Quick stuff (Louisville game)..

[gary-7]

...and all I can say is 'poetic justice'...

More on that below, but let's start here:
- For all the (often) self-inflicted drama, it should be noted that we carried over some damn good basketball from the State game. The defensive footwork and rotations were once again mostly on point, and our half-court offensive execution and ball-movement were good more often than not. We realistically had to expect we weren't about to match Saturday's shooting accuracy, but we created good looks... and utimately knocked enough down to get by on the road --- and that counts for something, as we should all know by now.

- This may sound like coach/TV-analyst speak, but maybe, just maybe this team is finally starting to find an identity, where guys are getting comfortable in their roles. Make no mistake, there were some bone-headed plays tonight (gawd, I wanted to pull Joel outta the studio and suit him up!) that helped keep them in it, but there were some big-time positive plays that helped win it as well. For every give-away from Manek, he made a big play or shot... and Love at least partially made up for going brain-dead (more than once) by hitting some clutch shots.

- Hubert did a nice job of utilizing timeouts, as well as calling some spot-on set plays in crucial spots. With that said, as he settles in to HC responsibilities, his next step is to learn to trust his rotation, Look, there's a chance that the roster he took on the road tonight is the roster he's gonna be playing with the rest of the seaosn --- and he's learning whom he can trust --- so now he needs to routinely sub sooner. I've mentioned before that we have a pattern of fatigue setting in mid-halves, and it happened again tonight. We just can't wait til after the under-12. At least one Guard and one Big needs to get the first blow before the under-12, and then rotate accordingly.

- One of the things I harp on is the value of confidence, because there's just no overstating its value in sports. And part of coaching is making sure to not damage that. Case in point? Leaky Black. Terrific all-around game, but obviously the 3-balls stood out. If you watch, he's shooting them like he means it for a change, and that comes from confidence. Hubert has even called plays for him these last two games and he is responding.

- Anyway, back to the opening statement: Make no mistake, Louisville is not just "physical" and/or "tough" --- they are a dirty team, and I mean filthy dirty. Any of you who have mixed it up in competitve basketball should've identified that pretty dadgummed quick. All the constant fouling notwithstanding, after almost every score inside there was an extra-curricular elbow or undercut. I gotta give Bacot in particular credit for not throwing hands. So Coach Pegues.... mad about that last call on your guy? Oh yeah, it was a bad one, BUT when you teach your guys to play like thugs, and with the garbage they got away with for 44 minutes? Just GMAFB dude. That's called poetic justice. Oh, and speaking of which, Withers (who got T'd for shoving Bacot a few minutes earlier) could have been called for WAY more than that one in this game.

- On that note, when things come that close to blows, look to the zebras who let it get out of hand. Roger swallowed his whistle as usual, and Covington is barely competent on a good day. But I'll tell ya, I'm gonna give a big shout-out to Tim Clougherty, who called an outstanding game... and thank heaven he did. He was the only one of the trio to keep the mayhem in check. Would love to see him again Saturday... but good luck with that 😏...

- Oh, and speaking of Mando, 18 and 22 with 3 steals and 2 blocks amid that mugging? That's some grown-ass man work right there, bubba.

Finally, I considered this from the get-go a must-win game, and of course, Louisville shoots like they haven't all season. Sheesh... and I mean UGLY shots in many cases. But hey, that's what ya hafta be ready for on the road in the ACC. The fact we pulled it out means a LOT... and hopefully will impart some confidence in general moving forward...

 

[Archer2]

Another nice write up @gary-7. I think Leaky was the difference tonight. Our bench was outscored 44-0, we won’t win many games when that happens.

 

[Indy_Heel]

Hey we won an ugly game on the road when it’s hard to believe UL played out their ass again like a guy averaging 8 has 25. Or you hear they are not a good 3pt shooting team all night but they just keep raining 3s. Good thing Leaky stepped up tonight.

