Ugh.

This was by far the most disappointing season in UNC athletics history and certainly one of the top 5 worst coaching performances. Thankfully it's over, assuming they don't create more embarrassment by accepting an invite to the completely useless NIT. I would say I'm looking forward to next season but we have to deal with another year under Hubert and I just don't think he's the man for the job. Again, I desperately hope I'm wrong but I see no evidence otherwise.

How many teams that got in with 19 wins & we had a tough SOC. We beat COC & I think we got screwed after we took the #1 overall seed to 4OT. I know we under achieved, but we should have still made it. Ole well on to NIT if they accept..

about growing revenue disparities

"At issue: The ACC will fall behind both the SEC and Big Ten in revenue by about $30 million per year when their respective new television contracts kick in (Big Ten in 2023, SEC in 2024).

"Something has to change because we cannot compete nationally being $30 million behind every year," Alford said. "It's not one year. We're talking about $30 million compounded year after year."

30 million times 10 years is each ACC school being behind each SEC school a total of 300 million dollars.

Yes, football is MUCH bigger than basketball. Football value is not based on any team's wins, but on proven football fan base size. That means primarily proven TV numbers, but also includes proven hire attendance figures and proven ticket sales for bowl games.

When the ACC finally decided to get serious about football in going to 12, the idiots in charge really thought that adding Syracuse and BC made sense. They were idiots because their entire way of seeing CFB was to mix what they knew about ACC basketball greatness with what they saw in the NFL, and so they assume that having team located in a large city, or state, would mean big wealth even though that team had no fans.


Wake never hurt the wealth and prestige of ACC basketball, so how could BC hurt the wealth and prestige of ACC football, asked the ACC basketball mind. Even Green Bay gets huge TV money, said the NFL fan mind.

Unless ESPN wants to drastically redo the ACC deal, soon, in order to save the league for ESPN, then not just FSU and Clemson but everybody with any shot at getting into either SEC or BT should be furiously maneuvering to do so ASAP.

And ESPN would be insane to think it could ever gain by significantly increasing its payouts to an ACC that intends to keep propping up Wake and BC. They have no fans. They never will have fans, not at a level larger than what we se with better 1AA/FCS programs.

It's that time of year. Below is a link to the NCAA NET Rankings. As of today, UNC is ranked #45 which is in the cutoff range for an at-large bid.

NCAA NET Rankings Link
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Here is also an interesting site I found that lists where teams stand from all sources. These sources include, media publications, Vegas odds, etc. In total, they monitor 106 different sources. As of February 8th, UNC was listed as IN the field by 96 of the 106 sources and OUT of the field by the remaining 10. Current average seeding of 10. This site is updated at least 4 times/week. The highest listed seed projection right now is 7 (by 4 of the sources).

Bracket Matrix
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Another interesting site I was looking at is Bart Torvik. It currently shows UNC with a 62.5% chance of making it in the tournament. This site also has UNC as the favorite in all but 2 remaining regular season games (v. NCST and UVA).

Torvik

Team Rankings - Bracketology

How to watch NIT 2023 selection show​

When: 9 p.m. ET on Sunday

TV: ESPNU

Streaming: Watch ESPN

Tournament format: 32 teams will play in the NIT, with regular season conference champions who do not win their conference tournaments earning automatic bids. As of Saturday night, 10 teams have automatic bids. That narrows the field for at-large, Power 5 teams....

When is the NIT final? March 30 in Las Vegas. The NIT has moved away from playing the Final Four games in Madison Square Garden for the first time besides the COVID-impacted 2021 season.

I ran across this here:

That's what they were saying before the tip-off.

I'd hate to think they are right.

Watched Northwood versus Central Cabarrus last night. Central Cabarrus came into the game 32-0, and they were able to beat Northwood 65 to 51. It was apparent that they were the more talent team overall. Northwood Drake Powell showed why he is an elite talent. The problem was he did not have a good supporting cast, their guards are not elite by any standard. Drake Powell had to being the ball up court since the guards were turnover prone, have to admit he has a very good handle. Northwood downfall were they committed 19 turnovers against Central Cabarrus, which led to a lot of fast break point for Cabarrus. Drake showed great shooting form from the 3 point line and with his mid range jumper, defense was good, and the kid is athletic. Finished the game with 17 points on 8 of 10 from the field. The potential are there for him to be an outstanding player and a contributor his freshman year of 2024. Definitely has a great upside to his game.

