I prefer to rave about the under-credited or unexpected guys who do well. I don't often rave about Tyler Hansbrough because everyone else does, and it's obvious that he's a huge part of our success. However, after his unexpected barrage of swished jumpers against Louisville, I need to make an exception.
Here is a quote from Basketball Prospectus' John Gasaway on Hansbrough's performance:
Hansbrough's fusillade of 17-foot jumpers, launched from the seams of the Louisville zone, represents an ominous development for North Carolina's next opponent (potentially, their next two opponents). If Hansbrough can make jump shots, it's unclear what, exactly, an opposing defense is supposed to do.
That line gets me quite excited, though I don't want to get too overconfident just yet. I can't wait for the day when people are saying "Yeah, Hansbrough, he and Wayne Ellington and Stephen Curry, those guys are the best pure shooters in college basketball."
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
I love this game
From Adam Lucas's piece on UNC's visit to San Antonio:
And let's hope we do just that. The stage is now set: all #1 seeds that spent most of the tournament crushing opponents. High stakes and great teams. I feel like this year's #1 seeds are substantially better than last year's. This year, the #1s have only 9 losses combined., compared to 18 combined losses among the #1 seeds last year before the tournament began. Whichever team can survive this Final Four certainly deserves the title.
Now, being part of that thing called Carolina Basketball means understanding where you fit among those who came before you. In the summer, former players return for pickup games. The trash talk flows, but there is only one ultimate final word.
"The guys who come back from that '05 team, if you say anything to them, they just point at their title banner," Wayne Ellington said. "There's nothing you can say to that. That's why you come to North Carolina, to win championships."And let's hope we do just that. The stage is now set: all #1 seeds that spent most of the tournament crushing opponents. High stakes and great teams. I feel like this year's #1 seeds are substantially better than last year's. This year, the #1s have only 9 losses combined., compared to 18 combined losses among the #1 seeds last year before the tournament began. Whichever team can survive this Final Four certainly deserves the title.
El Gran Baile
That's how you say "The Big Dance" in Spanish, in case you were wondering. Exciting times this March. UNC has just earned a Final Four birth, along with UCLA. Personally, I'm hoping that fellow #1 seeds Kansas and Memphis also make it to San Antonio for what would be one of the most hyped Final Fours ever. Never before have all four #1 seeds made it. I want to be playing the best of the best. I want double and triple overtime games. I want it to be considered the best tournament of all time. And I want UNC to win. Let's hope for the best.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
So that's why everyone hates taxes
I remember growing up and hearing adults complain about taxes. A lot. One of my first "favorite songs" was Taxman by the Beatles, but mostly because it had a rocking guitar, not really because of the content. I thought adults thought it was cool to hate paying taxes and I thought that it was because they felt like their money was being stolen from them.
However, I did met one adult who genuinely thought tax-paying was good. She was a Mexican immigrant who I taught in an ESL class at El Centro Latino in Carrboro. The ESL teacher said something like "What's something that people don't like? Paying taxes. Let's go around the room and everyone explain why you don't like paying taxes."
The first lady to be called on said, "Well, I thought paying taxes was good. It pays for roads and schools." I guess when you come from a place with lousy roads and limited public education, you appreciate what American taxes pay for much more than an American who takes it all for granted.
I really liked her attitude and since then have always felt pretty similar about paying taxes. Basically, they pay for lots of things help us all the time, like garbage collection and police protection. I felt that paying my taxes was patriotic and I feel like I owe the government a lot of money for creating a country where I'm blessed with incredible opportunities and safety, even though I certainly don't agree with a lot of ways the government spends the money.
Yesterday, I was doing my taxes for the first time. Previously, my parents had an accountant that took care of it, so i just signed on the bottom line and that took care of my contribution. Now my dad is making me do my own taxes, and my initial cheerfulness toward my patriotic duty quickly turned into frustration and anger.
