Quick stuff (dook game 2)...

[gary-7]

...and yeah Bilas, dook-Carolina ALWAYS delivers --- maybe not what you wanted but it delivered tonight bigtime, baby! 😎

This was a UNC-dook game with all the obstacles (including the normal two-hand shoves and body-blocks) we've come to expect, but we picked up our jaws (and balls) and got tough when the going got tough. And I couldn't be prouder.

- I deal in reality, so this analysis is gonna start and end with Hubert F-ing Davis and this coaching staff. There were some mistakes --- one could call them rookie mistakes --- made the first go-around with the dookies, but not this time, bubba:

- First, defensive matchups - Check. We matched up exactly as I had hoped, keeping Mando off Banchero early and letting Brady, Leaky (and Puff) have at him.

- Subbing - Check. Hubert played the long-game and subbed early, partly triggered by 2 (phantom) calls on Mando, but also to get some early blows for the starters. That would pay dividends in the second half, as it was the supposedly deeper dookies who were sucking bad air down the stretch.

- Defensive strategy - Check. Banchero is a black hole on offense, i.e., he's gonna do whatever to "get his" and play hero-ball. Move your feet, swipe-double occasionally from the top and he'll stall their offense eventually.

- Take advantage of their defensive shortcuts - Check. They'll switch 5-across if you give em a chance and there were mismatches to be had.

So... with all that set up, here's what did it: The turning point of this game didn't come until the last 10 minutes when a few things started to emerge.

- Banchero started firing ill-advised early shots. He actually made an awkward 16-footer, but I was imploring out loud to the screen "Keep forcing, big boy!" The coach bud I was watching with was nodding in agreement, and sure enough the odds and fatigue caught up with him, cuz Lord knows they were making every tough look there for a while, it seemed.

- Here's also where Hubert's defensive game-plan finally paid dividends. With Mando not in any late foul-trouble, he could switch onto Banchero and flat stoned him on some key possessions. Y'all saw the +/- disparity with and without Bacot, and we got to finish the game with him. And what a freakin' block on that late run-out!

- Speaking of that, Caleb made a frankly bone-headed decision to go 1-on-2 on a break, but that seemed to pull his head outta his butt, and he locked in for some late-game heroics... again. Good thing, as had we lost this one my theme would've been "floaters and FTs", as we couldn't seem to buy either early on. Lordy, we missed some easy looks, as well as the precious few FT attempts. Caleb was money from the line late.

- Brady was so damn good tonight on both ends. Played like a grown-ass man. Assassin.

- That said, here's the big turning point key: As mentioned above they were determined to stay with their universal switching, and Hubert flat wore them out on that --- forcing mismatch after mismatch with Banchero stuck on RJ on the perimeter, and little guy took him to school and/or we had wide-open looks from some sweet set plays off that look. For the unititated, that's called coaching, baby.

- Finally, one unsung thing about ACCPOY Bacot is the defense he can bring. Lost count of how many hands he got in to help force key TOs.

Anyway, even the media morons like Jerry Palm should have the eyes to see how concocted the whole "bubble" narrative was. And y'see, for the doubters and trolls out in the world (and sadly amongst our fanbase), there's such a thing as a learning curve for any new HC. Oh, and for those who can't seem to appreciate the UNC pedigree of this staff, news flash, there's a bench-full o' guys in UNC sweatsuits who know a little sumpthin about beating dook at HIS. And as for spoiling the dookie K-slather-fest, welp.... BWAH HA HA!...

 

[Grover Thomas]

Yeap……what he said.

 

[IDUNK4HEELS]

Another excellent summary .. The Tar Heels tonight shut up a lot of the Non believers and so called experts …

 

[shane023]

23-8, 15-5. Not too shabby for a first year coach.

 

[shun1]

SMILE

!!!!!!!!!!!! GO TAR HEELS !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[northfan]

I feel we need a banner in the dome for this one game.

 

[dtodd4475]

The first of what will be many signature wins for Hubert. Our big 5 all came up BIG!! Well done, all the way around!!!!!