Love was disappointing to me. Just seemed like he could care less in regulation. He kept driving to the hoop hoping for a foul and throwing crap up. After stonewalling himself on the dunk, he had a chance to finish one on a dunk again or give it up to leaky for a wide open layup. He looked like he was afraid to embarrass himself and went for a layup which got blocked near the end of the game. Of course it looked like the blocker extended out his arm using it as leverage to stop Love before he shot it then blocked it . But don’t matter the refs allowed the mugging inside all night so you should be ready for it. He played better in overtime.

Bacot Ive noticed getting a little more vocal or going after the other team more. I like that but it’s fine line. He’s been close to some unsportsmanlike calls and they have been during crunch time. I’ve noticed when he’s been pulled down the last couple games he retaliates with a pull down of his own. Like tonight and I believe the state game as well. Usually the second guy gets the foul but he’s been lucky. Like he stared down the guy he block while he was laying down on the ground. I’m all for him not taking crap anymore and sticking up for himself but just make sure it don’t cost us.

I’ll admit it I’m not a Leaky supporter just due to his liability on offense. The last couple games I like seeing his confidence grow. He actually looks like a shooter and is ready to go when he gets the ball. The worst thing you can do hesitate and he’s not right now. He’s key to this team surviving.

Manek’s perimeter D is not that great. But I will say I think he has greatly improved on the low block D keeping his guy in front on the post ups and staying patient.

 

[imajericho]

Leaky has been able to shoot it. He just is afraid to shoot it and when he does that, he messes up his shot motion.

 

[SuperFan61]

Good to get a road win, but those refs really blew it. They lost control of the game early by letting Louisville do whatever they wanted, and the result was what we saw at the end. Glad to win and glad nobody got hurt. Refs should be held accountable, but of course they won't be.

 

[Tarheel75]

Nice review Mr. Gary.

The Yum Center is a nice basketball venue but was full of NC State like fans. Well... at least this crowd doesn't throw batteries and coins onto the court as does the wolfpeckers. Just cups, cans and ice, which can also be dangerous to the players on both sides.

Were we fortunate to win? Yep. Should we have ever gotten to OT? No.

I've been around the game of basketball for well over 50+ years and I have never run across a player quite like Caleb Love. Due to his selfish and sometimes extremely erratic play in this contest he singlehandedly kept Louisville in the game. On 4 straight possessions that started with us having an 11-point lead, he managed to either barrel drive to the basket, take a beyond the NBA 3, get hung on the rim, and finally, due to being mind-numbingly unaware, with just seconds left in regulation, gets the ball taken from him and we have a tie game.

Just mind-blowing how one individual player can undo in 3-4 minutes, what took the entire game to that point, to achieve. I thought Roy was going to have a coronary during that stretch. I know his disgusted look, and it was on full display during the sequences mentioned above.

You may not agree with the following, and it's absolutely fine if you do not. The single most dynamic play of this game was the charge that Puff drew in late regulation. That call kept us from losing in regulation by 2, and of course OT ensued where we were able to show some toughness. This team is also showing some resiliency to be able to bounce back from the shitstorm that Caleb manufactured to winning the game.

While we played some tough and resilient ball, just also keep in mind that Louisville was without their best big man too. Trusting this team to play consistently has been very hard for me with this group of players, but their play in the last 3 games and most of this game has me starting to believe, as Gary mentions in his summation, that this team might have discovered just what and who they are as a team and that's an important discovery that will make them a more cohesive unit that has the makings to produce what we all have come to know and appreciate as "Carolina Basketball".

Worth mentioning: The referees should have exerted more control in this game, and it should have started in the 1st half, but they let the overly physical play in the paint get real "chippy" and as a result, it culminated in the fiasco we witnessed in OT. Armando was absolutely mauled in the paint and should have shot a ton more FT's. The Louisville design was to double or triple team Armando and be so physical with him that he could not operate inside.

It worked most times, as the rough physicality was allowed and Armando kept insisting on taking shots that were impossible to make until either He, a teammate, or a staff member, got through to him to pass the ball back out, and if you remember, he did this twice and to RJ & Leaky, with what result? Made 3-point shots. As you might recall, I have been zeroing in on this in my posts for a while now to pass the ball back out to an open shooter or re-set and get the ball back once you are in the correct position to score, and STOP throwing up the ungodly and awful looking prayers that we have seen the last 4 games! Sheesh, those are ugly, awkward looking and get you no style points or game points either for that matter.

