Carolina's Dwindling Post?

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I'm a little worried about who's in the post this year. Veesaar was a great pickup, no doubt. And we have some other tall guys. But do we really have anyone in the post after Henri?

Brown is a project with no clear ETA. Nobody seems to be saying that High or Stevenson is cut out for the role of backup center - certainly not for major minutes there.

Is it just my imagination or have we been struggling more in the middle lately? Let's see....

Year	W-L	Post Players*	Other Bigs
2016	33-7	Meeks Brice Johnson	Hicks James
2017	33-7	Meeks Bradley	Hicks Maye
2018	26-11	Maye Manley	Brooks Miller Huffman
2019	29-7	Maye Brooks	Manley Miller Huffman
2020	14-19	Brooks Bacot	Miller Huffman
2021	18-11	Bacot Kessler Sharpe	Brooks Manley
2022	29-10	Bacot Manek	(Garcia)
2023	20-13	Bacot Nance	Washington
2024	29-8	Bacot Washington	Withers High Okonkwo
2025	23-14	Lubin Washington Withers	Brown Claude

* At least 10% of post minutes, per Pomeroy

 

[Spaceytoyz]

Well the Post options are certainly better right now than they were last year Front court looks nice

 

[vbrs]

I hope that Lubin will return

 

[_B5]

here’s the thing we don’t feed the post, why would any post players want to come here. Armando even said it after his last year on a podcast. They basically told him to get it off the backboard!

 

[Spaceytoyz]

here’s the thing we don’t feed the post, why would any post players want to come here. Armando even said it after his last year on a podcast. They basically told him to get it off the backboard!

Bacot was doubled a lot of his career he kicked it back out and that was the right play

 

[al would]

here’s the thing we don’t feed the post, why would any post players want to come here. Armando even said it after his last year on a podcast. They basically told him to get it off the backboard!

Not sure Bacot should be the poster person for UNC centers. He wasn't really that big, athletic or long and never developed much of any type of consistent shot repertoire either inside, short or outside .. he was surely a UNC player that was not developed much at all during his 5 yrs. Coach Gut was a great big developer iirc. jmo

 

[UncTwinz]

Not sure Bacot should be the poster person for UNC centers. He wasn't really that big, athletic or long and never developed much of any type of consistent shot repertoire either inside, short or outside .. he was surely a UNC player that was not developed much at all during his 5 yrs. Coach Gut was a great big developer iirc. jmo

Bacot couldn't guard a doorstop when he came to UNC. By his final season he was switching onto guards at the end of the shotclock and forcing them to miss jumpers. That's a major area he developed.

 

[UncTwinz]

What a weird thread. Veesaar/Wilson/Stevenson is light years better than Lubin/Withers/Washington.

 

[Mrs.Jeans15]

Bacot was doubled a lot of his career he kicked it back out and that was the right play

Yes when he actually touched the ball.

 

[_B5]

Not sure Bacot should be the poster person for UNC centers. He wasn't really that big, athletic or long and never developed much of any type of consistent shot repertoire either inside, short or outside .. he was surely a UNC player that was not developed much at all during his 5 yrs. Coach Gut was a great big developer iirc. jmo

I’m just speaking under the guise of bacot was an AA, and wasn’t a focal part of our offense his last year at UNC.

 

[CarolinaBlue5]

What a weird thread. Veesaar/Wilson/Stevenson is light years better than Lubin/Withers/Washington.

I definitely agree..I’d rather have Wilson, Stevenson, High, or a second year Brown playing the 5 than Washington and he started a lot last year…we have other concerns and question marks like sf, back up point and shooting from the 2 guard! I definitely don’t want Stevenson or Wilson playing a lot at the 5 but I think they could do it against certain matchups for a minute or so here and there!

 

[DSouthr]

The 2 conferences that are now considered to be the best in the country are the SEC and Big10 and both just happen to play a more physical brand of ball that others. What this team does not ye have is that physical presence in the paint that carves out room, that is not pushed around. Lubin did give us some of that last season, far to little but some is better than nothing, only so much he could do at 6'8" & 230lbs. There is a real reason you do not see 200lb offensive linemen in football, size and strength matters.

