Quick stuff (UNCW game)....

[dtodd4475]

Let me clarify. I was comparing him to Styles. We need both to develop and provide quality depth on the wing. They were the first two off the bench last night, came in and looked a little nervous, but that is not the end of the world. Dunn settled down in the 2nd half, was active and aggressive on defense. His only basket was a strong drive to the hoop against pressure defense.
So yes last night Dunn looked ready to play, especially when he got that 2nd chance.

I like his development from last year, and hope he continues, I saw him a bit different last night, compared to last year. I would not say aggressiveness on dee, not awful, but I would not say aggressive. The banked straight in shot was his only bucket, did not see aggression on that side of the ball either.

Again, much better then last year where he looked like a deer in headlights at times. He deserves time and has shown a nice stroke and a bit more of a comfort level at this level in the exhibition and from reports in practice. I just did not see a whole lot in his 14 minutes, certainly not active and aggressiveness, but not bad. Those descriptives do fit Trimble's outing in my opinion though.

 

[imajericho]

Despite the hoopla around Bacot and Love, Manek was the one that opened everything up last year. Folks seem to overlook the fact that his unique skill set is hard to replace. And I don't see anybody on this team close to doing it. I am afraid this team will be a struggle from time to time. It may reflect a lot of last years struggles. If Caleb goes off, they can beat anybody. If he doesn't it's up in the air.

Yeah. If our offense doesn't evolve big time, we are not gonna go as far as everyone here thinks.

We can't have people ignoring the wide open 3 point shooters.

We also won't blow past defenders on many teams for those easy layups to win the game like this game.

 

[Tarheel75]

75, i was waiting for you to weigh in, and yes, spot on.

And I'm gonna add one thing to what you posted. Now, you know how much I Iove this staff, but that said, I think Hubert got a touch of tight-ass when the game didn't open up in our favor. For example, I think he gave up on the extended rotation too quickly, which sends a message to the starters that reverting to last season's half-court hero-ball is gonna be enough. News Flash--- It is not.

On that note, your example concerning Nickel being ignored is case-in-point. Especially now, Dunn, Styles and Nickel in particular need to be getting double-digit minutes EVERY game, and the starters from last season need to EXPECT and RESPECT that.

In general, as you said, it starts with Carolina basketball, which starts with the Fast/Secondary breaks, and SHARING the ball in motion offense. As I posted, we've been scouted extensively --- so the forced-switch half-cout stuff ain't gonna be there anymore. Time to get back to the system.

I was so irritated with this game that I forgot to mention that you covered most of the bases in your overview Gary and I enjoyed those, thanks.
After rewatching this game on tape, I have a little better feeling about the game and where we go from here.

What hasn't been given enough attention is the UNCW gameplan that they ran rather well and was perhaps the catalyst for our poor play on offense. They are coached well and are basically a very good team that won 27 games last season and also won one of the lesser post season tournaments and we need to appreciate the way that they ran their offense and played their defense, as it was designed to slow down the game and keep us from what we do offensively. They ran the shot clock down on most every possession and pressed on defense to shorten the game and we just didn't handle their defense as well as we will later on this season.

I was a little disappointed that the freshmen were mostly ignored on offense, and I am sure that this will change going forth as they need to get their feet wet offensively so that they can be given the opportunity to show the coaching staff their Bonafide's. I like Trimble's game, but again, as you mentioned he is not a LG, but can be adequate in that roll I believe in short stages. He's going to be a problem for opposing guards going forth as he is relentless on defense, and that bodes well for him, and he will get minutes.

While we did not get to see how well Nickel will be on offense, I will make this prediction, he will be our assassin on offense. I am sure he was a little nervous playing in his 1st game; however, he knows how to get open and he is not afraid to shoot it. He has the makings to be a good defensive player along with Trimble and he needs time to make his mistakes and grow as he has the desire and the ability, and he is a good deal more athletic than meets the eye.

I am really anxious to see what Jalen Washington will add to this team. He may get some time Friday against the College of Charleston. He is the X-Factor who will add a lot on both sides of play once he is immersed in the game. He has been going 5 on 5 in practice in the last week or so, so we might get an appearance from him on Friday if the medical staff gives Hubert the thumbs up. Hope it happens so we can all have some questions answered about what kind of player we have.

 

[Grover Thomas]

Sorry, but that's not even close. Our offense was just fugly when they let him handle at the top.

Repeat after me: Seth is NOT a PG. He is a Combo trying to LEARN Point, just as RJ and Caleb were 2 years ago. Seth is a freaky athlete who can finish above the rim, and is willing to play defense (albeit still in a learning curve vis-a-vis forces and fouling), but PG does NOT come naturally to him. Don't get me wrong --- he tries hard to do the right things at Point --- but simply does not possess that key innate sense of spacing and movement.

