Commentary: Heels better than in ‘05? Jury still out

By DREW WILSON

Published: March 27, 2008

Commentary:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Quentin Thomas sees plenty of similarities between the current group of Tar Heels and the 2005 NCAA championship team. They work just as hard and the chemistry is just as good. The only difference he sees is that the 2005 team has a ring. This year’s squad is now three wins away from having bling of their own.
“If I’m sitting here holding the championship trophy, then I’ll be happy to make all the comparisons,” Thomas said with a smile after the North Carolina’s 68-47 victory over Washington State on Thursday in the Sweet 16.
On paper, the two Tar Heel squads are eerily similar. The 2005 team had an average scoring margin of 17.8 points a game. This year’s team has an average of 17.1. Their average points per game and average points given up per game are within two points of each other as well.
Although this year’s edition in Carolina blue has yet to cut down the nets, they might be the better team. Their 35-2 record is certainly better than the 2005 team’s 33-4 mark. And those 35 wins are a new single-season record. But didn’t the 2005 team have four lottery picks in the next NBA Draft, you might ask? True, the pro talent on that championship team was better. But consider this:
This year’s team is deeper. There are nine players averaging 16-plus minutes a game, one more than the 2005 team. And the scoring is a little more balanced this year.
Sean May and Marvin Williams were solid post players, but neither is as good as Tyler Hansbrough. The Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year is on pace to break most of the Tar Heels’ team records — if he hasn’t already. And Hansbrough might be the best big man in the ACC since Christian Laettner played at Duke in the early 1990s. No one has more heart and sheer desire than Hansbrough, who is about as relentless as anyone can be. The junior makes plays when needed and averaged over 20 points a game while Lawson sat out a handful of games with a sprained ankle late in the season.
Of course, if you ask North Carolina coach Roy Williams, the 2005 team was hands down better.
“We’re not as good defensively right now as the 2005 team,” Williams said on Wednesday, “but we’re light years better than the 2004 team was.”
That may be the case if you look at their opponents’ scoring averages, but this year’s team has the advantages elsewhere. The Tar Heels are outrebounding opponents by 11.68 boards a game — over four rebounds more than the championship team. North Carolina is also averaging one more block a game. The 2005 team made more steals, but you could easily make a case that this year’s team could have matched that had point guard Ty Lawson had not missed seven games (he’s averaging 1.7 steals a contest).
Plus, this year’s team has crushed the competition in the NCAA tournament. They’ve won all three games by no less than 21 points and have an average margin of victory of 30.3 points a game. No team has come close yet. That wasn’t the case in 2005, when North Carolina had to hold off Villanova 67-66 in the Sweet 16.
Ultimately, if the Tar Heels don’t cut down the nets in San Antonio, this argument will likely be a moot point to many. But the best teams don’t always win it all. Remember the 1991 UNLV team? Or the 1993 Michigan squad or the 1999 Duke team? Those were great teams. Yet, when you compare teams, it’s all about how the season ended. Championships define teams. And this year’s group of Tar Heels can’t be judged completely until then.
Contact Drew Wilson at or (434) 791-7995.