Brady, Armando, Leaky, and RJ had good to great play, and I mentioned what I thought about Puff's play and once again kudos to him for that defense. We shot a higher percentage from 3 than 2 in this game, which has happened several times and we made most of our FT's. You guys do realize that we lead the ACC in FT %? That's great.

I want to see a team full of fire breathing dragons Saturday. I really want these guys to win that one.

 

[notashelbyfan]

The game when Gary should have really let the refs hold it and he was surprisingly reserved!

And I'm not sure you stated well enough how dumb of a basketball player Love is!

But wins a win and tonight is the first time I felt like they competed dug deep and brought it!

 

[Bubspub88]

Completely agree that Puff's charge was huge. Unfortunately I am afraid Bacot may have a bullseye on him from the refs moving forward, and duke with the bigs they have coming in could be bad. Love also frustrates me to death. The bright side is that a month ago if Love plays that game UNC loses by 20.

Refs allowed the game to get out of control but if you are on the court you have to maintain your composure. In my opinion it is on the staff to instill that discipline. It was a conf road win but that is about it. I think we'll see more small ball moving forward with Leaky at the 4, if he keeps his confidence and can hit a couple of 3's a game that is not terrible.

I will say I was disappointed at end of first half. Hubert calls a TO to set up a play and after it's inbounded to RJ he dribbles around and hits a falling away jumper. Nice result but you needed a TO to set that up? Bacot's kick outs were huge and Manek showed that he can do more than shoot from deep.

Cannot wait to see what UNC team shows up Saturday. At home at least, we have one that is pretty dadgum good.

 

[gobblercalls]

It's a shame how college basketball has degenerated. That game was one of the ugliest NCAA basketball games I've witnessed. There was almost nothing about that game that was a pleasure to watch. The Louisville coach has set a mighty low standard for behavior and his "players" followed his lead. Back in 1980 I watched an asshole coach in Durham use the same tactics because his team wasn't able to compete. He was ultimately rewarded for his behavior, I hope that doesn't happen this time. I won't even get started on how ugly Love's performance was! The fact that UNC won in spite of Love is a testament to how well the others played and how much tougher they are now than just a few weeks ago!

 

[Lewis&Miller]

We got the win but really we got the benefit of the calls. Sure you can say Louisville plays rough but they are totally outmanned from a talent standpoint(they don't have another option). We won't get those calls Saturday nite, everybody knows that. Louisville rode Bacot all game long(he performed magnificently), he kept his cool enough, usually doesn't get the calls, but he is a marked man from the ACC officials going forward.

This team is making some strides in the half court but Hubert requires both guards to play well. Is offensive execution ever going to get some consistency? And is the light ever going to come on for Love? Its getting late. Love had a terrible game trying to execute in the half court. Hubert stuck with him regardless but that was a losing lead guard performance. His success is always more talent related than understanding options. Its probably good(for Love) we only two options at lead guard otherwise his minutes would have declined throughout the season. So we are riding with Love and Davis. Davis becoming more consistent and Love, some things not so much, game to game.

Luckily, Love gets up for the dookies after being dissed in recruitment by the Rat. We got that going for us come Saturday nite.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

I don't know how we can say anything about a standard of behavior. I saw a coach who lost his temper during an extremely stressful moment after seeing the refs make a horrid call against him! After his blowup he is seen apologizing to his players/staff, calming them down, and asking them to pick him up! I do take issue with the physicality that bordered on assault at times, but I think suspending your best player trumps losing your temper for setting a tone!

Heels won a messy, road game despite sometimes comically bad decision making, an energetic/hostile crowd, fatigue, career best performances by opponents, and puke looming! Leaky is finding his stroke; RJ is becoming a leader; Walton and Puff are becoming contributors; Bacot is a man; Manek has discovered a tough streak in the post + is hitting his 3s; Love continues to hit timely shots and stay in front of his man; and we silenced the critics saying we can't win on the road = GDTBATH!