First Brady. HE PLAYED HIS ASS OFF !!!! It is difficult to be the constart target on dee, He fought all night. HUGE EFFORT !!!!! Very impressive!!!

RJ was orchestrating, he manipulated the bigs when they switched and not only scored, but distributed. Handled the ball pressure, which we have struggled with, effortlessly.

Caleb had a struggle of a 1st half. He did not go into a shell as he had early in the year when struggling early, he stayed aggressive and turned the corner in the 2nd half. Handled ball pressure better as well. We only had 5 turnovers as a team for the game,I think. He is MONEY late in games at the line. Our stellar team free throw shooting is a major plus in close games.

Mando 10 for 11 from the field, our only force down low, stayed aggressive while being smart to avoid fouls. A man's effort.

Leaky is our glue !!!!!

Hubert made some excellent set calls in a crucial stretch. Reversed the rock and got Mando a bucket on the block, then some probing drives with the intent to kick back to the top of the key for Brady clean looks. I thought that stretch was key, and Hubert's fingerprints were all over that.

Just a huge win on SOOO many levels. Not the least, punching that ticket to the dance.

 

[CarolinaBlue5]

Let’s goooooooo! Hell of a win!!

 

[TarHeelMark]

RJ - taking it to them dookies all night; ranchero couldn't stay with him on those drives.
Mando - ACC POY! What a fantastic game from the big fella.
Brady - dude was fired up, and played big time. He really dug in on D and caused that travelling on ranchero.
Caleb - there is no one I would rather have at the line in the last 2 minutes. Clutch.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

This was a UNC-dook game with all the obstacles (including the normal two-hand shoves and body-blocks) we've come to expect, but we picked up our jaws (and balls) and got tough when the going got tough. And I couldn't be prouder.


- Subbing - Check. Hubert played the long-game and subbed early, partly triggered by 2 (phantom) calls on Mando, but also to get some early blows for the starters. That would pay dividends in the second half, as it was the supposedly deeper dookies who were sucking bad air down the stretch.

So... with all that set up, here's what did it: The turning point of this game didn't come until the last 10 minutes when a few things started to emerge.


Anyway, even the media morons like Jerry Palm should have the eyes to see how concocted the whole "bubble" narrative was. And y'see, for the doubters and trolls out in the world (and sadly amongst our fanbase), there's such a thing as a learning curve for any new HC. Oh, and for those who can't seem to appreciate the UNC pedigree of this staff, news flash, there's a bench-full o' guys in UNC sweatsuits who know a little sumpthin about beating dook at HIS. And as for spoiling the dookie K-slather-fest, welp.... BWAH HA HA!...

Excellent as always my brother!

1. Banchie is a HUGE black hole. Every jump shot he takes I'm ok with.
2. There's an APB out for AJ Griffin courtesy of Leaky Black.
3. At one point late in the 1st half the foul count was 7-1 against us. One freakin foul with all those hand and body checks.
4. No doubt we are better conditiond than they are. The last 8-9 minutes they put up almost no resistance. That was the soft dook defense we have enjoyed over the last 5-7 years.
5. The only thing that clown Jerry Plam would say tonight is " Cannot understate how big that win is for UNC". He maybe as hurt as kay right now. That guy is a real tool.
6. And speaking of kay he saw the handwriting on the wall before the 1st TV timeout. So he spent the next 37 minutes berating Ayers and Luckie on every dead ball and whistle.

* *As I told you before the 1st dook game I felt uneasy about that matchup but my feelings this week were the exact opposite. I expected us to ruin this media driven farce. Kay was so upset walking to that lockerroom after the game he didn't want to come back out to give his speech**

It's safe to say we are in pretty good hands with HD and staff✍️

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Yeap……what he said.

You have become a legend around here.
I predicted a 4 point win but you said 10+.
You da man GT. 👈

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Behind the scene with the Winners

C.Love 🤣


Bacot😷


Jubilation and tears

 

[Indy_Heel]

Got to give HD credit he let the Big dogs eat and didn’t sub. Now granted this team doesn’t have the subs Roy or Dean had but how many times did we seem them take out hot players just to get them a rest and always seemed to kill momentum. Not tonight he let them eat and they didn’t look tired.