Look... hard truth is we don't have a true PG on the roster (which is all the more reason it needs to be Cadeau-or-bust in the next recruiting class), so for now the staff just needs to remind RJ and Caleb that last season needs to be put in the rear-view. Start playing friggin' Carolina basketball and move the damned rock. Those two guys are three seasons in now, and they know what they're supposed to be doing. Time to reinforce that.

Gary I agree with you 100% …..on Cadeau….had a chance to really watch him….and yeah….we need him bbbbaaaaddddd.

I was just ruffling the feathers of those who thought RJ was actually playing point guard the other night…no he wasn’t….he was dribbling and shooting…..he didn’t set up noise for a basket but himself.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Love the thought provoking responses on here. I don't understand anyone thinking Seth is ready to run the point when we have arguably the best PG in college already there! RJ will figure it out quickly and will not repeat last game's performance. I think it was a a combo of believing our own press and being smacked in the face by a very physical team. I will say that Caleb did revert to 2 years back, but I also expect him to bounce back. I would also like to add that the refs calling such a confusingly inconsistent game added to the perfect storm along with complacency, brick laying, physical play, and anxiety! I was most surprised by Bacot and actually least worried about him bouncing back! Hubs will play a deep bench, but he clearly is not willing to lose to do it like Roy was! He put in Styles and the poor guy flubbed his debut-result was no more Styles! He put in Trimble and he was slightly less than effective; result = a little more Seth. Put in Nickel and the team ignored him; result = a spot on the team that has no benefit so little Nickel. The entire Tar Heel Family will grow from this and I expect to see it Friday!

I am really starting to despise TV Teddy!

 

[Tarheelsman71]

Less motion and more set plays. Set plays remove the dribble dribble dribble from the play and people actually move without the ball. This aint an AAU run and gun team. We dont have above the rim finishers and our shooting is suspect. I was hoping Nickel would be able to shoot lights out from the beginning but if the "PG" wont pass him the ball when he is open to see if he can be a shooter then it dont matter. We dont really have much in the way of a 40% type 3pt shooter outside of him. and he is very much a question mark there. Defensively he was a step slow and that is why that other guy didnt get to play for hubert last year despite starting for Roy the year before.

 

[gary-7]

I was so irritated with this game that I forgot to mention that you covered most of the bases in your overview Gary and I enjoyed those, thanks.
After rewatching this game on tape, I have a little better feeling about the game and where we go from here.

What hasn't been given enough attention is the UNCW gameplan that they ran rather well and was perhaps the catalyst for our poor play on offense. They are coached well and are basically a very good team that won 27 games last season and also won one of the lesser post season tournaments and we need to appreciate the way that they ran their offense and played their defense, as it was designed to slow down the game and keep us from what we do offensively. They ran the shot clock down on most every possession and pressed on defense to shorten the game and we just didn't handle their defense as well as we will later on this season.

I was a little disappointed that the freshmen were mostly ignored on offense, and I am sure that this will change going forth as they need to get their feet wet offensively so that they can be given the opportunity to show the coaching staff their Bonafide's. I like Trimble's game, but again, as you mentioned he is not a LG, but can be adequate in that roll I believe in short stages. He's going to be a problem for opposing guards going forth as he is relentless on defense, and that bodes well for him, and he will get minutes.

While we did not get to see how well Nickel will be on offense, I will make this prediction, he will be our assassin on offense. I am sure he was a little nervous playing in his 1st game; however, he knows how to get open and he is not afraid to shoot it. He has the makings to be a good defensive player along with Trimble and he needs time to make his mistakes and grow as he has the desire and the ability, and he is a good deal more athletic than meets the eye.

I am really anxious to see what Jalen Washington will add to this team. He may get some time Friday against the College of Charleston. He is the X-Factor who will add a lot on both sides of play once he is immersed in the game. He has been going 5 on 5 in practice in the last week or so, so we might get an appearance from him on Friday if the medical staff gives Hubert the thumbs up. Hope it happens so we can all have some questions answered about what kind of player we have.

Can't disagree with any of that.

To your point about the frosh (especially Nickel) being ignored, I suspect that is a hangover from last year's short rotation. The challenge for the staff now is to make sure the starters embrace a different team makeup this season -- and being perfectly frank, that STARTS with the staff hammering Dean Smith TEAM mantras over and over --- and especially in these early games, letting guys like Dunn/Styles/Nickel get REGULAR and consistent minutes every night (I didn't mention Trimble only because he got more minutes, some of which TBH ,would better have gone to Dunn late).

Hubert and staff need to resolve to not worry about losing an early game because the chemistry is still forming --- let the bench guys know they have a role that won't get jerked around by a tight game. As you and I both know, November growing pains often lead to March success.

And 100% yes. the ball not getting to Nickel was egregious --- this kid can light it up, and in fact is way more likely to replicate Manek's perimeter dimension from the 3 than Pete is from the 4. And oh hell yes, i have fingers crossed for Wahington's debut. Most UNC fans have no idea what this kid can bring to the court when healthy!

