Second, perhaps, only to the meteoric rise in popularity of local micro and craft breweries is the proliferation of local coffee. Be it cafés, roasting or specialty brewing, coffee has never been more popular as an entrepreneurial endeavor in America. I’m especially excited about the local coffee scene that’s been brewing in the Triangle for the last few years. Continue reading
Hip hop artist retirements are about as meaningful as Brett Favre in sweats so it should come as no surprise to anyone that Jay Z1 just released his fourth post-retirement LP, Magna Carta … Holy Grail (iTunes). Jay Z never ascended to the top of my all-time hip hop legends list, but I’ve always recognized his value as one of hip hop’s most broadly appealing entertainers. My sense has always been that Jay excelled at perfectly placed samples2 and breathy, sometimes stuttery hooks3, dabbling in both the boastful, party anthem and truth from the streets sides of hip-hop without ever diving completely in. I’ve seen some criticisms of this album stating that it lacks lyrical punch. My passive listening thus far hasn’t helped shed any light on that specific point, but I will say that Jay’s lyrical prowess never impressed me as much as his unique delivery and overall cool. The longevity of Jay’s career means the span of his relevancy sometimes pits him in the company of Biggie and Tupac and subsequent comparisons therein – comparisons that a living legend wouldn’t outwardly shy away from but are nonetheless patently unfair. Some critics believe every significant artist’s release should be their magnum opus, an inherently flawed opinion that would drive any sane individual to retirement papers. I’ll go out on a limb and say that this isn’t Jay Z’s magnum opus (nor his holy grail), but it definitely has some bright spots.
Before I listened to a note, the tracks I heard the most noise in the blog and twitterspheres were “Tom Ford” and “Part II (On the Run)”. Both are solid tracks, with “Part II” being the more appealing track of the two for my ears thanks, in part, to Beyonce’s appearance on the track (which is probably the reason for its relative notoriety). The beat on “Tom Ford” (the impetus for most of the praise I read), is pretty cool but the rest of the track isn’t really where Jay Z excels for me. After listening to the album for almost two days straight now, the most notable tracks are “Holy Grail”, “Oceans”, “F.U.T.W.”, and “Nickels and Dimes”. “Holy Grail” features upcoming tour-mate and controversial night-stealer Justin Timberlake singing a verse/hook that occupies at least half of the song. “Oceans” is a nice background song, offering a smooth hook courtesy of Frank Ocean, with a steady lyrical flow. “F.U.T.W.” offers up my favorite knockout opening line (“Don’t be good … be great”) and the bassy, muddled beat reminds me of RZA inspired work from the height of Wu-Tang Clan’s popularity (“C.R.E.A.M.” anyone?). “Nickels and Dimes” is probably the weakest track of the ones I’ve highlighted but, as I mentioned earlier, I’m a sucker for samples and rhymes. This concluding track lives up to HOVA’s reputation for the right hook at the right time with tight rhymes.
When Magna Carta … was released I emailed a close friend who most closely shares my musical sensibilities and asked him if it was a must-purchase. He responded by asking if I’ve ever been disappointed by a Jay Z purchase? To be fair, I only own one complete album4 so that advice proved inconclusive for me at the time. After listening to the album for a couple of days I’m ready to conclude that it’s a worthy purchase for die-hards, but might be best left to a la carte purchasing or streaming via subscription services (Rdio or Spotify) for more casual fans. It’s not a career defining album, but it is a great addition to a hall of fame worthy resume.
Rating: Notable
“You cannot reason someone out of something they were not reasoned into.”
It is that time of year when you start peaking at the position rankings and have those “I didn’t realize player X signed there…” moments. It’s when you begin thinking through strategies thanks to a dearth of A-list running backs or an abundance of quarterbacks. It’s when you begin thinking about mock drafting with the other crazies neglecting their families or killing time while we suffer through the sports wasteland of July…it’s fantasy football season, or is it? Continue reading
Now that you have spent some time researching that all-important big boy drink, its time to move on to the next step; a cocktail. In order to keep all of this manageable, I think its best to select a cocktail derived from your booze of choice. There are only three cocktails a man can order at a bar with any amount of pride: martini (gin or vodka), old fashioned, and the manhattan. I will, of course, allow an exception for white russians on account of The Dude.