Manek has bought into this family as you can see his emotions after the game. Too bad we only get this one year. Brother hood…. What a F’ing joke!

 

[Ozheelfan]

Great observations Gary.

Hard for anyone to question the coaching job being done by the whole staff… Great defence and patient offence (mostly)

Who would have turned down a 23-8 record At the start of the season?

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Maryland Terps join the party? Why not👌

 

[Tarheel75]

Really enjoyed the summary, Gary.

Unbelievable....., what this team achieved in winning this game tonight.
It's somewhere around 3am at my house and the celebration is still going on.
The historical victory over this dook team will be etched in the minds of Carolina followers for the rest of their natural lives.

To spoil the celebration of the K worshipers and the slurping media as well, has to be so gratifying to so many who have watched as this man was idolized, anointed, coddled by most, and revered by so many who just don't know..., as the late Paul Harvey would say in his broadcasts "The Rest Of The Story".

You have to give the devil his due of course, and I will also. While he was one of the very best motivators within the College Basketball coaching fraternity, he was also one of worst offenders when it come down to shady tactics to get talented players, who, at times, given their background, had no business being in college or even on a college campus.

As a private school, dook did not have to divulge to the NCAA certain information that would declare certain athletes ineligible that public universities do, and, of course the Rat made sure to take advantage. There is so much that will eventually come to light in future years that will tarnish K's legacy and dook's as well. Just hope that you are around when it does, K probably won't be, as he and the dook propaganda machine will keep things hidden until he has passed the scene.

K is the most Narciss tic and self-aggrandizing public individual I have ever had the displeasure to know. It's all about him, and his accomplishments and in the end, he will deflect onto anyone or anything the blame for any failures.

Is he a great coach....? Yes, I believe that, however, when it comes down to the human equation, nah, he fails miserably.

As for the game.....

Did you notice that Banchero's 23 points come on 26 shots? I think Gary mentioned him as a black hole, and it is true as he made 11-26 shots and that's very inefficient offense, and it's what DES would have enjoyed seeing.

RJ Davis was determined and that determination was rewarded time and again, he had a very good game. Bacot continued to show why he is the POY in the ACC.
It's just my opinion, but I felt that Brady Manek was the MVP. Was his defense on Banchero great? No, and no one else in the league either. You just have to make it as hard as you can for him to score and live with the results. Remember guys, Banchero will be a 1st round pick, and Brady may or may not have a playing future. Brady's 50% makes on 3's, his 11 RB's, 3 assists were enormous and his baskets usually came at the most opportune times. So, he gets my vote.

Caleb had a very slow start, but come up big once again at the FT line late. Leaky played very well. Puff showed us what we can expect from him going forward by dropping that short floater in the 1st half. He certainly was not afraid of the moment although he made defensive mistakes. The starters played the entire second half and dook's players were the ones that looked fatigued. You could also see the anxiety building in the dook players in the last 6 minutes and it affected their play. I saw several of the dookies on camera late and it appeared that they had just gotten an enema. Yep, pressure makes a difference, and the dookies had all of it on them.

Finally..... I had predicted sometime back in a post within a topic that we would finish 23-8. Well, we did. However, the team did not get to that record the way I thought they would, so I guess I'm not the " forecaster" of events after all, but it was a good guess. The confidence gained with this win will certainly help this team going forward. Being the 3rd seed, we cannot play the dookies unless it's for the ACCT championship. I would love for that to happen. This team now knows what the Achilles Heel of this dook team is and may just beat them again if they have the opportunity.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

"Always a Tar Heel" #3Platek🙌



Chapel > Durham💙🤍

 

[imajericho]

To be fair having as many points as shots is average. Having more than shots is efficient. So he was just slightly below average in efficiency. Same points as shots generally means about 50% in effective fg %. Which is average.

 

[strummingram]

Behind the scene with the Winners

C.Love 🤣

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Bacot😷

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Jubilation and tears

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I'm so happy for those kids and the staff. To see them celebrate together and get this prize is just amazing!

