Quick stuff (AppState game)...

[gary-7]

...and this was all about resetting.

In the aftermath of Saturday's debacle, folks both in and around, and peripheral to the program have been yearning for a reset as to basic Carolina principles, and this was the first, best opportunity. Everything I watched for tonight was aimed at whether or not any of that occurred. Bottom line is, it did.

I beseech the reader to not get caught up in missed shots or fumbled away dribbles tonight. That falls under the rubric of execution. No no... tonight was about the effort to play Carolina Basketball. And if you build the effort, the execution will come. So lessee:

- Defense: Much better effort in Help, especially in rim-protection. We got caught overreacting to perimeter action a few times, but again, that's execution.

- Rebounding: I'm sure you noticed how many more whilte shirts were going to the boards tonight. So again, effort was there. I would've liked to see us snatch the ball more aggressively cleaning the glass, but we got there.

- Transition: (this was the single most encouraging thing i was watching) For those of you who know what to look for, you HAD to be pleased with the effort to get out and run, and especially the effort to hit our lanes and marks. I counted a dozen legit Secondaries before halftime (when we haven't been getting that in a typical game). Sure, we didn't convert at an optimum rate, but again folks, that's execution, which will come if we remain dedicated.

- Sharing the ball: Extra pass, anyone? I would venture to guess that we made more passes in the first 10 minutes tonight than we did all game Saturday. So yeah, we made the effort. Did we fritter some away? Yep. But again, that's execution.

- Rotation: Encouraging to see we played 9 guys before the first-half under-12, and guys were being held more accountable while they were in. As I told a friend earlier today, tight rotations (especially early) are counter-productive as they encourage a sense of entitlement for those who are part of it, and discourage those who are not. Props then to Hubert and staff for making that effort to adjust.

So... speaking of Hubert and staff, this was exactly what the doctor ordered following the Vegas debacle, i.e., a reset and recommitment to Carolina Basketball --- by both the coaches and players. And it was a game in which the execution can wait, provided the effort to do things right was there. I can gladly say that it was.

Some individual notes:
- You may have noticed that Garcia was slack more than once in hitting his lane in transition (compare that to what happened when Bacot "sprinted to the block" and got rewarded in the Secondary), and he lost some minutes as a result. #accountability
- Walton sat the first half, but to his credit, played harder than he has been and thus got rewarded with some more minutes. On that note, we can't totally forget him and/or ruin his confidence--- he just needs to give enough effort to not be a complete liability on defense so he can give us that spot-up shooting off the bench when we need it.
- Leaky... Man, I loved that he took it to the rack but Lordy, he needs to get extra gym-time with a manager or coach hitting him with a tackling dummy until he learns to finish drives. All those wasted HS years dicking around on the perimeter are still biting him.

And finally, did y'all notice how many guys were flat-out GASSED when they came off the floor? The bad news is that means they haven't been used to giving full run-the-floor effort. Good news? That means they were getting it on tonight. Let's make that a habit.... 👍

Anyway, this was a very positive step for not just the players, but for Hubert and staff as they get a handle on what needs to be done with this bunch to reinstall the Carolina culture we need to wear on our chests. Now... let's keep the foot on the gas there, shall we? Throw in some multiple defense and we may just be on the right track...

 

[gary-7]

Oh, and to make the evening even better:
Davidson beat bama and State sucked eggs.
(Tee-Hee)

 

[dtodd4475]

Solid, but not as good a performance as you may have seen on my end. Execution points I agree, you can deal with, but it was a much easier opponent to crash with on the boards, and follow the other points of emphasis. Fair enough, I agree, but after Tennesee I saw addressed areas as well, now when it gets tough to do with the strength of the opponent, do they revert? I agree points were made, I still gotta see them do it when things are going sideways for them in a game. Growth !!

 

[gary-7]

Solid, but not as good a performance as you may have seen on my end. Execution points I agree, you can deal with, but it was a much easier opponent to crash with on the boards, and follow the other points of emphasis. Fair enough, I agree, but after Tennesee I saw addressed areas as well, now when it gets tough to do with the strength of the opponent, do they revert? I agree points were made, I still gotta see them do it when things are going sideways for them in a game. Growth !!