Before, we begin discussing the selection of your cocktail, let’s first understand the cocktail. The cocktail is meant as a refreshing way to enjoy your liquor of choice. It also must have at least three ingredients, with one of those being your “spirit” of choice. I hope you have now realized that rum and coke or gin and tonic is NOT a cocktail so don’t even think about coming at me with that weak sauce.
As I previously discussed at length, through a bit of soul searching and some trial and error, I am a bourbon man. As such, I have two options for my cocktail and I enjoy them both; the old fashioned and the manhattan. The Old Fashioned is considered by some to be the oldest of cocktails or the “original” cocktail. While, I can’t speak to that I can confirm it has enjoyed a revival over the last five years thanks in large part to this man. It’s a pretty simple concoction of bourbon, sugar, bitters and citrus that is a “build” cocktail, meaning it is prepared within the glass it is served. The sugar and citrus act to take the edge off that good ole bourbon kick. While, it is a mighty tasty drink, it is a bit sweet for my taste and I find it hard to drink more than one (which is probably not a bad thing).
My cocktail of choice is the manhattan. The manhattan is a pretty simple cocktail prepared in a shaker with a near 2 to 1 ratio of bourbon to vermouth (I would recommend sweet) and a dash of bitters shaken and served…I have to stop here because this is vital. If you order a manhattan at a bar, it will be served in a martini glass, and if you are like me, you get Sex and the City flashbacks and a sudden desire to stab your eye with a cocktail umbrella. I recommend requesting it over ice, but that is a personal choice…in a glass over ice with a lovely maraschino cherry garnish. I would also urge you to select a middle to high end bourbon as the base for your manhattan as this cocktail allows the character of the bourbon to show through. I personally enjoy it with Bulleit and I might even suggest trying it with the Bulleit Rye.
Regardless of your cocktail, I urge you to be a man, belly up to the bar, and order like you know what you are talking about.
It all started because of an excellent cocktail. I had an old fashioned that featured bourbon cherries and was hooked. I knew one thing from that moment on – I could picture nothing finer than spending my spring and summer evenings enjoying old fashioneds with bourbon muddled cherries. To make that a reality I’d have to make my own.
Unfortunately it was the beginning of April and after making several inquiries at grocers I learned it would be a solid month before there were fresh cherries. Being the obsessive that I am, nothing would sate me until I had a taste of fruit-infusing my own liquor. I searched till the ends of the internet for everything I could learn infusing fruit and other food items into bourbon (There is only bourbon, if you want to talk to me about vodka you are a tasteless communist, locked in a self imposed liquor gulag). Quickly, and unsurprisingly, I came across bacon bourbon as well, and decided I could dip so far as tequila into the lighter spirits… solely for the concoction of Bloody Marias. Doing the research online helped, I got a lot of great ideas but that didn’t change the fact that cherries were still a month away. I did what any rational person would do and decided I would go overboard with the food items that I could get.
In a few weeks I was hosting a guys weekend, so I figured I would have plenty of folks to help me consume all this bourbon – going overboard wasn’t completely unwarranted. After purchasing enough mason jars to make even the wackiest of doomsday preppers happy, I set about purchasing more fruit than I probably have personally purchased in my life: apples, pears, and blueberries. To be joined later by what I really wanted, cherries and bacon. The next step was to purchase the liquor, there was consensus among the internet (or at least the first 5 Google results) that you needed to use decent quality bourbon. I chose some favorites; Woodford Reserve was the main as it was relatively more affordable and came in larger bottles, but I also wanted to use some of my personal favorite, Basil Hayden’s. I learned quickly that despite packing the jar to the brim with fruit, not as much liquor was displaced as I had thought so it would take a lot more liquor. One final trip to the liquor store and I was finally set. I packed my concoctions and got ready to wait. The week before my guests were to arrive, I made bacon bourbon and tequila as well. The process was slightly less elegant, but I thought it would be well worth it.
Finally the magical weekend arrived and I got to try my beauties. I was most intrigued by the blueberries as they had had the most profound effect visually on the bourbon. Somewhere along the way I had gotten the impression that the longer they were left the better they tasted. What I had failed to read despite having gone through the directions on several articles was the admonition that one should taste frequently and remove the fruit when the bourbon had taken on it’s flavor. Longer is not better, longer just gets you rotting fruit in ruined bourbon. I know this now because that’s precisely what I got. Desperately and drunkenly and with only a little misgivings from my friends I tried all the concoctions to find the same result. One friend was so kind as to pretend to like the pear for a while, but the next morning the reality of having ruined a lot of good bourbon and this, only the beginning of the summer, began to sink in.
