By Dan Wiederer with foreword by Bobby Frasor
BLUE STREAK NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE!
Dan Wiederer's "Blue Streak" is an insightful and revealing look into the roller coaster ride that took the North Carolina Tar Heels all the way to the 2009 national championship. From the startling 2008 Final Four loss to Kansas that left the Heels crestfallen to the blowout defeat of Michigan State in the 2009 national title game, "Blue Streak" provides an insider's view of an unforgettable season.
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Relive the record-breaking performances, the exhilarating victories and the panic-causing losses. Learn more about what went on behind closed doors with never before told tales from players, coaches and media members who were there every step of the way. Learn inside scoop on the Xs and Os and the highs and lows of the Tar Heels' march to the title.
Plus, get the hilarious anecdotes of how the UNC players kept themselves entertained and united away from the basketball court. Wiederer's in-depth reporting and flair for storytelling provides unique accounts of the most significant moments from a national championship season.
NOW AVAILABLE!
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Inside the pages of “Blue Streak”...
- What really happened on the afternoon Tyler Hansbrough jumped off the balcony of a Chapel Hill fraternity house and into an above-ground pool.
- The red-hot blackjack streak of assistant coach Jerod Haase that set the stage for Carolina's ACC-Big Ten Challenge blowout of Michigan State.
- The video game failures that fueled Hansbrough on the night he broke Phil Ford's all-time North Carolina scoring record.
- The truth behind those Internet rumors of a Bobby Frasor-Erin Andrews rendezvous and the hilarious adventure the gossip ultimately inspired for Frasor and his roommates.
- Why Carolina's short stay at the ACC tournament in Atlanta had more behind-the-scenes significance than anyone ever knew.
- How one little NCAA tournament game (against LSU) and one big toe (Ty Lawson's) almost sent the Tar Heels into the history books as the biggest disappointment in college basketball history.
- How the dreary Detroit weather and the Tar Heels' modest hotel accommodations aided their focus at the Final Four.
- The celebrations that came in the hours and weeks after the national championship was secured.
Notable Quotables from “Blue Streak”
“No one knows what goes on in his head. If you were to look at things through Ty's eyes, I think the world would look like a cartoon.”
— Jonas Sahratian, UNC's strength and conditioning coach, on dealing with star point guard Ty Lawson
“You're walking to the locker room and you're looking at the faces of the students behind the basket. They've got their hands on their cheeks. Their eyes are wide in disbelief. They've got blue paint coming out of their eyes. Girls are crying. It is so entertaining in that moment. It's the polar opposite of the way they look at the start of the game when they're yelling at you and all excited. You walk onto the floor before the game smiling and laughing at them. You walk off the floor smiling and laughing at them.”
— Marcus Ginyard, a wing on the 2008-09 team, on the Tar Heels' enjoyment of winning at Cameron Indoor Stadium
“It's hard to explain. But it's like those guys always carried themselves with this swagger. They were cocky. The way they handled themselves didn't quite fit with how they played. Maybe if you're winning and successful, you can have that edge and act like you're something. But they were struggling to make the NIT. Every year before the season you'd hear them talking about how good they're going to be. And every year it's the same thing. They're not that good. They win a couple games early. And then they get into the ACC and they can't buy a win.”
— Bobby Frasor, a guard on the 2008-09 team, on why the Tar Heels reveled in beating N.C. State almost as much as they enjoyed beating chief rival Duke
“Even though it seemed like there wasn't much for us to play for, that kind of scenario never really made sense to Tyler. In his mind, there was always something to play for. There was something to play for because he was playing. Heck, you could have taken two reporters off press row and had Tyler play two-on-two with Gene Hansbrough (as his teammate) and Tyler still would have tried to kick everyone's ass.”
— Steve Kirschner, UNC's associate athletic director for communications, on Tyler Hansbrough's focus at the 2008 ACC tournament.
“Their mission the whole postseason was to go out and hit people right between the eyes and end the game within 5-7 minutes. Put them in shock. Put them in total shock. The other team, no matter what they did and no matter how much preparation they had done, they had no idea how fast Ty really was or how athletic Tyler Hansbrough really was or how many big 3s Wayne could hit or all the things Danny could do. They had no idea how deadly it was until they actually saw it. Michigan State may have thought, 'Well, we've seen this before and we're used to it.' No. They hadn't seen us in four months.”
— Joe Holladay, UNC assistant coach, discussing the Heels' NCAA tournament mindset
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