In the wake of Saturday’s loss, the only person who has faced more criticism than Roy Williams is Ty Lawson. In my mind, much of this griping is unfounded.

There is no denying that Lawson had a bad game. He didn’t make a jump shot until the final moments of the game, had as many turnovers as assists, and looked a step slow all night. But as I said in the comments below, I’m pretty sure he was playing hurt.

We know that Lawson took a hip check from David Padgett in the last seconds of the Louisville game. We know that the ankle he injured against Florida State never got back to 100 percent and has been heavily wrapped in every game he’s played since coming back. KU’s guards are fast and talented, but lets be honest, we didn’t watch the Ty Lawson we are used to seeing.

There have been more than a few people who have questioned his heart in the wake of the loss. But look at the picture above. Does that look like the image of a kid who didn’t care deeply about the outcome of the game?

I think it’s fair to say that Ty Lawson had more riding on his performance in the tournament than any other player on Carolina’s team. It’s no secret that he has wanted to make the jump to the league for awhile. At the beginning of the season, his prospects looked good, but then came the aforementioned ankle injury. Lawson needed to play at the very top of his game throughout March to leave a positive impression in the minds of NBA scouts. For three games, he did just that. But those aren’t the performances that anyone will remember.

That’s not to say that Lawson was trying to play for himself — the remarkable thing about his talents are how well they complement his teammates and the Carolina system. I believe he wanted a championship, believed that UNC deserved a championship, and in some way, blames himself because we didn’t have a chance to compete on Monday night.

Personally, I’d love to have him back next year, but I’ll be a fan of his no matter what he decides to do.

(via)

With apologies, this isn’t a big deal. I really don’t think anyone expected Roy Williams to be pulling for Memphis last night. I sure wasn’t.

O’l Roy spent the better part of his coaching career at Kansas. In the end, he came home and won us a title in 2005, so by any measure, Carolina got the better end of the deal. In a decade or so, he will retire here, and in the mean time, he’s going to keep on signing great kids, keep on winning lots of games, and keep on having us compete for more national championships. In other words, the 2008 Final Four aside, we continue getting the better end of the deal.

I wasn’t happy about the Jayhawk sticker. After Saturday night, it felt like a punch in the stomach. But there is absolutely no reason to question our coach’s ultimate loyalty.

If anything, this lets us end the rift with Kansas. After last night, we’re back to being sister programs. There’s way too much cross pollination between the two schools (Dean Smith, Larry Brown, Roy Williams) for us to fight forever. Now surely, KU fans will let their bitterness go.

Update: More from THF

This will have a dramatic impact on the college game. On the balance, teams that stand to benefit the most are those that are currently strong. Mid-major programs which have achieved a level of parity (both through the diffusion of talent and by the cultivation of that talent over the course of four years, rather than one or two) will now face a new challenge.

The details of this deal will be interesting. Particularly, when the new age-limit takes effect. As those on the basketball boards will tell you, the recruitment of Derrick Favors might have just taken on a whole new dynamic.

Thanks to the extraordinary play of Tyler Hansbrough, Carolina advances to the Final Four. I’ll be cheering hard for Davidson tomorrow.

(Photo Credit: Zeke Smith)

At this point, I think we know that Barack Obama takes his basketball seriously. He plays a pickup game before every primary. His brother-in-law is the head coach of the Princeton Tigers. His body man is Reggie Love — former dook wingman. And last year, he won the Senate NCAA pool.

This year, Obama has the Heels winnning it all.

From his mouth to God’s ears.

Anyone want to bet that JRE was having more fun in Chapel Hill than the folks at the Kodak Theatre last night?

PS — I love Cate Edwards rocking the old school mascot t-shirt.