My failure was not total only because I am pressing on, though this time with a bit more wisdom and moderation. I have patiently awaited cherry season this year, and I am preparing but a single jar for now. A key I learned after eating wooden flavored cherries bourbon most of last summer is to remove the stems before infusing the bourbon. Otherwise, they dissolve and give the bourbon a strong flavor of bark, and not even a nice maple bark, something more akin to a pine. My hope is that with careful monitoring and an eventual breakdown to add some sugar to the jar I might finally, after a two year bourbon infusing odyssey be able to enjoy the homemade muddled bourbon cherry old fashioned of my dreams.
Man of Steel (June 14th, Warner Bros), the Superman reboot written by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan (the team that famously resurrected Bruce Wayne) and brought to life by Zack Snyder (300, The Watchmen) delivers a ton of action but at what cost? As Zod and Superman duke it out the destruction spills over from Metropolis into our preconceived notion of a pacifist Superman. Snyder does succeed in finally delivering a Lois Lane worthy of Pulitzer prize winning wit and journalistic toughness. The origin story is told in a fresh, yet disjointed manner worthy of the Goyer/Nolan trademark while avoiding a slip into the Dark Knight formula that brought the Batman franchise back to life. Overall, I loved many of the little pieces, but I can’t seem to convince myself that the pieces coalesced into a cohesive narrative consistent with the Superman persona. This might just be a franchise built to be incomplete without the whole (as suggested by Dan Moren on The Incomparable #146). I’ll definitely watch it again, although this time with a more critical, less midnight-tired eye.
Meanwhile, in 1968 New York, Don Draper finally faces a reckoning, both in the mirror and at the hands of the partners at SC&P. A lot happens in Mad Men’s sixth season, but no single episode seemed to progress toward a resolution as the season finale (June 23rd, AMC). As well as any show I’ve ever watched, Mad Men finales shove resolutions in front of you that stand on their own as an end, yet leave you wanting more without relying on dramatic cliffhangers.1 Three moments from the finale stood out to me most: Trudy’s gently brutal conversation with Pete, Don’s unraveling during the Hershey pitch, and finally the look of realization on Sally’s face outside of Don’s childhood home. Some, if not all, of these moments might be predictable, but the gradual build provides enough dramatic tension without carelessly yanking the string by jumping to the conclusion too forcefully. The historical context this season served as more than a backdrop, it was almost like its own character; interacting with and impacting characters in transformative ways.
Coincidentally, Man of Steel and Season 6 of Mad Men both break new ground for their respective heroes. Man of Steel explores a less consistent (though well portrayed) Clark Kent, while Season 6 of Mad Men presents us with a Don Draper who has seemingly hit rock bottom and finds that victories are fewer and harder to come by. These are entirely new and foreign insights into the respective protagonists and, through the lens of our established notions of them, the change is jarring and maybe a little bit uncomfortable. For Mad Men we have the promise of Season 7 to fuel 9-10 months of theorizing how thing swill play out for Don. With Man of Steel, we can almost certainly count on at least a sequel, if not a trilogy, to see if the filmmakers can bring together some of the great pieces they introduced with the opening salvo.
.No two visits to The Lobster Trap (35 Patton Ave, Asheville; $17-$49) have to be the same but, in my opinion, there are two requirements for every trip: oyster shooters and lobster macaroni & cheese. Fill in the rest however you please. Even if you disregard my recommendations, I dare say you will not be disappointed. In two trips to this downtown Asheville institution, I certainly have not.
On the most recent outing back in May, the group decided to attempt The Lobster Trap Feast – a smorgasbord of menu offerings fit for a party of four to six (our party included eight, myself and two others going out on our own to explore the menu). The seemingly never-ending arrival of food to the table is impressive, if not overwhelming. It begins with the oysters, pulled from a selection of locales and prepared to your preferred temperature, cooked or raw. Cups of soup or bisque soon follow, paving the way for the main event, a smattering of crustaceans, mussels and clams. A selection of sides for this group begins and ends with lobster macaroni and cheese, possibly with a vegetable somewhere in there to placate the carbohydrate overload.
I’m not a lobster guy1, but I do enjoy seafood. Over two separate trips to The Lobster Trap I’ve tried their crab cakes, the aforementioned lobster mac & cheese, and, most recently, grilled tuna accompanied by the superfood du jour, avocado2, and matching drizzle. I ordered the tuna rare and it arrived as near to perfection as I could detect. To put it succinctly, the food was spot on.
