Could a healthy Puff have made a difference in this season??

[keysersosay#1]

The little, very little , we saw of Puff showed him to be a threat from the 3 and aggressive in taking the shot.
Yeah he is weak on d and needs some weight training no doubt. I am of the belief it could have made a difference especially with our woeful outside shooting. If he develops some strength and has the ability to work on his game over the summer, he could vey well be a big surprise and boost to our too often pathetic offense.

 

[Quest4Seven]

i have no idea if love will be back or not but next year we might as well start walton and puff on the wings. i dont care if youre a 5 star if you cant shoot we cant have you on the court. we cant allow teams to pack the paint against us

 

[dadika13]

No.

Puff was always going to be a project with huge longer term upside. If you watched him in HS, he wasn't really ready for the ACC level. If you think Caleb/RJ are struggling, they were 10x the players Puff was coming into school.

It's tough to be a freshman in the ACC, not much else to say.

 

[GoNtheDistance]

No way. Puff was a bottom rotation guy at best from the start. We've got plenty of those playing big minutes. He also couldn't guard Wanda Williams early in the season when he did get to play. We don't need any more decent athletes who can't shoot. We've had a plethora of those.

 

[keysersosay#1]

I thought one of his strengths was outside shooting just like his brother

 

[Heelicious]

It's tough to be a freshman in the ACC, not much else to say.

Great quote / comment. One could add on - "....and even tougher for if you come in and play with the mindset that you won't be insulted by Roy and the team expecting that you actually have things to work on and learn in this year at this level. You expect your AAU / high school game to be polished and NBA ready and successful in NBA with no change. When can doing my time in UNC be over so I can get on with my stardom and $ in the NBA".

Maybe this isn't fair to Love - but it just doesn't seem like he's worked or had an attitude of wanting to listen or work to get better throughout the year. He seems mostly like the same guy from game one. Lots of dumb turnovers, mediocre defense, wildly inconsistent erratic shooting, especially from outside and at FT line. This doesn't seem like a player using this time and leadership to grow and improve.

Maybe a lot of that is on Roy not having the right guys coaching these players to get better? Who knows? If we have anybody who takes responsibility for improved shooting or improved valuing of the ball, both should be fired immediately. We get an F grade on over-the-season improvement in both areas.

 

[Bubspub88]

Maybe a lot of that is on Roy not having the right guys coaching these players to get better? Who knows? If we have anybody who takes responsibility for improved shooting or improved valuing of the ball, both should be fired immediately. We get an F grade on over-the-season improvement in both areas.

It would be interesting to see how UNC has shot the ball since Hubert joined the staff. Maybe it's just the last couple of seasons have jaded me but it doesn't seem like the Heels have been that good from deep in a while, and I'm talking about as a team not a couple of guys. I have seen videos of guys shooting late after home games but I want to see who puts in a summer like Felton did when he made himself into an outside threat.

 

[CarolinaMagic]

How could Puff be any worse then Leaky Black offensively. We're not losing games defensively for the most part. We're losing games because we can't score and turn the ball over.

 

[Jake1985]

Don't count out Dunn as a shooter and what he might contribute to next year. He and Walton could cause a lot issues for opposing teams. UNC might go back to a smaller type line up with Kessler at the 5, Leaky at the 4, Walton and Dunn on the wings and Davis running the point

 

[gary-7]

The little, very little , we saw of Puff showed him to be a threat from the 3 and aggressive in taking the shot.
Yeah he is weak on d and needs some weight training no doubt. I am of the belief it could have made a difference especially with our woeful outside shooting. If he develops some strength and has the ability to work on his game over the summer, he could vey well be a big surprise and boost to our too often pathetic offense.

Most likely no. He was always a year away from a significant contribution coming in... but hopefully good things are in is future as he matures physically and in his focus.

 

[dadika13]

Great quote / comment. One could add on - "....and even tougher for if you come in and play with the mindset that you won't be insulted by Roy and the team expecting that you actually have things to work on and learn in this year at this level. You expect your AAU / high school game to be polished and NBA ready and successful in NBA with no change. When can doing my time in UNC be over so I can get on with my stardom and $ in the NBA".

Maybe this isn't fair to Love - but it just doesn't seem like he's worked or had an attitude of wanting to listen or work to get better throughout the year. He seems mostly like the same guy from game one. Lots of dumb turnovers, mediocre defense, wildly inconsistent erratic shooting, especially from outside and at FT line. This doesn't seem like a player using this time and leadership to grow and improve.

