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By Thomas Gessner
Everyone has returned to college and that means that college football season is upon the world. As the gridiron games begin to take place, the North Carolina Division I football teams need their respect, and it is vital that everyone knows out of the fourteen football teams in the state of North Carolina, which schools are the best, and which are the worst. This list will be updated weekly once games begin for the schools, and will continue until the end of the season. To start, the teams will be divided into four categories: Most Likely to Succeed, Dead on Arrival, Anything is Possible, and No Idea.
Most Likely to Succeed University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Even though the Tar Heels came up short at the Orange Bowl last season, and lost a few key offensive players to the NFL, this Carolina team makes the top of the list because it contains one of the favorites to win the Heisman trophy, Sam Howell, along with a more experienced offensive line and defense than last year, which could lead to some great success for the Heels if all goes well. Appalachian State University Last year saw a slight skid for App State, finishing with a 9-3 record and ending their streak as Sun Belt champions, as well as only briefly appearing in the AP top 25 poll, something the program did for seven weeks in 2019. A big question for the mountaineers will be the production of quarterback Chase Brice, but a strong receiver core will bolster him nicely. The defense will be the sticking point for Appalachian State, and it is likely the team will still excel like they have for multiple seasons, and that consistency will keep the mountaineers as contenders for the top spot in the Sun Belt conference. North Carolina State University The Wolfpack was another team to barely participate in the AP poll, with the team’s season high being 23rd, but last season was a sign of upward trajectory for NC State football and coach Dave Doeren, who recovered from a 4-8 record in 2019 to improve to 8-4, as well as becoming much more competitive in the ACC conference, jumping from a .125 percent winning percentage in the conference to .700. The squad kept a lot of their valuable players, and improved their recruiting from last year, and while NC State might not blow anyone away, they will have a positive record and bowl game to add to the books. North Carolina A&T State University Now, North Carolina A&T might be a little hard to judge for two reasons. One, they played no games last season because their conference cancelled football due to covid, and two, they are no longer in that conference, and now reside in the more competitive Big South conference. That information might mean that the Aggies are not deserving of being classified as “Most Likely To Succeed”, but the team’s seven Black College Football National Championships, two of which came from 2018 and 2019, boosts confidence that the team will continue to excel in their division, even if it is no longer the MEAC, but that year off could either work for or against the school. Dead on Arrival Duke University Duke University posted its worst SRS (Simple Rating System) in over a decade last season with a 2-9 record against a -1.60 strength of schedule. This season is not looking much more positive; Duke has no five or four star recruits and is not making any significant personnel changes, so a similar record is the expectation, especially in a conference improving this year. Campbell University The Campbell Camels only played four games in 2020, but they did an exceptional job at losing those games, with the worst loss being against the middling Wake Forest 14-66, only to follow it up with a 21-52 loss to App State. Even if the program were to have a sudden turnaround, that turnaround would not be great enough to overcome such poor football from last year. Elon University Six games is a better sample size than Campbell’s four, and Elon was fortunate enough to win a game against Davidson, but did not ride that win any further, dropping the next four games to the likes of Gardner-Webb, James Madison, Richmond, and William and Mary, none of which were very successful themselves. The Phoenixes also played in the spring instead of the fall; that change in schedule could have effects on the season, but the record is so sour that Elon lands firmly in the Dead on Arrival category. Western Carolina University The Catamounts do not have a strong football program, and they have not done much to show that they have improved. Gardner-Webb University Gardner-Webb had the best 2020 record out of all the Dead on Arrival teams with 2-2 in their shortened Covid season, but the last three seasons for the team, the Runnin’ Bulldogs have failed to crack four wins, and last finished above .500 in win percentage in 2013. Anything is Possible Wake Forest University The Wake Forest Demon Deacons do not have a consistent history in the coaching seasons of Dave Clawson, but overall their defense has been impressive and they might have had a mediocre 2020, but this Clawson era has seen success that Wake Forest has not experienced since last decade. If not for 2020, the Deacs football team would be in the “Most Likely to Succeed” section, but that past year puts into question the idea that Wake will continue its streak. No Idea These last four teams could potentially fall into any of the three other categories, or none at all. They are volatile, play in rapidly fluctuating conferences, and lack a lot of significant information that the other schools have. These are those four schools:
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By Thomas Gessner
Before the NBA draft, I discussed former Duke basketball player Jalen Johnson, evaluating his ability and potential. Johnson had varied projections, but the Atlanta Hawks ended up selecting the forward with the 20th pick. None of this is surprising considering Johnson’s issues as a half court player, but what was surprising about the draft for North Carolina basketball fans was that before the end of the first round, the Phoenix Suns selected UNC Chapel Hill’s Day’ron Sharpe with the 29th pick in the NBA draft, a pick that they traded to the Brooklyn Nets. Unlike Johnson, who many analysts expected to be a first round draft pick, the expectation for Sharpe was that teams would wait until the second round to select the nineteen year-old big man from Greenville, North Carolina.
