As long as I'm dreamin'...

[NorCalTarheel]

A few weeks ago I was thinking, man, I would love to have a little depth at the five spot. I wanted an athletic, rim protecting, guy who runs the floor and didn't feel like he had to start, chase our players to the portal and punch his ticket to the NBA. I wanted a guy who might develop over the next two to three years and, *poof*, James Okonkwo commits!

Shoot, as long as I'm at it... I think I will wish for an older, established, experienced head coach to help Hubert with the x's and o's portion of the game. Teach him about game management, sub patterns, and in-game adjustments. I am not knocking our coach. He is going to be great in my opinion. He can obviously recruit and build rosters. I'm just saying it is the only chink in our armor that I see right now. Someone like a Larry Brown, George Karl, type who loves Carolina and has the experience and credibility to help Hubert.

Wishful thinking I know but, what do you guys think?

 

[DaSheed]

I brought this up a few years ago and got bashed unmercifully. I get it, but I still think UNC, Hubert and the players would benefit from a guy like Larry Brown. Can’t think of a better way for him to finish out his career.

We’re both dreamin’ though

 

[dtodd4475]

I won't bash at all, he is knowledgeable, but if it were me Larry Brown is a hard pass, extremely, should we say, sketchy past almost everywhere he has been. He's also a vagabond type, not sure how being in the background would suit him without getting the itch to play a bigger role.

Some of the others who are quick with the tsk tsk wagging "cheater" fingers to other programs/coaches might be worried about looking hypocritical if Larry is brought in with open arms.

 

[tarheel0910]

I brought this question up several times, but never got an answer. What exactly does Hubert's assistants do? Does he involve them in game planning or listen to their advice during games? If not, then it doesn't matter how great your assistant coaches are. If you aren't involving them, then how good they are will never show.

 

[gauchoheel]

Sounds like Jeff Lebo.

I don't think we're adding any other coaches, but continue to hope a bigger wing will be added to the roster before the season starts. Let's see if any new grad transfers pop up in August.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Team and coaching staff are set IMO. There are 10 greyhounds champing at the bit! They know who they signed on with and any change now could cause second thoughts! Let's run it out there and enjoy what happens!

 

[bluetoe]

A few weeks ago I was thinking, man, I would love to have a little depth at the five spot. I wanted an athletic, rim protecting, guy who runs the floor and didn't feel like he had to start, chase our players to the portal and punch his ticket to the NBA. I wanted a guy who might develop over the next two to three years and, *poof*, James Okonkwo commits!

Shoot, as long as I'm at it... I think I will wish for an older, established, experienced head coach to help Hubert with the x's and o's portion of the game. Teach him about game management, sub patterns, and in-game adjustments. I am not knocking our coach. He is going to be great in my opinion. He can obviously recruit and build rosters. I'm just saying it is the only chink in our armor that I see right now. Someone like a Larry Brown, George Karl, type who loves Carolina and has the experience and credibility to help Hubert.

Wishful thinking I know but, what do you guys think?

I wish we had gotten Larry Brown involved a long time ago. As a matter of fact, I wanted him over Roy. I've changed my mind on that but not on wishing Larry Brown was in the program some way.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

I love me some LB but heck to the naw! We need our clean so squeaky you could eat of of it! LB always has that cloud of suspicion around him whether he deserves it or not!

 

[dtodd4475]

I love me some LB but heck to the naw! We need our clean so squeaky you could eat of of it! LB always has that cloud of suspicion around him whether he deserves it or not!

If you do not believe LB has avoided the rules, then you can not ever accuse others of it. It is either OK or it isn't. Heck he doesn't even hide it. Every place he has been.

 

[NorCalTarheel]

For the record, I was not implying that I wanted Larry Brown personally to join our staff. I was hesitant to even use his or George Karl's name but did so only as examples of one time head coach experienced guys who are in the Carolina family. I don't know if any others exist, other than Jeff Lebo as someone mentioned, that would fit the bill.

Again, I all in on Coach Davis but this year he NEEDS to show he can manage in-game situations better and use and develop a bench. Just my opinion.

 

[tarheel0910]

For the record, I was not implying that I wanted Larry Brown personally to join our staff. I was hesitant to even use his or George Karl's name but did so only as examples of one time head coach experienced guys who are in the Carolina family. I don't know if any others exist, other than Jeff Lebo as someone mentioned, that would fit the bill.

Again, I all in on Coach Davis but this year he NEEDS to show he can manage in-game situations better and use and develop a bench. Just my opinion.

The problem is Hubert has limited himself to only Carolina guys. No reason assistants have to be Carolina guys.

