Carolina Blue in the NBA

Editor's note: This will be the final installment this season of Daniel Becton's search for meaning in the NBA playoffs, where he'd hoped to see some good come out of that thing that is professional sports, yearning for metaphysical ? oh, never mind. Let's just say he's wrapping up his NBA series as the pros wrap up theirs, but he'll return in August.

Well ? The Spurs are one game away from sweeping the NBA Finals, and the series has been just about as bad as the sports world feared it would be.

The league's marketing and tradition certainly didn't attract fans alone; viz, Game 1 of the Finals drew the lowest TV rating ever for an opening game in prime time, including a 19-percent drop from last year alone.

The sad thing is, this is the first Finals appearance for the most hyped player in all of basketball LeBron James.

James has been on the map of the national psyche since his junior year in high school. At 22, he has led a remarkably mediocre team all the way to the championship series and he dazzled everyone with his 48-point performance in the Eastern Conference Finals.

And the NBA still posted its worst prime-time rating ever.

It's not like these teams have given the fans any reason to tune in, either. Game 1: The Spurs took an ugly win, 85-76, as King James shot 4-for-16. Game 2: LeBron scored 25, but the Cavs were down 27 after three quarters and had to fight back ferociously to lose by 11.

Game 3: Back to Cleveland, and the Spurs emerged victorious in a matchup of offenses so bad ESPNs Michael Wilbon said they looked like "JV" teams. San Antonio missed 40 shots. The Cavs missed 50. Spurs win, 75-72.

Game 4 is tonight in Cleveland at 9 p.m. on ABC. If the Cavs hang on for another, Game 5 would be Sunday in the same place, same time, same channel, same bad ratings.

So maybe I jinxed things when I started this column off by talking about how I was excited about the NBA Playoffs for the first time since Jordan. The reality is that they've been as bad this year as any I can remember.

But I think Red Sox faithful have proven that to be a sports fan you?ve gotta be able to stay optimistic about the future, so here?s a list of 10 reasons not to let LeBrons disappointing debut get you down.

10. With trades and free agency, there is a world of possibility in the coming weeks.

Stars such as Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter could find new homes through the free-agent market or sign-and-trade deals, and the names of a handful of superstars (such as Kevin Garnett) are being flung around the rumor mill daily. With a little over two weeks left before the NBA draft, teams will also throw draft picks into the mix as they scramble to add (what ultimately probably won?t be) the key piece to the puzzle or to improve their draft position.

9. Mitch Kupchaks task ahead as the General Manager of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Holy cow. First he steps out of the shadow of one of the greatest managing minds in the game (Jerry West), then he keeps the younger of his two superstars (Kobe over Shaq) amidst all kinds of drama, then the franchise sticks by its superstar through court trial (over alleged rape). And Kobe then repays the loyalty by announcing he will demand a trade because Kupchak and the front office are "a mess," then the superstar backs up and says never mind, he doesn?t want to be traded, only later to decide he wants West back "with full authority" to run the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now, Kupchak, who may indeed get West back as an "advisor," has to choose what to do with the dominant-but-drama-sparkplug Kobe (whose trade value is obviously well below his talent), the incredibly disappointing Kwame Brown and the rest of an average team. His primary trade bait will be forward Lamar Odom (16 points and 10 boards per game) and talented youngster Andrew Bynum. Andrew Bynum could be a valuable piece of any rebuilding team, but the whole issue with Kobe Bryant is that he doesn?t want to wait for any rebuilding to happen. The former Tar Heel has his hands full to say the least.

Good luck, Mitch.

8. George Karl?s task ahead as Head Coach of the Denver Nuggets.

The 2007-2008 season could be the most important one of Karl?s career. From 1992 to 1998, he led the Seattle SuperSonics to six straight seasons with 55 wins or more. He has a wealth of experience and respect, but the Dean Smith pupil is yet to earn a championship. Could the ?08 Nuggets do it?

Karl inherited playmaking Allen Iverson in the middle of last season, and he had AI meshing with Carmelo Anthony and the other Nuggets by the playoffs to such an extent that they looked as solid against the Spurs as anyone, except the Suns. (See previous installments of "Carolina Blue Sky in the NBA" for more about Suns.) AI and ?Mello are an exciting, high-scoring combination, forward Nene has emerged as a solid contributor and Marcus Camby is an experienced force on the boards and on defense. The Nuggets also have former all-star Kenyon Martin, who was injured this season, although they have no first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Martin and Karl have clashed in the past, though, and AI hasn?t exactly been a friend to coaches in the past. Anthony, meanwhile, was suspended 15 games last season for sucker-punching a New York Knick.