Not to be outdone by the kitchen, the bar offers a wide variety of cocktails, even putting their own spin on a few classics. This group has been on a bourbon kick lately, and many of the custom offerings, sounding like unique yet familiar concoctions3, catered perfectly to our tastes. The Lobster Trap is also associated with its own brewery, though I don’t think any of us took a dip. I’ve already mentioned the oyster shooters, which are fantastic.
The Lobster Trap is smallish, and is certainly not quiet. The staff is very pleasant and accommodating – the hostess took a cell phone number and offered to call us to let us know when our table was ready, allowing us to pre-game around downtown Asheville while we waited. The eight of us sat reasonably comfortable at one of their large booth tables, with one person at the end. The atmosphere is rustic without feeling old; modern materials intended to look old adorning the room.
Someone once asked me why we eat. Unguarded and let down by my inner Admiral Ackbar4, I fumbled through an apathetic, yet ill-fated response. Emboldened by my failure, my antagonist proceeded to lecture me on food’s vital role as an energy source for our bodies and our collective over-dependence on food as a source of pleasure5. But, to me, this is an overly simplistic view of the relationship between food and the human experience. If we are all just machines, mechanical processes dependent on optimized input and output for the most efficient operation, then yes, food is just fuel. But we’re not. We are human, designed to experience pleasure, to fellowship with each other and, when possible, share our experiences with each other. I’ve been fortunate to be in great company every time I’ve visited The Lobster Trap, but being complicit in that experience is no small feat. As easy as it may be to serve as the backdrop for that experience, it can be just as easy to ruin it. The Lobster Trap nails it, providing a great atmosphere, pleasant and accommodating staff, and fantastic food to top it off.
Rating: Notable.
It might have started long ago elsewhere, but in Raleigh and the rest of the Triangle, the burger is back. Fast-growing national chains like Five Guys and BurgerFi have made their way into the market and now local hot spots are sprouting up – each with their own spin: Tribeca Tavern, a moderately up-scale establishment that grinds their own beef and features their own brews (along with others, including a decent selection of NC brews); Bull City Burger – a walk-up and order establishment serving locally sourced, grass-fed beef, sporting an in-house brewery and unique wine bar situated in a revitalized downtown Durham; Chuck’s – part of Ashley Christensen’s three-headed restaurant experiment in downtown Raleigh; Only Burger, a burger stand that started (and still exists) as a food truck; and the subject of this review, Charlotte-based Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar (nee Big Daddy’s) – a specialty burger shop with full bar, end-capping a new structure in the Seaboard Station area of downtown Raleigh.
At first glance, Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar (111 Seaboard Ave, Raleigh; $10-$13) seems like a retread of a familiar concept – a bar that serves burgers. Novel idea, right? But the name and ambiance imply something different – almost as if the founders wanted to flip that concept on its head. Start with a great burger, add myriad options and serve some drinks along with it. The menu, as one member of my dinner party commented, seems to require the time to consume at least one beer to sort out. We witnessed this first hand when another fellow diner ordered a side salad – the options seemingly sprouting at every turn from his lettuce base (two choices), two “toppings”, a fruit, a meat, and a dressing! The burger options were similarly mesmerizing, offering near endless combinations of toppings and even patty meat mixtures.
Beef lovers eagerly anticipating the ruling on the quality of the hamburgers will be disappointed – I opted for a black bean burger, my current obsession when visiting spots that offer one. Though it is also possible to create your own, the menu standard Cantina (with the addition of jalapeños) was enough to satisfy my black bean hankering. As I alluded to earlier, I’ve tried a fair number of black bean burgers in the area and this one certainly found a place near the top. I rarely take an opportunity to jump on the growing sweet potato fries bandwagon, but I strayed from the norm here again. I certainly wasn’t disappointed with my choice, though I will admit that the Bad Daddy’s version of sweet potatoes served french style didn’t stray too far from what I’ve had elsewhere.
And that’s ultimately where I ended up in my overall impression of Bad Daddy’s. The burger’s are great1 – maybe not any better than the best burgers we’ve had in the area, but certainly not discernibly worse. However, the options that Bad Daddy’s provide are so impressive, it’s hard to imagine any burger lover wouldn’t be able to build the burger of their dreams.
Rating: Notable.
