"I guess everything is about your frame of reference. If you believe water is combustible, then the Atlantic Ocean is an endless inferno.

So, considering how much blind hate there is between fans of North Carolina and Duke, how surprised can I be that some of you mistook Larry Brown's comments on Gerald Henderson as Blue Devil-bashing.

Wednesday, before the Charlotte Bobcats' preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a reporter from Fayetteville asked Brown an innocuous question about Henderson.

Brown was typically blunt, saying that while Henderson has a huge opportunity this season, he has to play harder and more consistently if he expects abundant minutes.

Quoting Brown: "I tried to tell him you defend every play, you run on every break, you get every loose ball and long rebound. And chances are, you'll get to play a lot.''

In a classic case of inductive reasoning, some of you concluded that since Brown went to North Carolina and Henderson went to Duke, Brown must have it in for Henderson. This argument unravels on several levels:

1. Brown critiques everyone this way, particularly those he feels have unrealized potential. If I were a player, it wouldn't worry me to have Larry blister me. But I'd know I was as good as gone if he ignored me.

2. Brown has no beef with ex-Blue Devils. Remember Billy King? One of Mike Krzyzewski's best defensive players ever. Brown mentored King all the way up the ladder, hiring him as a Pacers assistant coach, then promoting him all the way to president of the 76ers. Now King runs the Nets' basketball operation.

3. Funny, I never heard anyone suggest Brown was Tar Heel-bashing when he said Sean May was so out of shape he only runs foul line to foul line.

This was Larry being Larry. It's fair to say Henderson has by far the most untapped potential on this team. It's also fair to say he's still figuring out how hard you have to work to excel at the NBA level.

Nobody thinks Henderson is lazy. But I think he's never before been in a situation where so many teammates were just as good an athlete as he is. It's always been easy for him to stand out, and that's no longer true.

Henderson was the 12th pick in the 2009 draft. That entitled him to roughly $4 million in guaranteed salary his first two NBA seasons. It did not entitle him to playing time, not on Larry Brown's watch.

Henderson had to beat out Stevie Graham, Flip Murray and Larry Hughes to play last season, and it didn't happen. His 359 total minutes were minuscule, compared to most healthy lottery picks."