Tar Heels' Record Just 'One Game Behind Schedule'

North Carolina head coach John Bunting remarked during last Wednesday's teleconference that his Tar Heels are only "one game behind schedule if you looked at the schedule to begin with."

This is a huge problem, and not just because the Heels are 1-3 when the coach expected them to be 2-2. The problem is that John Bunting expected his team to have at least two losses at this point in the season to begin with.

Athletic teams in any sport often adopt the personality of their coach. The Pittsburgh Steelers, for example, display the steel-jawed toughness of coach Bill Cowher, while "The Old Ball Coach" Steve Spurrier's teams play with a confident offensive swagger, determined to run up the score on anyone they face.

So, what message is John Bunting imparting to his team when he's already conceded at least two losses prior to the season? It probably resembles something like, "Play hard, but it's okay if we lose because we're supposed to."

No, coach, you are NOT supposed to lose! If you enter the game hoping to win instead of expecting to win, you're going to be very disappointed. As an old coach once told me, "It doesn't matter whether you think you can or you think you can't. Either way, you're probably going to be right."

In other words, John Bunting's remarks, whether a bad choice of words or an underlying lack of confidence in his team, impart a defeatist attitude among the UNC fan base and perhaps among his players as well.

If Bunting expected his team to have two losses at this point, then why even show up for those games? Instead, the Heels should travel to Miami this week, not hoping to pull off the upset, but expecting to beat up on a Miami team that's having a down year.

After all, nobody rises to low expectations.