Many of you don't like it but I like a good ole fashioned enforce type, a guy that comes in and rattles some cages, that forces the other team to pay a price for coming in to his lane, a guy that finishes on his defender and screams WEIGHT ROOM !!! We simply do not have a guy like that on our roster and we need to get one now.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

The 2 conferences that are now considered to be the best in the country are the SEC and Big10 and both just happen to play a more physical brand of ball that others. What this team does not ye have is that physical presence in the paint that carves out room, that is not pushed around. Lubin did give us some of that last season, far to little but some is better than nothing, only so much he could do at 6'8" & 230lbs. There is a real reason you do not see 200lb offensive linemen in football, size and strength matters.

Many of you don't like it but I like a good ole fashioned enforce type, a guy that comes in and rattles some cages, that forces the other team to pay a price for coming in to his lane, a guy that finishes on his defender and screams WEIGHT ROOM !!! We simply do not have a guy like that on our roster and we need to get one now.

Brzovic would be a good addition.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

What a weird thread. Veesaar/Wilson/Stevenson is light years better than Lubin/Withers/Washington.

We hope.

A lot here don't think Wilson or Stevenson should play in the post. If they don't - or can't - are we still light years better?

 

[UncTwinz]

We hope.

A lot here don't think Wilson or Stevenson should play in the post. If they don't - or can't - are we still light years better?

Lubin, Withers, Washington was the worst big man combination in the past 70 years UNC basketball.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Lubin, Withers, Washington was the worst big man combination in the past 70 years UNC basketball.

Lubin was good most of the season. Withers was good down the stretch. JWash was never the starter we hoped for, but was an adequate backup.

For next year, most of us feel confident that Veesaar will be an upgrade - although that remains to be put to the test. But after that . . . ?

At a minimum, we need someone like Duke had with Ryan Young - a reliable guy in the middle who may not be a star but can handle all the minutes you throw at him and doesn't make you cringe when you put him in.

 

[UncTwinz]

Lubin was good most of the season. Withers was good down the stretch. JWash was never the starter we hoped for, but was an adequate backup.

Lubin was really bad on defense the whole season, and struggled with his bad hands for most of the season. Withers had maybe 7 good games in his entire UNC career. Washington was bad on defense and rarely gave us anything on offense.

You're trying to rewrite history because Lubin had a good offensive stretch against mostly teams that didn't make the NCAA tournament, and Withers had a handful of games where he actually made some 3s. But the facts are the facts, and they don't agree with the rosy picture you're trying to paint.

 

[DSouthr]

We hope.

A lot here don't think Wilson or Stevenson should play in the post. If they don't - or can't - are we still light years better?

Count me in as one of those that do not want to see Wilson or Stevenson at the 5 and if I am being honest, was not looking forward to Lubin being back at the 5 either. Lubin did all the could but face it, he was just out gunned. The ONLY way I want to see Caleb or Jarin deep in the post is when they invert and draw down their 3 or 4 man defender with them, can't say I am over joyed at the thought of High in the post either. What I think you are begging for (not you WW, you are one of the few that seems to realize how badly we need another big man) when you turn a blind eye to my screaming for another big man is a healthy dose of James Brown when Veesaar sits, I sure hope he is ready.

WE are better in any event, simply adding Veesaar is a major upgrade to our front court.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

What I think you are begging for ... when you turn a blind eye to my screaming for another big man is a healthy dose of James Brown when Veesaar sits, I sure hope he is ready.

Under Roy and early in Hubert's reign if the coaching staff didn't seem worried, I would often assume that they knew something I didn't. In this case, that might be that Brown is looking so good that they don't think we need another big. Or High. Or that Stevenson really will be great in the post. It's under control.

But I don't have that confidence these days. Do you?

