From what I have seen is that he plays really hard nosed and is very strong and aggressive..he’s already 6’8 and every bit of 210! He has the frame to add good weight as well! He dunks on ppl with power
Whitmore feels wanted at UNC
- Thread starter Tom79
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You are right, Nichel has a grit about the way he plays that I really like! I think his best playing weight is going to end up around 220 and has a chance to be really special for us. Even now, he will wade in there with the big fellas and fight, kid does not have any back down in him! Styles does to just for the record!
I do recall Hubert seeing him as a 2/3. Therefore, ship has sailed.
Don't don't think Whitmore sees himself as a 2/3. More of a 4/5.
Exactly. Guys I think he is going to be a VERY good College basketball player at UNC and a future " Pro" wherever that may be. I have come around in my thinking on him by watching some video but mostly hearing the same call tags from multyple sports minds that I trust.
When mental AND physical toughness are the first things out of a coaches mouth, my ears perk up. Add in the fact that the kid can really shoot it, but also has the savy to get to the free throw line often are huge attributes.
Can he defend well enough not to be a detriment? I think that question is answered by the mental and physical toughness answer. This kid is ultra competitive and being around guys like that as a player, I know they will not allow that to ever be a weakness
Whitmore has made his choice and we have made ours. Congratulations to both. I won't five and dime this (see what I did with the nickel?) but I think we are good and very happy with the results.
Nickel reminds me more of Dennis Scott!
I'm not required to compare him to the melanin challenged am I???
I'm not required to compare him to the melanin challenged am I???
Maybe I misremember but I think of Warren as a slasher and Scott as a shooter! Scott was around 6'8 so a little bigger but spent most of his time on the perimeter. ( I watched him warm-up one time by shooting shots from out of bounds! He hit almost all of them, ridiculous!) Warren was closer in size but more of a streaky shooter who drove and posted up much more.
Why not Cam Johnson?
Or Justin Jackson?
Or Danny Green?
One problem with those comparisons is that only Justin was ready to go.
Which raises the question, do we need Nickel to be ready to start as a freshman? If Leaky leaves and Justin McKoy is dedicated to the front court, then the other main SF candidates are Puff and Styles. We should know a lot more about Puff and Styles shortly.
I love those as UNC comparisons, but I was also trying to capture the level of athleticism. I would say JJ and DG are a bit more athletic but Cam might be a good comparison. Nickel will be a fine contributor in stretches off the bench at first and may well develop into a fan fav starter in a year or two!
P
Warren was not the lights out shooter Scott was, but neither is Nickel. Warren and Nickel have similar athletic profiles but Warren was as tough as they come and was a prolific scorer from all areas of the court and FT LINE.
Imagine if we had had Marcus and Warren on our team at the same time. My memory is foggy, but I think we were in the running for TJ (but perhaps late to the party?), so it might have happened in some parallel universe.
One of my favorite games was that classic duel in Raleigh where, if memory serves, Marcus scored 35 and TJ scored 36, but Marcus hit the elegant winner.
Makes me think back to the era of duos in the ACC. Lewis and Miller for UNC. Wake (Long and Leonard) and Duke (Mullins and Marin) each had duos who could pile on the points. Not just 2 good players on the same team, but 2 players who played well together.
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Yeah Warren was an old school scorer. Probably average at best athlete in the ACC, But did he lead league in scoring twice?
I just glanced at Villanova's recruiting for 2022, so far.
Apparently. Jay Wright has only offered 3 players. If Whitmore chooses Nova, he will have landed all 3.
I can't recall ever seeing a major school offer so few players. Wright isn't a scattergun recruiter, but only 3? Either he just doesn't expect to need much for 2022-23, or he's pretty darn confident.
Apparently. Jay Wright has only offered 3 players. If Whitmore chooses Nova, he will have landed all 3.
I can't recall ever seeing a major school offer so few players. Wright isn't a scattergun recruiter, but only 3? Either he just doesn't expect to need much for 2022-23, or he's pretty darn confident.
I sincerely hope we do not start Nickel for a single game his freshman season, my hope is that he gets 8-10mins a game. Nothing bad toward Nickel but I will be extremely disappointed if we did have to have Nickel ready to start as a freshman because of what it would say about the ability of Puff and Styles to produce, even leaky if he is still around.
Spot/situational duty is all I foresee that 1st year. The second, however, the sky's the limit! Nickel will play as much as his effort and will determine. He will become a fan fave by year 2 if he continues on his current trajectory but imagine what the influence of Jonas, Hubs, our staff, and returning pros will have on him!!!!!
This I will say I am fully on board the Nickel band wagon, I in fact drive that puppy! Now we do have available seating and all are welcome aboard but don't even think about being able to drive it (the answer is NO steat, before you even ask LOL), that is MINE, my spot! And if the kid doesn't get it done in his UNC career, I will take the barbs and arrows and if he does play like I think he will I have no desire to give you the ole "I told ya so" then because I am giving that NOW (but not saying that will happen his freshman season, watch out come his soph season thou)! LOL
D has spoken! lol. Hope you are right OH Great One!