Sharpe’s jump into the first round has been associated with two developments: his weight loss and pre-draft workouts. Sharpe apparently lost twenty pounds and during a workout in LA was attempting and making threes consistently with a jump shot that fans seldom saw during his time in Chapel Hill. Of course basketball players making threes during practices, workouts, or shootarounds does not always translate onto the court during a game, but it is better than seeing a player refuse to attempt difficult shots in a risk-free environment, and for a player like Day’ron, it represents his hustle and commitment, which his weight change also showed teams and scouts. Even for a six-foot eleven, 260-pound man, twenty pounds is still significant and is representative of someone’s desire to succeed in the league. Less weight for a player like Sharpe could mean increased mobility and speed, a better vertical, and the ability to participate in offensive plays that require a lot of movement. Since I covered a “player like Sharpe”, Day’ron Sharpe’s play style should be mentioned. He is viewed as a “rim runner”, or a player whose primary goal is to dunk the ball in transition or off of screens and pick and rolls, opening up the offensive potential for a team. A rim runner forces defenses to attempt to guard the paint, and that weakened perimeter defense can create open looks for shooters. On the defensive end, Sharpe is bringing great rebounding and hustle. During his time at UNC, Sharpe averaged 7.6 rebounds in only nineteen minutes of play, and a staggering 43 percent of those were offensive rebounds, which are integral for creating second-chance opportunities for a team. To be completely fair, Sharpe was playing for a Chapel Hill team that shot the ball very poorly, and that can inflate those stats, as well as him occasionally grabbing his own miss. All in all, Day’ron Sharpe’s size and build, along with his strength and hustle, helps create rebounds, and that leads to extra points. Every team wants a player that can fit this role for a rookie contract, and it makes sense that the Brooklyn Nets traded for him, and Sharpe is lucky to be on the Nets of all teams. The Brooklyn Nets led the league with the greatest offensive rating in the history of the sport, and a lot of that could be attributed to the white-hot three point shooting. With deadeye shooters Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Joe Harris, the Nets shot 39 percent from three on over 36 attempts per game. At first glance it might seem like Sharpe and the Nets are contradictory since Sharpe is a paint player, but this style of offense opens up great opportunities for a player with his skillset, as opposing teams have to put so much effort into guarding shooters that it leaves the paint open for dunks and rebounds. Just look at Nic Claxton, a player with a similar set of skills and abilities as Sharpe, who was able to score with ease and play good help-side defense to help create some winning basketball. Sharpe sounds like a great prospect and a league-ready player based on this analysis, but it would be foolish to say he is a finished product that should be starting games right now. He still needs to improve his athleticism for the fast-paced offense the Nets run, and he has got to work on finishing at the rim, only scoring a little more than half the time on his shot attempts. Sharpe’s biggest weakness has not even been brought up yet: that being his abysmal free throw shooting, making barely half of his free throws. That type of shooting makes NBA players a liability and can limit their minutes. All in all, Sharpe could be a very productive player considering the opportunity he has to be a part of a championship contending team that is favored to win it all this upcoming season. As a player from a North Carolina town and a North Carolina school, I am positive he can make it happen. ● The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
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By Thomas Gessner
The NBA draft is less than one week away and unlike recent years, there are significantly less big names from North Carolina colleges that NBA teams will draft, and commissioner Adam Silver will be announcing those names far later than the top picks.
Since 2010, there has been at least one North Carolina college player selected in the lottery of nine drafts, and of those nine drafts, seven were years with a North Carolina college basketball player selected in the top five. 2021 is not one of those years. While the 2021 NBA draft is still yet to come, it is unlikely that any player from an NC school will be taken so high, and that stems from a lack of talent and success not shown in decades appearing this past season. Only two teams from the state of North Carolina qualified for the NCAA tournament last spring, those being UNC Chapel Hill (8) and UNC Greensboro (13), and neither team made it out of the first round. By comparison: in 2015, Duke won the National Championship and four NC teams made the tournament; the next year four teams made the tournament and UNC made it to the championship game; in 2017 only three teams reached the tournament but UNC won it all; 2018 a huge five teams made it to March Madness; and in 2019, only Duke and UNC got in to the NCAA tournament, but both schools did so as one seeds. It is also no coincidence that the drafts following these tournament appearances each had a North Carolina player drafted in the top five. Unfortunately, that pedigree and reputation is not going to be present much during this year’s draft, but that does not mean that there are no players from North Carolina schools who may make an impact on the draft, and potentially an impact on the NBA. Jalen Johnson, a nineteen year old prospect from Duke, is one of those players. Jalen Johnson contains the most overt potential out of North Carolina college players in the NBA draft. He is a wing standing at six-foot-nine in basketball shoes and at the forefront of his game is his excellent athleticism. He is fast, has great lower body strength for his position, can leap high, granting him the ability to occasionally play above the rim, and he can work by defenders with his speed and momentum to finish at the basket. His athletic talents, along with the rest of his skills, are most noticeable in the full court. Johnson excels in transition, partially because of his movement vertically and horizontally, but also because of his most valuable talent which should not go unnoticed: His playmaking chops. Even though he only averaged 2.2 assists on 2.5 turnovers, he can accurately pass the ball in transition, beat double teams through finding the open man, and get looks to cutters and perimeter shooters. Though he is a skilled passer, he was not always careful with the ball as seen in his turnover stats. At Duke he would sometimes attempt passes that he was not at the level to accurately make. This would often result in easy steals and 50/50 balls for the other team. When it comes to creating for himself, Johnson lacks a good jumpshot, and did not show off the dribble shot creation in his limited time in college. His shooting stats are impressive, especially 44.4 percent from deep, until it becomes noticeable that he accomplished that percentage on a measly eighteen three point attempts in thirteen games; not exactly high volume, and when watching these attempts, they