The other thing I find pretty irritating about recruiting these days is how covert it is. I've seen more secrecy and unnecessary silence about UNC recruiting than in war movies where the fate of the world hinged on secrecy. Why? I mean I'm not asking for bidding details, but where's the harm in saying clearly whether we are still looking for more players? Or which positions we still hope to shore up. Or even whether we are looking at particular players (or not). What's the point of silence on that sort of thing?

Where's the harm for example of Hubert or his spokesperson saying something like "we expect to add 1 or 2 more players from the portal"? Or "top priority right now is to secure a good backup PG."

 

[trimbornunc86]

Van Allen luben now getting crystal ball picks to NC state 🤣🤣🤣. We can’t even keep B level talent

 

[UncTwinz]

Van Allen luben now getting crystal ball picks to NC state 🤣🤣🤣. We can’t even keep B level talent

He's terrible on defense, and for about 70% of the season he couldn't catch the basketball. I'd love for NC State fans to have to deal with that instead of us.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

He's terrible on defense, and for about 70% of the season he couldn't catch the basketball. I'd love for NC State fans to have to deal with that instead of us.

Why did you ditch your DaveChapelle handle?

 

[NorCalTarheel]

Why did you ditch your DaveChapelle handle?

Because 75% of the board had him blocked!

 

[CarolinaBlue5]

Because 75% of the board had him blocked!

And 99% of the board couldn’t stand him..oh wait 100% lol

 

[dtodd4475]

here’s the thing we don’t feed the post, why would any post players want to come here. Armando even said it after his last year on a podcast. They basically told him to get it off the backboard!

Most of the teams today do not give traditional "post" touches, but a big rim protector/roller for lobs is very much valued. Mando got more post touches than most.

 

[_B5]

Most of the teams today do not give traditional "post" touches, but a big rim protector/roller for lobs is very much valued. Mando got more post touches than most.

His final year, he got very few touches. I can’t recall a game Hubert has coached in the last 3 years in which a post player got the ball on the elbow more than 4 times in a game, not on the block but the elbow.

 

[superstar57]

Kessler, GG, and Sharpe all for different reasons started our decline in the post. If we got 3-4 years out of these guys, and showed we got all three drafted first round we would not be having the issues we have now. Bacot was a nice band aide as he improved for us, and he had a 5th year.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Kessler, GG, and Sharpe all for different reasons started our decline in the post. If we got 3-4 years out of these guys, and showed we got all three drafted first round we would not be having the issues we have now. Bacot was a nice band aide as he improved for us, and he had a 5th year.

How many more games do we win last year if we still had Armando?

We had 5 losses by 3 or fewer points. I figure we win most of those.

If we win 4 of those close ones, we end the regular season 22-8 and end the season with no more than 10 losses.

Whether we would have been a lot better or merely somewhat better, we would not have been a bubble team.

Just my guesses, obviously, since other things would have changed, too. With Armando, do we even get Lubin? With Armando the pressure is easier on Elliot and RJ. Who knows, maybe even Cade gets a chance to get going.

 

[superstar57]

How many more games do we win last year if we still had Armando?

We had 5 losses by 3 or fewer points. I figure we win most of those.

If we win 4 of those close ones, we end the regular season 22-8 and end the season with no more than 10 losses.

Whether we would have been a lot better or merely somewhat better, we would not have been a bubble team.

Just my guesses, obviously, since other things would have changed, too. With Armando, do we even get Lubin? With Armando the pressure is easier on Elliot and RJ. Who knows, maybe even Cade gets a chance to get going.

I agree, if we had turned Kessler into a star, because in my opinion he was on his way, I think mobile big men who HD enjoys would have been lined up to come to Carolina. If Sharpe and Bacot got to play together we would have won a natty. If GG had stayed in High School one more year then he comes to UNC (I still consider GG a Tarheel) and his outlet passing almost rivaled a young Kevin Love.

UNC was once proud of how our system developing guys and our culture brought young men into manhood.

UNC culture however was not in line with what was really going on. Especially with big men shooting. John Henson wanted to be more versatile, and if memory serves correctly, our staff didn't want that.

When UNC/WE stood by our Carolina way, meaning freshmen shut up, and big men stay on the block we lost future big men.