From: J.B. Sawyer
To: D.B. Riego
Date: Monday, March 11, 2013
Dear Sir,
In the spirit of March Madness I thought it might be fun to spur a little debate. I have a challenge for you if you are game?
You must select a player from your most hated school (I am of course using the term loosely) that fits each category.
Best Player
Most Hated Player
Player You Would Have Like On Your Team
The player must have played at the University (and possibly attended classes) from 1998 through 2013. You do not need any facts or statistics to back up your case, just a pure unadulterated hatred of the institution, which I know for you will not be a problem. I will kick off the fun…
Best Player – I am not sure this is even a discussion at State. If it is, it begins and ends with one Julius Hodge. Hodge led some of the best Pack teams of the last 20 years and was a quote machine, once telling teammate Cam Bennerman, “When you’re hungry, you eat; when you’re a frog, you leap; if you’re scared, get a dog.” He famously commented on the possible shower scene at the Roy Williams’ prison camp. He was also one hell of a player. He led the Pack to an ACC tournament final in 2002 and 2003 and the Sweet 16 in 2005. He was the 2004 ACC Player of the year and was robbed of the 2002 ACC Rookie of the Year by this guy. Hodge led a team that beat UNC and Duke in the same week, which doesn’t happen often at State, and for that he is the Best of the Best at State.
Also Considered: Illian Evtimov, Marcus Melvin, Scooter Sherrel, Engin Atsur, Javi Gonzalez, Ryan Harrow, Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell – I am just kidding about all of these …
From: D.B. Riego
To: J.B. Sawyer
Date: Monday, March 11, 2013
Best Player – The interesting thing about this question is that it seems heavily skewed in your favor at first glance. And, certainly, relative to the players that have walked through the doors of the ESRBCPNC Arena, there is a strong bias toward UNC. BUT … but … I just took a walk down memory lane and looked over the rosters from the last fifteen years and … let’s just say the last question (Player I would have wanted on my team) is going to be very hard for me to answer, and only partly because it’s hard for me to give any player that donned baby blue a clean slate. Seriously … there haven’t really been as many players as you’d think that would be worth getting past their terrible taste in blue – especially given the question doesn’t give me any wiggle room on coaching (i.e. am I only getting the one player and his heralded skill set but he still has to play in Herb’s offense, or with Sid’s band of Got ‘Em, Now What misfits?). Anyway, I’ve rambled on long enough about Question #3, time to get down to brass tacks and answer the first question.
There are really three players that answer these three questions – one player answers exactly one of the questions, the other two could probably be used interchangeably for all three for various reasons. The best player in the last fifteen years to don the baby blue is, without a doubt, Tyler Hansbrough. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if a player can jump out of the gym, shoot lights out, and run like Darrell Green down the floor – or even if he can’t do any of these things! Basketball IQ is a powerful thing and when you match that with Tyler’s hustle – when his contact lenses were in – there was no one better. The guy dominated the intangibles column throughout his career, scored enough to carry you guys when he needed to, and by golly that kid could hit some free throws. It’s one thing to find yourself saying “ah he was in the right place at the right time” a couple of times a game or maybe even if a guy has a whole game like that, you just chalk it up as the basketball Gods shining their light on the guy for the game. But Tyler was in the right place at the right time on seemingly every single freakin’ play. The guy was incredible and you know that he worked hard to put himself there so with Tyler you had that perfect combination of a player with natural ability, incredible work ethic off the court, tenacious but controlled aggression on the court and, when he wasn’t going all Psycho T on somebody, he looked like he was having fun, too. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was a clip of Roy somewhere singing Best I Ever Had to Tyler after that 2009 national title game.
Also Considered (But not necessarily in this order): PJ Hairston, One of the Falcons1, Ty Lawson, Sean May, Raymond Felton, Kris “Mouth” Lang, Jason Capel, Ed Cota, Brendan Haywood. How many of these do you think I’m serious about?
From: J.B. Sawyer
To: D.B. Riego
Date: Monday, March 12, 2013
D.B.,
I appreciate your candid response and I know how very hard it was to write that about the legend that is Tyler Hansbrough. As you state, our list of players during that era is probably not as great as we Tar Heels like to think, and Handbrough is really the only transcendent player of the last 20 years at UNC. His jersey hangs out front at the Dean Dome and I own two of his jerseys that my son and I occasionally don for big games.