LOL !!!
No, I love the kid as a individual player but more, much more than that I think he just fits what we are looking to do in a really nice way. It is not the individual play that wins nattys, it is the sum of all the individual players that play as a unit, where individual players play and execute their roles and I really do, have felt this kid just fits us better than Whitmore, said that for months now.
I hate to use legendary players to try to compare a kid to because it is to much for a kid to try to have to play up to. But I do see some, not as athletic but I see some Bobby Jones traits in the way he plays. NO, I did not just say he will play like Bobby but he has that grit, that edge that Bobby played with, he is NOT as athletic as Bobby was, he may jump shoot better... The kid will battle you, you come to play a game, he comes to go to war! I want a guy like that on my side!
The fact that Whitmore has yet to commit to Nova (or Illinois for that matter) has me wondering...
I HAVE ZERO INSIDER INFO but...
Is it possible that he had planned on Nova and something didn't feel right during the visit and now wants to be a Heel?
I love that we got Nickel but do you refuse Whitmore if he calls and says, "I made a mistake and want to come"? Is it possible UNC makes him wait until spring to see what happens with graduations and transfers?
Pipe dreams I know but even if that were a one in a million ... So you're saying there's a chance!!
I HAVE ZERO INSIDER INFO but...
Is it possible that he had planned on Nova and something didn't feel right during the visit and now wants to be a Heel?
I love that we got Nickel but do you refuse Whitmore if he calls and says, "I made a mistake and want to come"? Is it possible UNC makes him wait until spring to see what happens with graduations and transfers?
Pipe dreams I know but even if that were a one in a million ... So you're saying there's a chance!!
Whitmore had right of first refusal up to Nickel's OV. I don't think he is an option for now. If the Heels have some transfers after the season, he could be a option next season. All the insiders are saying he is Villanova bound. He is on record of saying he will make his announcement the first week in October.
Probably will end up at Nova but just seems odd that if that's where he wants to go and they want him that he just doesn't declare and get it over with. It's not that the rest of the world is hanging on his every motion. Just seems like the entire story is not yet out there.
Absolutely grab Whitmore. He's a talent. And he's a different kind of talent compared with Leaky, Puff, Walton, or Nickel.
We still need another big man, if the people we expect to leave do leave, but it looks like Hubert is waiting for the spring or portal to fill that need. Maybe he's thinking Dawson or Armando might stick around. Or that McKoy or Styles will blow up. But if none of that happens, we will have a scholarship left for a big guy even after we pick up Whitmore.
Imagine 2022-23 with these guys in the back court
RJ
Ant
Whitmore
Those are tough, in-your-face players with serious zig-zags. Sure you probably start Kerwin, but just think how disruptive those 3 guys could be on the court together. Sometimes you just need to knock the other team down a notch or take them out of their rhythm, and that trio is made for the job.
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Love it but it doesn't fit with Hubs' desire to have multiple + shooters on the court at all times. Those three are scorers but none of them are shooters! I agree that they are all hard to guard and are willing to play tough D. RJ will need to show he is strong enough to actually pull it off since he is height challenged!
RJ, Ant, Whitmore, McKoy, Garcia would be a scary athletic and impossible to plan for combo! + The Bigs would make up for the lack of shooting in the backcourt! (How good would this be if Ant and RJ find consistent strokes???)
RJ, Ant, Whitmore, McKoy, Garcia would be a scary athletic and impossible to plan for combo! + The Bigs would make up for the lack of shooting in the backcourt! (How good would this be if Ant and RJ find consistent strokes???)
Don't forget that RJ is our 2nd best returning outside shooter (after Kerwin). He was 3rd best last year (only slightly behind Platek).
If you want our best long-range shooters on the floor, here's your team
RJ (.323)
Kerwin (.420)
Justin (.333)
Brady (.375)
Dawson (.356)
And notice, that's actually a well-balanced team with a position-appropriate player at each spot.
Now obviously other shooters may show up, or some of these guys may backslide. But if you want a team on the floor that has to be respected at every position, you could do a lot worse.
That may not be our best defensive team (although it might be good enough), but if we need to make up ground toward the end of a game, that would be a nice squad to have on the floor.
As good as that squad is, the odds are that only 2 or 3 of them are likely to start. Which should make us all pretty optimistic.
If we are talking strictly our best jump shooting line up, while I realize he has not proven it at this level yet, I do think Puff is more of a jump shooter than McKoy, McKoy is the more refined and able to produce player right now, IMO. I do think McKoy is more ready now for 2 reasons, he is much more physically developed, and just his experience on the court in ACC play.
While I can maybe agree with you on our best jump shooting line up, I do not think that is our BEST line up, not what I want to see as our starting 5. Because I have to start Bacot and Caleb for a lot of reasons that I will explain if needed.
I do want our 5 best players, even if that does not mean our 5 best jump shooters to start, I am tired of watching us dig in to double digit scoring holes that we have to dig out of in second halves, I want us to have those double digit leads and the other team have to figure out how to come back. Teams that have to consistently figure out how to come back seem to me to get almost to the point of making it all the way back but fizzle out in the end. Yeah, every now and then a team will come all the way back and find a way to win but more often the come back seems to stop just short. So, I would rather we be the team with the big lead and the other team make a run that fizzles out late.
