ACC Tournament: Sunday Stuff, And Some Leftovers

Live from press row, and nearing the end of the four-day event, here are some court-side observations from the 2007 ACC Tournament in Tampa:

It's always difficult to calculate these things, but leading up to and during the championship game matchup between North Carolina and N.C. State, about two-thirds of the fans in attendance seemed to be rooting for the Tar Heels. A quick look around the arena showed about that much light-blue clothing in the stands. ...

The most dramatic on-court moment of the first half came when Wolfpack point guard Engin Atsur got into an unpleasant shouting match with teammate Courtney Fells. It occurred during a stoppage of play, when Atsur and Fells were the only two players back on State's side of midcourt. They were discussing a recent play on which UNC wing guard Wes Miller, a noted shooter, was left unattended in the corner for a wide-open 3-point attempt, which Miller converted.

Atsur walked over to Fells and told him he wasn't where he was supposed to be on the play. When Fells said something in return that Atsur didn't like, Atsur became animated and started yelling and gesturing at his teammate.

"Stop making excuses!" Atsur yelled at Fells. "Do something! Stop making excuses, or you're going to have to sit down!" ...

The most common prediction in the media room in the hours before the game? UNC -- by double digits. Halftime score: UNC 42, N.C. State 34. Final score: UNC 89, N.C. State 80.  ...

There is no consensus on such things, but most ACC coaches will tell you it's a good thing when they see officials Gary Maxwell, Bryan Kersey or Karl Hess working their games. That's the crew for the title game, and it was a bit of surprise, considering that none of the three worked a game on Saturday. In years past, officials typically earned promotions from day-to-day with strong performances the previous day. ...

Well before the opening tip, UNC assistant Steve Robinson made his way down to the NCSU bench, where he exchanged smiles, greetings and handshakes with head coach Sidney Lowe, assistants Larry Harris, Pete Strickland and Monte Towe, and other  Wolfpack personnel. The Pack coaches then made their way down to UNC's bench, where they greeted UNC coach Roy Williams, assistants Joe Holladay and C.B. McGrath, and other Carolina personnel. Even the team's trainers met near midcourt to exchange handshakes. The players, of course, do so only before the opening tip (starters only) and after the game. ...

The week’s festive atmosphere continued late Saturday night in the Channelside entertainment district in Tampa, which is very close to the St. Pete Times Forum, with a well-received performance from the North Carolina beach band Liquid Pleasure. The colors of all 12 ACC schools were represented among the thousands of people watching the show or making their way to the surrounding bars and restaurants, with extra-large doses of Carolina blue and Wolfpack red in the crowd.

Officials with the ACC and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, which has coordinated many local aspects of the 2007 ACC Tournament after winning its bid for the event in 2000, said Liquid Pleasure came highly recommended by many member schools. The band, which is well-known in the Mid-Atlantic, has opened for such acts as Whitney Houston, LL Cool J and Aretha Franklin. …

The event’s ACC Fanfest and Tournament Tailgate, an outdoor playground of sorts set up in one of the parking lots just outside the St. Pete Times Forum, has been another success story this week.

Open to the public (even those without tickets to the tournament), the Fanfest has been a popular place to hang out before, during, in between and after games. There is live entertainment, food, drinks, face painting, games and — in what is believed to be an ACC Tournament first — an absolutely enormous (five stories high!) big-screen TV showing all of the basketball games live.

The Fanfest is open again today, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Earlier in the week, it generally was open in the morning and into the early evening, but never past 7 p.m., even on those days when there were evening games. …

WATCHING WITH THE KRZYZEWSKI FAMILY (THURSDAY)

Sitting in front of Mike Krzyzewski’s family at the ACC Tournament is like taking the seat on an airplane that’s directly in front of a couple with a very young child. You’re not sure exactly what’s coming over the next couple of hours — good, bad or in between — but there’s a very strong chance that the experience will be memorable.

This year, the Krzyzewski family was seated in the first row of the stands, directly behind the Duke bench, perhaps 15 feet from the long row of players, coaches and other personnel. The only things between the family and the team were a single row of media seating (including my spot) and a narrow walkway on the floor of the St. Pete Times Forum.

In the family’s row this year were the coach’s wife, Mickie Krzyzewski, at least two of the couple’s daughters, and other family members. Duke player Gerald Henderson, sitting out the Blue Devils’ quarterfinal matchup with N.C. State because of a suspension, sat at the other end of the row. Among those in between was Duke associate athletic director Mike Cragg.

Just as Krzyzewski himself has softened his tone (with much less profanity and baiting of officials in recent years) on the sidelines over time, the Krzyzewski family has done so as well. The overwhelming majority of their comments at this year’s tournament were made in support of Duke’s players individually (e.g., “Good hustle, Greg!” or “Nice play, Josh!”) or collectively (e.g., “Defense!” or “Talk!” or “Help!”), even in a losing cause.

The funniest thing the Krzyzewski clan did was a direct response to repeated heckling of the Duke coach. Every single time a fan yelled “Sit down, Krzyzewski!!” at Coach K on the sidelines, the Krzyzewski family — in unison, and without hesitation — would stand up in defiance. It was a classic display.

Meanwhile, there were some real zingers directed at the officials (sometimes by name), including a few obvious references to archrival North Carolina and its star big man Tyler Hansbrough:

To Duke player David McClure, after he drew contact under the basket but didn’t get a foul call: “Check your nose, Dave. With these guys, you know you’re going to have to bleed a little bit to get a call!”

On a play where the officials walked over to the scorer’s table and asked to look at the court-side TV monitor: “No! Don’t look at the monitor! One of our guys will get thrown out somehow!”

After a hard foul called on an N.C. State player: “If that was one of our guys, he’d be suspended for the rest of the season and maybe next year, too.”

After a play on which Wolfpack big man Ben McCauley rotated on his pivot foot several times before converting a basket in the lane, drawing screams of “Walk!” from many other Duke fans in attendance: “Who do they think he is, Tyler Hansbrough?”

After a close call went against the Blue Devils: “See, it’s a Duke conspiracy, everybody. Duke gets all the calls.”

At a time when Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe was having an extended discussion with one of the officials during a timeout: “Hey, why are they allowed to have a little tea party over there? What about us over here?!”

Near the end of the State-Duke game, with the outcome obvious, a fan yelled at Coach K, “Hey, Mike, pull your starters,” yet another reference to the regular-season finale between Duke and UNC. One of the males (not Cragg or Henderson) in the Krzyzewski camp turned and responded to the heckler: “Shut up, (expletive deleted).” Mickie Krzyzewski then restored order by reminding everyone not to speak directly to other fans.