almost all come from catch and shoot opportunities. This is not necessarily alarming, but his free throw percentage and shooting mechanics reveal that it will likely take time for him to develop a better shot, if that even happens. Free throw percentage has become an increasingly better indicator of shooting potential for scouts and analysts over the years because it showcases a player’s rhythm and mechanics in a controlled environment, whereas analyzing just three point percentage regardless of other factors can be muddling in what it reveals. In the case of Johnson, 63 percent from the free throw line concerning, and that number lines up better with his mechanical jumpshot and his attempts outside of the paint more than true shooting and three point percentage. Johnson’s offensive game shares some similarities and comparison to Sixers point guard Ben Simmons or even high-flying multi-position Bucks legend Marques Johnson, with the main comps being the finishing at the rim, athleticism, vertical capability, and playmaking. Like Simmons, Johnson’s physique and I.Q. grants him the potential to become a good professional defender, and he was serviceable in his time at Duke, but at times would have lapses in judgement or fall prey to ball-watching, losing track of his position and man, or not putting in great effort on one-on-one possessions. His defensive ceiling is high regardless of some of his lesser moments at Duke , and he could break out on that end of the court similar to Simmons or Lonzo Ball, but right now his offensive game is more present. Now, as annoying as it may be to discuss, Jalen Johnson’s “character issues” must be talked about. Analysts and scouts have noted then criticized Johnson for leaving elite programs twice, once in high school, when he left IMG academy his senior year, then once in college, when he stopped playing for Duke University after thirteen games. The important part of all of this is that Johnson is a teenager, and made those decisions as a teenager. Should he be judged so harshly for what he did when his mind is still developing, and he is still gaining life experience? A question like that might be too big for a draft discussion. Jalen Johnson might be the most high-profile pick coming from a North Carolina college, but he is not alone in the draft. Next week, I will be covering Tar Heel big man Day’ron Sharpe, focusing on how he can fit into the present league, and after the draft, I will discuss the fit for these two players on their new teams, if there were any surprises with where they were drafted, and how they might improve during next season. The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
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The Weekly Roundup Podcast | Episode 4: The Biggest Stories of This Year and What's to Come5/2/2021 Featuring Thomas Gessner, Lucas Thomae and Owen Sizemore
NC College Beat has revamped the weekly roundup from the fall, providing regular updates on happenings within the universities and colleges of North Carolina through our new podcast hosted by Staff Writer Thomas Gessner. Listen to our episode using the audio player above or check out the episode notes below.
1. Fall return-to-campus plans across the UNC System. Schools like UNC Charlotte have already outlined specific goals and guidelines for what life will look like on their campus this fall, including full-capacity facilities and a majority of classes held in-person. Other schools, like UNC Chapel Hill, NC State, and East Carolina University share these sentiments but have yet to unveil their full plans for next semester. 2. Governor Roy Cooper lifts the mask mandate for socially-distant vaccinated people outdoors. The announcement made last Wednesday will now allow those who are fully vaccinated to go maskless at outdoor public spaces and events provided that they still maintain social distancing guidelines. This change is likely the first of many restrictions to be eased in advance of the summer and the start of a new academic year around the corner. (Further reading from WWAY3) 3. Where are students living in the fall? Many first-year college students, with either limited or no experience living on their respective campuses, are compelled to search for off-campus living that may be cheaper or offer more amenities than the standard dorms. It is up to universities and colleges across the state to create strong incentive packages to convince more students to make their way back to on-campus living. 4. College sports of the past and future. The North Carolina college basketball scene has seen some dramatic changes over recent months, including the departure of UNC Chapel Hill's Roy Williams and UNCG's Wes Miller. This fall, sporting events are expected to welcome back significantly more fans through expanded capacity in indoor and outdoor stadiums and arenas. ● The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Featuring Thomas Gessner and Owen Sizemore
NC College Beat has revamped the weekly roundup from the fall, providing regular updates on happenings within the universities and colleges of North Carolina through our new podcast hosted by Staff Writer Thomas Gessner. Listen to our episode using the audio player above or check out the episode notes below.
1. Roy Williams announces his retirement from UNC Basketball. The three-time national championship coach for Chapel Hill announced on April 1 that he is leaving the team, stunning the North Carolina and College Basketball communities. (Further reading from CNN) 2. Spring Break plans for North Carolina Schools. The many colleges and universities of North Carolina have diverged in their plans for offering a Spring Break to students. UNC Chapel Hill and NC State have opted for regularly-scheduled "Wellness Days" sprinkled throughout the semester, while other schools like Appalachian State and UNC Wilmington opted to use the extra week to end the year early instead. UNC Charlotte was the only institution to maintain a full week-long break for students, albeit in the middle of February. 3. White Boy Summer? D-list celebrity and son of Tom Hanks, Chet Hanks is pushing a mantra and merchandise line through social media that is making waves through college communities of the United States. 4. UNC Charlotte Student Government Association Elections. Senators Dick Beekman and Gabi Hitchcock took home the Student Body President and Vice President race, garnering more than 65% of the vote last week. The Student Government Association Senate also elected its group of officers last Thursday, with Junior Jonathan Mitchell holding on to the number one spot as Speaker of the Senate. (Further reading from NC College Beat) 5. UNC Charlotte opens Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. This multi-year development project had its first guests on March 31, with UNC Charlotte leaders of the past and present expressing their excitement for the hotel to serve as a hub to connect the university's resources to the economic opportunities of the city. (Further reading from Charlotte Business Journal) ● The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
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By Thomas Gessner
No men’s college basketball team from North Carolina was able to make it out of the first round of the NCAA tournament this year, a rarity considering the depth and history of teams in the Old North State.
