Dog Tired

[Ozheelfan]

Caveat: I'm posting this before Gary does his write-up and before reading Adam Lucas' article.

Simply put, Joel Berry is tired.

I do not believe we are seeing his best right now and a large percentage of that is due to his carrying so much of the load for this team.

In a recent game (can't remember which) Roy quite wisely used Jalek to bookend a couple of time outs - giving Joel up to 5min on the bench (while only missing 90 seconds before and after the break)
Today that didn't happen.... Joel played into and out of time-outs. even before overtime he was up to 35-36min for the game!

I don't believe 30min is sustainable, let alone 35. Especially when Joel is expected to also drive the defense and carry such a scoring load.

We all know Roy is stubborn and this may be such a situation - he's obviously unhappy with a lot of Jalek's play, but in his effort to teach the freshman he's potentially ruining Joel's senior season.

BTW. I think Jalek has improved in recent weeks and his ability to advance the ball with a long pass is really nice to see.

Thoughts?

 

[imajericho]

Caveat: I'm posting this before Gary does his write-up and before reading Adam Lucas' article.

Simply put, Joel Berry is tired.

I do not believe we are seeing his best right now and a large percentage of that is due to his carrying so much of the load for this team.

In a recent game (can't remember which) Roy quite wisely used Jalek to bookend a couple of time outs - giving Joel up to 5min on the bench (while only missing 90 seconds before and after the break)
Today that didn't happen.... Joel played into and out of time-outs. even before overtime he was up to 35-36min for the game!

I don't believe 30min is sustainable, let alone 35. Especially when Joel is expected to also drive the defense and carry such a scoring load.

We all know Roy is stubborn and this may be such a situation - he's obviously unhappy with a lot of Jalek's play, but in his effort to teach the freshman he's potentially ruining Joel's senior season.

BTW. I think Jalek has improved in recent weeks and his ability to advance the ball with a long pass is really nice to see.

Thoughts?

Do you acknowledge the catch22 here or not?

He is only playing heavy minutes because we are losing or playing closely contested games.

Do you want to lose comfortably and rest Berry or do you want to play him more to give your team a better chance to win?

 

[soap - new and improved]

Roy sees Jalek in practice multiple times each week. I have heard/read for years that at UNC you earn your gametime during practices. Obviously Jalek isn't doing what Roy wants him to do often enough and/or well enough. Every year we have folks who want this guy or that guy to get more minutes.

Remember all the "Free P.J." posters a few years ago? But Roy knew P.J. was a knucklehead way before any of us did. There were reasons Hairston wasn't starting/getting more minutes. And Roy knew why. He doesn't share the "why" with us fans, nor is he required to do so.

I wish Roy had a better option than playing Berry so much. One option is injured, and the other isn't meeting Roy's expectations. It is what it is.

BTW Oz, I don't mean this in a snarky way. You are a great poster here at THI. I agree Berry is tired and playing more than is ideal. I just trust that Roy is doing what his experience and day to day interactions with his players tell him is ":best", or at least "better".

 

[TarHeelMark]

If it would keep Joel fresher at crunch time, I’m all for Roy letting Jalek play through some of the mistakes and get some additional minutes.

 

[imajericho]

If it would keep Joel fresher at crunch time, I’m all for Roy letting Jalek play through some of the mistakes and get some additional minutes.

If this is costing you games, do you still agree?

 

[Ozheelfan]

Do you acknowledge the catch22 here or not?

He is only playing heavy minutes because we are losing or playing closely contested games.

Do you want to lose comfortably and rest Berry or do you want to play him more to give your team a better chance to win?

I acknowledge the catch 22 and yet I believe with two losses to unranked teams in one week some changes have to be made for the sake of the season.

I don't know the exact stats, but in Jaleks first 2min today the heels edged further ahead. Surely that would have been enough to justify giving JB an extra min or so rest into and out of each TV timeout?

I'm not talking about throwing Jalek in there from the 8min mark to 4min mark but the bookend substitution is a sneaky-clever way of extending your lead players in-game rest time.

If Joel's per-game minutes can be managed down towards or under 30 per game, I believe he'll be much more effective late in the game, when he's proven time and again to be a winner.

 

[BillyL]

If, he's tired, raise that fist and go sit the hell down. Maybe, he's taking too many shots an hour and a half before game time and wearing himself out when he shouldn't be.

 

[Ozheelfan]

If this is costing you games, do you still agree?

One could say playing Joel for 30+ and having him shoot air-ball 3's isn't helping much.

 

[TarHeelMark]

If this is costing you games, do you still agree?

Well like you said it’s a catch 22. If he’s too fatigued to be effective however, it’s no worse to let Jalek get some additional run. Would 2-3 minutes per game make that big of a difference?

