2008 ncaa tournament bracket
2008 ncaa tournament schedule
NCAA tournament bracket
Here's what you probably know about North Carolina heading into its Final Four matchup with Kansas on Saturday night: You know about Tyler Hansbrough. "Psycho T" is the likely national player of the year and often cover boy on Sports Illustrated and other magazines.
You know about Ty Lawson. The Heels were without their floor leader for a decent stretch of the late season after he injured his ankle against FSU. UNC was very good without him but has been unstoppable with him back in the lineup.
You also know about Roy Williams, and how he left Kansas for the UNC job - and how some Jayhawk fans still can't forget.
What you may not know is the pivotal player for the Heels on Saturday night may well be sophomore guard Wayne Ellington.
When Hansbrough gets double-teamed, which he certainly will often, his first kick-out option is Ellington. If Ellington, a second-team All-ACC selection, gets hot shooting the ball, he can really fill it up quickly.
One of the best pure shooters in the country, he has a terrific mid-range jumper and an outstanding stroke. He has proven that he can knock down clutch shots.
"I just feel really confident; I always feel like the ball's going to go in," he said of scoring in the clutch. "And I don't really feel the pressure, I just shoot it like it's another shot."
Ellington has become a multidimensional threat, able to create shots for himself and sometimes his teammates.
He averages 16.6 points, shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 41.4 from the 3-point line. He has totaled 62 points in the four NCAA tournament games.
"He's come on like gang-busters," his father, Wayne Sr., says.
ESPN analyst and former UCLA coach Steve Lavin compares Ellington to Ray Allen, who starred at Connecticut in the mid-1990s.
"Ellington, in similar fashion to Ray Allen, can get the hot hand and beat you in so many ways, from distance, from the mid-range pull-up and quickness to get to the rim," Lavin says.Ellington is motivated by a loss. He had a great look at a potential game-winner that would have sent North Carolina to the Final Four a year ago. With just 4 seconds left in the East Regional final against Georgetown, Ellington was wide open on the right wing
at the Meadowlands. He did not hesitate. He shot with confidence.
"I stepped into it," Ellington said that day. "I thought it was going in like all my shots. It felt good."
It hit the back iron, and Georgetown dominated the overtime. Ellington shot 2-for-11.
So he dedicated himself like no other offseason.
After Ellington scored 24 points to lead North Carolina in the ACC final, Clemson's K.C. Rivers explained how difficult it is to guard him.
"If you are going to take the 3 away, he's still got the midrange," Rivers said. "If you take both away, he's still got the drive. It's kind of hard to pick what you're going to take away from him, because he just had it clicking on all aspects."
Ellington will be matched up against KU's Mario Chalmers, who is a terrific defensive player and could make life difficult for Ellington. Chalmers no doubt will have help from Brandon Rush as well.
And Williams says Ellington, 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, will also hold his own defensively against KU's deep group of scorers.
"As a defensive player now], he's getting pretty doggone good and he's going to get a lot better," Williams said. "And when I talked to him about that somebody [asked] if he could have done those things last year, he said, 'Oh no, not on the defensive end of the floor.' And it just jumps out at you. "
UNC is a 3-point betting favorite, with an over/under of 159, for Saturday's game on WagerWeb.com.
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