 

[Grover Thomas]

Y’all are saying the same thing as me….but not mentioning RG by name.

He wouldn’t pass the ball because he was looking for his own shot…..he penetrated the lane not to pass but to shoot. He wants to elevate his status in the eyes of scouts etc….. at the teams expense.

Notice how smooth the offense was in the exhibition game? Noticed how that ball moved? Noticed how many point were scored? Noticed who was t running the point?

Solution move RJ to the 2 and Love back at the 1. If not team chemistry will suffer. Unless of course HD have a talk with his starting PG named RJ.

 

[tmatheny]

There is alot of work to be done but we are head and shoulders ahead of where we were at this time last year. We won a game by double digits that we could have easily lost last year. We already have more of a bench and we still have Puff and Washington to add to it. I'm ok with us not playing well at this time of the year. It gives the coaches more things to push the guys on.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

I like his development from last year, and hope he continues, I saw him a bit different last night, compared to last year. (1) I would not say aggressiveness on dee, not awful, but I would not say aggressive. (2) The banked straight in shot was his only bucket, did not see aggression on that side of the ball either.

(3) Again, much better then last year where he looked like a deer in headlights at times. He deserves time and has shown a nice stroke and a bit more of a comfort level at this level in the exhibition and from reports in practice. I just did not see a whole lot in his 14 minutes, certainly not active and aggressiveness, but not bad. Those descriptives do fit Trimble's outing in my opinion though.

1. Go back and watch his defensive effort, mainy in the 2nd half.
2. That was a really strong move to the basket. His only other shot attempt was a missed open 3.
3. Agree, he looked a little nervous the first time he and Styles entered the game but much calmer during his 2nd half run.

 

[dtodd4475]

1. Go back and watch his defensive effort, mainy in the 2nd half.
2. That was a really strong move to the basket. His only other shot attempt was a missed open 3.
3. Agree, he looked a little nervous the first time he and Styles entered the game but much calmer during his 2nd half run.

Agreed that his effort on dee wasn't bad, I just didn't think it was a strong aggressive effort that was above average.

It was his strongest move, I'm not so sure he meant to bank it though with the finish. Would like to see more of that probing though for sure.

The first half was indeed where he seemed to meekly stand around on a couple possessions which was reminiscent of last season to me. From all accounts his confidence is much better this year in practice and off the court, hopefully he has a break out game that solidifies that confidence under the bright lights.

 

[2DDIMOND]

I am pro RJ…..when he’s passing the ball like a point guard and will go back to calling him RJ “We fall down but We get up “ Davis once he comes back to his senses. Until then which may be the next game….he is the Dribbler….if he gets 6 assist next game, I will promote him as PG of the year. But right now GE is The Dribbler

The difference is, when Love has a subpar game, you find a way to spin it where nothing was his fault. When RJ dribbles around you want to poke holes in his game. If you’re going to critique RJ’s performance, you have to do the same with Love & be fair about it. Your bias is obvious to everyone but you, & quite honestly, it’s tiresome. I don’t put anyone on ignore, because I like reading all the comments even if I don’t respond, but you are the only one that has made me seriously think about it.

 

[Grover Thomas]

The difference is, when Love has a subpar game, you find a way to spin it where nothing was his fault. When RJ dribbles around you want to poke holes in his game. If you’re going to critique RJ’s performance, you have to do the same with Love & be fair about it. Your bias is obvious to everyone but you, & quite honestly, it’s tiresome. I don’t put anyone on ignore, because I like reading all the comments even if I don’t respond, but you are the only one that has made me seriously think about it.

Ain’t that serious bro…..if you notice….most of my post are humorous…..RJ just happen to be the one I picked on this time. But don’t worry with High signing…..I will have new material.

Didn’t you like my post about Tremble Trimbling because RJ dominated him in practice?

But you are right about my bias for Love…but how can you criticize Love?

 

[gauchoheel]

Caleb and Nance had 34, Leaky 30, would of been more if he didn't tweak his ankle and sit out 3 or 4 minutes due to it. Mando would of had 34 or so if not for the early 4th foul, he still logged 28.

We are deeper, but in competitive games I see most of our starters getting big minutes. I do hope the non conference affords more opportunity for bench minutes, last night they never pushed out to a big lead though.

Basically it seems Hubert is only really comfortable playing starters less than 30 minutes in blowouts. Which is fine for the most part, but I would like to see a few more minutes. Bench will not be as important as it was under Roy.

 

[gauchoheel]

- Oh, and speaking of switching, in the first half it was apparent UNCW scouted us from last season, and (as I warned) weren't having that forced up/down switch for RJ. Expect that to become a norm, which is all the more reason to default to Carolina transition to trigger our offense.

