Late stuff (dook game)...

[gary-7]

...and that score didn't reflect what we did to them.

It's late so I'll keep this brief:
- as y'all likely know, there was a players-only meeting after the GaTech game. As I alluded to previously, the subjects covered --- recommitmemt to ball movement, playing inside-out, toughness, and making the extra effort to finish --- apparently took.

- FINISHING. Sudddenly Mando was the finisher we saw 2 years ago and took Flopowski to school... Cormac and Seth converted thru contact, Ingram was in absolute beast-mode

- JWash and Withers weren't asked to do much tonight but they delivered when they were in

- To his credit, RJ didn't let a game-long f***ing mugging goad him into forces --- he trusted his teammates --- Cormac played the all-around floor game we've looked for, and Cadeau came outta the gate running the show like a thing of beauty.

- speaking of that, at the half, 23 of our 45 points had come in TRANSITION --- we secured the rebounds, claimed loose balls and got in our lanes --- and Eliot drove the Ferrari. Hell, even when Mando was absolutely GASSED in the first half (from the refs not stopping play) the big fella nonetheless ran the floor like he was on a mission. And when we forced a TO, we converted, baby.

- except for a few lapses of seeing man-and-ball, we played solid D 1-thru-5 --- at least 12 of dook's points came on just throwing up a prayer and getting lucky

- But of course, we've seen this movie too often --- after calling a solid game in the first half, the zebras allowed dook to get away with absolute mayhem. How many times did friggin Mitchell come over somebody's back or dive at our legs on rebounds and loose balls?

- And on that note, Christian Laettner Kyle Flopowski is a dirty POS. Cheap-shotting jackass instigated 3 scuffles and should've been called for 2 flagrants. Just breaks my heart that he was -11 for the game. F*** him.

- Finally, yeah, that was more like it. Mando and Ingram being the first 20-10 duo in a game like this since Jameson/Carter? Only 5 TOs vs 18 Assists? Hell yes... although on one annoying note, we need to replace whoever is keeping home stats. Hell, EC himself had 5 dimes tonight and that's not even arguable. That's like 15 shorted already this season. Come on, man.

Anyway, we fought off every bit of adversity and dookie nonsense and never let them get within less than 8 after halftime, and folks, it very easily could've been a bigger margin. Man... if Eliot could just see a couple of 3s go down, or Seth could knock one down that's not from the corner? Just dayum at what we could do to teams! Let's hope we can carry tonight's effort over to Tuesday though. Clemson has been the hard-luck kids, and we can't afford a letdown vs an angry team. With that said, I am enjoying this one tonight...
😁

 

[TarHeelFanWV]

glad to see bacot return to his dominant self.. Hubert made that known earlier this week. Bacot said after the game that the ACC runs through him. As I previously stated, we need all of our players to be at the top of their game in order for us to reach the final 4. We can't rely on just Davis. Tonight's game against Puke was the perfect balance.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

...and that score didn't reflect what we did to them.

- FINISHING. Sudddenly Mando was the finisher we saw 2 years ago and took Flopowski to school...

- To his credit, RJ didn't let a game-long f***ing mugging goad him into forces --- he trusted his teammates --- Cormac played the all-around floor game we've looked for, and Cadeau came outta the gate running the show like a thing of beauty.


Anyway, we fought off every bit of adversity and dookie nonsense and never let them get within less than 8 after halftime, and folks, it very easily could've been a bigger margin.

Man... if Eliot could just see a couple of 3s go down, or Seth could knock one down that's not from the corner?

1. That was 15pt win, and they know it as well.
2. He's an All-American just like AJ said the other day. The trolls on here(TarHeelWV looking at you clown🤡) will have to wait another day.
3. I was proud of RJ tonight. He forced 1 or 2 in the 1st half but overall he played within the flow of the offense and waited until good shots came open in the 2nd half. Kudos to him.
2. When Cadeau outside shot starts to fall, and it will, we be the team to beat.

 

[Indy_Heel]

Cheap shot Flop gave to RJ not called is BS. You could argue it wasn’t that bad I guess but he still purposely hit him in the face. Even Jay was surprised it wasn’t called. The hook and hold….. lol. As Gary mention the mugging they gave RJ all night but to somehow quietly still get 17, amazing. Hell the refs were so bad I was laughing at the hip check Bacot gave Flop with no call. What the hell are watching if they don’t call that?