Appalachian State, after making their first tournament in twenty years, fell to Norfolk State in their play-in game. Meanwhile, UNC Chapel Hill fell to the Wisconsin Badgers by 23 points, and while there is a tiny chance that the Tar Heels were honoring the great Michael Jordan with that number, it’s more likely that they were seeded artificially high because of some past pedigree. UNCG lost by a less embarrassing margin to Florida State, and they kept the game competitive through the defensive heroics of graduating guard Isaiah Miller, but ultimately it wasn’t enough. Now that these programs’ chances at title for this season are over, there are some interesting developments and possibilities for the coming season that could have a great impact on all three schools. Appalachian State While App State’s showing in the NCAA tournament was disappointing and brief, very few people expected the Mountaineers to even have a chance at making March Madness. The team completely outperformed their seeding in the Sun Belt Tournament by upsetting Georgia State, which should be pride enough for any fan of the program. This recent success shouldn’t be surprising though, because it all correlates to the hiring of head coach Dustin Kerns in 2019. Kerns has helped turn the program into a winning team with true aspirations, doing so by coaching seasons that broke historic droughts, like his 18-win debut season, which was the most wins by a rookie head coach at App State since 1942. This statistic is even more impressive considering that the college has had 22 head coaches. Another impressive feat by Kerns has been the quick turnaround into multiple winning records in and out of the Sun Belt conference, anchored by a great defense. Besides the coaching changes, the Mountaineers have a talented, balanced roster, where no one player is carrying the offensive or defensive load. If that doesn’t sound good enough, they are a young team that is not overly-reliant on graduating seniors, meaning that this team looks like they will only improve next season. The team’s high steal total and top 50 NCAA defense will be enough to keep Appalachian State competitive, but improvements in scoring efficiency for the team would make them contenders to repeat on the Sun Belt title. UNC Greensboro Another great defensive team that lacks a well-rounded offense is UNCG’s Spartans, who have some bigger question marks than App State in the future. This lies mainly in versatile guard Isaiah Miller, who is graduating after winning SoCon player of the year and defensive player of the year for the second season in a row. This past season, Miller posted 19.2 points, 4 assists, and 2.6 steals per game, placing him 9th in the NCAA for steals. He anchored both the offense and defense with his skill and sheer athleticism, and UNCG will likely struggle to replace his contributions next season. Miller was a poor shooter, but he was not alone with the Spartans shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 30 percent from three, and going below 70 percent from the free throw line. This squad has been held together by their already mentioned great defense and almost 40 rebounds per game. One cannot forget the high-level coaching from Wes Miller, who has brought a winning standard to the school. However, that success has led to Miller, who played at UNC under Roy Williams, being in constant discussions about potentially replacing Williams when he retires, or just leaving UNCG for a more high-profile job at a bigger school. UNC Chapel Hill Speaking of Roy Williams, Chapel Hill was the one team from North Carolina in March Madness to lose their first-round matchup as the higher seed. Directly following their loss, the team’s promising duo of freshman bigs, Walker Kessler and Day’Ron Sharpe, announced they were leaving the program, Kessler through the transfer portal and Sharpe through the NBA draft. This is never a good sign for a basketball team, but at the same time, it is often overblown what these decisions mean in regards to the school. Either way, the loss of these two players is big for North Carolina, and in addition to that, senior Garrison Brooks will be graduating, assuming he doesn’t take the opportunity to take this past season as a redshirt and return for a fifth season. Aside from the players, Roy Williams is now 70 years old, and has been a head coach since 1988, spending the past 18 seasons at UNC, which is undeniably taxing. Despite whisperings of his retirement, there seems to be no credence to those rumors. The team also caught a big break when freshman point guard and former five star recruit Caleb Love announced he would be returning for a second season. As of now, UNC is in no position to return to their championship-contender status next season, but like the blue blood program they are, they could always land the next great recruit, which has happened for the Tar Heels time and time again. Unlike the other two teams mentioned, Chapel Hill is one of the most successful college sports teams of all time, and they have done six times what most teams will never accomplish. So even though Carolina has had two uncharacteristically mediocre seasons in a row, Carolina fans should not fret. ● The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
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By Thomas Gessner
In 2002, in a shocking upset, the Chris Webber-led Sacramento Kings defeated Kobe and Shaq’s Los Angeles Lakers dynasty to move forward to the NBA finals and capture an NBA title as a small market… wait, that didn’t happen, did it? If there is one person to name for why the well balanced Kings did not win the series against the tumultuous Lakers, it wouldn’t be a player, but by a scumbag: disgraced referee Tim Donaghy, who was revealed to have illegally placed bets on the those games and intentionally made calls to affect the outcome.