While picking State’s best player was easy, this is much harder. It is so hard in fact that I am going to cheat. While a couple State players come to mind, Evtimov, Damon Thornton, CJ Leslie, TJ Warren and Rodney Purvis I don’t really hate them (there is no way not to piss you off with this comment) because they never consistently beat UNC. I think Purvis and Warren could get there, but they just aren’t there yet. So, I am going outside the boundary of our game and select your current AD, Debbie Yow.
Debbie Yow is by all accounts an accomplished woman, and if I had a daughter she would be a remarkable role model. Yow began her career as a women’s basketball coach at the University of Kentucky and then entered athletics administration at Saint Louis. She guided the Maryland athletic department from 1994 to 2010 and oversaw the golden years of Maryland Athletics (its sounds funny saying that). However, you will not find a Maryland fan alive that likes her based on their belief that she bankrupted their athletic program (this may actually be an endorsement as they are the worst fans in the ACC and will soon be the worst in the B1G). She left in 2010 to take the job at NC State and has since hired 8 new coaches and implemented this as an official web page. My disdain for her stems from the constant pandering to an already irrational fan base with letters to the ACC and phony awards. Talk of refusing the status quo and Alabama recruits is annoying for a program that probably has some steps in between and for that she gets my vote for Most Hated Player/Person affiliated with the basketball program.
Your move sir…
From: D.B. Riego
To: J.B. Sawyer
Date: Monday, March 13, 2013
I’m not even sure how to respond to whatever that non-sense is that you just sent me so I’ll take this opportunity to comment on your Hodge pick for Best Player. Undoubtedly, Jules is the pick for us and while guys like Hickson and Powell might have technically had better NBA careers, Hodge gave the most – not only in production but also in heart. I love that he’s still so devoted to our program and is such a hardcore fan. I also love that he has such a great relationship (on Twitter, at least) with some of the guys from Chapel Hill that he played against. Just a great personality for us, something that doesn’t really come along too often.
Speaking of great personalities, I have to admit that this question of Most Hated player isn’t exactly as easy for me to answer as it might seem. Honestly, my disdain for the Tarheels has always had more to do with the fans, many of which fly too closely in my circle of influence for comfort, present company (more often than he realizes) INCLUDED. Just kidding, you’re pretty reasonable. Anyway, all of that said, there is one guy that always comes to mind and he’s a guy I never could quite get even an inkling of compassion for and that guy is Rashad McCants. What is that guy’s deal? Besides the obvious (prison? really?), I’m not even sure I have anything rational to base this on, the guy just rubs me the wrong way. He could shoot, I guess he could score, which certainly doesn’t help when all you want to do is watch the guy build a house of bricks when he’s playing your team (or any other for that matter), but I’m not sure the scoring is even what gets to me. He just seemed like he felt entitled, like the world owed him something – and not knowing much about his background, maybe it did/does – but sheesh. Like I said, no real evidence for my argument, but at least I didn’t call out your water boy or something ridiculous like you.
Dishonorable mentions: Joseph Forte, Kris Lang
Now, who’s the guy you wish you could have had on your team – let me guess … TJ?
From: J.B. Sawyer
To: D.B. Riego
Date: Monday, March 19, 2013
I apologize for the delay in responding, but I spent the weekend thinking about the Player I Would Must Like on my Team, and I as you can imagine, its not easy. We didn’t really discuss the matter of timing or fit, for instance would you pick a player you liked, but who would not have started for your team. Do you pick a player that you didn’t like, but who fit well into your team? These are all important questions.
I am first going to talk about the contenders and then make my selection which will almost assuredly piss you off. As you guessed correctly, I have had a long running (well, like 6 months) love affair with one TJ Warren. He is the classic “one that got away,” at least that is what UNC fans will have you believe, the point is he wanted to go to State, told Roy and Roy took Brice Johnson. Having seen both play this year (I think Brice has promise, but he is currently a black hole) , any fan that says Roy picked Brice over TJ is an idiot. TJ is perfect for Roy’s offense, he is tall, can run, rebound, and he is a natural born SCORER first and foremost. This guy will be the focal point of the State offense next year (if he doesn’t go pro) and he will average 20-10. This guy will is a beast.
The next candidate was Scott Wood who lit up Greensboro this weekend. UNC rarely has a shooter of Wood’s quality and he would have helped stretch the defense to open the paint for Zeller, Henson, and McAdoo. The only issue of course…he doesn’t play much, if any defense, and as any good UNC fan knows that is a recipe for a lot of time next to Roy.