Maybe a lot of that is on Roy not having the right guys coaching these players to get better? Who knows? If we have anybody who takes responsibility for improved shooting or improved valuing of the ball, both should be fired immediately. We get an F grade on over-the-season improvement in both areas.

I wouldn't downplay the lack of a regular summer either. Only the top tier of talented freshman are really having great college seasons, it's been quite a struggle for the guys ranked like 10-50.

 

[Spaceytoyz]

I swear I would stick Lebo's Son out there during meaningful minutes and see what happens

 

[midline]

Puff isn't as good as his brother at the same age. He may turn into a good player as he matures, but isn't there right now.

 

[bobcrane14]

When you're down double digits with under 5 minutes remaining, you must make shots. Lebo can make shots.

 

[gauchoheel]

No.

Puff was always going to be a project with huge longer term upside. If you watched him in HS, he wasn't really ready for the ACC level. If you think Caleb/RJ are struggling, they were 10x the players Puff was coming into school.

It's tough to be a freshman in the ACC, not much else to say.

The fact that RJ Davis was a day 1 starter despite only being the ~#50 player in his high school class should've been a very bad warning sign for this team (maybe it was to some). Freshman ranked that low are just hardly ever any good (as freshman). Obviously Walton has defied the odds to a degree with one incredible skill, but I can't think of another recent Carolina player. Even a lot of 5 stars aren't ready to be starters as freshman (Love, Nas, a couple others I'm sure people would debate on our recent teams, plenty of dook/UK guys too).

 

[dadika13]

The fact that RJ Davis was a day 1 starter despite only being the ~#50 player in his high school class should've been a very bad warning sign for this team (maybe it was to some). Freshman ranked that low are just hardly ever any good (as freshman). Obviously Walton has defied the odds to a degree with one incredible skill, but I can't think of another recent Carolina player. Even a lot of 5 stars aren't ready to be starters as freshman (Love, Nas, a couple others I'm sure people would debate on our recent teams, plenty of dook/UK guys too).

RJ was a McAA.

We were always going to be young but these guys are getting valuable experience and we should have all of them but Sharpe back for next season.

 

[gauchoheel]

RJ was a McAA.

We were always going to be young but these guys are getting valuable experience and we should have all of them but Sharpe back for next season.

I know, but still not ranked very high to be a freshman starter. I hope Bacot/Love are back.

 

[IDUNK4HEELS]

People so often complain about Black starting but not one person has offered a solution that makes SENSE about who should play instead of him. Somebody said to play three bigs which is so out of left field because that would mean one would have to cover a quicker guard which is just plain STUPID.

The only real choice would be Platek but fans have for years been blasting him for not being the next Danny Green or the Black Falcon. Which is also unfair.

Then there is the idea of going small with Love, David and Walton playing guards which would only leave Platek as a backup guard who has played real minutes this season which is also a no brainer when the starters give the tired signal.

 

[bobcrane14]

I have an answer. Play Anthony Harris more

 

[Bubspub88]

No

 

[IDUNK4HEELS]

I have an answer. Play Anthony Harris more

Harris is a beast on defense but he is not going to

 

[uncfootball-]

I still say pick 8 and play them the whole game.

 

[IDUNK4HEELS]

I can only remember Puff hitting one three all season the first one he took. He is not better than Black yet so forget about him take Leaky’s job.

 

[DSouthr]

I can only remember Puff hitting one three all season the first one he took. He is not better than Black yet so forget about him take Leaky’s job.

Thing with Puff is the sample size we have for him is just so tiny that there is no real way to answer the question of this thread. Could Puff have helped us, I think he could have, I don't KNOW that he would have. Let's get this out of the way right now, Puff can shoot and for a team that not just struggles to shoot it but specifically shooting it from the wing 3 spot, I have to believe that he well could have helped us. While Puff was the kid I wanted most from his class as our future wing (I consider the 3 spot to be the wing position so when I say wing I am talking about the position Leaky is starting at), I as well did not expect a lot from Puff this season. Kid needs to get in the weight room, he is a worker so have no doubt he will make good use of the off season to get some bulk and strength. Being such a slight frame as well as in real need of physical strength, this just was not the season I was looking for him to show out.

I do think Puff will begin to come on next season and show more as the season progresses, I think he will make it hard for Leaky to hold that starting spot by mid next season even with leaky being in his senior season.

 

[bobcrane14]

Cameron Johnson was up and down in his first three years at Pittsburgh. He was good in year one at UNC,and great in year five. I think Donovan is on a similar trajectory