 

[Tarheel75]

To be fair having as many points as shots is average. Having more than shots is efficient. So he was just slightly below average in efficiency. Same points as shots generally means about 50% in effective fg %. Which is average.

You might be correct, but I just do not follow your math. I do however remember Coach Smith saying that if an opponents best shooter or scorer takes and misses
more than 50% of his shots, you effectively neuter his influence on that particular game. That happened in this game.

 

[imajericho]

We made their best player slightly inefficient. I would say it was a huge win for us. Their best player we would assume should have been very efficient.

Yes he was slightly below average in that game, but that is their best player being below average. That's huge.

 

[jbradsh1]

Keeping Griffin in check was huge

 

[imajericho]

As far as math goes, if you shoot 50% from the field and 33.3% from 3, you have as many points as shots.

Usually these would be considered pretty decent percentages. Usually where you get the more points than shots is adding FTs into the mix.

The reason why many teams like going inside more, especially in college is that inside players usually can get close to the basket and get much higher percentage shots.

For example, RJ Davis is 50.8% from 2 and 40.4% from 3. He averages 11.3 points per game on 10.2 shots per game. He adds 2.3 points per game on free throws. RJ Davis is an efficient player. He ends up with 13.6 points per game on 10.2 shots per game.

Caleb Love is 38.2% from 2, 38% from 3. He averages 12.1 points on 12.9 shots a game. He is inefficient from the field. He however makes up for it by getting to the line where he adds 3.6 points a game from the line. Where he ends up with 15.7 points per game on 12.9 shots a game.

There are different facets, but generally the baseline is to try and expect a point per shot attempted at least to be average. Below that you are considered inefficient. In this case, Banchero was slightly inefficient. I suspect the biggest reason for this was that he either didn't get to the line or just sucked from the line. Not sure as it says he shot 0% from the FT line which means he missed them all or never got to it. Neutralizing the best player to the point of being slightly inefficient is amazing.

Love was 4/17 from the field in this game. But ended up with 22 points. A lot of which were late FTs when they were fouling on purpose at the end to try and extend the game to come back.

 

[Tarheel75]

We made their best player slightly inefficient. I would say it was a huge win for us. Their best player we would assume should have been very efficient.

Yes he was slightly below average in that game, but that is their best player being below average. That's huge.

Agreed and would like and hope we can do this on the regular no matter who we play

 

[DSouthr]

2 of 5 shooting, 3 rebounds in 34mins of game action, that is the story of this game, this stat line!

2 things stand out for me in this game, first Hubert realized, if they could hang close that he had to use the first half to get to the second. So Hubert thru the kitchen sink at them in that first half, heck he even brought in McKoy for a few minutes, just trying to protect our front court guys from foul trouble. Bacot knowing he could not pick up foul #3 when he did go back in that first half, had to back off some. Hubert also did all he could to help his teams legs by timing his TOs to come close to TV TOs so his guys could get some extra rest. As a result, we end up with 4 of our starters scoring at least 20 and we had the fresher legs at the end!

Another huge factor is the fact that this UNC team has had several very close tight games recently, we knew at the end of a close game, we had that experience of playing in a lot of close games to call on, the pressure was all on duke to win a tight one, with all that was on the line for them. They folded like a cheap suit!

Going in to this game Pablo was not going to beat us by himself, what could have taken us out, what did take us out the first time we played them was Griffin and Walker stepping up and Keels has played well for them in games as well. You beat this duke team by taking out at least 1 of their key legs and you make their star player have to work hard for the points he got. My first sentence in this post is Griffins stat line post game, 5pts and 3 rebounds! And who was mainly responsible for that stat line, the one starter we had that didn't score 20, Leaky Black!

One other really amazing aspect of this game, as big as this game was, with all the hoopala surrounding it, UNC, as a team had a grand total of 5 turn overs! No, I didn't say Caleb or RJ had 5 TOs, I said for the entire 40mins of this game UNC as a TEAM had only 5 TOs. When was the last time UNC played 40mins as a team and only had 5 total TOs?

