What are your predictions?

Brandon and I are here at The Westin in Charlotte for the ACC TipOff - ACC hoops media day.

All 15 teams are here today for a one-day event.

UNC is up in a few hours, which is why I got here about an hour ago.

We will post some photos, clips, notes & quotes here in this thread. Plus we will have extensive coverage later on today.

...and this just contains some random observations.

Pretty much everything I saw in that pickup-like environment jibes with what has come out of summer workouts and early practices.

- for those wondering, Caleb and Puff are just dealing with some early ouchies --- nothing serious --- and Washington has just been cleared for 5-on-5, so not rushing him.

- Particularly the Blue team was executing the Secondary Break, which is promising for this season's approach. Interestingly, the starters were a bit more cavalier with that, which raises the point that they're gonna hafta break some bad habits from last season's short rotation. Nonetheless, I'm encouraged that Hubert seems like he is sticking to his word about getting back to that.

- Speaking of transition, I REALLY want to see us evolve --- especially now with more experinced Guards --- into triggering our offense without having to scheme spacing. And the best way to do that is attacking the defense whilst they're recovering.

- Word since summer has been to count on Styles and Dunn to be major rotation pieces and the scrimmage certainly did nothing to belie that. Dunn has the look of a kid who now belongs, and Styles continues to flash those Len Bias moments. With that said, I want to see Dontrez attack the rim more consistently.

- I thought McKoy looked good and more spry in general. Will be interesting to see his role, as he'll have to claw for minutes on a loaded team.

- Speaking of minutes, folks, we are LOADED with guys who can play at this level, with maybe the most inriguing question is who rotates in at the 3/4 positions. As mentioned, Dontrez has an inside track, as should Puff, but we have some options.

- And speaking of loaded, I indeed want to see the starters constantly pushed to not be complacent and realize they need to take the next steps if they want #redemption.

- As for the newcomers, Pete is a great pickup, but be mindful that he will have to adapt on the fly to meshing with his teammates and finding his niche. I would thus expect (like with Brady) his role to peak after Xmas (which is what you're looking for). Shaver looks solid physically, but is likely a year away from being more than a space-eater --- good news is we shouldn't need him. As alluded to, Seth faces a steep learning-curve, and fortunately should have the luxury of that without too much pressure. And Nickel, well... he is really intriguing as to his potential role--- as I've reported before, the kid is fearless... and despite looking clunky at times, he can flat-out fill it up!

- Speaking of newcomers, the wildcard could be Washington. I suspect most fans don't yet realize just how good this kid is. In fact, if he can beat the injury-bug he can be a MONSTER. First question though is how much we'll see of that this season.

- Oh, and how bout some Beau Maye? Somewhere uk fans are having flashbacks...

Anyway, a fun night and great to see the guys back in action (and that t-shirt Hubert was sporting was pure class)! Meanwhile, behind the scenes, every bit as noteworthy was the OV by (hopefully) our next UNC PG)...

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Want to see what the NC State, Duke, and Kentucky fanbases or any of the Tar Heel opponents are saying ahead of a match-up with Carolina? Want to gauge the confidence of a rival suitor for one of your Tar Heels' top recruiting targets? Spy on your Rivals and the Rivals All-Access Pass gives you the ability to see what the other side is saying.

The All-Access Pass is available as an add-on to your current subscription for $45 for annual subscribers or $8 for monthly subscribers. The 3-site bundle is available as an add-on for $30 for an annual or $4 for monthly subscribers and the single read-only forum add-ons for $2/month for monthly subscribers or $20/year for annual subscribers. The All-Access Pass will grow to include other new features that Rivals will be releasing in the future; Read-Only Forum access is just the beginning!

Existing subscribers can add the All-Access Pass, individual forum or 3-site bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: https://northcarolina.rivals.com/users/subscriptions

Did you know, you can upgrade your annual or monthly subscription to include read-only access to opposing team site forums or even every forum in the Rivals Network? There is also now an option to add a bundle of read-only access to 3 sites for a discounted price.

Want to see what the NC State, Duke, and Clemson fanbases or any of the Tar Heel opponents are saying ahead of a match-up with Carolina? Want to gauge the confidence of a rival suitor for one of your Tar Heels' top recruiting targets? Spy on your Rivals and the Rivals All-Access Pass gives you the ability to see what the other side is saying.

The All-Access Pass is available as an add-on to your current subscription for $45 for annual subscribers or $8 for monthly subscribers. The 3-site bundle is available as an add-on for $30 for an annual or $4 for monthly subscribers and the single read-only forum add-ons for $2/month for monthly subscribers or $20/year for annual subscribers. The All-Access Pass will grow to include other new features that Rivals will be releasing in the future; Read-Only Forum access is just the beginning!

Existing subscribers can add the All-Access Pass, individual forum or 3-site bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: https://northcarolina.rivals.com/users/subscriptions

Clemson, Wuffies, Pitt, Miami, and Wake ranked.