As I stressed, it HAD to be about effort and commitment after the mess we've seen recently. If we stay that course, the rest will come.

And on that note, many of the fumbled away opportunities came from either "rust" in actually playing Carolina Basketball, or being gassed from actually playing Carolina Basketball for the first time this season.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Good write-up as always Gary.

1. Effort, Effort, Effort.
Now we get another week or so layoff, let's see how hungry we are in the next game.

2. Happy for Kerwin. His footwork on defense was the best this season by a longgggg shot IMO. He's not there yet but I saw a kid wanting to be on the floor. And you have to love the look on his face and the bench reaction when that 1st triple went in. Wow

3. RJ still played too many minutes but I think Caleb's foul trouble had something to do with that. At least I hope that's the reason because HD sat him a few times but had to put him right back in after that ridiculous 4th foul by Love.

4. I've been a Leaky advocate for 4 years but tonight was about as much as I can take of him not being able to finish open drives at the rim. It's pitiful to be brutally honest to see someone 6'8" and that soft.

5. Yes App St didn't shoot their best but we hounded them for a good 30 minutes tonight. As a matter of fact we defended them better than dook did.


My son made millions because he didn’t mind giving the ball to someone else. It’s great to score but scoring is easier when you have balance. You’re not hurting your scholarship opportunities by passing and not shooting every time you touch it.
----Dennis Marshall---

 

[gary-7]

1. Effort, Effort, Effort.
Now we get another week or so layoff, let's see how hungry we are in the next game.

2. Happy for Kerwin. His footwork on defense was the best this season by a longgggg shot IMO. He's not there yet but I saw a kid wanting to be on the floor. And you have to love the look on his face and the bench reaction when that 1st triple went in. Wow

Amen and amen.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Amen and amen.

Another big thing I saw tonight. Are we now "switching" all screens?
I worked most of this game but we both know it's a double-edged sword.

 

[gary-7]

Another big thing I saw tonight. Are we now "switching" all screens?
I worked most of this game but we both know it's a double-edged sword.

Yeah, we did a lot of that, and there were some mixups for sure. I'm still praying we work on being multiple during the break. 20 with this roster is only gonna carry us so far, no matter how you tweak it.

 

[TarHeelFanWV]

Even though our defense has gotten better against the cupcake teams, our scoring has went down. At the start of the season we were scoring in the 80s-90s, now we are averaging in the 70s. That is not the Carolina basketball I am used to. We need to crank up the offense.

 

[gary-7]

Even though our defense has gotten better against the cupcake teams, our scoring has went down. At the start of the season we were scoring in the 80s-90s, now we are averaging in the 70s. That is not the Carolina basketball I am used to. We need to crank up the offense.

If you build the effort, the execution will come. The points were there for the taking. The next step is cashing in.

 

[NorCalTarheel]

I'm having a hard time getting excited about "effort" when it comes versus teams we should be blowing out of the gym. It appears that when we play better competition, and subsequently get punched in the mouth, our "effort" disappates.

We appear to have talent but certainly don't play well together yet. There were some bright spots on that front, such as Love feeding Bacot, who drew the double and kicked out to RJ for a triple. That felt like good, unselfish UNC basketball.

It appears to me that we lack toughness. Soft finishes, soft in the paint, soft D.... just soft.

Glad to see the bench elongated, even if it was later than it could have been.

A W is a W but not the firery response to an embarrassing outing I was hoping for.

 

[gary-7]

I'm having a hard time getting excited about "effort" when it comes versus teams we should be blowing out of the gym. It appears that when we play better competition, and subsequently get punched in the mouth, our "effort" disappates.

We appear to have talent but certainly don't play well together yet. There were some bright spots on that front, such as Love feeding Bacot, who drew the double and kicked out to RJ for a triple. That felt like good, unselfish UNC basketball.

It appears to me that we lack toughness. Soft finishes, soft in the paint, soft D.... just soft.