Agreed. How maddening to let them press for much of the game and not make them pay at all. No reason they should've stopped given they were letting us waste 10 seconds trying to get by it with no consequences. At least two turnovers too, the 10 second call and the one where Leaky stepped on the halfcourt line. I expect that just cut us off guard and it wouldn't be such an issue later in the season. Same with the rebounding and ball movement too (I hope), though those are not really due to gimmick issues like the press. Should've looked a little better but we won.

 

[DSouthr]

Very interesting game vs UNCW and while I realize many were left feeling disappointed that we didn't score as much as we expected, maybe more than a few recall the first half of last season, specifically the very early slate where we played several games way closer than we had expected against teams we expected to blow out. But against UNCW, against the team we drilled in the exhibition as well, really nasty defense from our Heels! We held a well coached and hard playing UNCW team to what, 26% from the floor while we shot it at 46%. Offense can be there one night and gone the next but defense tends to travel with you because defense is more about effort.

Yeah, we didn't blockout well which allowed them to get to many rebounds off their long misses, that is a coachable issue that Hubert will work on in the film room. Gonna piss off some folks when I say this but it is what I saw, Caleb is much better when RJ is in the game playing off the ball, he still gives us those dumb TOs like showing the defender the ball and having it stripped. I love what Caleb gives us when he is on but he seems to go to extremes both in a good and a not so good way that can change completely on a dime? I don't need a heat check when the game is tight, I need a good clean look then. It is decision making that is at times fantastic and at other times down right awful. While I really loved his assist numbers in the exhibition, where were his assists vs UNCW? Where were the RJ assist numbers as well? You telling me that our starting back court took what 27 shots and yet between them were only to produce 1 assist? Sorry but that just is not the definition of efficiently running this team. But it is early and Hubert will handle that in his own way.

Nance, our leading assist guy for this game, got a total of 3 shots and had a mismatch all night, he needs a min of 10 shots every game out. Leaky, on he offensive end, good things happen when Leaky takes his man deep in the paint where he can use his length and strength to drill his defender when we pull our big men out of the paint. But Leaky can't do that if the big men are not drawn out the the paint (the paint gets to congested). UNCW, as will most any team that scouts us, left Leaky wide open to take jump shots. If you are going to sit Leaky and put Nickel in, why not look for Nickel to take those open look jumpers they gave Leaky (pretty much what we were doing in the exhibition)?

So yeah, the offense was not good, gave up way to many offensive rebounds that seriously limited our possessions and expanded theirs. But the Tar Heel defense had teeth, the effort level was there. Of course Leaky was doing Leaky things defensively, if they scored on him it was a hard shot. But the whole team seems to have taken defense seriously and 2 guys that really stand out to me as defenders is Nance, really uses his length well and plays long, pretty darn good at not biting on the fakes, staying on the ground until the other guy leaves his feet, better than I expected defender. The other guy is Trimble, kid is darn near a lock down defender already, he just played his first regular season college game ever! From what I see the kid is right now at worst the 2nd best ball handler we have but right on RJs heels for best ball handler we have. Go ahead and disagree with me now, your tune will change in a few weeks. Maybe rather than try to pit Seth and Dunn against each other, maybe we would be better off rooting for both of them?

The offense will come around, we will block out better than we did the other night, may take a while because honestly, our starting back court tandem has shown that they are hard headed in addition to being extremely talented. But if this team defends like it has started out defending we can withstand off scoring nights and bone headed TOs, any time you can hold the other team to 26% shooting you can over come bad scoring nights.

I think we will see Jalen Washington for a few minutes in the next game, I can't wait to see where that kid's game is now, I hear really good things.

 

[DrJaaay]

After rewatching the game I was reminded of a statement that Roy used to say ... which was "I hate cool" ... and in my opinion Caleb, Leaky and Armando were acting too "cool". I agree with someone above that they "haven't tuned out the outside noise". They're a little full of themselves right now. Hopefully that'll change real soon. Go Heels !!!

 

[imajericho]

Can I ask what makes you think UNCW is a well coached, hard playing team? Like, their results from last year don't mean much. They lost a lot of that team. It's why they are only predicted to finish 5th in their conference.

I can't imagine what kind of assumption you have to make in order to say that this was competition where our defense and not simply their lack of offensive capability was the deciding factor.

We have played no one we can gauge off of yet.

Edit: I may as well address your whole post.

Disagree strongly on Caleb running the point. He did many times this game and almost nothing was accomplished from it. He dribbles the ball outside the perimeter before handing it off normally. RJ does much of the same, but RJ did many times find someone in deep who was fouled before they could finish. I am not going blown assists route, but he was getting it inside. Caleb had an easy assist on the fast break to Davis 2 on 1 and refused to pass it and missed a contested layup. That's not who should he running the point.