Good luck, George.

7. With Butch Davis around ?

? we may be two years away from eliminating the annual "So, exactly when does basketball season start?" question from our September small talk.

And, if you think it?s too early to talk about September ?08, turn on your TV to a 24-hour news network and all you?ll see is Paris Hilton coverage and people speculating about a certain future Tuesday. Anything would be better.

So, excuse us if we're excited about the instant impact Davis and his staff have had on the North Carolina program. The Heels open the 2007 campaign Sept. 1 at home against James Madison.

6. Roy Williams and the basketball recruiting trail are hot.

With his legendary ?06 class taking up six scholarships, Roy Williams didn?t do any damage in the recruiting market last season, so Coach K got to pretend he was The Man again, for a while, and he went out and signed some more top-tier Caucasian talent. Roy lost a couple of five-star recruiting battles in the ?08 class, but got a commitment from solid point guard Larry Drew and could still grab a pair of top-ten players in Al-Farouq Aminu and Ed Davis. When all is finally said and done, it?ll be time to start looking at the next batch of high school juniors!

That?s the thing about recruiting ? there?s always another prospect to worry about. Great for fans, stinks for coaches.

Honestly, when you combine a charm-boy like Roy with the pretty little campus they?ve got in Chapel Hill and, you know, a little tradition (thank you, Mr. Smith and Mr. McGuire), you get freakish classes like Wright/Lawson/Ellington/Thompson/Stepheson/Graves.

As long as Roy is still throwing off his jacket, wonder crops of wunderkinden like that one could spring up any year.

5. Marvin Williams and the Atlanta Hawks.

After winning the ACC Rookie of the Year and helping North Carolina win the 2005 NCAA Championship, a young Williams posted 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game after being picked second in the NBA draft. He improved steadily last season as he upped his numbers to 13.1 and 5.3, averaging 10 more minutes per game as well. But, with Chris Paul and Deron Williams, who were selected third and fourth that year, already playing at an all-star level, there will be some pressure on Marvin to keep those numbers on the incline. The bad news is that the Hawks stink, and have stunk for some time now (they haven?t mustered a winning season this century).

What?s exciting, though, is that as Marvin Williams starts to peak so too could Atlanta. The team?s top five scorers (Joe Johnson, 25 ppg; Josh Smith, 16 ppg; Williams; Josh Childress, 13 ppg; and Zaza Pachulia, 12 ppg) are all 26 years old or younger, and the Hawks have the No. 3 and No. 11 picks in the draft. So the team could pick up some quality talent and be on the path to at least making the playoffs in the next couple of years.

4. Charlotte Bobcats: Raymond Felton, Sean May, Michael Jordan, Phil Ford, Buzz Peterson.

Are you serious? I didn?t even think it would be possible to get this many people this important to Carolina basketball history in one freakin? organization, but the Bobcats have done it. That quintet accounts for two National Players of the Year (and May could have easily been a third), four All-Americans and four national championships.

Part-owner MJ has pulled in Ford to be an assistant coach, and Peterson, his college roommate at Granville Towers, will take a front-office position. The Bobcats drafted Felton and May with the fifth and 12th picks in the ?05 draft, respectively, and Felton is already showing signs of developing into an all-star caliber point guard.

Charlotte has loads of young talent recruited mostly through recent drafts, and it has the most salary cap room in the league. They hired a new GM and head coach, have the No. 8 and No. 22 picks in the draft, and appear poised to sign a star this off-season.

I don?t want to get greedy, but Vince Carter could be available.

By the way, the team also retained assistant coach Jeff Capel, whose eldest son Jeff III hit the famous three-pointer in 2000 to send UNC-Duke into double-overtime ? you know, the one that?s always shown on TV so totally out of context that it looks like Duke won the game (Carolina took it 102-100) ? and whose other son Jason played for UNC from 1998-2002.

3. The NBA draft and the new era of Carolina alumni filling the NBA.

Dean Smith coached 25 first-round picks over his 36 great seasons. In the 90s alone he put NBA veterans like Rick Fox, George Lynch, Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison into the league. Obviously, there was a dry spell around the turn of the century, and now those former Tar Heels are starting to hit the last legs of their careers. But wrap your head around this: Marvin Williams, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, Sean May, David Noel, Brandan Wright, Reyshawn Terry.