I said in pre-season I felt this UNC had a chance to be final 4 worthy, not predicting we would be in the final 4, just saying we had the level of talent that if it comes together we had a good chance of getting there. But the needless TOs and really poor decision making early on forcing things that were not there and really bad shot selection were huge problems. Then later season losing Garcia and Ant (your starting 4 and the first back court guy off the bench) were crushing blows. We were losing games we should not have and it was more what we were doing to ourselves with the bad TOs and sketchy shot selection that caused it, not so much what the other team was doing, in essence we were shooting ourselves in our own feet. You saw last night what happens when those TOs are limited and that shot selection is smarter. Are there 4 teams in the country right now that could have gone in to Cameron like we did last night with all the trappings of that game and come out the winner, I seriously doubt it, IDK if there is another team out there that could have done that last night, on K's last game at duke.

If UNC basketball is still here 20yrs from now, they will still be talking about great UNC games of the past. Jordan's jumper, Luke Maye's shot to sink Ky, 17 seconds, and they will talk about K's last game in Cameron! Historic!

 

[Tarheel75]

Excellent as always my brother!

1. Banchie is a HUGE black hole. Every jump shot he takes I'm ok with.
2. There's an APB out for AJ Griffin courtesy of Leaky Black.
3. At one point late in the 1st half the foul count was 7-1 against us. One freakin foul with all those hand and body checks.
4. No doubt we are better conditiond than they are. The last 8-9 minutes they put up almost no resistance. That was the soft dook defense we have enjoyed over the last 5-7 years.
5. The only thing that clown Jerry Plam would say tonight is " Cannot understate how big that win is for UNC". He maybe as hurt as kay right now. That guy is a real tool.
6. And speaking of kay he saw the handwriting on the wall before the 1st TV timeout. So he spent the next 37 minutes berating Ayers and Luckie on every dead ball and whistle.

* *As I told you before the 1st dook game I felt uneasy about that matchup but my feelings this week were the exact opposite. I expected us to ruin this media driven farce. Kay was so upset walking to that lockerroom after the game he didn't want to come back out to give his speech**

It's safe to say we are in pretty good hands with HD and staff✍️

As to your point #5. Mr. Palm has it as backwards as he is...., it should read: "I cannot
OVERSTATE how big that win is for UNC".

 

[FlaTarHeel]

As to your point #5. Mr. Palm has it as backwards as he is...., it should read: "I cannot
OVERSTATE how big that win is for UNC".

He does not hide his dislike for our program.
But sadly he's not the only "media" source showing bias toward us. 🤬

 

[gary-7]

You might be correct, but I just do not follow your math. I do however remember Coach Smith saying that if an opponents best shooter or scorer takes and misses
less than 50% of his shots, you effectively neuter his influence on that particular game. That happened in this game.

And truth be known, the "effective FG %" is flawed, in that the 3-ball brings in more misses, which translate into empty possessions.

Moreover, with a black hole like Banchero, it doesn't account for the damage all his one-on-one play does to their offensive flow. They hurt us the most when they were moving the ball, so please please please, throw us in that Banchero briar patch.

 

[TarHeelMark]

Last night was the first time I saw dook play all year, and yeah that ranchero dude is a ball hog and a mouthy little SOB as well. Only took about 5 minutes to hate another typical dookie a-hole.

 

[Lewis&Miller]

It will be years before this victory is surpassed in the laurels of Carolina-dook. Hubert garnered a high execution level game from this unit. RJ Davis is emerging as the future lead point guard. RJ allows Hubert to hedge the execution levels of Caleb. Hubert can instantly take the ball from Caleb(and he did throughout this game) to direct this team to a great win. RJ was highly efficient, closed the first half strong, and second half when the game was on the line(Caleb closed out the game strong with FTs but was 4-17 shooting). It was the first game Carolina has won after being down at the half and it came under the most pressurized conditions. The team has to now validate that this win was about UNC and not about dooks performance. This will be proven out quickly.

