Berry is getting it now

[IDUNK4HEELS]

Everybody has been waiting patiently for Berry to break out and now there is no question he is on the verge of doing just that. We all knew he had the talent but he had to believe in himself and his mental game is slowly catching up to his physical game. The biggest improvement to me other than his confidence is his willingness to go strong to the hole almost always from the right side. He is a excellent free throw shooter so going strong in the lane normally will result in a basket or a pair of free throws. 10 dimes tonight also shows he understands what a point guard is suppose to do. Berry has quick hands so I am sure his defense will get better as time goes on.

 

[imajericho]

He'd have a lot more assists if people would finish.

 

[goheels653]

I haven't been waiting. He's been a stud all year, even going back to the end of last year.

 

[Archer2]

I'd say he was already our best perimeter defender, every bit Marcus' equal. He gets his hands on a lot of balls and leads our team in steals. And he is growing more confident in taking the open jumper or "taking it to the tin". My biggest concern was his passing because IMO, a PG's primary responsibility is to facilitate the offense. He has shown he is a willing passer, I'm very happy with his progress. I think he will only improve with more PT ànd the knowledge that he is the QB of this team.

There is no doubt that he is the logical 5th starter, proving Gary spot on. You don't win POY in Florida three successive years unless you're a stud.

 

[UNC Blue Hup]

He's a stud. I'm so glad he's a Tar Heel! One of our most valuable players it's not even close..Merry Christmas to all the true Heels!

 

[yrusonvus]

I'd say he was already our best perimeter defender, every bit Marcus' equal. He gets his hands on a lot of balls and leads our team in steals. And he is growing more confident in taking the open jumper or "taking it to the tin". My biggest concern was his passing because IMO, a PG's primary responsibility is to facilitate the offense. He has shown he is a willing passer, I'm very happy with his progress. I think he will only improve with more PT ànd the knowledge that he is the QB of this team.

There is no doubt that he is the logical 5th starter, proving Gary spot on. You don't win POY in Florida three successive years unless you're a stud.

Great post Arch, I would add something to it, but it would no longer be great.

 

[keysersosay#1]

VERY comfortable with him running the show. Looks like he is in command of the show...wish his shot was more consistent

 

[gary-7]

Everybody has been waiting patiently for Berry to break out and now there is no question he is on the verge of doing just that. We all knew he had the talent but he had to believe in himself and his mental game is slowly catching up to his physical game. The biggest improvement to me other than his confidence is his willingness to go strong to the hole almost always from the right side. He is a excellent free throw shooter so going strong in the lane normally will result in a basket or a pair of free throws. 10 dimes tonight also shows he understands what a point guard is suppose to do. Berry has quick hands so I am sure his defense will get better as time goes on.

11.

 

[gary-7]

I'd say he was already our best perimeter defender, every bit Marcus' equal. He gets his hands on a lot of balls and leads our team in steals. And he is growing more confident in taking the open jumper or "taking it to the tin". My biggest concern was his passing because IMO, a PG's primary responsibility is to facilitate the offense. He has shown he is a willing passer, I'm very happy with his progress. I think he will only improve with more PT ànd the knowledge that he is the QB of this team.

There is no doubt that he is the logical 5th starter, proving Gary spot on. You don't win POY in Florida three successive years unless you're a stud.

Arch, I snagged a seat with a perfect corner-court view just to watch the defensive team movements (yeah, I know --- basketball-nerd alert), and I mentioned it in my Stats thread. Watching Berry and Paige work together on defense is special for sure, but JB is honestly already on another level.

 

[Archer2]

Glad you got to make the game Gary. Any other tidbits of analysis would be welcome. This is a fun team to watch, isn't it?

 

[gary-7]

Glad you got to make the game Gary. Any other tidbits of analysis would be welcome. This is a fun team to watch, isn't it?

They are fun... and hopefully will get more so. Honestly, they were a tad sluggish --- hard to duplicate the intensity of the UCLA game --- but still.
I like that Roy is using scramble defenses. We did better in 30 than in 40 (ASU did a good job of recognizing and dribbled away from the impending wing double in 42, and KW wasn't sure on his chase responsibilities), but I'm hoping that will be a staple going forward. The prospect of a jump double makes those ball-screens a riskier proposition.
One last thing: The difference between JB getting 11 Assists vs a much lower number?
Guys just finishing plays. In other words, this shouldn't have been his first double-double.
Unlike previous games, there were only 2 of his blown Monday that I counted.
(Good article below, BTW)

http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/12/tar-heels-comfortable-with-offense-in-joel-berrys-hands
The silly question that was asked at the presser aside, JB ain't doing anything different or "seeing" anything better than he's been doing since he's been here. All he had to do was get comfortable. Dude was a can't-miss stud PG coming in, and Roy has wisely now given him the keys to the car. If said car stays healthy it can hopefully mature into a Lamborghini by March.

 

[Archer2]

JOel started to get more comfortable the last third of the season last year. Now that Coach has given him the keys to the Porsche, JOel is settling into his comfort zone and just playing. It's amazing how much quicker we get into our offensive sets when he is in the game. His on the ball defense is getting better all the time and it was pretty good to begin with. And his quick hands and anticipation lead to a lot of deflections and/or outright steals. Much like the pass that leads to the pass that becomes the assist, deflections are an underappreciated stat, unless you're a coach that is.