 

[Steat]

I don't know how we can say anything about a standard of behavior. I saw a coach who lost his temper during an extremely stressful moment after seeing the refs make a horrid call against him! After his blowup he is seen apologizing to his players/staff, calming them down, and asking them to pick him up! I do take issue with the physicality that bordered on assault at times, but I think suspending your best player trumps losing your temper for setting a tone!

Heels won a messy, road game despite sometimes comically bad decision making, an energetic/hostile crowd, fatigue, career best performances by opponents, and puke looming! Leaky is finding his stroke; RJ is becoming a leader; Walton and Puff are becoming contributors; Bacot is a man; Manek has discovered a tough streak in the post + is hitting his 3s; Love continues to hit timely shots and stay in front of his man; and we silenced the critics saying we can't win on the road = GDTBATH!

Spot on TP.

 

[Steat]

Bottom line, a win is a win. Now, lets get ready for Duke. Win that game and the Heels probably clinch a ticket to the Dance. Betcha one thing, there will not be any empty seats in the Dean Dome.

 

[gobblercalls]

I don't know how we can say anything about a standard of behavior. I saw a coach who lost his temper during an extremely stressful moment after seeing the refs make a horrid call against him! After his blowup he is seen apologizing to his players/staff, calming them down, and asking them to pick him up!

So it's okay to lose your temper about a supposed bad call? Get the T and cost your team a chance at a win but it's okay because he apologized. Right, that makes it all better. But that wasn't the only time. Why wasn't he T'd up earlier when he was hanging all over the official? Why did he accept the behavior from the fans? Or maybe their behavior was okay since they felt they got a bad call. Surely it would have been made okay if only they'd apologized. Who do you think instructed the players to play the style of basketball they played, and I use the term basketball loosely. There are rules to the game. If a coach teaches or dictates to a player to break those rules then he's a lowlife asshole like the guy in Durham. It doesn't matter what gets called or not. That's a win at all cost, sell your soul for a victory attitude. I don't like it but to each his own. There are coaches that teach a physical style of basketball, and that's okay. Moving on.

 

[Knucklehank1]

It's a shame how college basketball has degenerated. That game was one of the ugliest NCAA basketball games I've witnessed. There was almost nothing about that game that was a pleasure to watch. The Louisville coach has set a mighty low standard for behavior and his "players" followed his lead. Back in 1980 I watched an asshole coach in Durham use the same tactics because his team wasn't able to compete. He was ultimately rewarded for his behavior, I hope that doesn't happen this time. I won't even get started on how ugly Love's performance was! The fact that UNC won in spite of Love is a testament to how well the others played and how much tougher they are now than just a few weeks ago!

This is the most sanctimonious bs I’ve read in a while. The UofL interim coach slammed his hand on the scorers table after a blatantly terrible call that effectively ended the game. And then the OP uses terms like “thug” and “dirty”. First of all it’s pathetic to use that terminology. Secondly look at any non-partial commentary on the game. Your ridiculous takes aren’t backed by reality.

 

[gobblercalls]

This is the most sanctimonious bs I’ve read in a while. The UofL interim coach slammed his hand on the scorers table after a blatantly terrible call that effectively ended the game. And then the OP uses terms like “thug” and “dirty”. First of all it’s pathetic to use that terminology. Secondly look at any non-partial commentary on the game. Your ridiculous takes aren’t backed by reality.

This is the most sanctimonious bs I’ve read in a while. The UofL interim coach slammed his hand on the scorers table after a blatantly terrible call that effectively ended the game. And then the OP uses terms like “thug” and “dirty”. First of all it’s pathetic to use that terminology. Secondly look at any non-partial commentary on the game. Your ridiculous takes aren’t backed by reality.

Really? Was the game ugly? Yes. Was it a pleasure to watch? Nope. Did the UL coach set a low standard? Yes. During the game and afterwards. Did the coach in durham act the same way in 1980? Yes. Was he rewarded? Yes. Did Love have an ugly game? Yes. So where was I wrong? And for the record, I did not use the terms dirty or thug. I know you said the OP but you copied my post, so just clarifying.