Tremendous win. Calebs still the barometer of UNCs upside. He brings toughness and huge contributions in other areas. Caleb hits his shots vs dook, it would have been a shocking rout. Great that this team may be adjusting on the fly to this situation. Hubert definitely has a heavy hand on the course of this teams possessions and last nite he made those moment to moment decisions. Coaching takes time and Hubert now seems hands on.

 

[Grover Thomas]

It will be years before this victory is surpassed in the laurels of Carolina-dook. Hubert garnered a high execution level game from this unit. RJ Davis is emerging as the future lead point guard. RJ allows Hubert to hedge the execution levels of Caleb. Hubert can instantly take the ball from Caleb(and he did throughout this game) to direct this team to a great win. RJ was highly efficient, closed the first half strong, and second half when the game was on the line(Caleb closed out the game strong with FTs but was 4-17 shooting). It was the first game Carolina has won after being down at the half and it came under the most pressurized conditions. The team has to now validate that this win was about UNC and not about dooks performance. This will be proven out quickly.

Tremendous win. Calebs still the barometer of UNCs upside. He brings toughness and huge contributions in other areas. Caleb hits his shots vs dook, it would have been a shocking rout. Great that this team may be adjusting on the fly to this situation. Hubert definitely has a heavy hand on the course of this teams possessions and last nite he made those moment to moment decisions. Coaching takes time and Hubert now seems hands on.

The thing about Love is…..he hit those shots in winning time but also he gets assist too in winning time…..and he is money at the FT line in crunch time. RJ ran the offense excellently….then the ball went to Caleb in the final minutes as usual.

 

[Lewis&Miller]

The thing about Love is…..he hit those shots in winning time but also he gets assist too in winning time…..and he is money at the FT line in crunch time. RJ ran the offense excellently….then the ball went to Caleb in the final minutes as usual.

Calebs an absolute beast in free throw percentage at north of 87 percent. Which shows he is indeed a much better than a 38 percent field goal percentage shooter. Caleb is elite and decision making is all that is holding him back(and he's making improvement strides).

 

[gary-7]

Calebs an absolute beast in free throw percentage at north of 87 percent. Which shows he is indeed a much better than a 38 percent field goal percentage shooter. Caleb is elite and decision making is all that is holding him back(and he's making improvement strides).

Yeah, the reality is that is we are shuffling two Combos at Point, as we don't and won't have a natural PG on the roster in the forseeable future. The good news is that these guys are now in the second year of a long learning curve, which is when (ideally) the light comes on more often than it flickers.

As you said, Caleb is an elite talent waiting for his head to catch up with his body --- and it's doing that more often lately. The best news is he's not afraid to take the big shots, even if he starts slowly.

With that said, the often unnoticed factor is how well the staff "automated" the PG role yesterday. Any time we weren't in transition, we pre-defined their role with our intitial called actions, in particular inducing the switch to get the perimeter mismatch for RJ being guarded by Banchero, which simplified the decision-making, as well as setting up called plays.

 

[FranktheHeel]

Great posts above breaking down what led to the win.

I’m so proud of this team, they deserved every ounce of this win. To Caleb, RJ, Leaky, Brady and Armando outstanding toughness and togetherness displayed. Brady has been such a blessing to this team, the videos of him and Armando hugging Coach Davis just showed again how special Carolina basketball is.

I know Coach Davis has been criticized about his pressers but one of his themes lately has been how he has seen this team starting to come together, tonight it all materialized on the big stage. Coach Davis had the guys mentally ready, did a great job keeping them focused on themselves and prepared on the floor to counter Duke, kudos to him. This win is so sweet for this team and the program, I think its such a springboard for Coach Davis. That was so sweet.

 

[Lewis&Miller]

Yeah, the reality is that is we are shuffling two Combos at Point, as we don't and won't have a natural PG on the roster in the forseeable future. The good news is that these guys are now in the second year of a long learning curve, which is when (ideally) the light comes on more often than it flickers.

As you said, Caleb is an elite talent waiting for his head to catch up with his body --- and it's doing that more often lately. The best news is he's not afraid to take the big shots, even if he starts slowly.