 

[NorCalTarheel]

The problem is Hubert has limited himself to only Carolina guys. No reason assistants have to be Carolina guys.

I agree that it makes the selection pool much more shallow for quality coaches if you limit it to former UNC players. On the other hand, I have read more than one top tier recruit talk about how much they respect the fact that the entire coaching staff played for UNC. Hubert is crushing it on the recruiting trail so something there is working. My hope is that he figures out the in-game stuff and uses his bench this year so we can put a lot of that talk to rest.

 

[tarheel0910]

Figured this fit into the conversation about assistant coaches without starting a new thread.

UNC Basketball made a mistake letting Steve Robinson go

Did the UNC basketball program make a mistake letting longtime assistant coach Steve Robinson go in the most recent coaching transition?

keepingitheel.com

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Sounds like Jeff Lebo.

I don't think we're adding any other coaches, but continue to hope a bigger wing will be added to the roster before the season starts. Let's see if any new grad transfers pop up in August.

Who would you send to the bench to accommodate that bigger wing?

I'm sorry we didn't grab Matthew Cleveland. But if we had jumped on him we would probably have missed on either Cormac or Harrison, or maybe both. Or we might have lost one or both when Cadeau reclassified, pushing RJ to SG.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

There are 10 greyhounds champing at the bit!

Only 10?

 

[NorCalTarheel]

Figured this fit into the conversation about assistant coaches without starting a new thread.

UNC Basketball made a mistake letting Steve Robinson go

Did the UNC basketball program make a mistake letting longtime assistant coach Steve Robinson go in the most recent coaching transition?

keepingitheel.com

I believe Hubert had to let Robinson go for the reasons stated the top of the article ...
"This ultimately did two things…

First, it symbolized that it was officially Hubert’s program going forward and his decisions."

 

[tarheel0910]

I believe Hubert had to let Robinson go for the reasons stated the top of the article ...
"This ultimately did two things…

First, it symbolized that it was officially Hubert’s program going forward and his decisions."

I think it would have been obvious it was his program with or without Robinson. The problem is Hubert has significantly reduced the talent pool by making it only Carolina alumni. Not a great thing to do for a first time coach.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Which is balanced by every recruit, either transfer or from HS, saying that the coaches showing their love of UNC and their 1st hand knowledge of how impactful the Family is was one of their deciding factors! Or the fact that several of the top recruits in the next few classes have mentioned it as a positive! These are some pretty good reasons for Hubs to continue!

 

[tarheel0910]

Which is balanced by every recruit, either transfer or from HS, saying that the coaches showing their love of UNC and their 1st hand knowledge of how impactful the Family is was one of their deciding factors! Or the fact that several of the top recruits in the next few classes have mentioned it as a positive! These are some pretty good reasons for Hubs to continue!

If the UNC family is dependent on Hubert having nothing but UNC assistants, then it's not much of a family.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I believe Hubert had to let Robinson go for the reasons stated the top of the article ...
"This ultimately did two things…

First, it symbolized that it was officially Hubert’s program going forward and his decisions."

Some said part of Doherty's problem was severing ties with the previous coaching and other personnel - Ford and others, not limited to coaching.

Bringing in your own people makes sense, but maybe it's possible to go too far?

I'm in no position to know what the loss of Robinson meant for the team. He was a very quiet presence on the sidelines during games. Hubert's current assistants are more active. But is that good or bad?

Arizona seems to be doing well but who knows how much of that can be attributed to Steve?

Three preseason polls I just looked at have Arizona a few spots higher than UNC.

It would be fun to play them this year.

 

[bluetoe]

Some said part of Doherty's problem was severing ties with the previous coaching and other personnel - Ford and others, not limited to coaching.

Bringing in your own people makes sense, but maybe it's possible to go too far?

I'm in no position to know what the loss of Robinson meant for the team. He was a very quiet presence on the sidelines during games. Hubert's current assistants are more active. But is that good or bad?

Arizona seems to be doing well but who knows how much of that can be attributed to Steve?

Three preseason polls I just looked at have Arizona a few spots higher than UNC.

It would be fun to play them this year.

I'm sure you know this, but the coaching you see out of the bench during a game is not much indication of how well-coached a team is. If you want to know how well coached a team is....

 

[NorCalTarheel]

I think Steve Robinson is exactly the type of coach I am talking about on the bench to support Coach Davis. He doesn't meet the definition of "Carolina family" exactly (having never played there) but, I think he's been part of the family long enough to get a pass. It would be great to have that type of knowledge for in-game adjustments in maybe even manage sub stuff.

