Chase’s point is this – if you’re a Carolina fan and you’re cooing that it’s time for Roy to go, you’re off your rocker. The game hasn’t passed him by, he is a great coach and I don’t see any of that changing significantly before Roy decides for himself when it’s time to hang it up, no matter how near or far away that day is. Just cherish every game, season and ounce of success you have left with Roy because there’s no guarantee that there’s another Roy waiting in the wings to save whatever disastrous succession plan you’ve drawn up on a napkin.

  1. However, when referencing the coaches’ respective ACC records since Roy returned to Chapel Hill, Chase weirdly excludes Roy’s first year, correctly highlighting that Roy was coaching his predecessor’s players. Okay, but did Roy just roll the ball out for them and say “go play”? No. and pointing that out undermines any attempt to credit Roy with winning the national title the very next year with thos very same players.  ↩
  2. Coach K because he practically built Duke’s program, making it in his own image; and Roy because Roy is basically the perfect successor to Dean Smith – equal parts adaptable to the modern game and aww shucks good ol’ ball coach – though it took UNC a few revolutions around the earth and to Kansas and back to get him.  ↩

Tool of Tread

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I got married a few years back and one of the few responsibilities I had with the wedding1 was to pick out and purchase a gift for each of my seven groomsmen. I’ve gotten a few great groomsman gifts myself, so I felt a little bit of pressure to come up with something that was some combination of practical and sentimental. I settled for pure practical and purchased a Leatherman multi-tool for each of them. I gave it to them unceremoniously as we waited outside the wedding venue getting dressed in our cars while the ladies finished up their photo shoot.

Now there’s something even more amazing coming on the market from the same genius that gave us the original Leatherman, the Leatherman Tread – a multi-tool bracelet. There’s even a version that incorporates a Swiss-made watch. Move over, poor Citizen, because you’re about to find yourself forever banished to the nightstand by not one, but two new wrist accessories.

  1. I probably should have taken on a few more responsibilities. ↩

The Dean of Everything

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When I saw the news on Twitter last Sunday about the passing of Dean Smith, my feeling of sadness was immediately followed by an urge to text JB and ask him to write something up for Notably Worthless. But after a brief moment, I realized it would mean more coming from me.

You see, I am not a lifelong Dean Smith fan. In fact, having been raised a Wolfpack fan, I was actually quite unimpressed with Dean Smith. But after he retired, the passage of time1 helped soften my hardened heart against Coach Smith. I was able to ignore the idol-worshiping noise a bit and finally absorb all of the stories that truly defined the man.

Sometimes talent, luck, hard work, and timing conspire to bring great fortune to a man. And other times, as in the case of Coach Smith, talent, luck, hard work, and timing conspire to bring great fortune to humanity. For a time, Dean Smith was measured by the players he produced and the wins he amassed. But that time has long since passed. Today, and for many generations to come, we remember Coach Smith for the men he served, the men he saved, and the men he sent out into the world better than he found them.

  1. And perhaps my own maturation. ↩

Romance Killers

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When I saw that Second Empire made OpenTable’s 2015 list of the 100 “most romantic” restaurants in America, I cringed a bit. Not because I don’t think the restaurant is worthy, but because I felt bad for anyone who was there this past New Year’s Eve hoping for a romantic evening. I happened to be there with ten or so of my closest friends, and thanks to us, the room we were in wasn’t quite so romantic for anyone who was dining with us. Anyway, sorry folks.

Attack of the Future

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National Signing Day for college football came and went this week and along with it came clear indicators of Dave Doeren’s plans for the Wolfpack’s future offensive attack. Highlighted by a pair of in-state, four star running backs, Doeren planted his flag firmly in staking his claim on in-state recruiting and a run-heavy offensive attack. Garner High School’s Nyheim Hines and Princeton High School’s Johnny Frasier highlight an incoming class that also features several solid offensive lineman. Obviously, the recruiting trail was blazed long before the Wolfpack’s late 2014 success; but that success, propelled by a run-first, throw-when-you-must attack, validates the recruiting strategy and should offer Wolfpack fans a mild dose of cautious optimism.

I’ve never been one to get sucked into recruiting season, favoring the dose of reality that comes in the fall over the pie-in-the-sky hope of less-than-perfect recruiting ratings systems. You can throw all the stars that you want at a player, but the player still has to play and the coach still has to coach. That said, I was drawn into this year’s hoopla by the mild national attention that a running back from my former high school received, even going so far as to watch the press conference announcing his commitment.

Taking the long view, I’m excited about the direction of NC State football. We have a young, enthusiastic coach who has tasted success and seems hungry for more. I just hope the university gives him time to grow and develop, just as many patient coaches work so hard to do with their young players.

Photo Credit: “Carter-Finley Stadium 1” by SMaloney – Own work. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Super Locally Focused

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We’re about 20 minutes from kick-off and no lie I just got a phone call from JB that goes a little something like this:

Hey, I had to take a break from the Russell Wilson love-fest …

So, it’s that kind of day for him. All Russell, All the Time is good for NC State shirt wearing Seahawks bandwagon fans but it’s a nightmare for anyone else in the Carolinas. And it’s especially tough for Tarheel fans who must have had a heavy dose of night tremors after witnessing the deja vu two yard Hail Mary play from Wilson a couple of weeks ago in the NFC Championship game.

But it’s okay, non-PackOfBadgers North Carolinians1, there’s still plenty of home state pride to be rooting for at Super Bowl XLIX. First of all, this is the first Super Bowl stadium and field to be lit by super awesome, energy efficient, super bright LED lights. And you know who’s lighting it up? That’s right, Durham’s own Cree.

Also over in Durham is SportsMedia Technology, a company that, according to the Triangle Business Journal, “develops and implements the graphics presentations and video enhancement technologies that help you understand the big game.”. The article is a nice, quick read and takes a look at preparation for the big game through the company’s eyes (hint: Sunday is the big day for the teams, but for a company like SMT, Saturday is the most important).

That’s all I’ve got for now. If you happen to know more local connections in this year’s Super Bowl, hit us up @itsworthnoting on Twitter and we’ll update the post.

Go ‘Hawks!

  1. What gives, Hauschka?↩