Hard to believe that 4 of the 5 starters on this team went to the NCAA National Championship!

[ChiShankCity]

That's true, Duke is not a juggernaut. They have two tough games coming up, which they will probably lose both. The ACC as a whole has some decent teams, which are currently beating up on each other. Therefore there is a thin line between winning and losing. Pitt for example has won some close games which they could have, or should have lost. The ACC tournament will be wide open this year, with all but 4 or 5 teams who could win it. But in reality all the conference's are having the same issue, Kansas losing, Gonzaga losing, Purdue losing.

You realistically have two pretty unqualified people coaching UNC and Duke. Doesn't mean they're bad coaches. I think it's way too early to determine that right now. But to expect a couple of dudes with zero head coaching experience who were likely yes-men to the previous regimes to come in and be great right away is unrealistic.

UNC and Duke are in transitional periods right now. And it's showing.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I saw two pretty average basketball teams play this game. And the more gifted team playing at home won a close game. I didn't see anything I didn't already know about UNC.

Both teams are a good bit better than average but, yeah, I get your point. Neither team is performing as well as expected, despite talent that looked really good on paper - before the season put them to the test.

 

[randman1]

Caleb sometimes wins games for us. Which replacement on the bench can do that?

I think that's Hubert's dilemma. We have some good guys, but no one with that extra gear.

The idea isn't a permanent benching but just he needs to adjust, learn and grow as a player. Could backfire though.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

if Love and Nance were producing Leaky's lack of offense would not be an issue. Those 2 are the main problems offensively.

Yep. Manek and last year's Caleb were better than Pete and this year's Caleb. And with the exception of Dunn, the other guys we expected to step up don't seem to have improved enough.

 

[TarHeelFanWV]

Go watch Brady Manek's 2022 Tournament Highlights on YouTube.. Dude was a beast! Dead eye 3 point shooter, and he always made the best cuts under the basket for a dunk or reverse layup. You dont see Nance doing anything good like that. Brady was the difference maker boys. We will be lucky to make tournament this year, and if we do, we are first-round exit. If not for Brady Manek, we would have lost to Baylor. We were up 25 with 10 mins to go when he went out and almost lost. Yes, Brady was that good.

 

[strummingram]

Yes, Brady was that good.

They almost lost to Baylor with a 25 point lead in about 10 minutes without Manek.

 

[Psychward4]

Late last season, our guys played great!
I assumed that meant they were great players.
Okay, they're not.
Yet the question remains: can this group play great again?

 

[strummingram]

Late last season, our guys played great!
I assumed that meant they were great players.
Okay, they're not.
Yet the question remains: can this group play great again?

Define "great." Can they get back to the NCAAT final? NWIH

 

[ChiShankCity]

Go watch Brady Manek's 2022 Tournament Highlights on YouTube.. Dude was a beast! Dead eye 3 point shooter, and he always made the best cuts under the basket for a dunk or reverse layup. You dont see Nance doing anything good like that. Brady was the difference maker boys. We will be lucky to make tournament this year, and if we do, we are first-round exit. If not for Brady Manek, we would have lost to Baylor. We were up 25 with 10 mins to go when he went out and almost lost. Yes, Brady was that good.

Guys like him are just rare in college. You don't have to run a set for him and he can still give you 15+ points. You can run your offense through him and that can work too. Also (and I think this is hugely underrated) he didn't need to dribble the crap out of the basketball or have the basketball that long to score. He could probably go a game where he could score more points in a game than dribbles taken or seconds with the ball in his hands on the offensive end of the floor. That combination for a college kid is really rare. Usually college kids need to ball in their hands either to dribble, or hold in the paint to score. The offense typically needs to flow through a player for that player to score at this level. He was unique. He was kind of like a mini version of Klay Thompson in that regard.

I also thought he defended really well in March. He had Bill Russell-like plays where he blocked a shot, got the rebound and was able to start transition. Usually dudes like to swat the block to the 3rd row, but he had an uncommon skill of blocking a shot in play, and getting the rebound on the same block.

Also underrated IMO. He played with a ball dominant lead guard (Trae Young) at Oklahoma as a Freshman. So he had to immediately learn how to play without the ball. Just a rare player who can probably fit into any scheme and style of basketball.

 

[superstar57]

This team doesn't make runs like I thought they would. I mean you don't see the 10-0 runs, or the 35-10 runs. This team only reacts, and they don't force there will on anybody.

Team never separates, and they give everyone a chance to win. Once a team, and I mean any team starts believing they can win, it doesn't matter who they have or you have on your team it is not going to be a consistent winner that way.

 

[TVJ]

Miami brought Duke back to earth in a big way!

 

[strummingram]

Miami brought Duke back to earth in a big way!

I don't think the dookies were outside the earth's atmosphere. UNC just failed to closeout another game.

 

[TarHeelFanWV]

Can someone explain to me what Hubert sees in Nance that he thinks can replace Manek? To me it seems like Nickel would be closer to Manek than Nance.. yet he doesn't give Nickel a chance at all.. something has to change. This lineup and rotation isn't going to work. I only continue to watch these games to hope I see a change in the rotation but trust me, we won't even make the tournament unless something changes

 

[midline]

That's true, Duke is not a juggernaut. They have two tough games coming up, which they will probably lose both. The ACC as a whole has some decent teams, which are currently beating up on each other. Therefore there is a thin line between winning and losing. Pitt for example has won some close games which they could have, or should have lost. The ACC tournament will be wide open this year, with all but 4 or 5 teams who could win it. But in reality all the conference's are having the same issue, Kansas losing, Gonzaga losing, Purdue losing.

I think the term “decent teams” is more than fair. The ACC is just a shell of the basketball power most have come to expect. Virginia might land a good enough seed to get to the round of 8, but I don’t see them getting any further. Depending on what matchups are drawn, i don’t see many getting out of the first round. And that is what is so depressing about this years version of UNC basketball. Success was there for the taking.