 

[Grover Thomas]

I enjoyed this ugly road win. I see improvements in defense and offense. Love and Davis are staying in front of their man a lot more. Some are down on Love but that kid is aggressive getting in the lane and that’s what I want him to do. His 2 point shots are down a bit now but when he scores…we win. Also I see he has led us in assist last night (6) and the game before (5)….he is averaging 3.5 assists to 2.5 turnovers. RJ is averaging 3.4 assists and 2.0 turnovers. Plus Love is money from the free throw line……that’s why the ball is in his hands in winning time. So calm down…..he and RJ makes some really dumb turnovers….they both do and that will continue because they are just aggressive players and will take chances.

what I like the most is Love and RJ is finding Leaky for open threes and they are trusting Leaky to make those shots….Leaky looks like the player we all hope he could be. Another thing I like is both guards are getting the ball inside to Mondo….sometimes forcing it down there when they shouldn’t and they are both getting Manek clean looks from three….they ball is moving a lot more and now the scoring is balanced.

More importantly we are third in the ACC only a 1/2 game out of first place…..still want to fire Hubert?

 

[notashelbyfan]

I thought just as a basketball fan it was a great game to watch!

 

[TPFKAPFS]

The call was horrible and should have been a no call or a foul on Bacot. The coach's reaction was understandable but he would be the first to tell you it was a mistake! He got a tech and hurt his team. I hope UofL gives him time to grow into the role and that he will learn from this experience. The team did play an extremely physical style and got away with a great deal of pushing, grabbing, and hacking-our team eventually adjusted to it and managed to play through! (possible exception is Caleb who allowed the physicality of the guards to cause him to be way too loose with the ball.) I have no problem with the word "dirty" since it is an opinion. I completely understand the issue peeps have with the word "thug" since it has so much cultural baggage it is definitely a regrettable word choice!

BUT: If this is the most sanctimonious "stuff" you have read on a message board in a while, you need to get out more, LOL!

 

[Knucklehank1]

The only low standard was from the officials that compounded an egregious call with an egregious technical all of which occurred after they rewarded a flop.

 

[Travis2262]

Fun game to watch.

I could have done without the Grayson Allen imitation though.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Hopefully, if Bacot trips 12 more people UNC will learn from the LOM and suspend him indefinitely!

 

[gary-7]

This is the most sanctimonious bs I’ve read in a while. The UofL interim coach slammed his hand on the scorers table after a blatantly terrible call that effectively ended the game. And then the OP uses terms like “thug” and “dirty”. First of all it’s pathetic to use that terminology. Secondly look at any non-partial commentary on the game. Your ridiculous takes aren’t backed by reality.

Go away and discover reality.

 

[gauchoheel]

I only saw the last few minutes of regulation and OT, but holy cow those were some horrible calls, luckily in our favor. I can't believe how they basically handed us the game with two BS techs. Let's stop complaining about unfairness from the refs for a while after that one, yes?

 

[notashelbyfan]

I only saw the last few minutes of regulation and OT, but holy cow those were some horrible calls, luckily in our favor. I can't believe how they basically handed us the game with two BS techs. Let's stop complaining about unfairness from the refs for a while after that one, yes?

Gary is only going to bash the refs when he thinks the calls go against us. Those refs were terrible and most of the bad calls went in our favor that's undisputed.

 

[dtodd4475]

Caleb was awful overall, but I was encouraged with him still making some big plays, he cannot go into a shell when he is "off" and dissappear. I loved how Hubert set up the initial set in overtime and the team executed it to perfection for a beautiful 3ball for him which he banged with confidence. He had a confident key baseline floater late, and did not take his struggles to the free throw line, where he was MONEY.

Leaky was very good. They ask SO much of him on dee focusing on all types of opposing feature guys on any given night, so.etimes having to switch to the hot hand. He handled the ball solid as a rock, and stroked his open looks like he knew it was good as soon as it left his hand.

Brady showed some variety to his offensive repertoire, he was very impressive. He showed some grit and made a key partial block as they continue to target him on that end. His willingness to do some of the dirty work and mid range/ to the bucket stuff could add so much, he is a SKILLED offensive threat and a tough matchup for anyone when he does that.

