......but Nance is out.
Seth gets 1st start.
😵

T.Nick is an assassin and would help open up things when our other guys aren't making outside shots!! Why won't hubert Davis play him!!?? Please UNC media ask him!

...and that was both a good win and (unfortunately) a must win.

Look, this is gonna be brief, because 1) I watched with nothing to write notes with, and 2) I'm only really concerned with the journey to where we need to be, as I outlined in a thread earlier this week.

- So, let's get the player stuff outta the way in one fell swoop: Leaky carried us offensively til we got our rhythm, then RJ turned into a heat-check machine, Mando looks healthier, McKoy really stepped in when needed, Seth had his best game as a Heel, Caleb stunk it up in the first half but made some huge defensive plays in crunch time, yada yada yada.

- Far more important was the process: We utilized our depth better (at keast in the first half), but make no mistake --- that unfortunate medical delay in the second ended up being a shot-in-the arm for the team, rescuing us from fatigue setting in from a shorter rotation. In fact, it was Wake who looked to be dragging in crunch time. Also, a VERY judicious timeout by Hubert when the under-4 would seemingly never come.

- Before the delay our defense had been frankly spotty, and so much of that was dependent on the given level of intensity and effort. On that note, someone on the bench musta lit the guys up during that break, because everyone went that extra step.

- The consistent bad news defensively was vs special situations, especially OB plays --- just yikes with the concentration lapses.

- But back to the process: In the middle of the second half the announcers mentioned correctly that we weren't pushing the ball (once again) as much. Fortunately, what saved us was we generated (and Wake handed us) enough TOs that those generated TRANSITION, and when we got it, we finished pretty damn well. The other trait that we occassionally forgot, but thankfully did enough of, was playing INSIDE-OUT. Mando's touches were collectively the magic touch, as it were.

Anyway, this was indeed a must-win, but the larger key is the process I outlined earlier --- getting to the point of playing 2 halves of Carolina basketball. So... are we there yet? Well, nope. BUT, if tonight was a (winning) step in that direction?... then yeah, I'll take it, and look forward to anoher step in the next one....

-

DE - Ritzie or Rucker/ Evans/ Beau Atkinson
DT - M. Murphy/ Ritzie/ T. Fox/ Cowan
DT - T. Shaw/ Hester/ Bingley-Jones
Jack - Amari Gainer/ Jaybron Harvey/ M. Hamrick/ G. Stephens
LB - Gray/ S. Cheeks
LB - Echols/ Deuce Caldwell
Star - Boykins/ Conley
CB - M. Allen/ Armani Chatman
S - Hardy/ Dee Hollins
S - Conley or Derrik Allen
CB - Huzzie/ Cavazos/ Tayon Holloway

These are my guesses based on who we have currently projected for our roster. I feel like we may see some more transfers after Spring Ball. I put guys in bold that are likely to transfer.

Anyone know why the Notre Dame Game is at 11:30am? Seems like a weird time for a game.

I figured I would give Steat a break from starting the game thread and with 5 and a half hours until the opening tip at 9pm I thought I would put out a couple of my thoughts.

Number one I watched the Wake win over Duke recently in Winston Salem and the Demon Deacons have reloaded and can play with anyone.

I like that Coach Davis has come out publicly and said if you do not play defense you will lose playing minutes and we all know indirectly he was talking about the starting guards. Not just one guard as many have unfairly tried to point out but both.

Let’s also face it without Manek who could receive and shoot faster than anybody other than maybe a Rick Mount or Curry the Tar Heels are much easier to defend against especially when the guards again both cannot find the bottom of the net on a consistent basis.

Saying that I would like the team to consider going back to playing two men down low instead of spacing the floor. I cannot be the only observer that feels Nance would and could help the team more shooting soft jumpers in the lane like Brice Johnson use to than wasting his 6 foot 11 height advantage shooting long three pointers from the corners.

Another thing to consider would give Nickel more time at the small forward because he is a natural scorer and looks to shoot the rock much more than Black or Puff. I perfectly realize Carolina has a long history of playing the upper classmen because they have earned it but in my opinion Nickel maybe the closest thing to Manek shooting than anyone else on the team but yes his defense to this point is as bad as Manek’s.

Finally people are harping a lot about playing Trimble more with either Davis or Love. I personally do not like given him more minutes because he never looks to shoot and the experience factor that both Love and Davis offer.