Glad to see the bench elongated, even if it was later than it could have been.

A W is a W but not to firery response to an embarrassing outing I was hoping for.

That is the point. Effort should be there no matter our opponent. If so, that's when you play up to better competition.

 

[TarHeelFanWV]

Turnovers are still an issue big time. Also, we are just not an aggressive team on either side of the ball.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Well dang, I completely forgot about the game.

Apparently I didn't miss much. From the stats, Armando had a very nice game, while RJ and Brady were decent. A little life from Kerwin.

I hope some of the improvements Gary mentions will build going forward, and we didn't use all the gas in the tank against yet another creampuff.

 

[gary-7]

Well dang, I completely forgot about the game.

Apparently I didn't miss much. From the stats, Armando had a very nice game, while RJ and Brady were decent. A little life from Kerwin.

I hope some of the improvements Gary mentions will build going forward, and we didn't use all the gas in the tank against yet another creampuff.

😏 Ok, i give up. Just trying to offer a little insight into the Carolina building-blocks that were present tonight, and the fact that --- other than not losing --- box scores seldom tell the whole story.
Good night all.

 

[imajericho]

😏 Ok, i give up. Just trying to offer a little insight into the Carolina building-blocks that were present tonight, and the fact that --- other than not losing --- box scores seldom tell the whole story.
Good night all.

He wasn't criticizing you at all in his post.

 

[CarolinaMagic]

If you build the effort, the execution will come. The points were there for the taking. The next step is cashing in.

You're never going to be a fully capable offense with Leaky Black playing 30+ minutes at the wing position. It's 4 on 5 at the offensive end of the floor and it's quite obvious. This team isn't good enough to have a Jackie Manuel starting even though Manuel could actually finish at the rim.

 

[Tarheel75]

Once again, thanks Gary for your synopsis of the game. Some good points in that.

We won, and that's always good. I was there and I want to add just a few tid-bits.
In retrospect, in was not overall the impressive win as my group would have liked to have seen.

Gary's great review notwithstanding, we left, by our count (Me & the guys I sit with), 17 potential baskets on the table. By that statement, what I mean is, we missed a boatload of shots at the rim, and had 3 TO's at the basket. We had 15 total TO's and Caleb & Brady had 10 of those. While you never shoot 100% overall, if we hit just 40- 50% of those I mention, that equates to 14-16 or so extra points and the result would have been the skull dragging that I was looking for. We could have and probably should have won by 30 or more points.

Did we look better? Yes, we did. I agree with Gary's upbeat review. Now, having said that, I want to mention that we have an issue that's going to plague us for the rest of this year, and it cannot be rectified this year. It can only be rectified through future recruitments, and Hubert is working on that as we are seeing with the future recruits coming in.

The issue is not that we aren't athletic, the issue is quickness to go with the athleticism. Our frontcourt and wing players do not possess the quickness needed to recover off screens nor to fill lanes to stop drives to the basket. Our guards who do have the quickness are not using their quickness ability to reroute opposing guards away from the lanes and baskets. By not getting in the optimum positions to turn drivers away from the basket allows them a wide-open lane to score in.

If Hubert would employ and mix in some different defenses, that can and most likely would help alleviate some of this, but not all. When I was playing and we were playing a team that was superior in quickness, DES would change up defenses to confuse the oppositions offensive flow and it worked most of the time..., but not always, as sometimes the other team is just that much superior, and you do the best you can as directed and live with the results.

While the team has deficiencies, it also has talent enough to win most games if we quit self-destructing at times. I suspect and predict that the road through this season will continue to be a bit bumpy.

 

[midline]

It was a win. That is good. But it should have been as it came against an App St that can't compete talent wise against an upper level team. But it doesn't change the fact that this year's team, to this point, is just hard to watch. There are defensive issues that an App St can't really expose. But the offense goes through long stretched where nothing flows. Very little movement off the ball, and turns into a lot of one on one at times. With the new guys coming through the portal, etc., maybe this will all work out over time and they will hit their stride for conference play. But they are running out of time. At least one good thing is that the ACC seems to be way down this year. Not sure what is going on at Virginia. State has their issues. Duke seems to be the only true power team in the conference. But if this team can turn the corner, it needs to happen soon.