 

[dtodd4475]

If, he's tired, raise that fist and go sit the hell down. Maybe, he's taking too many shots an hour and a half before game time and wearing himself out when he shouldn't be.

Everyone loves the story of the hardworking first in the gym guy. Stop it! It can be detrimental. Rest time is vital for optimal performance. I saw a great piece on Jay Wright and Villanova last year. Stressed their workout and practice schedules for each player with MANDATORY DOWN TIME!!! NO GYM AT ALL, NO SHOOTING, NO ANYTHING or there will be hell to pay for being selfish. Even went as far to say let your friends, girlfriend, etc. know it is your recovery period that means REST the body, no hanging out unless it's sitting watching a movie .

 

[imajericho]

Well like you said it’s a catch 22. If he’s too fatigued to be effective however, it’s no worse to let Jalek get some additional run. Would 2-3 minutes per game make that big of a difference?

Someone pointed out Jalek is -75 on the season.

So the answer is... Maybe

 

[Grayhead]

If this is costing you games, do you still agree?

It's already costing us games. Worse case, run pinion at point and jalek at the 2.

But I also know berry is a full grown man and stubborn in his own right. Probably refuses to sit. I remember everyone screaming to let berry run and Paige sit when he was slumping. Berry probably feels Felton will get his turn

 

[GoNtheDistance]

Kenny Williams has disappeared offensively for us over the last 4-5 games. He’s mia

 

[Ozheelfan]

Kenny Williams has disappeared offensively for us over the last 4-5 games. He’s mia

Don't agree... I believe he's not being used correctly.
He and Cam ran two curl plays in the second half.... executed beautifully. Why? Cause they were involved.
Unfortunately a lot of the time Kenny is standing outside with his hands ready to catch and shoot and not much else...
These guys can run simple plays very well, they're veteran well drilled players, the offence is very stagnant right now with the onus falling on JB to bail the team out in late shot clock situations.
If Roy was to call Kenny's number a few times early in the game I reckon we'd see a different player overall.

 

[HeelzLover]

If this is costing you games, do you still agree?

Look how much he played today. How did this game go with playing so many mins

 

[Lewis&Miller]

Berrys toughness is never in question. He took a beating today. Obviously, he believes that hard work and dedication will conquer all. The answer is "more". He will work his way out of this slump.

Berrys shooting will come back. There is only one definitive reason for this teams losses. That reason has plagued every Roy Williams Carolina team so it will not be an easy fix. Finally, today in the post game presser Roy acknowledged it. The poor execution on defense that allows open 3s(its one thing to give up 3s but UNC allows the most wide open 3s on the planet). Montross harps about it regularly on the post game.

There is a major difference this year in the "urgency" for the coaching staff to correct a defensive system that allows "wide open 3s". In the past, we would overcome 3s with more possessions(by dominating inside) but this team does not have that luxury.

In every one of the losses, we failed to win the 3 point game. This team cannot win unless we make more 3s than we allow. The urgency rests with the coaching staffs adjustment.

 

[imajericho]

Look how much he played today. How did this game go with playing so many mins

The problem is that maybe we lose by 10 without Berry playing as much. The bigger issue is why can we not get a big lead on literally ANY team so we can go to the bench more?

Our starters are not getting it done rly.

 

[imajericho]

One major problem I had on Berry was that he twice didn't even go back on defense while down there laying under the hoop acting like he was hurt. Listen, I get you want the foul and all, but he clearly was not hurt and was just trying to be dramatic.

The refs should have never stopped the game for that.

 

[mikeirbyusa]

At this point its hard to see where Roy has any other option than to play Jalek.

 

[gunslingerdick]

Who could have imagined we’d miss Seventh this much?

 

[itstartedwithmj]

Who could have imagined we’d miss Seventh this much?

Absolutely! The Seventh critics should be feeling kind of silly now.

 

[j-doolsheels]

Roy not playing Jalek is more about making Jalek earn time, rather than giving Joel time to recupe. If you just throw Jalek out on the court more, he's going to know he doesn't have to earn it--and will never play up to his potential. If 7th is in the rotation, none of this is even an issue.

 

[gunslingerdick]

Absolutely! The Seventh critics should be feeling kind of silly now.

I have no idea what we could be expecting from Woods if he hadn’t gotten hurt. He wasn’t setting the world on fire before the injury but he was improving. I feel confident that he could give us more than Felton. And he could play the two and guard as effectively as Kenny. And with Kenny refusing to shoot, it’s not like we’d be giving up a bunch of offense either. I think we can all agree that Berry would be fresher which seems to be the biggest issue. The minutes Joel is playing is not sustainable. If Seventh is out for any longer, Roy is going to have to consider either slowing the game down or bringing Pinson off the bench as the back up PG.