Great D even though the score doesn’t show it. RJ even with mugging kept his cool. Great team win.

A lot of bashing of Bacot over the last few games. Heard them say he told HD something about this being RJ’s team. HD said it was not his team but our team. Makes you wonder if Bacot was just trying to fit in and do what he could to help RJ. Maybe after that talk got his mind right. We shall see the next couple games as we need him to shut down another center next game with his D.

 

[Steat]

Speaking of Bacot.......

 

[Heels5150]

What I thought was scary was that I still didn’t think that we played our A game and I felt that dook played about as well as they could. RJ was getting grabbed, hand checked , etc… RJ finished with 17 points but most of them were near the end of the game on free throws and we won by 9 points. We were in control of this whole game from start to finish. To your point Gary I always monitor the ongoing box score as the game is being played and I saw several missed things. Absolutely EC had more assists and both Ingram and Bacot had more rebounds than they were credited for the game. It seemed like dook’s game plan was for anyone to beat them outside of RJ. Us pushing the ball ahead in the first half was an absolute thing of beauty. When EC sat for so long in the second half that got concerning but credit Trimble for getting some key rebounds, moving the ball without hesitation and playing some great defense. Did the refs have some coin on the game? EC gets called for fouling a three point shooter by his hip barely touching the shooter as the ball was already released but Ingram gets tackled on his three pointer and it’s a no call??? A hold on RJ? In retrospect when they showed that one angle he was holding flippers arm but he was also falling down and they let flipper get away with hitting RJ in the face earlier to no avail??? It’s like the refs had the under. Idk, lol. I was actually hoping that after Bacot slammed it home with about 11 seconds to go and dook threw up a prayer three and missed and Ingram got the rebound and threw the ball downcourt I was hoping that Trimble was going to go chase it down and throw one down right at the buzzer! Yes, I know that’s not the Carolina Way but this is dook and Carolina and I was getting greedy! When I see all of those students and kids having the time of their lives by cheering and rushing Franklin Street it just warms my heart! Getting sentimental in my older age. As always it’s a GDTBATH! Btw I bet the recruits had a great time too

 

[39 Feet Above Sea Level]

GDTBATH for sure!!

 

[Ozheelfan]

Great write up Gary, I shared many of the same thoughts while watching and made the odd comment on the game thread:

Flopowski is pure dookie.... has some excellent skills but tarnishes them with being a douche in the grand old tradition of Laetnner. Was watching with my son who is mildly interested in college ball but loves the NBA and I mentioned there was talk of the Flop being a lottery pick - should have seen the dirty look my son gave to that!

I do believe this Dook team has talent, and I'd even go so far as to say more natural talent ("More gifted" in Royspeak) than the Heels.... but they were simply out played and out hustled today and I will go further to say they were out-coached.

Execution was a million times better, and when dook became desperate late in the second and began pressing, well, that wasn't even a challenge for EC, RJ, Cormac, Trimble and Ingram who all chipped in to easily dispatch the press.

I hope the recruits enjoyed the game - and the atmosphere! Nothing like that Rivalry win to stoke the emotions of young teens.

Finally, in two parts: I made this comment on the game thread and have to repeat it:
"Hubert flat-out won the transfer portal in 2023"
- He killed it. He added two players who are contributing in a myriad of ways and elevated the core to greater heights. Withers hasn't had as big an impact as Ryan and Ingram, but he's also doing some damn gritty dirty work for this team and has contributed along the way.

As for bringing in a rookie who changes the whole outlook of the team, Hubert nailed that as soon as he convinced EC to reclass. Cadeau may not have numbers that jump off the page or win Rookie of the week honours, and he may not look like a generational talent to some, but he was/is the perfect addition this team needed.

And as for the anti-Bacot trolls on here..... nah, you're not worth it.