 

[Tarheelsman71]

Bottom line is, it did.

NO IT DIDNT. APP Freaking state scored their first 7 points on two layups on blow by's and yep you guess it ... a wide open 3. Lack of leadership on the floor and a killer mentality. Still dont have a rim protector. With the talent on our team, you would think that APP St had three 5*'s on their team. That game shouldnt have been close and while the score at the end says we crushed them... DOOK crushed app st. We will get a bid in the tourney this year, but we may not. The level of opponent is going to be higher and we just dont have the right attitude. We have shooters and scorers, but you have to step on the throat of your opponents and get stops on defense. App st missed about 5 layups on blow by's too. Like Leaky's blow by miss. We better find some heart and moxy or this 3 season run of mediocre-ness is just gonna continue.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

😏 Ok, i give up. Just trying to offer a little insight into the Carolina building-blocks that were present tonight, and the fact that --- other than not losing --- box scores seldom tell the whole story.
Good night all.

Now that I can watch it, I'll look for your pointers.

 

[King Coach]

As Gary pointed out there were some good things to take from tonight. Number one for me was the ball movement. Bacot had 4 assists. So the ball went in and actually came back out for buckets. The effort was better for sure. And the bench got some burn. Any was full of energy as usual.

Contrary to HD’s comment about not reading social media posts……somebody got in those ears.

One disappointment was Leaky…..dude got to finish around the basket…especially at his height. .

 

[gary-7]

Now that I can watch it, I'll look for your pointers.

No worries, bro. Just tryin' to help folks see some light at the end of the tunnel...
that is, as long as we keep building on to the building blocks.

 

[DrJaaay]

Conference season is upon us. We're about to find out where we stand with respect to the everyone else. I really hope we show dramatic improvement by the time we get to the halfway point of the conference season. Gary's optimistic post gives me hope. Go Heels !!!

 

[gary-7]

Conference season is upon us. We're about to find out where we stand with respect to the everyone else. I really hope we show dramatic improvement by the time we get to the halfway point of the conference season. Gary's optimistic post gives me hope. Go Heels !!!

All that is contingent on the gist of the optimistic part continuing and being built upon. What I was looking for was a commitment from the staff to reinstill Carolina principles, and from the players to display those on the floor. Spotty execution aside, that was what I saw.

Now... will everyone involved carry that commitment over into the coming weeks? That is the absolutely essential question that will determine the fate of this team.

 

[39 Feet Above Sea Level]

Gary, regarding our team's commitment to Carolina hoops as it should be played: what caused our shift
away from those principles and when did it occur?

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

No worries, bro. Just tryin' to help folks see some light at the end of the tunnel...
that is, as long as we keep building on to the building blocks.

Right off the bat, I noticed better Help on D, as you mentioned.

It hit me first as I watched RJ. Not only was he quick to pick up guys who had slipped their UNC defender, but it looks like he may finally have learned to trust his teammates to pick up his guy when he gets beat.

It used to be very frustrating to watch RJ futilely chase his man with no chance of catching him.

I'm sure RJ and the others haven't completely fixed these problems, but it's nice to see the improvements.

 

[gary-7]

Gary, regarding our team's commitment to Carolina hoops as it should be played: what caused our shift
away from those principles and when did it occur?

Geez, gotta love these easy questions...

Just messing with ya. I actually addressed some specifics in another thread this week, but without copping a plea to avoid internal rabbit-holes, I can honestly say it becomes a bigger challenge every year and with every incoming class (for whomever is our coach) largely because of the AAU/recruiting culture.

Granted, these issues ain't new --- Dean had to deal with them (and hated it) --- but they've just been exacerbated over time, what with the ubiquity of social media, national media coverage of HS sports, the OAD "me" culture, even more shady $$ floating around AAU, and don't even get me started on NIL.

In other words, the culture in which D1-level kids come up is (with a few exceptions) antithetical to Carolina basketball principles.