With that said, the often unnoticed factor is how well the staff "automated" the PG role yesterday. Any time we weren't in transition, we pre-defined their role with our intitial called actions, in particular inducing the switch to get the perimeter mismatch for RJ being guarded by Banchero, which simplified the decision-making, as well as setting up called plays.

Yeah, no point guard at least through next season, which gives Hubert two full seasons with dual combo guards leading the attack. It is not inconceivable that this style could flourish even over the one true point. One view could be Carolina needs an elite point guard(we have not landed that type recruit as of late; our latest great point guard(Anthony) had little support; and back a few years our great point guard grew into the role(Berry). The elite point guard Hubert needs could be a one/done and historically that may not return results in one season.

Im interested going forward to see if Hubert is indeed determined to get that pg. Wendell(by no means a point guard, barely a 2) initiates the offense an unexpected percentage of the time for Vader.

Hubert prepared the team for the dookies, no doubt. He placed a stamp on the game(put aside the W) with a heavy coaching hand. The anticipation of more consistent offensive execution has now been envisioned.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Yeah, the reality is that is we are shuffling two Combos at Point, as we don't and won't have a natural PG on the roster in the forseeable future. The good news is that these guys are now in the second year of a long learning curve, which is when (ideally) the light comes on more often than it flickers.

As you said, Caleb is an elite talent waiting for his head to catch up with his body --- and it's doing that more often lately. The best news is he's not afraid to take the big shots, even if he starts slowly.

With that said, the often unnoticed factor is how well the staff "automated" the PG role yesterday. Any time we weren't in transition, we pre-defined their role with our intitial called actions, in particular inducing the switch to get the perimeter mismatch for RJ being guarded by Banchero, which simplified the decision-making, as well as setting up called plays.

1. The best Caleb Love is still 3-4 years down the road. Obviously he will be wearing a different uniform but it should benefit our program through recruiting and marketing.

2. Jeff Lebo said his favorite part of coaching is off the court. i.e Player Development.
The improvement our guards have made is more apparent now than earlier in the year.

3. There were people on this site less than a month ago claiming our staff just sits there doing nothing and looking lost. The only thing lost are the minds of the fools who made those ridiculous claims.

 

[gkss]

...and yeah Bilas, dook-Carolina ALWAYS delivers --- maybe not what you wanted but it delivered tonight bigtime, baby! 😎

This was a UNC-dook game with all the obstacles (including the normal two-hand shoves and body-blocks) we've come to expect, but we picked up our jaws (and balls) and got tough when the going got tough. And I couldn't be prouder.

- I deal in reality, so this analysis is gonna start and end with Hubert F-ing Davis and this coaching staff. There were some mistakes --- one could call them rookie mistakes --- made the first go-around with the dookies, but not this time, bubba:

- First, defensive matchups - Check. We matched up exactly as I had hoped, keeping Mando off Banchero early and letting Brady, Leaky (and Puff) have at him.

- Subbing - Check. Hubert played the long-game and subbed early, partly triggered by 2 (phantom) calls on Mando, but also to get some early blows for the starters. That would pay dividends in the second half, as it was the supposedly deeper dookies who were sucking bad air down the stretch.

- Defensive strategy - Check. Banchero is a black hole on offense, i.e., he's gonna do whatever to "get his" and play hero-ball. Move your feet, swipe-double occasionally from the top and he'll stall their offense eventually.

- Take advantage of their defensive shortcuts - Check. They'll switch 5-across if you give em a chance and there were mismatches to be had.

So... with all that set up, here's what did it: The turning point of this game didn't come until the last 10 minutes when a few things started to emerge.

- Banchero started firing ill-advised early shots. He actually made an awkward 16-footer, but I was imploring out loud to the screen "Keep forcing, big boy!" The coach bud I was watching with was nodding in agreement, and sure enough the odds and fatigue caught up with him, cuz Lord knows they were making every tough look there for a while, it seemed.

- Here's also where Hubert's defensive game-plan finally paid dividends. With Mando not in any late foul-trouble, he could switch onto Banchero and flat stoned him on some key possessions. Y'all saw the +/- disparity with and without Bacot, and we got to finish the game with him. And what a freakin' block on that late run-out!