I was able to catch Simeon live tonight for the first time in a long time as Roselle Catholic won the sectional finals.

Wilcher's stat line scoring wise wasn't great (I think he was about 2-8 for 6 points) but it doesn't even remotely come close to telling the full story. He had 6 assists (I counted only 1 turnover) and 6 steals (more on this later). They also only credited him for 4 rebounds but I counted 7.


Things I liked:

- His vision and unselfishness is exceptional.

I thought we had to wait for Cadeau to get a pass first floor general but man Simeon was just that tonight at the highest possible level. His head is always up, always looking up the court on a break and always looking for the open guy when he gets doubled on a drive. The 6 assists could have easily been 12 if his guys finished around the rim better. Then there is the unselfishness. His entire game is how can he make his teammates better and set them up for their shot. My brother went to the game with me (he's a former high D1 PG) and he couldn't get over how he was always pass first. It's just very rare these days. Mgbako (top 10 player going to Duke) had 26 and I'd say 20 of those were directly set up by something Simeon did.

- His handle is an A+

He controlled the ball for probably 60-70% of Roselle's offense and not once did he come close to a turnover while dribbling. He was being pressured heavily and it didn't matter, the ball is on a string with him and it's always being protected. He's also one of those kids who almost seems faster with the ball in his hands. He glides up the court and was the fastest guy on the court by far.

- His defense is ACC ready

This kid has a nose for the ball that is so rare. The 6 steals weren't from bad passes by the other team or loose balls, they were Simeon creating a turnover when a guy penetrated because his hands are so active and he created loose balls. He did this over and over with only 1 foul all game, he is just so good at finding the weak spot when a guy drives and shows the ball when he shouldn't.

- He plays very physical

He's one of those very physical PGs who loves contact and can still make a pass/layup with contact. He's one of those guys that's going to go to the line a lot (he didn't tonight because they doubled his drives and he correctly found a teammate for a layup when they did). That physicality is also there on the defensive end, he's going to fight through screens and body guys trying to get by him.


Things he'll need to work on and concerns:

- His shot wasn't falling tonight and hasn't consistently most of the season

This is the glaring piece of his game that needs some polish. The form is great and he gets really nice lift on his jumper, he just needs to make more shots consistently. He had a few that were right there tonight and just didn't drop. I think he'll develop it but as a freshman coming in, don't count on 35% from 3.

- I'm not sure him and Cadeau can/should play together

They are SO similar from what I've seen/heard of Cadeau. Pass first, not great shooters, very athletic PGs. Which one of them moves off the ball? Good luck to HD on that one because I just don't see it right now unless we had 3 elite shooters on the court with them.



Overall, my biggest takeaway watching him live was that he's ready. He does many things at a very high D1 level already and minus a few freshman hiccups, I'd trust him to run our offense immediately in 2023-24. I've heard the argument on him vs. Trimble but I think Simeon is a much better player right now. He's a better scorer, he's bigger and more physical, and the defense is right there with Seth. My prediction (assuming no one reclasses and Caleb leaves) is that Simeon starts at the 1 next year with RJ sliding to the 2. I think that's our best lineup.

We got a really really good one. I can't wait to see him in Carolina Blue next fall.

To the THI staff and fellow subscribers, I want to say thank you for the experience thus far!

It's refreshing to have meaningful discussions and cordial agree to disagree moments that don't turn visceral.

I feel comfortable posting and joining in discussions here. Unlike other places. SMH

AJ and staff, I enjoy the all around content from podcasts, to videos and inside information that you share when you can.

Very disappointed and even sad about the season. I've been around a long time and the leadership of the basketball program seems more off than it has ever been.

As good of a guy as Hubert may be, it was a failure, in my humble opinion, to hire a very VERY inexperienced coach.

Looking forward to the reset button being definitively pressed.

5 stars to you THI! Everyone have a great day!