Rebounding was atrocious yes. I suspect we lose this game if the other team was decent. Lots of offensive rebounds. I saw one possession where Nance was on the far to tv side of rim, the ball bounced right that way. Instead of positioning for it and jumping for it, he just simply turned around to look at the spot it fell where the UNCW much smaller player got the rebound. That's lack of hustle and positioning.

The players very commonly don't move and cut much off the ball which leads to many not getting open much. Nance not getting the ball was partially selfishness across the team and lack of positioning. We seem more willing to drive contested or toss in contested post than to move around as much. Nickel was open 3 times for a kickout. The 2 I remember straight up was Bacot missing a double or triple teamed attempt instead of passing out. Caleb Love tossing up a contested drive from 10 feet out instead of kicking out when the defender collapsed on him. I think both got bailed out by foul calls, but in both scenarios, the 3 was wide open and they tried very very low percentage shots. Nance got at least one kickout and missed it.

Defense wise, Trimble was pretty solid. Nickel needs some reaction and foot speed. Nance leaves his feet and contests jumpers in ways that can be easy to draw fouls on. He needs to watch that. The rest seemed pretty solid.

 

[Ozheelfan]

Ain’t that serious bro…..if you notice….most of my post are humorous…..

I think this is your funniest post yet.

I’m guessing you’re also a dad… we like to laugh at our own jokes while everyone else groans

 

[kjcooper]

Must admit that Grover does add some humor to the board, even when he's right. Trying to remember when that occurred. 😃😃😃😃😃

 

[Grover Thomas]

Very interesting game vs UNCW and while I realize many were left feeling disappointed that we didn't score as much as we expected, maybe more than a few recall the first half of last season, specifically the very early slate where we played several games way closer than we had expected against teams we expected to blow out. But against UNCW, against the team we drilled in the exhibition as well, really nasty defense from our Heels! We held a well coached and hard playing UNCW team to what, 26% from the floor while we shot it at 46%. Offense can be there one night and gone the next but defense tends to travel with you because defense is more about effort.

Yeah, we didn't blockout well which allowed them to get to many rebounds off their long misses, that is a coachable issue that Hubert will work on in the film room. Gonna piss off some folks when I say this but it is what I saw, Caleb is much better when RJ is in the game playing off the ball, he still gives us those dumb TOs like showing the defender the ball and having it stripped. I love what Caleb gives us when he is on but he seems to go to extremes both in a good and a not so good way that can change completely on a dime? I don't need a heat check when the game is tight, I need a good clean look then. It is decision making that is at times fantastic and at other times down right awful. While I really loved his assist numbers in the exhibition, where were his assists vs UNCW? Where were the RJ assist numbers as well? You telling me that our starting back court took what 27 shots and yet between them were only to produce 1 assist? Sorry but that just is not the definition of efficiently running this team. But it is early and Hubert will handle that in his own way.

Nance, our leading assist guy for this game, got a total of 3 shots and had a mismatch all night, he needs a min of 10 shots every game out. Leaky, on he offensive end, good things happen when Leaky takes his man deep in the paint where he can use his length and strength to drill his defender when we pull our big men out of the paint. But Leaky can't do that if the big men are not drawn out the the paint (the paint gets to congested). UNCW, as will most any team that scouts us, left Leaky wide open to take jump shots. If you are going to sit Leaky and put Nickel in, why not look for Nickel to take those open look jumpers they gave Leaky (pretty much what we were doing in the exhibition)?

So yeah, the offense was not good, gave up way to many offensive rebounds that seriously limited our possessions and expanded theirs. But the Tar Heel defense had teeth, the effort level was there. Of course Leaky was doing Leaky things defensively, if they scored on him it was a hard shot. But the whole team seems to have taken defense seriously and 2 guys that really stand out to me as defenders is Nance, really uses his length well and plays long, pretty darn good at not biting on the fakes, staying on the ground until the other guy leaves his feet, better than I expected defender. The other guy is Trimble, kid is darn near a lock down defender already, he just played his first regular season college game ever! From what I see the kid is right now at worst the 2nd best ball handler we have but right on RJs heels for best ball handler we have. Go ahead and disagree with me now, your tune will change in a few weeks. Maybe rather than try to pit Seth and Dunn against each other, maybe we would be better off rooting for both of them?

The offense will come around, we will block out better than we did the other night, may take a while because honestly, our starting back court tandem has shown that they are hard headed in addition to being extremely talented. But if this team defends like it has started out defending we can withstand off scoring nights and bone headed TOs, any time you can hold the other team to 26% shooting you can over come bad scoring nights.

I think we will see Jalen Washington for a few minutes in the next game, I can't wait to see where that kid's game is now, I hear really good things.

When the PG dribbles and dribbles and don’t pass the ball ahead….your bigs suffer….and we should move RJ to the two spot or bring him off the bench. I prefer Love at the one and Dunn at the two. By the way….it was hard to get assist with RJ dribbling the shot clock down then shooting. Poor Nance and Mondo was pissed and you could tell. Love was like no way in Hell I’m passing this ball to you after I got the steal and you just cherry picking.

