For a good and solid brief of several goods there, we had a ball game. Jericole Hellems was hitting the jumpers left and right, and it was a heavily played and attacking basketball game … and then the other 38 minutes took place.
I don’t think it’s productive to seek general conclusions from a game like this, because shit happens and sometimes you will go to extremes in a very bad way.
Of course, people will find what they need to find tonight to support any conclusions they have already drawn about this team and this season. And they may not be wrong, see. I’m just not ready to leave everyone involved tonight at the airport.
This game was terrible, the NC State effort was terrible, and this is not the kind of performance that a team can get away from without some prolonged effects – all of which are bad and can be a real problem. I am not here to minimize how shitty and discouraging it was. It was completely horrible and disheartening, and besides, I would go so far as to say it was horrible and disheartening.
If you’re going to give up after that, however, if you’re going to assume that a setback like this should define what happens next, well, you must be new here. Sports don’t work that way, and North Carolina basketball certainly doesn’t make that sense.
But anyway, yes, tonight was a great time.