I just got home from the 4A state championship game (Myers Park vs Richmond) and sophomore AJ White was the best player on the court. He is a legitimate 6’7”-6’8” and the kid can jump out of the gym. He had 15 points on 7-9 shooting, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals and 2 assists in 27 minutes. He has 8 P5 offers. I would love to see us get involved soon because he is absolutely going to blow up this summer.

I noticed in the AP article that they labeled Bacot's injury as an "apparent ankle injury". I thought that was a curious choice of words with a rather sinister undertone. Does that mean that they think Bacot is faking the injury? Do they think he actually injured some other body part and that they are just saying that it is an ankle injury. No big deal. But I just thought it was a strange choice of words for a very obvious ankle injury.

...and I won't belabor this.

First, to be fair, we had to play 2 outta 3 games with UVA effectively without Mando... and fact is. this UVA team doesn't match up well with us, and I have no qualms saying that with Bacot, we take the hat trick this season. Alas, we can't have nice things.

So..... if yer gonna beat these guys sans Mando, then you CAN'T help them, e.g....

- you CAN'T dribble side-to-side. I've explained it multiple times --- it's about GEOMETRY. The Pack Line is like a Japanese fan designed to expand to the wings -- but it is vulnerable to early shot-clock attacks, and you can't be afraid to take the ops for shots, drives and dumps, BUT you MUST attack it at VERTICAL angles. You saw what happened when we rolled Pete instead of popping, for example. With that said, once again, Lordy, we're a poor passing/vision team. I bet we messed 7 open vertical dumps in the first half alone (my kingdom for a legit PG and a good-passing Big).

- you also CAN'T keep missing good open looks

- and when you finally start getting them (granted, overdue by a full half), you CAN'T be missing FTs like that (which alone would've spotted us a late lead)

- and you CAN'T be loose with the rock playing a team that literally fouls you multiple times on every possession

Well, sum total --- we did all that. So... there ya have it.

Finally..... Not gonna pull any punches --- If we were living in a sane world, there would be little worry we would nonetheless be in the Dance --- it would just be a matter of where and how bad the seed. We won 20 and had a winning record in the friggin' ACC --- Case. Closed. Period. But... unfortunately we're in a world of mathematically unsound, self-justfying invented nonsense like "Net" and "Quads" --- even without my math degree I'd laugh at that garbage --- which thus allows jabronie hacks like Lunardi and legions of Carolina-hating loudmouths out there to push their thinly-veiled agendas. And chances are, that'll have their desired effect and we get left out.

Anyway... there's nonetheless little doubt that we brought our current dilemma on ourselves, so it is what it is at this point --- and personally, I'm not gonna think about it anymore til Sunday. So, welp..... L8er...

From Feb 1 through exiting the ACC tournament, both the 2022 and 2023 iterations of this team played 12 games.

The 2022 team went 9-3

The 2023 team went 5-7

The teams were more similar to begin each season. Comparing the first 12 games each year, we see...

The 2022 team went 9-3

The 2023 team went 8-4 (and the extra loss was probably due to Armando being out for the VaTech game)

But this has been the worst coaching job I've ever seen at UNC in the 45+ years I've been watching them. Yes, I'm painfully aware of the 8-20 team but that team had a roster that would have struggled in a YMCA rec league. This year UNC had a supposedly loaded roster and what should have been an improved team over last year. Instead, there has been absolutely no player development (hard to develop when you never play) and no game adjustments. The team has actually gotten worse as the season progressed.

I have no confidence in the future of this program under Hubert. Again, he's a great guy and loves the University but that doesn't automatically translate to being a good coach. Do I think he'll be fired after this year? Not really, although it does set us up for further disappointment. I really hope Bubba takes the next coaching search seriously.

That's the question I'd love to hear Hubert answer. Since that's not going to happen, the next best thing is to ask you guys what you would do differently?

I'm guessing most of us would say that Hubert should have developed his bench more aggressively, and gone to it more in most games throughout the season.

It's also pretty clear to me that HD never figured out how to use Pete Nance.

After watching RJ run out of gas on offense late in games, I wonder if the decision to make him the primary ball handler was the right choice?

I'm sure there will be a lot better suggestions coming from our gurus, take it away....

I didn't watch much yesterday, but 3 of first 4 games were one possession wins. WF v Cuse was really entertaining.

Next up... go Yellow Jackets!