DURHAM, N.C. – That wasn't Shane Battier who was called for a fifth
foul at the top of the key with 1.2 seconds left at Cameron Indoor Stadium,
was it?
|  | | Brendan Haywood put up impressive numbers against Duke – particularly from the line. |
"At Cameron, on Shane Battier, I never thought that would happen,"
North Carolina's Brendan Haywood said. "So many things seem to go their way
when they're at home. But tonight Shane made a mistake and the referees had
to call it."
That wasn't Haywood who collided with Battier, showing the
initiative to meet the ball instead of passively waiting for it to get to
him, was it?
"Coach (Matt) Doherty told us if we don't meet passes it will be a
long night for us," Haywood said. "Joe (Forte) was trapped and I had to get
to the ball and Shane fouled me."
That wasn't Haywood making the first free throw, then leaving the
line to check with North Carolina coach Matt Doherty if he should miss or
make the second, was it?
"I just said remember the mechanics, go slow," Haywood said. "We
were up one with 1.2 seconds left and I didn't know if he wanted me to
miss."
That wasn't North Carolina that played a near-perfect game, from
sensational passes in the first half for back-door layups, to finding the
seams in Duke's defense, rebounding, making free throws and mixing defenses
from man to zone without getting burned, was it?
It was.
And, for the first time in the ACC, someone actually stood up to
Duke and said, enough.
One ACC coach said earlier this week that Duke's 10-point comeback
on Maryland with under a minute left Saturday in College Park would add to
the league's inferiority complex against Duke. The feeling, he said, was
that the Blue Devils couldn't be beaten even when they played poorly.
"I read a quote from (Stanford's) Casey Jacobsen on the Internet
that talked about how in the second half they had to freelance more and
attack to beat Duke," Doherty said. "That hit home that we had to attack
their defense. We couldn't just sit back. We've done that a couple of times
where we've gone in the mode of waiting for the clock to run out. Instead,
it was, 'let's be aggressive.' They tied it up and we answered it pretty
good."
Ironically, it was Haywood who would essentially scream "enough" the
loudest with his two final free throws in the 85-83 victory Thursday night.
Haywood's line was simply solid with 4-of-5 shots, 6-of-8 at the line, 14
points, 10 boards and two blocks in 29 minutes.
When he was a freshman, Haywood went to the line, down two in the
same building, and missed. Three years later, he made up for his miscues and
pushed the Tar Heels not only into control in the ACC race, but alongside
Duke, Stanford, Michigan State, and, yes Arizona (even with the loss to
Oregon on Thursday) in the elite in college basketball.
"You would have thought, three years later, I was at the same place
as my freshman year," Haywood said. "Game on the line, got to hit two free
throws and I missed them my freshman year, but this time it was redemption."
Haywood has had the high percentage numbers. He's had his share of
double-doubles. He still doesn't look to be the aggressive scorer and
dominating presence offensively that he could be with his 7-foot frame. He
still doesn't play wide to where he's tough to guard, keeping the ball close
to his chest instead of high above his head. He even passed up a few shots
Thursday. But few times in his career has he done all the little things as
well as he did Thursday. That's why he sat there after the game in the
locker room, looking about as content as any player could be after a win.
He kept checking the stat sheet, analyzing every line of every
player. He saw Carlos Boozer's non-existent 1-for-5, four-point, 29-minute
effort. He had to see Battier's 5-for-16 line, too. And, while Haywood
didn't have a say in Duke shooting an amazing 48.1 percent on free throws,
he did have a hand in changing the direction of shots. His play along the
back line defensively allowed the Tar Heels to mix their defenses without
feeling that they would be giving up the interior in a zone or man.
"I'm sitting here looking at the stat sheet and what I see is that
we only had 16 turnovers, and that's very big," Haywood said. "We had
problems against teams that press all year long. I'm sure Coach K
(Krzyzewski) was licking his lips after he saw that N.C. State game. But we
didn't turn the ball over. We boxed out and we played hard and those are the
things that win championships."
This was Haywood's time to sit back, relax and soak up the positive attention, and deservedly so.
Haywood had been the most maligned center to play at North Carolina,
scrutinized for every mishap, each failed seal out in the post, each decision to
pass up a shot and each missed shot.
Haywood played hard every possession he was on the floor Thursday.
"He's changed his attitude and Coach Doherty has gotten on him,"
said Forte, who floated for 24 points and 16 boards and actually had a
double-double in the first half. "We had to almost play a perfect game to
win and we had to hit our shots. It's almost like Duke has a four-leaf
clover on their shoulder. I always expected them to hit big shots and come back."
But it was Haywood who hit the biggest two.
And on Carolina's biggest night of the year, he was more visible, more
aggressive and attentive to detail than he has been in any game, let alone a game as big as this one. He had shown flashes of brilliance in the past, but on this night Haywood was a complete player.
"Right now, I'm real focused because I realize what's at stake and
I've grown up a lot as a basketball player mentally," Haywood said. "I know
we have a chance to do something special. If we keep our heads, we can be
one of those teams who can make it to the Final Four and win this thing."
But first they've got to handle being the only undefeated team in the ACC and a potential No. 1 if or when soon as Stanford loses.
"We're No. 1 in the ACC now and with that comes a lot of responsibility," Carolina's Jason Capel said. "We have to be tough enough to handle it."
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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