No worries…..HD about to correct Mr. Dribbles

 

[Archer2]

When the PG dribbles and dribbles and don’t pass the ball ahead….your bigs suffer….and we should move RJ to the two spot or bring him off the bench. I prefer Love at the one and Dunn at the two. By the way….it was hard to get assist with RJ dribbling the shot clock down then shooting. Poor Nance and Mondo was pissed and you could tell. Love was like no way in Hell I’m passing this ball to you after I got the steal and you just cherry picking.

No worries…..HD about to correct Mr. Dribbles

Your ignorance of basketball is becoming more apparent with every poast you make.

 

[DSouthr]

Can I ask what makes you think UNCW is a well coached, hard playing team? Like, their results from last year don't mean much. They lost a lot of that team. It's why they are only predicted to finish 5th in their conference.

I can't imagine what kind of assumption you have to make in order to say that this was competition where our defense and not simply their lack of offensive capability was the deciding factor.

We have played no one we can gauge off of yet.

Edit: I may as well address your whole post.

Disagree strongly on Caleb running the point. He did many times this game and almost nothing was accomplished from it. He dribbles the ball outside the perimeter before handing it off normally. RJ does much of the same, but RJ did many times find someone in deep who was fouled before they could finish. I am not going blown assists route, but he was getting it inside. Caleb had an easy assist on the fast break to Davis 2 on 1 and refused to pass it and missed a contested layup. That's not who should he running the point.

Rebounding was atrocious yes. I suspect we lose this game if the other team was decent. Lots of offensive rebounds. I saw one possession where Nance was on the far to tv side of rim, the ball bounced right that way. Instead of positioning for it and jumping for it, he just simply turned around to look at the spot it fell where the UNCW much smaller player got the rebound. That's lack of hustle and positioning.

The players very commonly don't move and cut much off the ball which leads to many not getting open much. Nance not getting the ball was partially selfishness across the team and lack of positioning. We seem more willing to drive contested or toss in contested post than to move around as much. Nickel was open 3 times for a kickout. The 2 I remember straight up was Bacot missing a double or triple teamed attempt instead of passing out. Caleb Love tossing up a contested drive from 10 feet out instead of kicking out when the defender collapsed on him. I think both got bailed out by foul calls, but in both scenarios, the 3 was wide open and they tried very very low percentage shots. Nance got at least one kickout and missed it.

Defense wise, Trimble was pretty solid. Nickel needs some reaction and foot speed. Nance leaves his feet and contests jumpers in ways that can be easy to draw fouls on. He needs to watch that. The rest seemed pretty solid.

LOL, have to admit, I am really not sure who you were replying to on this one? At first I thought it was me (the first part about UNCW looking well coached and playing hard which I do agree with) but the rest of it were points that I pretty much absolutely do agree with, especially double especially (if there is such a thing) Caleb running the point. In truth I did like what I saw of Caleb running the point when RJ was on in the exhibition game but that was totally different in that UNCW game where I did not his decisions when he ran the point.

The rebounding was not good, we didn't seem to have good awareness or at times even try to block out when the shot went up. While I did say and mean that we showed good effort level on the defensive end, that effort could have been better going after those long misses you get when long shots do not go in because rebounding in space is as well a lot about awareness and hustle to the ball.

One of my big gripes about UNC basketball going since Dean retired, it seems like we need a set play for our team to set constant screens and guys hard cut off of them to find space for a good shot. If you pass the ball around the horn, if you pound the ball outside around the horn you better be doing so to cause the defense to move, we don't do a great job of forcing the defense to move to create seams for our guards, we settle for to many hand in the face jumpers late in the shot clock because we are not forcing seams with ball movement. Our free lance IMO needs to incorporate a lot more solid screens and hard cuts, even multiple screens. Some folks call that bumper pool but I love multiple screens and the screener pops out for a clean look. Those things force a defense to move and adjust and you can catch them in between consistently if it is coordinated.

As for what you said about Nickel, I would say the same about Puff (if he were available), Styles, McKoy (who we have not seen yet this season), pretty much anyone that plays the 3 not named Leaky; find the guy that is in for Leaky and set him up for the type of shots they give Leaky. If we have a situation where a guy like Nickel is in for Leaky and the defense gives him the same looks they give Leaky you get the ball to Nickel and if you don't you do need to sit on the bench for a while.

Oh and Bacot, I didn't mention it in my post (at least don't think I did) but Bacot did get a bit on the black hole side, he should have passed out and reposted several times and did get bailed out on foul calls. 2 or 3 times Bacot successfully did finish where he caught the ball just inside the free throw line and crab dribbled spin to finish, not going to get away with that much in ACC play, guys will line up to force a charge on you.