RJ was very good he always plays hard, now starting to grow into not just hard but savy. Mando was a warrior, he is being physical and trying to set a tone nightly.

Big win on the road, but it would of been a bigger loss if it slipped away. The high leverage possessions late are great experience with this team, especially since they have had most games with comfortable margins either for or against this year. The stellar free throw shooting is a big plus in those situations.

 

[Knucklehank1]

Go away and discover reality.

Most impartial observers don’t share your reality. Anyways, good luck to UNC the rest of the season. Hopefully you can clean up some of the terminology you use when referring to these student-athletes. It’s unbecoming for a fanbase like UNC that is generally very well-regarded.

 

[LioninNC]

75, do you have a feel for why Hubert continues to start and play Love 30+ minutes a game when he does the things like you mentioned above seemingly every game? I do find it a bit perplexing that after some of his, to use your phrase, "barrel drives to the basket" which we see multiple times in every game he doesn't get pulled and given an opportunity to watch from the bench for an extended period of time.

I'm guessing his 30+ minutes are because Hubert still thinks playing him, with all the bad choices he makes, still gives the team a better chance of winning than giving someone else his minutes. For whatever reason, its seems like he has the freedom to selfishly audition for the NBA scouts multiple times a game without any negative playing time repercussions. There's just seems to be no accountability.

 

[Grover Thomas]

75, do you have a feel for why Hubert continues to start and play Love 30+ minutes a game when he does the things like you mentioned above seemingly every game? I do find it a bit perplexing that after some of his, to use your phrase, "barrel drives to the basket" which we see multiple times in every game he doesn't get pulled and given an opportunity to watch from the bench for an extended period of time.

I'm guessing his 30+ minutes are because Hubert still thinks playing him, with all the bad choices he makes, still gives the team a better chance of winning than giving someone else his minutes. For whatever reason, its seems like he has the freedom to selfishly audition for the NBA scouts multiple times a game without any negative playing time repercussions. There's just seems to be no accountability.

Because when he scores ….we win. He is our assist leader by a tad….and a clutch free throw shooter…and he has the ball in his hands at winning time mainly because he gets in the lane. By the way….he was our scoring leader in the 3 games we won prior to last night…again when he scores we win…..and again he is our assist leader to boot….and our best free throw shooter. And now he is playing good defense.
Numbers don’t lie….win he scores…we win.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

This probably isn't the right thread to ask this question, but it's an active thread and it's about Louisville, so here goes....

Do we know why Mack accepted millions less on his buyout? I mean why would he do that?

Finally watching the game now, and the announcers are talking about how he wasn't fired, they came to an agreement, and so on.

Did he give away million$ just so he could say he wasn't fired? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

 

[SuperFan61]

The level of dirty play in that game last night was almost to the level of how badly Tar Heel fans on this board treat one another. There's no respect given to opinions that people don't agree with here, and it's not just here. It's politics, it's social media, it's everywhere. I really think social media is destroying the civil society..........but young people would disagree because this is all they've ever known.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

If you have ever coached, you soon realize that deciding who starts and developing your trusted rotation involves WAY more than numbers! Personalities and chemistry play an equally large role! Some players will thrive coming off the bench; some only keep their heads in the game as starters and for some they can handle both! Some peeps become cancers if they lose their starting role and some use it as motivation. From the outside, it is obvious Hubs thinks playing RJ and Caleb together give us the best chance to win AND since we are winning quite a bit, it is hard to argue with that. Caleb has improved steadily in decision making, shooting, passing, defense, and leadership since he arrived! I congratulate him on his progress and thank him for his hard work!

 

[Knucklehank1]

This probably isn't the right thread to ask this question, but it's an active thread and it's about Louisville, so here goes....

Do we know why Mack accepted millions less on his buyout? I mean why would he do that?

Finally watching the game now, and the announcers are talking about how he wasn't fired, they came to an agreement, and so on.

