Ed Davis News

" Marcus Ginyard stole the ball near midcourt, drove to the basketball, then elevated over two Florida International defenders for an explosive dunk that brought the less-than-capacity crowd at the Smith Center to its feet.

North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams laughs with players Larry Dew II, left, Justin Watts, right, Tyler Zeller, back left, and Ed Davis, back right, during a portrait session at an NCAA college basketball media day in Chapel Hill, N.C., Thursday, Oct.

North Carolina's Deon Thompson grabs an offensive rebound between Florida International's J.C. Otero and Marlon Bright in second-half action on Monday, November 9, 2009, at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The defending national champion North Carolina Tar Heels open the 2009-10 campaign against the Florida International Golden Panthers and new head coach Isiah Thomas in a Coaches vs.

Is it Harrison Barnes or bust for the North Carolina Tar Heels? Speaking of busts, are there a couple at the top of the 2005 rankings? Is Indiana on the verge of landing some intriguing talent out of the 2010 class? National Recruiting Analyst Jerry Meyer answers these questions and more in this week's mailbag.

As the college basketball season officially kicks off today, I can't believe that there's one name going under the radar.

Published: Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. North Carolina may have to battle its struggling mid-major opponent for attention as the Tar Heels open their season as defending national champions.

Named the 18th head basketball coach at the University of North Carolina on April 14, 2003, Roy Williams begins his seventh season at North Carolina and 22nd overall as a head coach ... a year ago, the Tar Heels captured their second NCAA title in five years and fifth overall, defeating Michigan State 89-72 before 72,922 in Detroit's Ford Field ...

Orange County Story sdf Caption By AP, Associated Press , 2 hours, 29 minutes ago Updated: Nov.

PPG RPG APG Tyler Hansbrough 20.7 8.1 1.0 Ty Lawson 16.6 3.0 6.6 Wayne Ellington 15.8 4.9 2.6 Danny Green 13.1 4.7 2.7 Totals 66.2 20.7 12.9 Team averages 89.8 42.0 18.0 Key resources remaining PPG RPG APG Deon Thompson 10.6 5.7 0.7 Ed Davis 6.7 6.6 0.6 Marcus Ginyard* 6.9 4.5 2.2 Totals 24.2 16.8 3.5 Note : Averages for Ginyard, who was injured ...

BELMONT Rarely will Belmont Abbey College face longer odds in an athletic sporting event than Friday night when the Crusaders basketball team plays defending national champion North Carolina in a 7:30 p.m. exhibition game at the Dean Smith Center.

OUTLOOK: Thanks to North Carolina's dominance, the ACC added another national title to the trophy case in 2008-09. The Tar Heels ripped off 34 victories en route to the national championship, but weren't the only squad in-conference with banner seasons.

The ACC media poll named North Carolina and Duke co-favorites to win the league.

Aaron Torres is an accomplished journalist whose work has been published by Sports Illustrated and syndicated by USA Today online and AOL.com. To read all of his work, including this article in its entirety , please visit him at www.aarontorres-sports.com ) Now that the calendar has turned from October to November, you know what that means, right? ...

Coach: Roy Williams . Last season's record: 34-4 overall, 13-3 in ACC . Postseason: Won NCAA title by beating Michigan State in championship game.

Virginia Commonwealth junior forward Larry Sanders is one of 50 players named to the watch list for the Naismith Trophy.

University of North Carolina sophomore forward Ed Davis , who helped guide the Tar Heels to the 2009 NCAA championship and was one of the top sixth men in the nation last season, has earned one of 50 spots on the 2009-10 Naismith preseason watch list, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today.

High-scoring Roy Williams teams are often the best Roy Williams teams. Oct. 28, 2009 By Adam Lucas These days, offensive production can be measured in many different ways.

Let me start by telling you that, yes, I know John Henson is playing on the wing.

Media members at the ACC's Operation Basketball event on Sunday placed their votes for the conference's 2009-10 predicted order of finish and it was the first time in 41 years there's ever been a tie for the first place.