The last time Carolina took a freshman-oriented team to Cameron Indoor Stadium for senior night, the Tar Heels shocked the Blue Devils and their fans.

That 2006 UNC team was playing the best basketball in the Atlantic Coast Conference when it won what would become the first of four consecutive victories in Durham.

Odds of that happening again on Saturday at 9 p.m., when this latest group of Tar Heel newcomers travel to Durham, are much less.

What we can say for this year's team is that it showed some promise Saturday in Winston-Salem during its 77-68 victory at Wake Forest. For the first time this year, really, even more than in the victory against Michigan State in December, this looked like the Carolina team everyone had come to expect under Roy Williams.

These kids ran, threw precise passes, rebounded and played better-than-solid defense throughout the afternoon.

All in all, it was the re-emergence of the Carolina team that had been missing in action throughout the ACC schedule.

"It should give us confidence, but we've had a lot of games in the other direction that beat us down quite a bit," Coach Williams said.

UNC played its final home game of the season on Tuesday, when Miami visited the Smith Center, and Tar Heels said good bye to fifth-year senior Marcus Ginyard and senior Deon Thompson. (See www.newsobserver.com for more about the game results.)

Both players have made significant contributions to the program during their careers. Unfortunately, Ginyard was unable to make anywhere near the kind of impact he would have liked this season because of continuing ankle and foot injuries. But, last Saturday, he looked like the Ginyard whom Carolina fans remembered fondly before all the injuries became a way of life for this young man from Virginia.

He grabbed 13 rebounds, passed three assists and did not commit one turnover against Wake Forest.

"I thought Marcus's work on the backboards and on the defensive end of the floor looked like the Marcus of old," Williams said. "He's been banged up so much for the last two years, we haven't seen that. But that was extremely important for us."

The agony of being continually hurt and unable to lead this team the way it needed has been evident on Ginyard's face throughout this season. He probably has missed his teammates and friends of past years as well.

But one way for him to salvage something of this season is to lead the Tar Heels to another surprising win in Durham on Saturday.

What happened in Winston-Salem was much more than just a win. It was proof that this team is capable of doing more, that these kids in whom Williams saw something special do have those qualities.

John Henson continues to improve each night out. He had five blocks, 12 points and seven rebounds against the Deacons. He also ruled the lane defensively for a period of time. But he did more than that. He showed a genuine skill with his interior passing that we have not seen until now.

Then there is guard Leslie McDonald, who has wasted away on the bench for much of the season as he tried to figure out how to perform at this level. What he showed against Wake Forest is the way to perform at this level is no different than the way of the Tar Heels who came before him: get his uniform dirty and hustle.

In one magical moment last Saturday, McDonald may have changed his career path. He hurled himself on the floor for a loose ball.

In most years, a Carolina player diving on the floor to get a ball is not an unusual sight, but this team has bent at the waist for loose balls.

UNC's lack of hustle is one of the reasons 2010 has been a nightmare.

So, when McDonald slid on his stomach across the floor at Lawrence Joel, it resonated even more than his timely three-point shots or his tough defense. It wasn't a game-changer, but it may have changed his game.

UNC needs for more kids to hit the floor for loose balls, to return Carolina to a hard-working group of kids who want to wear these uniforms.

The 100th anniversary of Carolina basketball has produced one of the most disappointing seasons in a century of play, but it does not have to end that way. Last weekend, these kids finally looked like UNC players again, and they can ensure next season starts now, by finishing the same way they did against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem -- playing fast, smart, under control and hard.

But, most of all, they did what Williams has been teaching them from the start of practice in October.

That is really what everyone saw against Wake Forest.

And that is the shortest way back to being one of the nation's elite teams.