Synopsizing what I've previously offered about issues closer to home, I think it's fair to say that Roy's feeling of being "beaten down" by all this was a big factor in his retirement decision, and I've also been candid in saying that over the last few seasons he found himself becoming less stringent in enforcing the mantras and general ethos on the court that he came up the coaching ranks with.

To that perspective, Roy's coach's-dream class of Berry/Pinson/Jackson represented sort of a "last-hurrah" of finding high-D1 kids who "got it", as to Carolina principles --- and a few guys like Luke and Kenny being the final holdovers of that mindset after JB and Theo left.

So yes, the culture suffered some over the last 2-3 years. To be sure, a 2005 Roy Williams would've kicked some butts into shape, but the Roy of 2019-21 was understandably weary of having to fight those battles to have to get to the actual coaching of basketball that he loved.

Anf BTW, Roy annointed Hubert because he knew he could relate to the kids, while upholding the values he learned from Dean and Roy. Hubert's first and biggest challenge will be resetting and reinstiilling those as we move into his era. I know that's the first thing I'll be looking for signs of in each game.

 

[39 Feet Above Sea Level]

Hey Gary, thanks for the time you take and the detailed analysis you
give to this board on an abundance of topics. Your coaching background provides you
with the scaffolding to develop opinions based on educated observations about our
team. Us Tar Heels are an emotional, sometimes high-strung bunch; please keep up
your efforts to inform us about our guys. Most peeps on here really appreciate it.
You, Lucas, and 75 are the Tar Heel sportswriters l read most. Let's see if Hubert/staff can strengthen the
frameworkof Carolina hoops and see what can become of 21/22.

 

[DSouthr]

I counted 4 misses at the rim by Leaky, he usually finishes better than that in that close so I am not going to bang him for what I consider top be a bad night from him on the offensive end. My point is we missed a lot of GREAT shot attempts, if you are getting those kind of looks you are going to make a lot of them as opposed to some of the more poor looks we got and took earlier season.

The general feeling of this game seems to be well OK but we should have beaten them by more, we won by 20, App averaged 25pts per half. You hold teams to 25pts per half and you can even win thru a off night. Offensively we were not sharp, missed way to many easy looks but that happens to all teams at times, it is the nature of offense that it comes and goes. One thing that I do want our big men especially but our guards as well to understand, when your defender has a foot on or inside the block charge circle, you should ALWAYS attack the defenders body because there can be no charge call on you. Our big men will get a defender pinned in deep and rather than attack the guys body they flip up some finesse nonsense that they have missed to many of. Go get that foul call and go to the line, they can make up for you scoring a basket, they can not make up for the foul call.

I did like that we at least tried to run the Carolina breaks, while not always smooth did lead to a number of easy finishes. If given the choice of running the Carolina breaks poorly or not running them at all I take running them because the more we do the better we will be at it. Hubert is playing more of his bench but I wonder if the decision was not made earlier season to minimize the UNC breaks to allow us to play a shorter bench earlier season? You need to run a deeper bench if you are upping the tempo and running, just a question in my mind.

I continue to be impressed with the play of Ant Harris, really wish he jump shot better because in most of the other aspects you would like to see from a 2 he is really stout. On the defensive end he and Leaky have a really nice synergy between them, he is physically strong and moves his feet really well, he can see what is going on rather than some others that are getting beat because they do not ball you man well.

Garcia, I don't see it, I try to see it but I just don't (his game being anything close to ready to compete against NBA players). I* want to use a less harsh sounding word to describe his game but honestly, the only thing I can come up with is he is soft. He does not appear physically strong in either upper body or lower, he gets moved around way to much by smaller defenders. He seems to shy away from physical contact, he will shoot over guys he can shot over but it is with finesse rather than physicality. If you are 6'11" and being defended by a 6'5" kid, you play over the top of him, you attack him. I guarantee you NBA scouts are watching this and asking, is the fact that he can jump shoot well for a guy his length enough to off set his limitations of strength and physicality and I don't think Dawson will like what they are concluding. At the 4 spot in college there really should not be many, if any that can handle him, I really want to see him flush it hard over a defender and show some passion, show some spirit. I do know this, no matter where the kid plays next season, he needs to put in a ton of work in the weight room, should have this past off season honestly.