Finally I do believe this Carolina squad is pissed off about letting the Pittsburgh game get away from them and they will come out with a big chip on their shoulder and take care of business at home…

Didn't we offer him?

Let's go!

...and I'm just posting this as a follow-up to my New Year thread.

While most here seemed to get the point, I continue to be puzzled that some Carolina folk still don't embrace the importance of the Secondary to what we do. And as the GIF below shows, it doesn't even hafta be a textbook iteration.

Wacth below --- early in the Wake game we come down in Secondary (albeit in imperfect lanes). Mando correctly has run the sprint lane shaded to ball-side. McKoy, initially in the right side perimeter lane sees that both Caleb and Leaky have assumed perimeter lanes on the other side. Remembering that he's playing the 4, he correctly assumes RJ will push sidleine to initiate a post-entry angle, and thus clears to the opposite "trail" position in case of a reversal.

Since the entry is indeed made, as he prepares to dive backside, you see McKoy giving the classic Carolina Freelance fist signal to Leaky that a down-screen is coming for an interchange. Here's the effectivenss of the Secondary personified, in that both of the backside Wake defenders get drawn in by the entry to Mando, and aren't sure who to pick up, so Leaky doesn't even need the screen to pop to a wide-open spot. Note that RJ almost drifts too far up, but sees Leaky in time to stay outta his way, so... kick-out from Mando... open 3 look... easy-peezy.
https://i.makeagif.com/media/1-06-2023/wtJMoG.gif

Anyway, the beauty of Dean's Secondary Break is not just the geometry, but that it rewrote the "conventional wisdom" (for most of basketball hsitory to that point) that you don't push the ball against a defense unless you have a numerical advantage. Fact is, Dean knew that a retreating defense is vulnerable, even 5-on-5, and that especially the quick post entry causes a chain reaction and often confusion that we easily exploited here.

Moreover, think of how hard we normally hafta work to get that sort of look against a set defense (especially not having a legit PG). That's why the Secondary is more important for us now than ever, whether utilizing sophisticated called variations off it (like Roy did) or just into Freelance. In that little 11-second span we saw our keys to success --- transition and inside-out ball --- emodied in one possession.

Starts any moment.

So where do the Tar Heels stand statistically in relation to the rest of the country?

We subscribe to a few services that grind up numbers, and here the focus is on KenPom. With the Heels 15 games into the season, it’s a good time to see how they measure up.

*Offensive efficiency: No. 11
*Defensive efficiency: No. 73
*Adjusted tempo: No. 122
*Average possession length: Off (No, 44), Def (No. 235)
*Effective FG%: No. 112
*Effective Defensive FG%: No. 176
*Turnover %: Off (No. 17), Def (No. 316)
*Offensive rebounds: Off (No. 174), Def (No. 89)
*Free Throw attempts: UNC (No. 13), Opponents (No. 28)
*3-Point %: Off (No, 272), Def (232)
*2-Point %: Off (No. 45), Def (No. 135)
*Strength of schedule: Overall (No. 5), non-ACC (No. 9)
*Bench minutes: No. 361
*D-1 experience: No. 21

THI’s Take:

These numbers are underwhelming, and out of line with what they should be in some departments. The Heels have been okay offensively, but can be much better, especially if Caleb Love’s game cleans up. Defensively, this team should be much better, and unless it improves there and on the glass, it will never come close to its stated mission.

ACC KenPom Rankings

No. 13 – Virginia
No. 20 – UNC
No. 23 – Duke
No. 35 – Virginia Tech
No. 43 – Miami
No. 44 – NC State
No. 55 - Clemson
No. 63 – Pittsburgh
No. 85 – Wake Forest
No. 92 – Syracuse
No. 116 – Georgia Tech
No. 118 – Notre Dame
No. 165 – Florida State
No. 169 – Boston College
No. 268 - Louisville

THI’s Take:

What has happened to ACC basketball? Once the standard, it just isn’t that good anymore. KenPom ranks it as the sixth best conference, and arenas around the league aren’t even close to full. Quite frankly, it’s sad to see what as happened to this league. Jim Phillips has a job on his hands with football and basketball, but neither sports appears headed in the right direction. In fact, it’s the opposite.

is heading to Notre Dame.

Is he the final piece to make the Irish offense a beast? Next year, the Irish face Ohio St, USC, and Clemson, as well as Pitt, MooU, Wake, Dook, and Louisville.