The source of my anger is not the amount I'm paying or the fact that I'm paying it, but rather the ridiculous tax forms that we are required to fill out. There is so much financial jargon that I don't know and I have to look up terms like earned vs. unearned income, tax credit, itemized deductions, and many others. I know that part of this is just growing pains since this is my first time filing, but it's such a pain in the neck I can't stand it. There are so many wordy questions like "If you are a dependent older than 65 or blind, check box A, if you're a dependent younger than 65 or not blind, check box B." I realize there is some value to this, but it feels like I'm taking a standardized test. I spent several hours just trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do and what I do and don't qualify for. I have a college degree and I can't understand what they're talking about half of the time. The whole experience left me pissed off for the rest of the day. And this was just doing the state taxes. I haven't even started the federal taxes. (turns out I'm doing them in the wrong order, too; some of the state forms request info off of the federal forms...augh). I now completely understand why some people despise taxes so much, especially if they couple this frustration with a sense of entitlement to all of the money they made.
However, there was one silver lining. My favorite part of the NC tax form is where they ask you if you'd like to put $3 of your taxes into public campaign finance. Of similar significance, but of less interest to me, they also ask if you'd like to assign $3 of your taxes to the Republican or Democratic party. The basic concept here is ground-breaking: allowing the tax-payer to choose where his or her tax dollars are going.
Imagine if you could have some direct say in how the government spends your money. If you think we need to improve health and education, you designate your taxes to be spent accordingly. If you think the war in Iraq is a bad idea, you can reassign your defense tax money from being spent on weapons and instead have it go toward veteran services. If you think the transportation department isn't meeting your needs, don't support them with your tax dollars.
If you turn doing taxes into a game of SimCity, everyone would be begging for tax season. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but I would love to be able to put certain designations on my money to make sure it is used in ways that I approve of. This would encourage me to pay more attention to the government and it's role in my life, and also to recognize what the government does for me. This would be one step closer to government by the people. If I could choose how my money was being spent without worrying that it might go to causes I disagree with, I would be much happier to give it away.
Now some of you (all two of you who read this blog) are thinking "What, you just spent the first half of this complaining about the excessive bureaucracy of tax code, and now you're in favor of putting in more options?!"
Now hear me out. All I want (so far) is something like a pie chart, divided into different funding categories, like education, transportation, defense, healthcare, etc. If desired, tax payers have the option of selecting what percent of our money goes into each category. For tax-payers with specific interests, they can then subspecify funding from within these categories. For example, if you decide to give your tax money to transportation, you can specify highway buget, mass transit, green initiatives, etc. Tax payers who don't specify or subspecify will have their money used as needed to fill holes in the budget. However, I think most people would be interested in specifying how they want their money spent; I think it's part of our capitalist upbringing in America.
Obviously, this is a first draft idea for me, though I wouldn't be surprised if it has been tried before on some smaller scales. There would also have to be limits, obviously, on how much of their tax money people can assign. You can't have everyone going off on some trendy spending idea while some basic service is being starved. You could at least test out this idea one year with a trial run without actually following the tax payer specifications just to see how people actually want their money spent and compare that to the real budget. There are still a lot of details to be worked out, but the mere concept gets me excited. Magically, from this one idea, I have gone from having a bad day to a good day.
However, I did met one adult who genuinely thought tax-paying was good. She was a Mexican immigrant who I taught in an ESL class at El Centro Latino in Carrboro. The ESL teacher said something like "What's something that people don't like? Paying taxes. Let's go around the room and everyone explain why you don't like paying taxes."
The first lady to be called on said, "Well, I thought paying taxes was good. It pays for roads and schools." I guess when you come from a place with lousy roads and limited public education, you appreciate what American taxes pay for much more than an American who takes it all for granted.
I really liked her attitude and since then have always felt pretty similar about paying taxes. Basically, they pay for lots of things help us all the time, like garbage collection and police protection. I felt that paying my taxes was patriotic and I feel like I owe the government a lot of money for creating a country where I'm blessed with incredible opportunities and safety, even though I certainly don't agree with a lot of ways the government spends the money.
Yesterday, I was doing my taxes for the first time. Previously, my parents had an accountant that took care of it, so i just signed on the bottom line and that took care of my contribution. Now my dad is making me do my own taxes, and my initial cheerfulness toward my patriotic duty quickly turned into frustration and anger.