Because of Donaghy, there is a constant nagging fear that his illegal actions persisted into the modern league, and because of that, there will always be a belief that the NBA is rigged. Donaghy is not the only example of mistrust of the NBA. Many people claim that the 1985 draft was set up to guarantee the Knicks the first overall pick, and there’s evena whole podcast dedicated to the Donaghy scandal and a comprehensive history of alleged NBA rigging. At least we have the MLB, a league known for its good and honest stars like Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. Okay, I’ll stop, but even without bringing up the rampant cheating and PED use in baseball, the league’s salary caps — the subject of the 2011 film Moneyball — is comparable to a rigged system, where the richest teams get the most advantages. Just last year the Tampa Bay Rays made headlines by reaching the World Series on a payroll of just 68 million dollars, but they ultimately lost to a Dodgers team that paid almost 108 million for their collection of superstars, which is unfair to an extreme level. The salary cap issue is present in just about every major sport too, with teams in larger markets like New York and Los Angeles having much more money to spend than teams in cities like Charlotte or the godforsaken Detroit. In addition to that, there is an undeniable vested interest in teams that generate the most TV revenue, with former NBA commissioner David Stern once stating that his dream finals match-up would be “Lakers versus Lakers”. It’s hard to care about a sport when it feels like the outcome is predetermined, and maybe that sentiment is partly why there has been a continuous decline in interest in sports over the past few years. The problem though, is that people who have vested interests in national sports are billionaires that like making obscene amounts of money, and the best way to do that is to have the teams that print greenbacks succeed. And yeah, there are other sports not affected by the problems associated with big-money sports franchises, but I will not settle for watching a sport like tennis, because it is painfully boring and nothing will change my mind about that. Regardless, this begs the question: is there a sport that is both completely fair and incredibly entertaining to watch on television? Well, the answer is yes. This sport is one that brings together physical, mental, and social elements to foster some of the greatest competitors of all time, and if you’ve spent any time around me in the past few months, you will already know that I’m talking about Survivor. For those who have never seen the show, here's the gist: 16 to 20 people from all walks of life are split into “tribes” and dropped off in a remote location where they have to make shelter, find food... i.e., survive. Every few days, those tribes compete in “immunity challenges” where the losing tribe must attend “tribal council”, essentially a big group therapy session, and vote one of their own out of the game. Midway through the season, those tribes merge into one and the remaining contestants compete for individual immunity and vote each other out until there are three people remaining. Those three advance to a final tribal council, where the "Sole Survivor", and winner of one million dollars, is chosen by a jury of contestants that have already been voted out. Now, I must address the unfair and unjust criticisms that Survivor is faked. I’m not going to waste a lot of energy discussing just how hard it would be to script a show like this, and how a lot of the editing and camera work allows for the series to display a clear narrative arc without compromising the legitimacy of the game. Instead, I am going to discuss the three aspects of Survivor and how they work together to reach a higher plane of sports entertainment: Outwit (Strategic), Outplay (Physical), and Outlast (Social). They are not weighted equally, but each one finds a way to make the game engaging on multiple levels. Outplay Outplay is the most simple of the three points, and it is the ability to succeed at the diverse array of challenges that Survivor has, varying from pure physical strength, brainteasers, balance, endurance, or in some cases, a combination of all four. Early on in the game when there are still multiple tribes, the challenges involve teamwork and communication, then later in the season they focus on just the individual. What makes these challenges so interesting is that there are a variety of skills that people must possess to propel them forward; giant, strong meatheads might suck at puzzles and balance challenges while a small yoga instructor could last for hours balancing on a small structure out in the middle of the ocean. There’s not much more to say about the Outplay category, so I’m just going to list two of the best challenges, both team and individual, ever seen on the show. Battle Dig: This is easily my favorite Survivor challenge, and it is quite simple: two members from each tribe race to a designated spot on a beach, where they dig for a heavy bag in the sand. The first team to get that bag back to their mat wins. What makes this challenge so much fun is its physicality; the contestants can do everything short of striking and choking to stop their opponents. Watching people fight in the sand is undeniably awesome, and it also allows for negative feelings between the tribes to ferment into something tangible. When It Rains, It Pours: This is an oft-used individual challenge, and its success lies in its simplicity. The contestants stand under a barrel filled with water, with one of their arms attached to a rope connected to the barrel. The contestants must keep their arms held up in the air to prevent the barrel from being pulled down and pouring water on them. This challenge can go on for hours, and Jeff Probst, the host of the show, only makes things more difficult for the participants by offering food to contestants if they step down. Outwit The strategic aspect of Survivor has many levels to it, and in my opinion it’s the most crucial to winning it all. Strategy in Survivor is constant in all aspects of the game, but the nucleus for Outwit is tribal council. In most of the major sports, whatever team or player scores the most points wins the game, but in Survivor, being terrible at the challenges doesn’t matter as long as you can prevent yourself from being voted out by your tribe mates. It makes sense to first vote out the weakest players who contribute the least to the tribe, and then later to get rid of the players that are the biggest threats to win the game, but this doesn’t always happen, typically because of voting alliances. Having a numbers advantage for voting is quite important, because alliances will form among the players and they will vote as a group to get out players from the opposing alliance. When creating an alliance, strategy-minded players will often surround themselves with people that are not perceived as threats to get jury votes, giving them a better chance of becoming the Sole Survivor. People who watch the show for long enough will know that often there is a pretty defined pecking order in these alliances, and contestants who are on the bottom of their alliance often know when they are in danger of being voted out. Not all hope is lost for these players though, because there are multiple strategic moves that can be made to keep