M. Basketball: Green _¶ nds shooting stroke when it counts

MEMPHIS Tenn. — Tyler Hansbrough was mired in foul trouble and played just nine minutes in the first half.

Wayne Ellington North Carolina's tournament sharpshooter couldn't get to his shot to fall.

With points coming at a premium the Tar Heels got a first-half scoring boost from what a week ago might have seemed an unlikely source: senior forward Danny Green.

Green scored 14 points while others struggled and he finished with 18 on 6-of-9 shooting" earning him a spot on the All-South Region Team.

""It was huge" senior Bobby Frasor said of Green's play. Danny I've said it all year has kept us in games in the first half. And to have a big-time performance like that" we were winning the game because of him.""

The performance by Green came as a crescendo to what began building in UNC's Sweet 16 victory against Gonzaga on Friday.

In that game Green refound his stroke" hitting three 3-pointers.

If those buckets showed that Green could come back to form Sunday certainly proved he is again capable of being a leading man.

He hit his first shot (a 3-pointer) as UNC jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead. Green then hit two free throws and buried a short jumper to stay perfect from the floor.

The night was Green's" proven so by a transition 3-pointer that touched nearly every part of the rim before falling through the hoop.

""I was like" ‘Oh man" why did I take that shot?'"" Green said after the game"" still sporting his championship net necklace.

""I was like" ‘I hope it goes in' and when it went in I'm like ‘Ahh" I'm not coming out.'""

While Green was relieved the shot went down"" freshman Ed Davis reminded him that his judgment was off as the two ran back on defense.

""Ed was like" ‘Yo you're buggin'"'"" Green said. ""I'm like" ‘Yeah" I know I was buggin'.'""

But what separated this game from others where Green has excelled — besides the luck-aided 3 — was the ease in which he let the action come to him.

On two occasions" Green caught the ball behind the 3-point line and instead of shooting" he pump-faked to send a Sooner flying through the air and then drove for a mid-range jumper.

When Green is on — as seen in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight — UNC is a tough team to slow down.

""That's huge for us" Ellington said of Green. For him to be back on track and for us to have all our weapons and everything working" it's perfect timing.""

Despite all his success in Memphis" there was one blemish on his tournament resume.

With less than 10 seconds remaining and his team up 57-40 Green got the ball near the free throw line with an open lane staring him in the face.

So Green took off toward the rim hoping to put an emphatic exclamation point on UNC's romp against Oklahoma.

But Green's over-zealousness to slam home the dunk got the best of him. The ball bounced off the back of the rim and sailed to half court.

In the end though" that didn't matter much.

""Things were just going right for me" Green said.

I'm glad it was today because I've been struggling the last couple of games" and today we needed a lot of guys to step up.""

 

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.