 

[gary-7]

When the PG dribbles and dribbles and don’t pass the ball ahead….your bigs suffer….and we should move RJ to the two spot or bring him off the bench. I prefer Love at the one and Dunn at the two. By the way….it was hard to get assist with RJ dribbling the shot clock down then shooting. Poor Nance and Mondo was pissed and you could tell. Love was like no way in Hell I’m passing this ball to you after I got the steal and you just cherry picking.

No worries…..HD about to correct Mr. Dribbles

Grover, to inject some reality into where this thread has gone, our entire team dribbled way-the-hell too much Monday. Our offense did little that even resembles Carolina basketball, and there's a lotta blame to go around on the team. That also includes the staff, and hopefully the past few days have been dedicated to thwarting a repeat of that nonsense.

I'll make some suggestions:
1. Recommit to transition --- run Secondary even on made shots (unless a set play is called).
2. Move on from the ball-screen forced-switch scheme --- opponents ain't likely to fall into that briar-patch again this season, and when they don't, then we're just wasting shot-clock.
3. Do not, and I mean do NOT play Seth at Point. He should be off-ball, unless he and Dunn are in together.
4. In general, recommit to Carolina motion principles in freelance, and save the hero-ball for late shot-clock scenarios.
5. Add some multiplicity to our defensove arsenal to FORCE TEMPO.

 

[imajericho]

LOL, have to admit, I am really not sure who you were replying to on this one? At first I thought it was me (the first part about UNCW looking well coached and playing hard which I do agree with) but the rest of it were points that I pretty much absolutely do agree with, especially double especially (if there is such a thing) Caleb running the point. In truth I did like what I saw of Caleb running the point when RJ was on in the exhibition game but that was totally different in that UNCW game where I did not his decisions when he ran the point.

The rebounding was not good, we didn't seem to have good awareness or at times even try to block out when the shot went up. While I did say and mean that we showed good effort level on the defensive end, that effort could have been better going after those long misses you get when long shots do not go in because rebounding in space is as well a lot about awareness and hustle to the ball.

One of my big gripes about UNC basketball going since Dean retired, it seems like we need a set play for our team to set constant screens and guys hard cut off of them to find space for a good shot. If you pass the ball around the horn, if you pound the ball outside around the horn you better be doing so to cause the defense to move, we don't do a great job of forcing the defense to move to create seams for our guards, we settle for to many hand in the face jumpers late in the shot clock because we are not forcing seams with ball movement. Our free lance IMO needs to incorporate a lot more solid screens and hard cuts, even multiple screens. Some folks call that bumper pool but I love multiple screens and the screener pops out for a clean look. Those things force a defense to move and adjust and you can catch them in between consistently if it is coordinated.

As for what you said about Nickel, I would say the same about Puff (if he were available), Styles, McKoy (who we have not seen yet this season), pretty much anyone that plays the 3 not named Leaky; find the guy that is in for Leaky and set him up for the type of shots they give Leaky. If we have a situation where a guy like Nickel is in for Leaky and the defense gives him the same looks they give Leaky you get the ball to Nickel and if you don't you do need to sit on the bench for a while.

Oh and Bacot, I didn't mention it in my post (at least don't think I did) but Bacot did get a bit on the black hole side, he should have passed out and reposted several times and did get bailed out on foul calls. 2 or 3 times Bacot successfully did finish where he caught the ball just inside the free throw line and crab dribbled spin to finish, not going to get away with that much in ACC play, guys will line up to force a charge on you.

I was replying to you. I don't disagree with your entire post. I responded to your entire post though.

 

[Grover Thomas]

LOL, have to admit, I am really not sure who you were replying to on this one? At first I thought it was me (the first part about UNCW looking well coached and playing hard which I do agree with) but the rest of it were points that I pretty much absolutely do agree with, especially double especially (if there is such a thing) Caleb running the point. In truth I did like what I saw of Caleb running the point when RJ was on in the exhibition game but that was totally different in that UNCW game where I did not his decisions when he ran the point.

The rebounding was not good, we didn't seem to have good awareness or at times even try to block out when the shot went up. While I did say and mean that we showed good effort level on the defensive end, that effort could have been better going after those long misses you get when long shots do not go in because rebounding in space is as well a lot about awareness and hustle to the ball.

One of my big gripes about UNC basketball going since Dean retired, it seems like we need a set play for our team to set constant screens and guys hard cut off of them to find space for a good shot. If you pass the ball around the horn, if you pound the ball outside around the horn you better be doing so to cause the defense to move, we don't do a great job of forcing the defense to move to create seams for our guards, we settle for to many hand in the face jumpers late in the shot clock because we are not forcing seams with ball movement. Our free lance IMO needs to incorporate a lot more solid screens and hard cuts, even multiple screens. Some folks call that bumper pool but I love multiple screens and the screener pops out for a clean look. Those things force a defense to move and adjust and you can catch them in between consistently if it is coordinated.