And I love his recent aggression in taking it hard to the tin, as Raftery would say. He's going to shoot a good amount of FT's if he continues to do so, and those points at the stripe are low hanging fruit.

 

[Ozheelfan]

My favourite is the pass that leads to the pass.
All commentators have been saying how quickly this team advances the ball up the court, but they fail to mention the lack of dribbles in those fast advances.
Joel is often the first player to get the ball off a defensive rebound, or a steal, or turnover, and his first instinct is to look up court to ignite the break. (don't get me wrong, Marcus does this too)
It's similar, yet different to what Butter used to do.
Marshall would make the long pass which was an assist (to a streaking Zeller etc) but with Joel he's making long passes to players who then give it up for the score (collect the assist in the process)
It's a testament to this team that there are often two players running the floor, plus the unselfishness of those players to give up the ball for the better shot.
Beautiful basketball.

 

[gary-7]

My favourite is the pass that leads to the pass.
All commentators have been saying how quickly this team advances the ball up the court, but they fail to mention the lack of dribbles in those fast advances.
Joel is often the first player to get the ball off a defensive rebound, or a steal, or turnover, and his first instinct is to look up court to ignite the break. (don't get me wrong, Marcus does this too)
It's similar, yet different to what Butter used to do.
Marshall would make the long pass which was an assist (to a streaking Zeller etc) but with Joel he's making long passes to players who then give it up for the score (collect the assist in the process)
It's a testament to this team that there are often two players running the floor, plus the unselfishness of those players to give up the ball for the better shot.
Beautiful basketball.

Precisely... and we don't even have the luxury of a Zeller beating everyone else down the floor.

Oz, what you just said about dribbles is key. Dean used to preach to his guys that on the perfect fast break the ball would never touch the floor. And while that is a rare occurrence, it is an ideal to strive for.
I posted earlier that a huge noticeable difference with JP out and JB in is the radical decrease in the number of dribbles --- not just in transition, but in general. Berry has the knack to dribble with a purpose, e.g., to create a passing angle, or draw a defender to create a teammate's open look, or create his own shot when needed.
There's no more useless exercise in a game of basketball than a PG pounding the damned ball for no particular reason. I've been very critical of Nate for doing just that, but I hafta say, I think Berry's rubbing off on him. He's getting better about that.

 

[Archer2]

Dribbling with a purpose, that sums it up nicely. My coach used to yell "are you going to run a play or just dribble around out there all day?" And Nate has indeed been doing less of that this year. JOel is fortunate to have Marcus and Nate around to aid in his development. And JOel simply makes the whole team better.

 

[Bubspub88]

wonder what Roy is doing now that is making him a better coach

 

[DSouthr]

Precisely... and we don't even have the luxury of a Zeller beating everyone else down the floor.

Oz, what you just said about dribbles is key. Dean used to preach to his guys that on the perfect fast break the ball would never touch the floor. And while that is a rare occurrence, it is an ideal to strive for.
I posted earlier that a huge noticeable difference with JP out and JB in is the radical decrease in the number of dribbles --- not just in transition, but in general. Berry has the knack to dribble with a purpose, e.g., to create a passing angle, or draw a defender to create a teammate's open look, or create his own shot when needed.
There's no more useless exercise in a game of basketball than a PG pounding the damned ball for no particular reason. I've been very critical of Nate for doing just that, but I hafta say, I think Berry's rubbing off on him. He's getting better about that.

Yeah, to me there is nothing more pretty in the sport than a break where the ball never touches the court! This team really has a unselfish feel to it, that is huge for team chemistry, we don't have that guy that is a black hole for the ball, every one of our guys are not only willing to share the ball but love to feed it to their mates. Things like that can be even more important than talent. It bodes well for this season, if we can just stay healthy, but that has been a problem so far, hopefully we can get all that out of the way now and have everyone available and ready at the end.

Nate struggles at times taking the best angle on his break, still tends to advance the ball with the dribble but ends up taking it to where he has no clear path to the basket nor a solid passing lane to someone that does. That snuffs out your break and throws you back in to a half court offense. Joel, on the other hand is really good at finding that right angle that either allows him to get to the basket or dish to a trailer. I think at times Nate may out run his break, notice, you don't always have to be wide open streaking down court as a PG, if you out run the guys breaking with you then you have to finish or pull it back out.

 

[gary-7]

wonder what Roy is doing now that is making him a better coach

Not being as stubborn?
Seriously, Roy was and is the logical and deserving guy to carry the legacy teaching and coaching Dean Smith Carolina Basketball. He's damned good at it, and a damned good (and frankly, underrated) coach in his own right. But even the great ones have their glitches Sometimes he'll dig his heels in, but he's too good a coach not to see and adjust, and eventually and inevitably he does.
Roy came out of the gate fresh and rejuvenated, showing right off the bat he was putting the ghosts and missteps of last season behind him. He made the most crucial move to give this team its best chance of success --- picking the right starting lineup --- and this team is establishing a rotation and identity. The difference in chemistry is palpable and for us fans of true Carolina Basketball, a helluva a lot more fun to watch.