 

[39 Feet Above Sea Level]

We straight-up took control of this game at the start and stoked the crowd. dookies made some
inroads here and there and made some tough shots, but never really threatened.
Armando said F U to both Young and Flopowski multiple times, Ingram prolly won a bet against his sister with
the heaters, RJ let the game come to him despite the dirty intentions of the dookies
to take him out of the game (but he still got to stroll down Franklin Street with that shiner near his right eye). 😎
Seth, Cormac, and Elliot controlled the rock and maintained possession control by limiting
turnovers and disrupting dook’s offense. Jwash and Jwit played with purpose in limited roles.
Our coaches substituted with care and never let the dookies get a leg up (unless it was a jump shooter creating
contact to draw a foul-we’ve seen that movie before Coach Face).

l guess the GT loss served it’s purpose, because the ACC is OURS to win or lose. Back to work, fellas.
Beat the Tiggers Tuesday. ⛹🏾‍♂️🏀👍🏾

 

[ChiShankCity]

Awesome game. A strange game where UNC was really in complete control and the outcome was almost never in questioned.

Good call on everyone who wanted inside-out through Bacot. He showed up big and was obviously the catalyst. I do wonder are we going to see that kind of Bacot the rest of the season? Doesn’t have to be as productive. But the decisive decisions, the right pass out of double teams, etc.

Thankfully the ball went through the bucket for Ingram. Hopefully that shot is back. It’s obviously a game changer if Ingram and Ryan are consistently efficient from 3.

And this isn’t a criticism on High or Wojcik but I liked keeping it to a strict 8 man rotation. That’s what this team is in games that really matter.

I didn’t really agree with Duke’s game plan to double Bacot so much. But credit to Bacot and Hubert. They were prepared and had a plan. Duke probably missed more 3s than usual which obviously makes things look better.

The game itself didn’t change big picture things a ton for me. We know how good this team is. We know there could be some limitations. But they’ve been right there in all of the top matchups this season. Number one goal the until March for me… Stay healthy. Please stay healthy.

 

[TarHeelMark]

Flopowski is just a bigger, goofier version of grayson allen. What a douche-wad. He absolutely should've had a least one flagrant on him when he put his arm up into RJ's face after the whistle had already blown.

Normally I don't like seeing that 'too small' stuff but thought it was hilarious that the whole team did it when flop-boy got his 4th.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

New Rule: Any time Cormac Ryan misses a trey from the corner, get the ball back to him immediately. He never misses twice from the same spot.

Or so it seemed last night. I realize it's a small sample, but both of his 3s were made that way. And it makes sense, as your brain makes the adjustments from the first miss.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Only 5 TOs vs 18 Assists?

This really impressed me. Way better than average on both measures. Was it more us being that good, or more a failure in Duke's D?

Got to love the energy this team plays with - AND not just for occasional bursts.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Cheap shot Flop gave to RJ not called is BS. You could argue it wasn’t that bad I guess but he still purposely hit him in the face. Even Jay was surprised it wasn’t called. The hook and hold….. lol. As Gary mention the mugging they gave RJ all night but to somehow quietly still get 17, amazing. Hell the refs were so bad I was laughing at the hip check Bacot gave Flop with no call. What the hell are watching if they don’t call that?

Great D even though the score doesn’t show it. RJ even with mugging kept his cool. Great team win.

Does anyone keep metrics on how often players have to pick themselves up from the floor? I suspect RJ might be the national leader in that one.

 

[Canadian_Heel]

Dook did a great job on RJ but the Heels countered it by sharing the ball and Ingram getting hot.

The Heels did a fantastic job of transition and aggressive D, dook had no answer other than hitting some hope and pray heaves.

I love the way the game was called in the 1st half, we can play it physical.

 

[alabamaheel]

This really impressed me. Way better than average on both measures. Was it more us being that good, or more a failure in Duke's D?

Got to love the energy this team plays with - AND not just for occasional bursts.

I think a little of both. EC helps in that regard usually but RJ last night kept things rolling for the most part when EC was out. Proud of him last night. Beat half to death and still impacted the game heavily. He was non stop last night. I did notice coach telling him to stop the ball a couple time in the half court. lol we were in beat down mode but did need to run some clock late.
My wish is that EC could find at least half of his shot. We could 💯 be a favorite with no argument if he could shoot right now. Weapons galore!!!

 

[39 Feet Above Sea Level]

EC has nine league games left on the schedule. Keep shooting it # 2, because when a few finally
drop and his confidence elevates, we jump up to another level of success.