Finally, I chose Lorenzo Brown. He was built to run Roy’s offense with his quickness, strength, and vision. Also, and most importantly, he could have filled in for Kendall last year after he was assaulted in the Round of 32. This would have of course meant Banner #6 as we stuck it to Kensucky!
I look forward to revisiting this in the Fall for football.
Go Heels!
From: D.B. Riego
To: J.B. Sawyer
Date: Monday, March 21, 2013
I should have known that this was all one elaborate trap you set so you could troll me with your Zo pick and Banner #6 proclamation. Remind me not to participate in the fall when we do this for football.
In all seriousness, the point you raised about context is dead on – I was going to say the same thing but my sticking points were coaching, the relative culture of success of the program, and the level of reverence a particular player attains on campus. First, let’s tackle coaching. Let’s say I make things boring and take Tyler as both my “Best Player” and “Player I Would Most LIke On My Team” (not an unreasonable choice or approach, and I almost did but let’s be honest – it’s a cop out). Do I get Psycho T running around the perimeter making swing passes for one to two years in Herb’s offense (or is he part of the Triple Towers Triumvirate with Brackman and Costner)? Better yet, is Psycho T the focal point of whatever we’re calling the Sidney Lowe tax-free, dearth of a point guard offensive era? Of the three coaches in the era we’re focusing on, Herb has arguably the best resume and yet Tyler would have been useless in Herb’s offense. And heaven only knows what Gott would do with him. I shudder even thinking about it. But he (Hansbrough) would certainly feel good about himself, that’s for sure.
The other two contextual considerations I mentioned kind of go hand in hand. Individually, we may have had some players over the years that could have played for you but where would they fall in the list of all-time players coming out of Chapel Hill? In some ways, doesn’t that actually change the mentality of the player by humbling them a bit as they take their first step on to the Dean Dome floor (hopefully this happens in enough time to keep them from going all “moneyball” on you)? For example, let’s say Kendall Marshall decides to follow in Javy Gonzalez’s footsteps in leading the Pack Attack. To put it mildly, N.C. State doesn’t have a long history of highly touted point guards (as a side note, isn’t this one of the truly puzzling aspects of the Sid Lowe era? That he, a former point guard himself, wasn’t able to coach up a great point guard?). So Kendall comes in and immediately averages a few dimes a game, maybe gives us some right time and place scoring bursts and starts a pace to do to Fire’s assist records what Scott Wood did to Ice’s trifecta record. He’s an instant celebrity on our campus. But on yours, where he’s following not just a long line of great Carolina point guards, but so many All-Americans in general, he’s just the next in a long line of loved and adored Tarheels. But relative to all of those former greats is he truly revered? (In this parallel universe, “The Wrist” never happens and thus the admittedly clever “Pass Fir5t” social media explosion is DOA). Just look at the pedestal we put CJ, Zo & company on at the beginning of this season (err, make that the end of the last season) and all they did was make it to the Sweet 16! The culture of winning is non-existent at N.C. State (face it, Pack fans, it’s true!) and I think that has an effect on the players that play there, regardless of how much natural talent they possess.
But. There is one. There is one who’s talent, position, and natural athleticism could have transcended all of this (ironically a point guard – it HAS to be a point guard given our particular set of contextual challenges) and that ONE player I would most liked to have had play for the Pack is Ty Lawson. I remember watching him go coast to coast several times and just thinking that speed like that with a basketball was obscene. More than that – his quickness paired with his body control is other-worldly. I remember we talked about the differences between Kendall and Ty one time and I think you said it best – Kendall moves the ball quickly up court with perfect passes, Ty did it with his feet and handles. I think that’s the one guy whose talent and natural athletic gifts would have been enough for Herb to just roll the ball out onto the court and said, “Screw the Princeton offense, just go play, boys” and that Sid couldn’t ruin with his NBA “what can I do, I’m just the coach?” mentality. And oh my, what a Gottfried team could accomplish with a guy that has talent AND is interested in running a team? Unreal. So as much as I hated the fact that he donned the Tarheel baby blue, there’s no doubt I would have loved to have had Ty running with the Pack. (Not to mention it has the unintended, yet much appreciated benefit of erasing a National Championship for the Heels! How’s that for trolling!?!)
Honorable Mentions: Tyler Hansbrough, Kendall Marshall, Jason Capel.
I can’t wait for football when I get to pick Brandon Spoon for all three categories! SPOOOOOON!
Go pack!