Sometimes, actually most of the time, you are better off with the guy that plays his butt off than you are the more talented guy that is kind of floating around and not really getting a lot done. But that is within reason of course, Platek played hard for example, he just didn't have the ability.
That's why I said only 2 or 3 of them were likely to start.
May I quibble a bit with WWJD? 3rd best outside shooter on our team last year is on the same level as 3rd best looking cheerleader at puke!
RJ will be a real problem if he tightens up his shot selection (no more driving into traffic w/o a plan); his shot consistency, and his team D!
Leaky will start because of seniority/sacrifice, Defensive efficiency, size with athleticism, and playmaking. Hubs may stray a bit from the UNC tendency to give precedence to upperclassmen, but not unless someone really explodes in practice AND Leaky doesn't improve his mental strength!
Love, Walton, Black, Manek, Bacot = fierce, skilled, versatile, experienced, and good on both ends. (as long as Manek tightens up his D and Leaky finds his confidence on O) If neither happens switch out Garcia for Manek and McKoy for Leaky as the case may be! It is awesome to have so many really good choices!
RJ will be a real problem if he tightens up his shot selection (no more driving into traffic w/o a plan); his shot consistency, and his team D!
Leaky will start because of seniority/sacrifice, Defensive efficiency, size with athleticism, and playmaking. Hubs may stray a bit from the UNC tendency to give precedence to upperclassmen, but not unless someone really explodes in practice AND Leaky doesn't improve his mental strength!
Love, Walton, Black, Manek, Bacot = fierce, skilled, versatile, experienced, and good on both ends. (as long as Manek tightens up his D and Leaky finds his confidence on O) If neither happens switch out Garcia for Manek and McKoy for Leaky as the case may be! It is awesome to have so many really good choices!
You use the word “best looking cheerleader”. Oxymoron if I ever heard one.
I am trying to figure out who was the second best shooter on our team last season if it was not RJ? I can tell you this much, if Kerwin does not get the shot to win the game, the guy I want to take it in that event is RJ, last season and very likely this season as well. I do agree, shot selection was a big problem for RJ, it was for a lot of our guys, really for all our guys not named Kerwin. I actually believe that RJ will develop in to an excellent jump shooter once he learns what a bad shot is and how to turn a bad shot in to a good shot. Example Kerwin, and I so love this, Kerwin catches a kick out and a defender comes flying at him, he pump fakes and takes a gathering dribble or 2 and splash! RJ and Caleb, for example, would try to hit the shot over the defender that is flying out to them? I don't know if Kerwin's dad taught him that or if he just does it on instinct but it is really pretty to watch.
Now about Leaky starting, you know TP, I have shared several times that I do think Leaky can produce more on the offensive end by using him differently than many feel ( he should NEVER Take another trey in his UNC career if there is more than 3 seconds on the shot clock). And I am not going to bet a penny that Leaky does not start game 1, I do think he has his hands full holding that position with how much McKoy has impressed this off season, I would suggest McKoy is the betting favorite to win the starting wing role. But later season, I will be very surprised if Leaky still starts because I do think my man Puff steps up so that we have 2 6'8" guys not named Leaky fighting for the starting gig and the minutes. That and I am telling you now, all I have heard is how much folks are so pleasantly surprised with what Styles has done this off season, the 2 real surprises seem to be Styles and McKoy.
Leaky as a starter, TP, Roy could have started Leaky this season as well as next season and got away with it, Roy had already proven himself as a hall of famer and a multiple times natty winning coach. But Hubert does not have that luxury, Hubert has to win and to do that he has to have his most effective line ups on the floor. Roy could have and really did, get away with having a starting line up that included Leaky and Brooks even thou as starters they were questionable, Leaky maybe not as much as Brooks. But Roy could have gone small, he did install PJ at the 4 one year, so maybe he could have gone to Ant at the 3 in a small ball deal. But Roy's choices at the 3 were a lot more limited than Hubert has now so Leaky's rope is now MUCH shorter than it was and I don't know that Leaky can improve his weaknesses enough to hold off for long the talent that can play the wing for us.
And frankly, Leaky has to understand, that he is really the same player he was as a freshman, that radical developmental up tick has not happened in his game. What amazes me is that Leaky considers himself a guard, he 6'8" and a guard and I am like OK, cool! But he may be the worst jump shooting guard I have ever seen, I mean Kendal struggled to jump shoot but Kendal did other stuff to off set the fact he could not shoot. King Rice didn't shoot well but King battled Bobby Hurley to a stand still, tip the hat to King. But Leaky, man, that is just fugly, that is just really bad shooting, it is a confidence mindset thing with him that really is not going to change. Kid didn't shoot good in high school and he damned sure has not shot well in college for 3 seasons, that is not going to change now. He may be our best position defender but if he can't shoot he will come off the bench before next season is done.