oneself in the game. One of these famous strategic plays is the blindside, which occurs when a player is voted out thinking that they were safe, often being betrayed by their own alliance. Blindsides not only make for excellent TV because of how stressful and exciting they are, they’re also a great strategy for people on the bottom of their alliances, hoping to make a big move to turn the tide of the game. If a player on the bottom is not able to flip the votes in their favor, there is another option in the strategic use of “hidden immunity idols”, small tokens hidden throughout the game that allow the player to be saved from the vote. The catch is, a player must declare that they are playing an idol before the votes are announced. If an idol is played, the person with the next most votes is voted out of the game. What makes idols so powerful — and dangerous — is that they are placed near the tribes on the island, and can be found through clues that are given to contestants for various reasons. The danger comes from the fact that players usually don’t know when another player has found an idol. Knowledge is power, and like before with the discussion of blindsides, idols create opportunity to cause absolute, unbridled chaos. Outlast Viewers of Survivor often have a very limited comprehension of Outlast, and that is completely reasonable, because it is the most abstract gameplay element in the show. Ironically, it also has the greatest influence on the final outcome of Survivor. The social game is comparable to what is referred to in other sports as “intangibles”, moves that don’t show up in a box score but have a great influence on the final outcome. Being likeable, making funny jokes, and being perceived as a good story are all part of the social game. It is very hard to win the game if you are not liked, and it is impossible to win the game if the jury does not think you are deserving of the victory. Both these aspects fall under Outlast, and it takes a lot of work to be likeable and show that you are deserving of one million dollars, something that fans of the show often overlook. One of the most famous players in the history of Survivor is Russell Hantz, a fan favorite that became popular for his incredible strategic plays and villainous style of play, was known to constantly lie and berate his fellow contestants, even bringing some to tears. He made it to the final tribal council twice, but never came close to winning the game because the jury simply hated him. Many fans think he was robbed of a million dollars, but that is an incomplete view of the game. Most Sole Survivors had to lie and blindside at some point to win the game, but there reaches a certain point when the Jury decides that they simply cannot vote for you. Unlike the sports I mentioned at the top of this post, Survivor always has a fair winner, and the best player always wins their season, because to make it to the end and get the most votes at final tribal council definitively makes you a winner; it is not about which player was the greater physical threat or who had the best strategic mind, the game hinges on who the jury thinks should win, and their opinions are going to differ from someone watching the show. Some jury votes might be illogical, or downright stupid, but it does not matter because that's the whole point of Survivor. And that’s why it’s the best sport to watch on television, because the human interactions in other popular sports do not translate to victory on the level they do in Survivor, and that human element makes the show so unpredictable, so exciting, and so original. ● The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
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By Thomas Gessner
After a nearly two year hiatus, March Madness is back.
Among North Carolina's Division I basketball programs, five men's teams and six women's teams will be participating in national postseason tournaments. Here is the full list of all the teams looking for a shot at gold this March: Men’s NCAA Tournament Bids UNC Chapel Hill, No. 8 seed After a strong showing in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, the Tar Heels earned an at-large bid and will be facing the No. 9 seed Wisconsin Badgers on Friday, March 19, at 7:10 p.m. The winner of that matchup that will face No. 1 seed Baylor in what seems like an unlucky draw for UNC. UNC Greensboro, No. 13 seed Coming off a close SoCon Tournament victory, the Spartans will be facing the ACC Tournament runner-ups, the No. 4 seed Florida State Seminoles, on Saturday, March 20, 12:45 p.m. This has compelling upset potential as a 4-13 matchup, but UNCG fans should look out for what could very well be the last college game of standout senior guard Isaiah Miller’s college career. Appalachian State, No. 16 seed After winning the Sun Belt Tournament as a dark horse team, the Mountaineers are gunning for a shot against what might be the best Gonzaga team ever. Standing in their way is a play-in game with fellow No. 16 seed Norfolk State, which will take place Thursday, March 18, at 8:40 p.m. Women’s NCAA Tournament Bids North Carolina State, No. 1 seed & NC A&T, No. 16 seed After a great season ending in the ACC Tournament title, the Wolfpack will be facing another North Carolina college, the No. 16 seed A&T Aggies, who won the MEAC Tournament. The inter-state game will be played on Sunday, March 21, at 4:00 p.m. Wake Forest, No. 9 seed Wake Forest will be facing the No. 8 seed Oklahoma State University, with both teams just doing enough to earn at-large bids. OSU had a much better record in a much weaker conference, and on Sunday, March 21 at 1:00 p.m., there will be a clear idea of what matters more. UNC Chapel Hill, No. 10 seed Right behind the team they lost to in the first round of the ACC tournament, the Tar Heels will be facing No. 7 seed Alabama out of the very competitive SEC conference. The Tar Heels just made it into the tournament as one of the “last four in” and they will have a chance to prove themselves on Monday, March 22, at 12:00 p.m. High Point, No. 16 seed After earning an automatic bid as the winners of the Big South Tournament, High Point will be going up against the greatest program in collegiate women’s sports, that of course being the UConn Huskies, who had yet another spectacular season. The game will be live on Sunday, March 21, at 8:00 p.m. Men’s NIT Tournament Bids Davidson, No. 2 seed & North Carolina State, No. 3 seed Unfortunately for Davidson, the strong first half of their season was not enough to earn themselves a spot in March Madness, but they are in good position against the struggling Wolfpack, who likely lost a chance in the NCAA tournament after a terrible loss to the lower-seeded Syracuse Orange, making for another matchup of North Carolina which will be played on Thursday, March 17th, at 7:00 p.m. Women’s NIT Tournament Bids UNC Charlotte The Charlotte 49ers will be facing the Florida Gators in their WNIT matchup on Friday, March 19, 5:00 p.m. in Charlotte. ● The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
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By Thomas Gessner
With teams finally playing in their respective conference tournaments, the regular season has come to an end as March Madness begins. Some teams will rise to the occasion and others will see their seasons fizzle out as they fight to earn limited spots in the big dance.