- Speaking of that, Caleb made a frankly bone-headed decision to go 1-on-2 on a break, but that seemed to pull his head outta his butt, and he locked in for some late-game heroics... again. Good thing, as had we lost this one my theme would've been "floaters and FTs", as we couldn't seem to buy either early on. Lordy, we missed some easy looks, as well as the precious few FT attempts. Caleb was money from the line late.

- Brady was so damn good tonight on both ends. Played like a grown-ass man. Assassin.

- That said, here's the big turning point key: As mentioned above they were determined to stay with their universal switching, and Hubert flat wore them out on that --- forcing mismatch after mismatch with Banchero stuck on RJ on the perimeter, and little guy took him to school and/or we had wide-open looks from some sweet set plays off that look. For the unititated, that's called coaching, baby.

- Finally, one unsung thing about ACCPOY Bacot is the defense he can bring. Lost count of how many hands he got in to help force key TOs.

Anyway, even the media morons like Jerry Palm should have the eyes to see how concocted the whole "bubble" narrative was. And y'see, for the doubters and trolls out in the world (and sadly amongst our fanbase), there's such a thing as a learning curve for any new HC. Oh, and for those who can't seem to appreciate the UNC pedigree of this staff, news flash, there's a bench-full o' guys in UNC sweatsuits who know a little sumpthin about beating dook at HIS. And as for spoiling the dookie K-slather-fest, welp.... BWAH HA HA!...

You nailed it as usual Gary. I thought the play where Banchero backed Brady down on the blocks and traveled when Brady got his forearm in his back was demoralizing for Duke. Also, Mando’s left handed block on a Duke break really took a lot of wind out of Duke’s sails. I loved how Hubert used the bench early, realizing the early intensity, and as you pointed out, we were fresh at the end.

 

[gary-7]

Unbelievable....., what this team achieved in winning this game tonight.
It's somewhere around 3am at my house and the celebration is still going on.
The historical victory over this dook team will be etched in the minds of Carolina followers for the rest of their natural lives.

Brother, I will say straight-up that last night, oh, 'bout 8:30, was the best I've felt after a Carolina game since a certain Monday in early April 2017. And that's no exaggeration.

 

[Archer2]

The first of what will be many signature wins for Hubert. Our big 5 all came up BIG!! Well done, all the way around!!!!!

First Brady. HE PLAYED HIS ASS OFF !!!! It is difficult to be the constart target on dee, He fought all night. HUGE EFFORT !!!!! Very impressive!!!

RJ was orchestrating, he manipulated the bigs when they switched and not only scored, but distributed. Handled the ball pressure, which we have struggled with, effortlessly.

Caleb had a struggle of a 1st half. He did not go into a shell as he had early in the year when struggling early, he stayed aggressive and turned the corner in the 2nd half. Handled ball pressure better as well. We only had 5 turnovers as a team for the game,I think. He is MONEY late in games at the line. Our stellar team free throw shooting is a major plus in close games.

Mando 10 for 11 from the field, our only force down low, stayed aggressive while being smart to avoid fouls. A man's effort.

Leaky is our glue !!!!!

Hubert made some excellent set calls in a crucial stretch. Reversed the rock and got Mando a bucket on the block, then some probing drives with the intent to kick back to the top of the key for Brady clean looks. I thought that stretch was key, and Hubert's fingerprints were all over that.

Just a huge win on SOOO many levels. Not the least, punching that ticket to the dance.

Amen.

Brother, I will say straight-up that last night, oh, 'bout 8:30, was the best I've felt after a Carolina game since a certain Monday in early April 2017. And that's no exaggeration.

I feel the same. What a fitting way to exorcise the vampire from my consciousness. Good riddance.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

No love lost between the 2 current teams and even the alums get their digs in.
RW always took the high road but I think it may be a little different mood under HD. And personally I'm all for it.

Dookie Theo John had alot to say on Feb 6th.


Armando Bacot returned the favor last night.