The Notre Dame 6’10 senior is so versatile can score both inside and outside and is a solid rebounder….We have all seen him light up Carolina over the years and having a big experienced player like Manek showed last year who can lead by example would and could be the last piece to the puzzle and especially now that Dawson Garcia has decided to go to another team closer to home.

Yes there will be tons and tons of players in the portal who offer a bunch of good things but to me this is a no brainer and a perfect fit to come in and contribute right away…

Hope Coach Davis and his staff see the same opportunity that I see to replace the one position that UNC needs to fill this year…

Love how the losers walked off with towels over their heads without shaking hands. Dook class personified. Pure failures all the way around, lol. They left ratface out there with only Moore behind him to face the team that crapped on his fairy tale. Perfect.

So this virus only hits the elderly hard or people with underlying conditions? Think again
Nassir Little story
Blazers' Nassir Little works his way back after COVID-19 – The Athletic

Meant to start this thread over the weekend. I apologize if this has been discussed already, but what are y'all's thoughts on Nate Oats and how he's got that Alabama program humming this year?

I haven't watched a ton of ball this year but the times I have seen them, his team shoots really well. Plus, I love that he called Coach K to task earlier in the season.

Thoughts? Could he be a rising star? Wikipedia says he's only 46.

...and what if they made biscuits and no one was there to eat em? That might've been the only thing that kept us from scoring 100, but hey, why be wasteful?

Seriously though, I honestly felt bad for Mack, as his guys were obviously rusty from not having played, and it really showed in their lack of "shooting legs" as they were uncharacteristically brick-laying. That being said, that does nothing to take away from (easily) our best offensive execution in at least 2 years,

- It's always a good sign when I can tell what we've been working on in practice --- Big-to-Big action, baby!. Granted, it took a minute --- the first time Bacot got the ball on the block, he missed seeing a WIDE-open Brooks backside. Fortunately, we didn't miss many more of those. and y'see it's a team thing --- solid posting, sure cuts, decisive passes --- and buddy, that was some vintage Dean Smith Carolina T-Game basketball right there tonight! We hit the backside block-to-block passes, the Hi-Lo entries, give-and-goes, you name it. Hell, at one point I coulda swore I saw visions of Mitch Kupchak pointing to Bobby Jones for the Assist.

- Our perimeter guys were feeding properly as well. I can almost bet we worked on bounce-passes to Bigs. Y'see, those are fine but ya just can't throw a pass at the Big's ankles.,. the rule of thumb is the ball pass should BOUNCE up to knee height --- and it can be the difference between a basket and a TO. For those of you who notice such things, our guys were "sitting down" with the pass and the ball was coming up accordingly.

- speaking of Bigs, an underappreciated skill is cutting, and they did so tonight like they meant it. I can't remember how many times in practices I repeated the mantra "reward the big man!", meaning that if he works hard, get him the damned rock. Our bigguns worked there asses off tonight. That also includes running the floor, and they did that too. So yeah, we can still get better, but the passing, catching and finishing were all improved markedly.

- My friend @Tarheel75 and I have been harping all season about EFFORT and ENERGY, and for the first time in ages the first 5 came out like they meant it, instead of waiting for the bench to spark us, and the energy level was almost incessant throughout line changes. All game we were getting after loose balls, making the extra effort in defensive help, and getting tough rebounds. And if someone made a mistake?... they didn't sulk... and it felt like everyone had each others' backs. For example, when Caleb reverted to a first-day frosh and got his pocket picked consecutively, he bounced back and got right back into the flow.

- Speaking of all that --- and I'll readily apologize if it has sounded arrogant about it before--- but tonight illustrated what I've been preaching as to what this team potentially can be at its best --- an interchangeable 9-man rotation, that is quickly becoming 10 with big Kessler getting his legs under him. There is no one player who has to be on the floor for us to do what we do, and we have guys with complementary skills, strengths and experience levels. Literally everyone in that 10 contributed something valuable tonight in their own respective ways. Sharpe was in beast-mode and slowed things down for himself, but Mando and Garrison were solid as rocks, and Kessler more than made his presence felt. Caleb and RJ ran the show nicely. Leaky was quietly effective while Ant brought high energy, and Walton lit it up with 19 on 7/10 shooting while Plates put on as good a performance as you'll ever see for a guy who only took 1 shot, with 5 dimes, 3 boards, and yet another defensive clinic.

Bottom line guys? Yes they were rusty, but this is still a 20 point win even if they weren't.

Anyway, what's the mantra? PLAY HARD, PLAY SMART and PLAY TOGETHER. Check, check and check. Now... let's see if we can repeat that Weds when Wojo comes to town...

Always a thread on here about who may be Roy's successor when that time comes. Always a couple Stackhouse supporters that throw his name out. Well, I guess that candidacy has come to a screeching halt. Not turning around the Vandy program would eliminate him anyway, but his recent comments about his critics would now make him a PR nightmare.