Punched Their Ticket UNC Greensboro (SoCon Tournament Champions) On Monday, UNCG pulled off the rare sweep in three meetings against a hungry Mercer team to win the SoCon tournament and cement a spot in the NCAA tournament. The Spartans will not be a particularly high seed, but the squad led by senior guard Isaiah Miller -- a two-time SoCon Player of the Year -- certainly has upset potential and should not be underrated. Appalachian State (Sun Belt Tournament Champions) Seemingly out of nowhere, the 4-seed Appalachian State took home the Sun Belt Championship on Monday, beating top-seeded Georgia State. With that victory, the Mountaineers secured a bid to participate in the NCAA tournament, their first appearance in over twenty years. The team was not expected to make it this far, and while they will surely be a very low seed, they’ve already proved that anything can happen. Still In The Hunt UNC Chapel Hill (6th Seed, ACC Tournament) The Tar Heels won handily on Wednesday night against the lower seeded Notre Dame in the second round of the ACC tournament. While UNC finished the season strong and are in good position for a March Madness placement, every win in the ACC tournament helps, and now they look forward to a matchup against the three-seed Virginia Tech. North Carolina A&T (1st Seed, MEAC Tournament) North Carolina A&T holds a top-seed in the MEAC, with their first game on Friday against the winner of Norfolk State vs. NC Central. The Aggies have a solid chance to win it all and punch a ticket to March Madness, which would be their first appearance since 2013, an accomplishment on its own. North Carolina Central (3rd Seed, MEAC Tournament) NC Central is a three-seed in a weak MEAC, and they will get to play Norfolk State in the second round of the tournament on Thursday. If they win that game, they will have to face fellow North Carolina team NC A&T, who defeated the Eagles in both of their regular season matchups. Duke (10th Seed, ACC Tournament) Duke would need to win the ACC tournament to get into the NCAA tournament, and while that seemed highly unlikely, especially after the crushing loss to UNC to close the season, they’ve had very impressive victories against Boston College and Louisville. Their postseason run could run into a wall when the Blue Devils play the Florida State Seminoles on Thursday, however. East Carolina (11th Seed, AAC Tournament) On Thursday, East Carolina will be facing six-seed Central Florida, who they previously lost to by just four points. ECU no stranger to pulling off upsets, after defeating then-No. 5 Houston in February, but the Pirates aren’t playing for much other than being a spoiler team. Season’s All But Over North Carolina State (Second Round Exit, ACC Tournament) The Wolf Pack was utterly destroyed by Syracuse on Wednesday in an unexpectedly lopsided 31-point defeat. This is a sad way for NC State’s season to end, but an ending nonetheless. Campbell (Big South Tournament Runner-Ups) Campbell was not able to take home gold in the Big South tournament, losing in the championship to Winthrop by 27 points. The Fighting Camels upset higher-seeded Radford to make the final round, and that is an impressive feat in itself considering their slower start to the season and the competitive conference. Wake Forest (First Round Exit, ACC Tournament) Wake Forest lost in one of the worst ways on Tuesday, falling to a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Notre Dame in the first round of the ACC tournament, marking a frustrating but poetic end to the Demon Deacons’ season. Gardner-Webb (Second Round Exit, Big South Tournament) Gardner-Webb’s season ended their season on Monday with a six-point loss to a superior Campbell team in what was an expected outcome, but it was still a close enough game to keep Bulldog fans excited up until the end. Western Carolina (First Round Exit, SoCon Tournament) Western Carolina and the Citadel decided not to play defense in their first round matchup last Friday, with WCU losing by 14 points in a 100-86 game. That lack of defensive effort, combined with the inability to outscore opponents, sums up the Catamount’s season. Davidson (Semi-Finalists, Atlantic 10 Tournament) Davidson’s season came to a close in the second round against the talented VCU Rams on Saturday, marking the end of the team’s up and down season. However, Wildcat senior Kellan Grady being named to the All-Conference First Team is something to be proud of. UNC Asheville (Second Round Exit, Big South Tournament) Asheville disappointed in the first round of the Big South tournament, losing to the lower seeded Longwood by 16 points, marking an end to an inconsistent season. UNC Wilmington (First Round Exit, CAA Tournament) Wilmington lost to William and Mary, another unimpressive team, in the first round of the CAA Tournament on Saturday. High Point (Second Round Exit, Big South Tournament) While High Point was able to make it to the second round of the Big South Tournament, they had to face a dominant Winthrop team that would eventually win it all and punch their tickets to the NCAA Tournament. Elon (CAA Tournament Runner-Ups) Elon almost pulled off a Cinderella moment in the CAA Tournament, winning three straight games as the eight-seed to make it all the way to the finals, where they fell to another unlikely team, the Drexel Dragons. It is a fun way to end the season for the Phoenix, after a dismal regular season lagged by COVID-19 cancellations. UNC Charlotte (5th Seed, CUSA Tournament) Charlotte lost by ten points to UTSA on Wednesday, bringing their disappointing season to an end after going just 9-16. ● The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
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By Thomas Gessner
Chapel Hill’s victory over Duke has shaken up the power rankings, but will it be enough for the Tar Heels to hold the #1 spot in our rankings, and will Duke remain in the top 5?