As for what you said about Nickel, I would say the same about Puff (if he were available), Styles, McKoy (who we have not seen yet this season), pretty much anyone that plays the 3 not named Leaky; find the guy that is in for Leaky and set him up for the type of shots they give Leaky. If we have a situation where a guy like Nickel is in for Leaky and the defense gives him the same looks they give Leaky you get the ball to Nickel and if you don't you do need to sit on the bench for a while.

Oh and Bacot, I didn't mention it in my post (at least don't think I did) but Bacot did get a bit on the black hole side, he should have passed out and reposted several times and did get bailed out on foul calls. 2 or 3 times Bacot successfully did finish where he caught the ball just inside the free throw line and crab dribbled spin to finish, not going to get away with that much in ACC play, guys will line up to force a charge on you.

Bacot usually do not pass out of double teams……but I don’t blame him in this game…..the selfishness was glaring…..how in the hell can Nance get 3 shots?

 

[Grover Thomas]

Grover, to inject some reality into where this thread has gone, our entire team dribbled way-the-hell too much Monday. Our offense did little that even resembles Carolina basketball, and there's a lotta blame to go around on the team. That also includes the staff, and hopefully the past few days have been dedicated to thwarting a repeat of that nonsense.

I'll make some suggestions:
1. Recommit to transition --- run Secondary even on made shots (unless a set play is called).
2. Move on from the ball-screen forced-switch scheme --- opponents ain't likely to fall into that briar-patch again this season, and when they don't, then we're just wasting shot-clock.
3. Do not, and I mean do NOT play Seth at Point. He should be off-ball, unless he and Dunn are in together.
4. In general, recommit to Carolina motion principles in freelance, and save the hero-ball for late shot-clock scenarios.
5. Add some multiplicity to our defensove arsenal to FORCE TEMPO.

Gary I agree with all you said and Yes…I intentionally went over the top with my post to get some posters to justify their positions.

That shit the other night will get you bounced in the first round…..I still believe it started with RJ not passing the ball and Love and Bacot getting frustrated with it. It’s time to go back to the two point guards on the floor because Love is by far the better playmaker…..there was a reason he gets the ball in winning time.

 

[imajericho]

Gary I agree with all you said and Yes…I intentionally went over the top with my post to get some posters to justify their positions.

That shit the other night will get you bounced in the first round…..I still believe it started with RJ not passing the ball and Love and Bacot getting frustrated with it. It’s time to go back to the two point guards on the floor because Love is by far the better playmaker…..there was a reason he gets the ball in winning time.

Love brought the ball up multiple times and initiated the offense at the beginning of the game. They initially were playing interchangeably when in, and Love led while RJ was out after getting banged up on the spin move. His initiating yielded very little.

 

[tarwhiz]

Grover, to inject some reality into where this thread has gone, our entire team dribbled way-the-hell too much Monday. Our offense did little that even resembles Carolina basketball, and there's a lotta blame to go around on the team. That also includes the staff, and hopefully the past few days have been dedicated to thwarting a repeat of that nonsense.

I'll make some suggestions:
1. Recommit to transition --- run Secondary even on made shots (unless a set play is called).
2. Move on from the ball-screen forced-switch scheme --- opponents ain't likely to fall into that briar-patch again this season, and when they don't, then we're just wasting shot-clock.
3. Do not, and I mean do NOT play Seth at Point. He should be off-ball, unless he and Dunn are in together.
4. In general, recommit to Carolina motion principles in freelance, and save the hero-ball for late shot-clock scenarios.
5. Add some multiplicity to our defensove arsenal to FORCE TEMPO.

@gary-7 did you watch any of Bellermine game with Louisville? Broadcaster said Coach preaches limiting dribling in everything they do.
It was a remarkable display of ball and player movement.
The first thing I thought of when I saw it, was how Kansas looked right after Roy Williams became coach.
Roy had good ( Not great) talent that first year, and the ball rarely hit the floor. Dean even commented that Kansas runs the Carolina motion better than Carolina. Lol
Check out some Bellermine/ Ville if you missed it earlier.

 

[dtodd4475]

Love brought the ball up multiple times and initiated the offense at the beginning of the game. They initially were playing interchangeably when in, and Love led while RJ was out after getting banged up on the spin move. His initiating yielded very little.

Caleb will bring the rock up plenty. He and RJ may not go 50/50, but liking the interchangeable point man is not just idle talk by Hubert.

 

[gary-7]

@gary-7 did you watch any of Bellermine game with Louisville? Broadcaster said Coach preaches limiting dribling in everything they do.
It was a remarkable display of ball and player movement.
The first thing I thought of when I saw it, was how Kansas looked right after Roy Williams became coach.
Roy had good ( Not great) talent that first year, and the ball rarely hit the floor. Dean even commented that Kansas runs the Carolina motion better than Carolina. Lol
Check out some Bellermine/ Ville if you missed it earlier.

Thanks! I will.