That being said, I understand Hubert wanting to start fresh.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I think Steve Robinson is exactly the type of coach I am talking about on the bench to support Coach Davis. He doesn't meet the definition of "Carolina family" exactly (having never played there) but, I think he's been part of the family long enough to get a pass. It would be great to have that type of knowledge for in-game adjustments in maybe even manage sub stuff.

That being said, I understand Hubert wanting to start fresh.

Is there any reason to think that Robinson is any better than Lebo or Frederick?

If we had kept Robinson, which of our current guys would be gone?

 

[NorCalTarheel]

Is there any reason to think that Robinson is any better than Lebo or Frederick?

If we had kept Robinson, which of our current guys would be gone?

Better is a very subjective term so I don't know how to answer that.

My thought with Robinson over Lebo is purely experience based, most of which occurred at UNC. Both men have head coaching experience but Robinson's time next to Roy, running the break and secondary break, gives him a slight nod in my book. Frederick seems like he distant third in that conversation.

Having said all that Lebo looked pretty darn good drawing up the game winner for Nance last year vs. OSU (I think?)!

 

[tarheel0910]

Is there any reason to think that Robinson is any better than Lebo or Frederick?

If we had kept Robinson, which of our current guys would be gone?

I don't think the overall point is was Robinson better than someone currently on the bench. I think his experience in the system would have been helpful, but the larger point is are we getting the best available. Unless you think Carolina grads are always the best assistant coaches in the country, then Hubert is hurting himself, and by extension the program, by not always getting the best available.

 

[bluetoe]

I don't think the overall point is was Robinson better than someone currently on the bench. I think his experience in the system would have been helpful, but the larger point is are we getting the best available. Unless you think Carolina grads are always the best assistant coaches in the country, then Hubert is hurting himself, and by extension the program, by not always getting the best available.

it might have been, if the system was going to be the same. Pretty sure Hubes said he's changing it, which might explain things with Robinson.

 

[alabamaheel]

I think there’s a lot of assumption that coach Rob didn’t have a say in the decision. He may have wanted to leave.

 

[bluetoe]

I think there’s a lot of assumption that coach Rob didn’t have a say in the decision. He may have wanted to leave.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

If the UNC family is dependent on Hubert having nothing but UNC assistants, then it's not much of a family.

I hope you realize that absolutely no one said this! The Family is made up of many disparate parts and most of them will be at UNC for 1-2 years now! It is predicated on taking care of each other not some arbitrary claim like this. And it doesn't refute my claim that having UNC family as assistants is helping on the recruiting trail. I am of the opinion that getting the recruits you want would be good for the program. I also haven't heard one name we could get that would be a better fit than those currently employed! SRob said for multiple years that when Roy left he was leaving too. I read that to mean retirement, but it obviously meant he would go to another spot if it was the right opportunity!

 

[tarheel0910]

I hope you realize that absolutely no one said this! The Family is made up of many disparate parts and most of them will be at UNC for 1-2 years now! It is predicated on taking care of each other not some arbitrary claim like this. And it doesn't refute my claim that having UNC family as assistants is helping on the recruiting trail. I am of the opinion that getting the recruits you want would be good for the program. I also haven't heard one name we could get that would be a better fit than those currently employed! SRob said for multiple years that when Roy left he was leaving too. I read that to mean retirement, but it obviously meant he would go to another spot if it was the right opportunity!

Apparently Hubert is saying that by saying he's only hiring UNC people. And last I checked Dean and Roy had no issues with recruiting with non UNC people on the bench. I want Hubert to succeed. I want him to coach here for 20 more years and win 20 championships, but he can't do that by ignoring a pool of candidates because of their degree. It's like saying a brother in law or sister in law can't be a part of the family because they weren't born into it.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Hubs didn't say that at any time! He did say, he felt peeps who experienced the two greatest coaches in bball history at the greatest U might just have an idea of what it takes to be great here AND might have an inkling about what makes our beloved U special! HOF coaches generally don't have issues recruiting! UNC historically has had no issue recruiting either because it had 50 years of sustained greatness! Recently, UNC has had issues recruiting in case our memories are short. Roy who is my second favorite coach ever in any sport, had trouble recruiting for factors I refuse to go into! SO Hubs was tasked, no chosen, to bring UNC back to its former greatness. Did anyone believe this would happen without any hiccups? Has there ever been a coach that didn't have to grow into the job? Continuity and camaraderie matter on the court and in the staff! And I repeat, who is out there (that wants to come here and doesn't have too much baggage) that is better than what we have? The guys on our bench have as much experience in bball as it is now as any other staff in the country so who can say whether a veteran wouldn't be a negative???