Bacot, when he has the clear size/strength advantage he is hard to stop. The problem I see is when he is facing a guy that can match his size and strength he has struggled. Example, vs Ky Bacot did tally well on the stat sheet, problem was vast majority of his stat sheet stuffin came with Oscar out of the game, Oscar owned him when they were both on the court. Against Perdue again, quality big men on the court he struggled. I want to see more of that fight he played with last season where at times he would physically impose his will even against well respected big men. I think he is losing draft position if he does not stand right up to the highly respected college big men and not just the guys he has 7" on.

I LOVE that Caleb is now beginning to realize the value of driving and actually having a plan if he does not have a clear line to finish at the rim, he is dishing off a LOT more now. His TOs, 6 was high vs App but be has really reduced the number of just casual unforced TOs that came so often from him last season. Really wish RJ would focus more on that. Kerwin, telling you now, if Kerwin would move his feet off the ball, make sharper cuts, flow in to where the ball will be rather than where the ball is, he could be averaging around 15pts a game now. But he floats around and hopes someone can draw his defender away so that he can get a clean spot up look and defenders know better than to leave him. Stay close to Kerwin so he does not get a wide open look and he is shut down because clearly driving the ball is not a thing he is adept at. And if Kerwin is not giving us scoring, he loses PT to guys that are not as solid jump shooters as he is but excel in the other aspects of the game, like Ant and it seems Dunn are. The confusing part to me is that all off season we heard about what a work out warrior Kerwin was, how hard he worked training himself but I don't see that level of hard work in games?

The mystery of Puff Johnson... Man I want to see this kid get a chance, wondering if I ever will see him and what he can do when he is not injured, in a Tar Heel uniform in a game. I think his length combined with his shooting ability could really help us.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I continue to be impressed with the play of Ant Harris, really wish he jump shot better because in most of the other aspects you would like to see from a 2 he is really stout. On the defensive end he and Leaky have a really nice synergy between them, he is physically strong and moves his feet really well, he can see what is going on rather than some others that are getting beat because they do not ball you man well.

Nicely written. Compact paragraph. Some above average word choices.

Keep up the good work.

Now back to basketball....

 

[NorCalTarheel]

D, please start your next post (that is of similar length) with, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"! 😂

Goodness, you HAVE to have a voice-to-text feature. It'd take me three days to type a post of that length (not to mention I'd forget what the hell I was talking about.... 🤣

 

[Archer2]

D, please start your next post (that is of similar length) with, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"! 😂

David gets a little verbose but I love reading his takes. Great book, BTW.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

I am very happy to learn from a Win! My only criticism so far of Hubs is the shortness of the bench! He addressed it last game either through intent or necessity! Hopefully, we will see more of the 9-10 man bench. While I also love running, multiple defenses, and precision in the Secondary, I recognize that our coach knows far more about our players capabilities (especially mentally and relating to consistent effort) than any of us do! He is slow playing it on purpose and I see improvement in these areas in many peeps, but especially in Caleb, Leaky, and Ant! Dunn is making strides and I expect to see more of Furious Styles soon! Once we get Garcia, RJ, and Manek to reach the same level, our team will explode! Leaky has become the player I always thought he was and I fully expect him to clean up the missed bunnies. I think it was a failure to adjust to officials "letting them play" more than him being "soft". This team may well see a setback due to the postponed game because this team doesn't seem to maintain focus over extended breaks! (hopefully, I am wrong). If we stay the course and give them space, this staff will restore us to Carolina bball!

Puff is harder than smoke to pin down!

