February 14, 2008 - In Praise of Q

If God isn’t a Tar Heel, then why did he give us Quentin Marguerite Thomas?! He’s recently been seen dicing d’s like a mohel on the eighth day, baby! The kid from O-town with a penchant for donning airbrushed self-portraiture has begun creating his own, fresh masterpiece over the past four games and I’m here to tell you that it’s a work of art.

In this his senior season, when we’ve needed him most, Q has come through. It’s reminiscent of past Heels who were considered works-in-progress or “never-lived-up-to-their-billing” disappointments in the eyes of (shit)Heel basketball fans, but who came through during their final seasons to stiffen the backbone and vastly improve the lot of their teams. Guys like Madden, Hunter, Phelps, Colescott, and Noel.

Who wouldn’t gush over Q’s heart and effort at this point? Or his poise and his handle? Bambi’s brother has cut down on the frantic episodes that had too often marred his play. Over the last four starts (FSU essentially a start for him) Q has an assist-to-turnover ratio that would make Chris Corchianni pissy with envy. He’s brushing against 2:1, which ain’t too shabby. But more than that, it’s his leadership that has made the biggest difference. Outside of Tyler Hansbrough, Q has been the biggest reason for these last two gutsy wins.

Hansbrough made it clear how he felt about Q’s onions after the Clemson comeback victory when he said: “I think there was a period where some people were down, but I think some guys picked some people up, especially Quentin. He came in there, and he really got after us, and I think he picked up the whole team.”

More gushing for Q from the hardest-working-Heel, “He said to us ‘We can't be playing like this,’ especially the way we did in the first half. And I think he lifted us all.”

Amen, uplifting indeed.

Posted on February 14, 2008