Did he give away million$ just so he could say he wasn't fired? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

In Mack’s contract it has a clause that says the school can fire him with cause (and no buyout) if he commits a Level 2 NCAA violation. Before the season he fired Dino Gaudio and recorded that conversation. On the one side he had recorded Gaudio trying to extort him and the university. On the flip side the recording essentially shows him admitting that violations occurred that would be level 2 in nature. So while his buyout would be about $12M, he was facing the distinct possibility of $0 buyout once the NCAA make a ruling. So he decided to go ahead and pull the plug and get what he could get. His tenure was not going well so there was mutual interest in a separation.

 

[gary-7]

I only saw the last few minutes of regulation and OT, but holy cow those were some horrible calls, luckily in our favor. I can't believe how they basically handed us the game with two BS techs. Let's stop complaining about unfairness from the refs for a while after that one, yes?

You should have watched the rest before making that comment. And there was only one bad call in our favor at the end.

 

[tarheel0910]

Because when he scores ….we win. He is our assist leader by a tad….and a clutch free throw shooter…and he has the ball in his hands at winning time mainly because he gets in the lane. By the way….he was our scoring leader in the 3 games we won prior to last night…again when he scores we win…..and again he is our assist leader to boot….and our best free throw shooter. And now he is playing good defense.
Numbers don’t lie….win he scores…we win.

What happens when he scores?

 

[Tarheel75]

75, do you have a feel for why Hubert continues to start and play Love 30+ minutes a game when he does the things like you mentioned above seemingly every game? I do find it a bit perplexing that after some of his, to use your phrase, "barrel drives to the basket" which we see multiple times in every game he doesn't get pulled and given an opportunity to watch from the bench for an extended period of time.

I'm guessing his 30+ minutes are because Hubert still thinks playing him, with all the bad choices he makes, still gives the team a better chance of winning than giving someone else his minutes. For whatever reason, its seems like he has the freedom to selfishly audition for the NBA scouts multiple times a game without any negative playing time repercussions. There's just seems to be no accountability.

There is some truth in what you both posted (ie: You & Grover Thomas). Many of us, myself included can voice complaints about Caleb's play at times or his basketball IQ not being what it should be. The truth be told, who are you going to play off the bench that would be a better option?

Hubert does not have the option to sit Caleb for long stretches as we all should know by now. Dunn is not a capable ball handler or distributor of the ball, and his handle is extremely shaky, and he is NOT a LG. Caleb is a 2G working hard to be a PG, but, as we also have seen, the offense runs much smoother with RJ running LG and Caleb playing the 2G.

The next 2 classes we have coming in will have genuine LG's, so we will just have to move along and dance with the ones we brought to the dance. While we have to have Caleb's scoring acumen to win games, he has to come to the realization that he cannot beat a 5-man team by himself and that with more passing and assists instead of driving into the lane against 4 defenders and bouncing the ball out on the perimeter eating up the shot clock then jacking up longer than NBA distance 3's which are low percentage shots, he could pass the ball off and create shots, and I mean easy shots for his teammates.

Two times in last night's game he had a wide-open teammate he could have passed to and gotten very easy baskets. One to Manek and one to Leaky I believe, and he just forced himself to the basket and never looked to pass off. That's not team ball, its selfish hero ball, and that's what he needs to overcome for this team to get more scoring and better team play. He refuses to look for or make the easy play that is obvious to all but him, and that speaks to BB IQ.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

In Mack’s contract it has a clause that says the school can fire him with cause (and no buyout) if he commits a Level 2 NCAA violation. Before the season he fired Dino Gaudio and recorded that conversation. On the one side he had recorded Gaudio trying to extort him and the university. On the flip side the recording essentially shows him admitting that violations occurred that would be level 2 in nature. So while his buyout would be about $12M, he was facing the distinct possibility of $0 buyout once the NCAA make a ruling. So he decided to go ahead and pull the plug and get what he could get. His tenure was not going well so there was mutual interest in a separation.

Thanks for that very good explanation.

 

[SuperFan61]

What happens when he scores?

I'm gonna take a stab...........we win?

 

[notashelbyfan]

You should have watched the rest before making that comment. And there was only one bad call in our favor at the end.

Dude Bacot fouled out 3 times in the last 3 mins of regulation and overtime!

 

[Steat]

Fun game to watch.

I could have done without the Grayson Allen imitation though.

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That was photoshopped. LOL