Well, if nothing else, this was an entertaining game, like 2 boxers standing in the middle of the ring trading blows or that new slap fighting thing, no defense just hit me! LOL I think maybe I took more positives from this game than many, oh of course there for a few minutes I couldn't help but think, welcome to a Loyola Marymount Tar Heel game?
On the offensive end one of the best showings we have had in a while. I was very happy to see RJ playing more within himself rather than trying to be the hero. Some absolutely beautiful assists from RJ to Jalen, in particular, I like the emphasis over all to include our front court in the offense. Seth looked more like the Seth we had before than concussion, I don't think he is yet 100% back but each game he looks closer. Jack, felt he responded like I want to see a young kid respond when he didn't start the second half and I LOVE how he did that, by looking more to drive than settle for a jumper but not driving in to the teeth of the defense. Cadeau, played pretty well for the most part of this game, I am talking the offensive end for all so far, have not yet talked about the other end of the court. But those TO's were not just bad, they seemed to be brain dead? This kid just seems to do that, like his brain freezes at some point in every game where he nearly hands the ball to his defender? And then he does something amazing, some of those finishes from him were just tough tough? Seth's double double, 12 boards at 6'3", that is tough as nails. Claude, kid just came in and played hard nosed and about as physical as we can get, best I have seen from him as a Tar Heel. Got to give Jalen credit for those 18pts, easy looks yeah but he put himself in position for the easy look and was ready to finish and that has not always been true of our bigs this season.
Hubert, frankly, not his worse game as a coach, the only thing I did not agree with personnel wise was not using JWit more. Out side of that I was not mad at his sub decisions. Starting Cadeau, RJ, Jack, and Seth I hope was only because BC is a smaller team, that can't be our starting line up against Pitt. I did like that after BC scored we tended to run it right back down their throats, rather than passively walk it up, so we did get a lot of right back at ya scores. Yeah, trying to make some chicken salad here but one of the things we struggled with was scoring and at least in that aspect we did well, biscuits is always a good thing. And not to forget, we shot what was it, 32 or 34 treys last game, this one we shot I think it was 16. THANK YOU! As I have said for years now, just score, don't be so worried if you are beyond the 3pt line or not just score. Yesterday we just scored and we eat biscuits, game before we bombs away from trey and neither scored or won. You can lecture me all you want about how 3 is better than 2 and I will as always come back with 2 beats the heck out of ZERO and you will shut up till the next time you try the same lecture on me. This team does NOT need to shoot a ton of treys, it needs to make shots no matter where they come from!
But then there was the defensive end and on defense UNC was offensive, none of them did the so called little things, not when they allow the other team to score at will.
1) Since when did it become allowable that you give up the base line drive, you don't give up the baseline, you turn him back in to traffic, that is so basic and yet over and over we allowed it? Dang it Jalen, you are getting bullied and backed down, I get that his 270lbs is a problem but you can't just give him the baseline, you can't get any help that way, turn him to the paint and maybe you will get some help.
2) I think this auto switching is making our guys both lazy as well as confused, it takes away the need to fight thru screens, you should only switch when absolutely necessary. It is taking our guys a half step to realize the switch and way to often it sets up yet another wide open look for a shooter and our defender has to long a run to hassle the shot. Have we totally given up on teaching big men how to hedge the high screen, it looks like we have?
3) Communication or the lack of it is a thing I am sick and tired of hearing, this is not a team of deaf mutes, why do they act like they are? It is your job to communicate, don't care if it is your nature or not, I don't care if you send damn smoke signals, let your team mates know for example they are about to get nailed by a set screen, call out the switch so your team mates knows and does not have to guess. Talk to each other!
4) You see a team mate that is not putting in the work needed you get in his arse, you make him understand that is not acceptable !
5) You see one of your team mates plowed overtly physical on our offensive end you pay that crap back, don't back down from that crap, you stand and fight. They send a physical message you send one right back!
6) What happened to a team mate needing help you help him and your mates rotate to the next most likely pass to cover your help? When we do help way to often no one rotates over to the open guy left by the helper, you do realize other teams have watched that on tape right? And what happens when that help does not come, well you get Jalen at a long but lean 225lbs trying to fight off a 270lbs guy that is backing him down, how do you think that is going to work out? Or a guard a half step behind a guard driving down hill getting a lay up? What you want is for Jalen to hedge that big man away from the baseline, and force him to turn in to the paint, when that big man turns his head with the dribble you attack his dribble while his head is turned and can't see the attack.
7) I see a LOT of our guys having their heads turned AWAY from the ball on the defensive end? How the heck do you know what is going on with the ball and thus what you need to do when your head is not turned to the ball, does anyone here have eyes in the backs of our heads?
These are simple basic things, up there with raise your hands as a defender, stuff that should be ingrained in a kid way before he gets to college, up there with don't pass the ball to the other team Elliot...