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Garcia, I don't see it, I try to see it but I just don't (his game being anything close to ready to compete against NBA players). I* want to use a less harsh sounding word to describe his game but honestly, the only thing I can come up with is he is soft. He does not appear physically strong in either upper body or lower, he gets moved around way to much by smaller defenders. He seems to shy away from physical contact, he will shoot over guys he can shot over but it is with finesse rather than physicality. If you are 6'11" and being defended by a 6'5" kid, you play over the top of him, you attack him. I guarantee you NBA scouts are watching this and asking, is the fact that he can jump shoot well for a guy his length enough to off set his limitations of strength and physicality and I don't think Dawson will like what they are concluding. At the 4 spot in college there really should not be many, if any that can handle him, I really want to see him flush it hard over a defender and show some passion, show some spirit. I do know this, no matter where the kid plays next season, he needs to put in a ton of work in the weight room, should have this past off season honestly.

The question as it affects us is whether he wants to learn how to bang against pros by staying in college another year or by heading to the G-League or overseas . . . where he can actually bang against pros.

He briefly entered the draft last year before coming to us through the portal. So we know he'd like to go pro as soon as he can. Nothing wrong with that. But if making the grade with scouts means showing he can bang against pros, I'm not sure staying here for another year is the best way to prove himself.

Of course going to the G-League or overseas isn't entirely up to him. He has to find a team that wants him. But I think he's good enough (and intriguing enough) that he can find a good landing place if that's what he chooses.

 

[dtodd4475]

He would have a spot in the G League to develop for sure, I think he hopes to get a 1st round grade though, which is a stretch at this point.

I agree, his choice next year is probably, where is the best place to continue growth to the league. It may be college, it may be full time work. I also think that he may think working on playing the 3 is an avenue?

 

[NorCalTarheel]

David gets a little verbose but I love reading his takes. Great book, BTW.

I love his takes too. Just a little good-natured ribbing. (I hope he takes it that way!)

 

[DSouthr]

I love his takes too. Just a little good-natured ribbing. (I hope he takes it that way!)

It gets annoying, I take the time to try to explain my thoughts so that folks can understand them. I don't just toss out a single cute twitter like line that can be read many different ways. I try to drive discussion topics, try to get you thinking, do not require anyone to agree with me. And what do I get for my effort, complaint because you do not want to take 5mins out of your life to actually read? Look, if it is to much for you to take 5mins to read what I share, do yourself a favor, DO NOT READ ANYTHING THAT I POST, PUT ME ON IGNORE SO YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE BOTHERED.

The question as it affects us is whether he wants to learn how to bang against pros by staying in college another year or by heading to the G-League or overseas . . . where he can actually bang against pros.

He briefly entered the draft last year before coming to us through the portal. So we know he'd like to go pro as soon as he can. Nothing wrong with that. But if making the grade with scouts means showing he can bang against pros, I'm not sure staying here for another year is the best way to prove himself.

Of course going to the G-League or overseas isn't entirely up to him. He has to find a team that wants him. But I think he's good enough (and intriguing enough) that he can find a good landing place if that's what he chooses.

Is this supposed to be considered as your final essay for your writing class or do we in any way consider what you wrote as opposed to how you wrote it? Now if you would like to talk about basketball, it does not take much to understand, if you can not "bang" against college level competition your ability to "bang" against NBA level players that have been pros for years should be considered questionable. It is akin to saying I can't beat up kids in middle school with me so I am going to go kick some high school kids arse.

I simply shared that I do not believe Garcia is physically ready for the next level, that he is not dominating in any aspect outside of his ability to jump shoot for a guy his length. I have heard for 2 solid years straight now how Bacot was going pro at the end of each season he has been with us. I told everyone in each of those last 2 seasons he was not ready, his game was not at the time what NBA scouts were looking for, if it was he would not be playing for us right now. Yes, there will likely be teams willing to take Garcia in the first round by the time the drafts rolls around again but he simply is not physically ready for that level. If his dream is to be drafted by a NBA team, spend the rest of his career in the G-league before playing over seas, then sure, go for it, he can make really good money doing so. But if his dream is to have a long NBA career then he would be well served to be physically ready to "bang" at this level before looking to step up to the next.