That?s seven draftees in three years alone ? and assuming Wright doesn?t pull a Brady Quinn, that?s five lottery selections. Terry could even become the sixth first-rounder. Now think, another year or two and you can add Tyler Hansbrough, Lawson and Ellington into the mix ? you get the point. The numbers of incoming Tar Heels are going to be staggering over the next few seasons.

Ever since I checked a computer in Prague in June 2005 and screamed aloud as I saw Felton and May were both going to be in Charlotte, I?ve realized the draft is fun pretty much every year, and Tar Heel fans get to discover the next destination of Smith Center greats. This year?s draft ? June 28 in Madison Square Garden ? we?ll be monitoring Wright and Terry. Personally, I always hope UNC players will join teams with other former Heels. (Yes, I realize the more total teams there are who have Carolina representation, the more total teams I have to cheer for, so it?s a win-win). Wright could go as high as third, where Marvin would be waiting in Atlanta, and he could drop into McCants and Minnesota?s lap at No. 7 or to the Bobcats at No. 8. He probably will be gone by the end of the top six picks though, meaning it?s likely he?ll wind up in Memphis (No. 4), Boston (No. 5) or Milwaukee (No. 6).

Terry?s projected status has varied more, and he could go late in the first round or early in the second; therefore, it's hard to predict a location for the recent graduate. But it doesn?t really matter. Carolina fans remember how Terry looked as a scrawny rookie from Winston-Salem and will be thrilled to see the culmination of his progress lead to being drafted.

2. College baseball ? we?re all suddenly excited about it!

In the past two seasons, Mike Fox has truly awakened Tar Heel Nation to the game of baseball. Why? Well, obviously it?s because they win, but it?s also how they win.

Anybody who watched Chad Flack homer the Boshamer Boys into the College World Series in EACH of the past two seasons understands the amount of passion that?s wrapped up in Carolina baseball these days. Now Tar Heel fans will be treated with the chance to cheer on the squad on the game?s biggest collegiate stage.

After an agonizing loss in last year?s final, UNC will begin play in Omaha, Neb., this Friday. All the CWS games will be covered by the ESPN networks.

Fox put two first-round picks into the Major League Baseball draft last season, yet his team didn?t miss a beat in continuing its winning ways this year. The program will undergo a massive facility renovation this off-season which will soak time and money, but will also leave Chapel Hill with one of the finest ballparks in the nation.

How has Fox turned Carolina into an elite program? By bringing in breathtaking young talent like North Carolina native Dustin Ackley (who continues UNC?s run of five straight years with at least one freshman All-American) and scoring lots of other local prospects, tapping into the state?s fine youth baseball supply.

Few are more beloved than Josh Horton of Hillsborough, a recent second-round draft pick. I?m proud to say I stepped onto a basketball court against him several years ago ? me, a McDougle Mustang, and he a Stanford Charger. Who cares if it wasn?t in his main sport? Don?t you imagine all those guys who played baseball with Michael Jordan were pretty excited?

1. The 2007-2008 Tar Heels.

Carolina baseball could have gone No. 1 here, but since its happening now and this column was about looking ahead, I'll stick with basketball season as being tops on my eager anticipation list.

First, there?s the UNC women?s program, which will have to rebound from the loss of Ivory Latta and Camille Little ? two of the greatest to don the Carolina jersey ? if it hopes to maintain its recent dominance. Carolina has earned three straight ACC Tournament titles, three consecutive No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament and back-to-back Final Four appearances. Erlana Larkins will be back to lead the Tar Heel charge, and newcomer Italee Lucas should be a big help as well.

Unlike last season, though, in which both the mens and womens teams were capable of winning the national title, the mens side will enter this year with higher pressure and higher expectations. I get giddy just thinking about the possibilities. Hansbrough back to dominate. Lawson ready to play like Raymond. Ellington maturing into a starring role. Thompson emerging to fill Brandan Wright's shoes. Ginyard becoming a David Noel-caliber leader. Quentin, Frasor, Green, Stepheson, Graves, Copeland. This could be an absolutely phenomenal team.

And lets face it: when it comes to basketball, I could go the rest of my life without checking professional free agency and trade rumors, looking at draft possibilities or watching the NBA Playoffs. Its the college game we all love, and there's nothing I look forward to more.

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