1. UNC Greensboro (14-6, 9-3 SoCon) UNCG did not let a tough loss against Furman on Tuesday keep the team down, winning the second game in the series, and as a result, staying atop of the North Carolina power rankings. With their hardest competition behind them, the Spartans should start to look towards the SoCon tournament, where this team’s legacy for the season will be determined with a shot at the NCAA Tournament on the line. 2. UNC Chapel Hill (12-6, 7-4 ACC) The Tar Heels are dealing with scandal after a leaked video of UNC players partying maskless caused Miami to pull out of their game which was scheduled for Monday. Luckily for Chapel Hill, off-court behavior has no effect on the power rankings, and a big win against the rival Blue Devils on Saturday keps Chapel Hill in contention as one of the best team in the state. At this point in the season, for UNC to take the #1 spot, it will take another win over Duke, and a victory over some of the better ACC teams, specifically Virginia and Virginia Tech. 3. Davidson (10-5, 6-2 Atlantic 10) Davidson has had another week of no games, with four postponed games in a row, but what was written last week will be maintained: a win over the talented VCU will give the team credibility heading into the A10 tournament. 4. Appalachian State (12-7, 6-4 Sun Belt) App State had two games postponed and two canceled this week, but still have a fair amount of games remaining in their season, before heading into the Sun Belt tournament, with a chance to create a splash before March Madness. 5. Duke (7-8, 5-6 ACC) Duke might have been handed the toughest and most personal loss of their season against the Tar Heels, and then proceeded to lose to a Notre Dame team at home, the originally nationally ranked squad has failed to meet expectations, but despite the disappointment, The Blue Devils are still one of the better North Carolina teams. With upcoming games against NC State, Wake Forest, and an anticipated rematch against the Tar Heels, Duke has a chance to get back into winning form. 6. North Carolina State (8-8, 4-7 ACC) Another loss to the Syracuse Orange and a victory against Boston College (the worst ACC team) will keep NC State from making much of an impact in these rankings. There are no easy games left for The Wolfpack this season, but anything could happen against inconsistent Duke, Pitt, and Notre Dame teams. 7. UNC Asheville (10-9, 9-5 Big South) Asheville keeps an identical record, and is yet another team to suffer from a lack of games due to postponements/cancellations. To prevent anyone from forgetting, this is the team that cannot win two games in a row against the same team, and with three back-to-backs left, it is up to the Bulldogs to try to break that stigma with a notable upcoming series against Campbell. 8. Campbell (10-9, 6-6 Big South) Campbell is another team without any games this week, and continues the trend of COVID-affected teams without much to talk about. 9. East Carolina (8-8, 2-8 AAC) Following one of the biggest upsets of the season, East Carolina returns to planet Earth with losses to Memphis and SMU, not bad teams, but not nearly as impressive as Houston. The Pirate’s conference woes continue, and so does a tough schedule, with games against Wichita State, Temple, Tulsa, and a rematch with Houston. 10. UNC Charlotte (9-10, 5-6 CUSA) Charlotte struggled this past week, with three close losses against Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion, with the latter game going into overtime. These losses stain Charlotte’s previously positive record, and adds uncertainty for the team for the remainder of the season. 11. Wake Forest (6-8, 3-8 ACC) A win against a terrible Boston College team is not enough to cheer up Wake Forest fans, but Wake has been much more level the last few weeks, playing roughly .500 basketball. The rest of the Deacon’s schedule is undeniably tough, but expect some surprises from a Wake Forest team that has stayed competitive. 12. North Carolina A&T (8-9, 4-0 MEAC) The Aggies had no games in the last week, and the lack of games leaves a lack of words in a weekly power ranking, but look out for A&T in the MEAC tournament, especially if the team keeps that perfect record. 13. Western Carolina (9-11, 2-9 SoCon) Western Carolina’s tour of Southern military academies failed to increase their winning percentage, as the Catamounts lost to the Citadel, then proceeded to defeat a VMI team that defeated WCU by 26 points earlier in the season. The Catamounts have to close out the season on a tough schedule, with back-to-back UNCG games looking particularly challenging. 14. North Carolina Central (4-5, 2-2 MEAC) The Florida A&M Rattlers dismantled NC Central’s positive record and undefeated streak in the MEAC, and in doing so has added to the narrative that the Eagles cannot win away from home, with an 0-5 record outside of Durham. Will this persist when the Eagles face a winless South Carolina State team in Orangeburg on Saturday? 15. UNC Wilmington (7-8, 1-5 CAA) A lack of games this past week keeps Wilmington safe from any movement on their behalf, and the main hope for the team is that they will be able to play some more conference games, especially if the Seahawks can improve their record in the CAA. 16. High Point (7-10, 4-6 Big South) High Point traded wins with Hampton, the first game being a convincing 72-58 victory and the second being a close loss to a team that went hot while High Point went cold, shooting an abysmal 26.9% from three on 26 attempts. 17. Gardner-Webb (8-12, 7-8 Big South) Gardner-Webb attempted to regain some lost momentum after the two losses to High Point with two victories over Presbyterian, only to follow up with a loss to a lacking USC Upstate team with only four wins on the season. With Webb’s regular season drawing to a close, fans should look forward to the final games against Longwood, but do not expect any easy wins from the Bulldogs. 18. Elon (3-7, 0-6 CAA) Elon continues to be consistent, holding down the 18th spot on the power rankings with another loss to an underwhelming James Madison squad. The multiple postponements in Elon’s schedule has hurt the team, and is a factor that cannot be held against the team, but even the games they have had have been disappointing to say the least. Further Reading: See how this week's rankings differ from last week ● The Recommended Content Widget will appear here on the published site.
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8/26/2021
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