The source of my anger is not the amount I'm paying or the fact that I'm paying it, but rather the ridiculous tax forms that we are required to fill out. There is so much financial jargon that I don't know and I have to look up terms like earned vs. unearned income, tax credit, itemized deductions, and many others. I know that part of this is just growing pains since this is my first time filing, but it's such a pain in the neck I can't stand it. There are so many wordy questions like "If you are a dependent older than 65 or blind, check box A, if you're a dependent younger than 65 or not blind, check box B." I realize there is some value to this, but it feels like I'm taking a standardized test. I spent several hours just trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do and what I do and don't qualify for. I have a college degree and I can't understand what they're talking about half of the time. The whole experience left me pissed off for the rest of the day. And this was just doing the state taxes. I haven't even started the federal taxes. (turns out I'm doing them in the wrong order, too; some of the state forms request info off of the federal forms...augh). I now completely understand why some people despise taxes so much, especially if they couple this frustration with a sense of entitlement to all of the money they made.
However, there was one silver lining. My favorite part of the NC tax form is where they ask you if you'd like to put $3 of your taxes into public campaign finance. Of similar significance, but of less interest to me, they also ask if you'd like to assign $3 of your taxes to the Republican or Democratic party. The basic concept here is ground-breaking: allowing the tax-payer to choose where his or her tax dollars are going.
Imagine if you could have some direct say in how the government spends your money. If you think we need to improve health and education, you designate your taxes to be spent accordingly. If you think the war in Iraq is a bad idea, you can reassign your defense tax money from being spent on weapons and instead have it go toward veteran services. If you think the transportation department isn't meeting your needs, don't support them with your tax dollars.
If you turn doing taxes into a game of SimCity, everyone would be begging for tax season. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but I would love to be able to put certain designations on my money to make sure it is used in ways that I approve of. This would encourage me to pay more attention to the government and it's role in my life, and also to recognize what the government does for me. This would be one step closer to government by the people. If I could choose how my money was being spent without worrying that it might go to causes I disagree with, I would be much happier to give it away.
Now some of you (all two of you who read this blog) are thinking "What, you just spent the first half of this complaining about the excessive bureaucracy of tax code, and now you're in favor of putting in more options?!"
Now hear me out. All I want (so far) is something like a pie chart, divided into different funding categories, like education, transportation, defense, healthcare, etc. If desired, tax payers have the option of selecting what percent of our money goes into each category. For tax-payers with specific interests, they can then subspecify funding from within these categories. For example, if you decide to give your tax money to transportation, you can specify highway buget, mass transit, green initiatives, etc. Tax payers who don't specify or subspecify will have their money used as needed to fill holes in the budget. However, I think most people would be interested in specifying how they want their money spent; I think it's part of our capitalist upbringing in America.
Obviously, this is a first draft idea for me, though I wouldn't be surprised if it has been tried before on some smaller scales. There would also have to be limits, obviously, on how much of their tax money people can assign. You can't have everyone going off on some trendy spending idea while some basic service is being starved. You could at least test out this idea one year with a trial run without actually following the tax payer specifications just to see how people actually want their money spent and compare that to the real budget. There are still a lot of details to be worked out, but the mere concept gets me excited. Magically, from this one idea, I have gone from having a bad day to a good day.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
UNC-Duke
Congrats to the Tar Heels for defeating Duke. Luckily, I was able to watch the gamehere in Nicaragua with Spanish-speaking commentators. I wish I could have made a recording of the play-by-play so that you could experience it too. Hopefully I'll be able to see several more games here as we enter the post season. Although it was a good victory, I'm a little worried about our team being overconfident since everyone is like "oh yeah, now we're number one and we deserve it." We'll see what happens...
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Quentin Thomas' Championship Stat Line
1 minute, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 1 foul
I'm glad to find out that he did in fact play in the 2005 championship game. That's quite an accomplishment in itself. He has come such a long way since then, and I'm very happy for him. He reminds me a lot of a couple of other players who went from goats/unknowns as freshman to heroes/fan favorites by their senior year:
Jackie Manuel: I remember fans being terrified every time he had the ball on offense back when he was a freshman. He learned to pick his spots and contribute offensively, and defensively, he was the official shut 'em-down type. By his senior year, everyone loved him for his relentless work ethic and defense, and he became such a fan favorite that he had his own pirated t-shirt line, "Jackie Manuel has a Posse."
