DETROIT — Before Saturday's game, coach Roy Williams showed North Carolina tape of an incredible, diving hustle play on a loose ball made by Villanova forward Dwayne Anderson against UCLA.
Williams told the Tar Heels that they needed to make those kind of plays to win in the Final Four. The unlikely source of some of those plays in an 83-69 NCAA semifinal defeat of Villanova on Saturday night was senior guard Bobby Frasor.
Frasor tied his career high with seven rebounds, chasing down several loose balls after missed North Carolina shots. Frasor is not the fastest player on the team after having knee surgery last season, but his work ethic was strong.
"Bobby Frasor has struggled all year long with his shot," Williams said. "Sophomore year he had a stress fracture. Junior year, had an ACL (tear). I think he showed some sense of urgency and effort on that. We talked about it last night a great deal about, we can't allow somebody to out-compete us on this stage."
Frasor, who played 19 minutes off the bench and didn't score, said he will do anything it takes to make an impact.
"If you see a shot and it is going to be long you have to track it down," he said. "I did that a couple times tonight."
Comments
Always one of my favorites
Sun, 04/05/2009 - 10:06 — richlifeAlways one of my favorites among the Carolina players! It's really too bad about all his injuries but he's shown what a truly great player and person he is in the way he's continued to forge ahead and contribute so much. Special cheers for Bobby Frasor.
When you're not the strongest, fastest, or quickest...
Sun, 04/05/2009 - 09:57 — UNC1998but you still make the play....that's heart. Frazor's got it. This is his last chance, and he seems to want to do whatever he can to help the team win. That's selfless and classy. This team has some characters, and some gutsy, team oriented players. That's a real pleasure to watch.
"X"
Sun, 04/05/2009 - 09:47 — ccven84The "X" factor in the game. That hustle when the Heels needed it most made the difference at least between a comfortable win and a nail-biter. No surprise, Frasor is the MAN. Great job, Bobby...
Frasor
Sun, 04/05/2009 - 07:12 — jimmyveritasWe've always known he's some kind of game going on. I mean he's also snagged a heckuva rebound in Erin Andrews!!!
frasor
Sun, 04/05/2009 - 04:39 — george32even before frasor's injuries he was not the fastest player on the squad. he is just a solid citizen student athlete-the kind the ncaa pushes in those commercials about how many go pro each year, but not in sports. he seems so knowledgeble about the game that coaching would seem a natural for him.
He certainly is the kind of athlete the NCAA pushes
Sun, 04/05/2009 - 09:53 — HeelsforeverMakes one wonder why they denied him another year playing in Chapel Hill.