They came into Sunday's exhibition matchup at the Smith Center with confidence despite recent losses to N.C. State (by 23 points) and Maryland (18). The All-Stars must have had their Game Genies locked and loaded for UNC, which was missing the services of Jason Capel, who has a sore hamstring.
The All-Stars owned the Tar Heels, handing them a 107-76 drubbing. It was their worst loss in Smith Center history -- perhaps in more ways than one.
UNC loses an exhibition to a squad formed to help colleges tune up for the regular season? By 31? The Tar Heels?
"There's not much to say, really," said guard Brian Morrison in a monotone voice. "They just came out and gave it to us."
Morrison was the team's second-leading scorer with 11 and had eight assists and six rebounds.
Chianti Roberts, who averaged 8.8 points from 1993-'97 for Oklahoma State, re-entered the second half while Jackie Manuel was on the free-throw line. He took his spot on the block and picked back up right where he left off -- trading friendly verbal jabs with Kris Lang.
"I had to tell him what the score is," Roberts explained to an official. The score at that point was 76-63, but the Tar Heels were well aware of it.
"It was a humbling experience today," said Jonathan Holmes.
The All-Stars led 44-43 at the half. A Lang dunk gave UNC the lead after halftime, but nothing seemed to go right from there. Lang's hook carried the Capel-less Tar Heels. He finished with a game-high 34 points on 14-for-23 shooting.