David Noel: So he was never really a goat, but he was a mostly unknown role player for his first three years, who did a good job fitting in and didn't mess things up. Although never an offensive juggernaut, he was a good defender, averaging 16.9 minutes per game and 3.9 pts during his junior year, and playing 20 minutes in the championship game. He senior year he was thrust into the spotlight as the returning leading scorer from the championship team. Although many didn't even expect the team to make the NCAA tournament after losing its top seven scorers, Noel led this team of freshman and walk-ons to a memorable season, going 23-8, including ruining JJ Reddick and Sheldon Williams' senior night in Cameron. The Heels reached the NCAAs, but were upset in the second round by eventual Final Four Cinderella George Mason.
Byron Sanders: Sanders was similar to Manuel in that he wasn't very skilled offensively, but he made up for it in heart. Sanders was thrust into a starting role in his freshman year after Sean May broke his foot, but replacing Sean May is a huge task and fans were a little disappointed and frustrated. Nonetheless, Sanders worked hard and improved over the years. He never quite gained the same minutes in his senior year as others on this list, but he did have some memorable moments, including posting up and nailing 2 shots in the 2006 Senior Night upset at Duke. By his senior year, he had his own crowd chant every time he hit a shot in the Dean Dome: "By-ron Sand-ers!"
Among other recent players, I considered putting Reyshawn Terry and Wes Miller on this list, but didn't mostly because their careers followed a slightly different trajectory. Statistically, both peaked in their junior years on the 2006 team, but then had to make way for Lawson, Ellington, Thompson, and Stepheson during their senior years in 2007. Had they played the same minutes their senior years, they probably would have shown continued improvement. Also, they weren't upsetting fans with their play in the beginning of their careers, they were just little-used due to the high levels of talent on those teams. So, they didn't quite remind me enough of Thomas.
All right, all of these comparisons are a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea: Work hard, be humble, and good things will happen.
I'm glad to find out that he did in fact play in the 2005 championship game. That's quite an accomplishment in itself. He has come such a long way since then, and I'm very happy for him. He reminds me a lot of a couple of other players who went from goats/unknowns as freshman to heroes/fan favorites by their senior year:
Jackie Manuel: I remember fans being terrified every time he had the ball on offense back when he was a freshman. He learned to pick his spots and contribute offensively, and defensively, he was the official shut 'em-down type. By his senior year, everyone loved him for his relentless work ethic and defense, and he became such a fan favorite that he had his own pirated t-shirt line, "Jackie Manuel has a Posse."
David Noel: So he was never really a goat, but he was a mostly unknown role player for his first three years, who did a good job fitting in and didn't mess things up. Although never an offensive juggernaut, he was a good defender, averaging 16.9 minutes per game and 3.9 pts during his junior year, and playing 20 minutes in the championship game. He senior year he was thrust into the spotlight as the returning leading scorer from the championship team. Although many didn't even expect the team to make the NCAA tournament after losing its top seven scorers, Noel led this team of freshman and walk-ons to a memorable season, going 23-8, including ruining JJ Reddick and Sheldon Williams' senior night in Cameron. The Heels reached the NCAAs, but were upset in the second round by eventual Final Four Cinderella George Mason.
Byron Sanders: Sanders was similar to Manuel in that he wasn't very skilled offensively, but he made up for it in heart. Sanders was thrust into a starting role in his freshman year after Sean May broke his foot, but replacing Sean May is a huge task and fans were a little disappointed and frustrated. Nonetheless, Sanders worked hard and improved over the years. He never quite gained the same minutes in his senior year as others on this list, but he did have some memorable moments, including posting up and nailing 2 shots in the 2006 Senior Night upset at Duke. By his senior year, he had his own crowd chant every time he hit a shot in the Dean Dome: "By-ron Sand-ers!"
Among other recent players, I considered putting Reyshawn Terry and Wes Miller on this list, but didn't mostly because their careers followed a slightly different trajectory. Statistically, both peaked in their junior years on the 2006 team, but then had to make way for Lawson, Ellington, Thompson, and Stepheson during their senior years in 2007. Had they played the same minutes their senior years, they probably would have shown continued improvement. Also, they weren't upsetting fans with their play in the beginning of their careers, they were just little-used due to the high levels of talent on those teams. So, they didn't quite remind me enough of Thomas.
All right, all of these comparisons are a bit of a stretch, but you get the idea: Work hard, be humble, and good things will happen.
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