 

[dtodd4475]

It gets annoying, I take the time to try to explain my thoughts so that folks can understand them. I don't just toss out a single cute twitter like line that can be read many different ways. I try to drive discussion topics, try to get you thinking, do not require anyone to agree with me. And what do I get for my effort, complaint because you do not want to take 5mins out of your life to actually read? Look, if it is to much for you to take 5mins to read what I share, do yourself a favor, DO NOT READ ANYTHING THAT I POST, PUT ME ON IGNORE SO YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE BOTHERED.

Is this supposed to be considered as your final essay for your writing class or do we in any way consider what you wrote as opposed to how you wrote it? Now if you would like to talk about basketball, it does not take much to understand, if you can not "bang" against college level competition your ability to "bang" against NBA level players that have been pros for years should be considered questionable. It is akin to saying I can't beat up kids in middle school with me so I am going to go kick some high school kids arse.

I simply shared that I do not believe Garcia is physically ready for the next level, that he is not dominating in any aspect outside of his ability to jump shoot for a guy his length. I have heard for 2 solid years straight now how Bacot was going pro at the end of each season he has been with us. I told everyone in each of those last 2 seasons he was not ready, his game was not at the time what NBA scouts were looking for, if it was he would not be playing for us right now. Yes, there will likely be teams willing to take Garcia in the first round by the time the drafts rolls around again but he simply is not physically ready for that level. If his dream is to be drafted by a NBA team, spend the rest of his career in the G-league before playing over seas, then sure, go for it, he can make really good money doing so. But if his dream is to have a long NBA career then he would be well served to be physically ready to "bang" at this level before looking to step up to the next.

One area where I view it a tad differently is how the G- League is seen by players and NBA teams. It is seen as a viable, good option to develop when you are not quite ready to step in yet, but have a future in the league.

1) You get to focus 100% on your craft, you have specialty coaching above and beyond the team practice, and the team has a very structured plan of development in place individually with no time/ practice limits set as a "student athlete".

2) An area that is lagging for the NBA level can be focused on in games much easier. The "why is so and so guarding the big", or being asked to guard away from the paint more, so and so is now taking more pick and pop looks in game as opposed to relying on his strength down low, or asked to handle the ball more, etc.

They want to win, but the area of needed development will not be put on the back burner to attack a weakness of an opponents personal that will not be there to exploit at the NBA level.

3) 41% of players who have NBA roster spots have now played/developed in the G -leauge. Including a key NBA champion pieces, league All Stars, league award winners, many starters, and a massive amount of rotational bench players.

The Bulls breakout year is very typical. They often have 2 G-leaguers starting or in the core 7 and 5 of their 10 rotational players grew through the G-League. GM's/teams actively look to develop in house nowadays.

4) The service time clock in the buisness begins, which is massively important in a profession that has a tiny window of earning compared to 99% of professional occupations.

If Garcia even gets a sniff at a 1st round guarantee he would be 100% gone and in the G-league working on his game and building his body. He is not very close to getting that guaranteed 1st round contract though at the moment, hence the probable decision of "where" is the best place to develop for him next year once again, not if he will be getting significant minutes on an NBA court.

Mando is another great example. He has improved yearly at his strengths, but not as much on his "weaknesses" that the NBA identified for his game. Some think his type, with doubtful NBA attributes, are better served using the G-league for their professional development. He is largely seen as the same type NBA prospect he was coming in, only 2 years older now. You lose a ton of big man on campus time, and the national attention/shine from the college experience, staying and preparing/developing for a different profession is also a good thing. There is no guarantee the other route would of got better results. College is a very fun time for an athlete and being a star athlete at UNC has plenty of upside during and after your time there.

So, where I think we view things a tad differently is when we agree that a kid like Garcia is "not physically ready to bang" in the NBA at this time, that does not preclude him from the very viable and often, at least, as successful route of focusing on that development full time. It is not a let me cash in on G-league money decision, it is a career path decision, and not an easy one for a very very difficult short lived field they have a chance to earn their way into.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Is this supposed to be considered as your final essay for your writing class or do we in any way consider what you wrote as opposed to how you wrote it?

You win. I'll stop complimenting you when I like what you've done.