 

[NorCalTarheel]

Hats off to Bacot & Ingram for OWNING the middle. Bacot stepped up big time and it was clear that there was a concerted effort to get him touches and play inside-out! It is probably a whole lot easier to be engaged in active when your team remembers you are on the floor.

I am not going to specifically call out those who were bashing on Armando prior to the game. I'd guess most are serious heel fans that were as frustrated as he was but... C'mon.

There was definitely some lunch eating going on last night, but no one was eating Armando's!!!

Go Heels!!!

 

[gary-7]

What I thought was scary was that I still didn’t think that we played our A game and I felt that dook played about as well as they could. RJ was getting grabbed, hand checked , etc… RJ finished with 17 points but most of them were near the end of the game on free throws and we won by 9 points. We were in control of this whole game from start to finish. To your point Gary I always monitor the ongoing box score as the game is being played and I saw several missed things. Absolutely EC had more assists and both Ingram and Bacot had more rebounds than they were credited for the game. It seemed like dook’s game plan was for anyone to beat them outside of RJ. Us pushing the ball ahead in the first half was an absolute thing of beauty. When EC sat for so long in the second half that got concerning but credit Trimble for getting some key rebounds, moving the ball without hesitation and playing some great defense. Did the refs have some coin on the game? EC gets called for fouling a three point shooter by his hip barely touching the shooter as the ball was already released but Ingram gets tackled on his three pointer and it’s a no call??? A hold on RJ? In retrospect when they showed that one angle he was holding flippers arm but he was also falling down and they let flipper get away with hitting RJ in the face earlier to no avail??? It’s like the refs had the under. Idk, lol. I was actually hoping that after Bacot slammed it home with about 11 seconds to go and dook threw up a prayer three and missed and Ingram got the rebound and threw the ball downcourt I was hoping that Trimble was going to go chase it down and throw one down right at the buzzer! Yes, I know that’s not the Carolina Way but this is dook and Carolina and I was getting greedy! When I see all of those students and kids having the time of their lives by cheering and rushing Franklin Street it just warms my heart! Getting sentimental in my older age. As always it’s a GDTBATH! Btw I bet the recruits had a great time too

Yep, our home stat guys are head-scrathers. Seth got cheated a dime as well.

 

[2DDIMOND]

Yep, our home stat guys are head-scrathers. Seth got cheated a dime as well.

Isn’t that something they can go back & review to make sure it’s right?

 

[dtodd4475]

Mando & Ingram very efficient nights. Heck, shot well throughout the lineup except for Cadeau (1-9, 0-4 ), he will get there not bashing him at all. Still 50% overall and a smidge under 40% from 3 is mighty nice as a team.

Only 5 turnovers, strong free throw advantage, knocking down 3's, all equals a fairly comfortable game throughout. Always nice to breeze, but even better against Dook.

Not having any foul issues was helpful too (props to Cadeau staying disciplined) which allowed us to basically play the starting 5, plus Trimble for the entire game. A splash of Withers( 7 minutes, I think) and a cameo appearance by Washington (3 minuts). Other then that the big dogs were out there eating.

 

[dtodd4475]

Isn’t that something they can go back & review to make sure it’s right?

I don't think it will help me even if they do. Had Ingram over 11.5 points/Mando over 8.5 boards/Cadeau over 3 5 assists in a same game parlay that would of paid nicely. At half (Ingram 11points, Mando 8 boards, Cadeau 3 assists). Cadeau ended with 3 officially.

 

[gary-7]

Isn’t that something they can go back & review to make sure it’s right?

Yeah, but one of the problems is that Assists --- unlike points --- are subjective. Honestly, it ain't that hard to get right. While you don't wanna be like State's guys in the Corchiani days inventing dimes, our guys are overboard miserly. And it matters becasue these things end up in the record books.

 

[Go Heels #1]

I have to agree with the comment Bilas (a good and fair Dookie) made that Ingrams‘s sister was pulling for him and UNC. Go Heels!

 

[Heelicious]

Yeah, but one of the problems is that Assists --- unlike points --- are subjective. Honestly, it ain't that hard to get right. While you don't wanna be like State's guys in the Corchiani days inventing dimes, our guys are overboard miserly. And it matters becasue these things end up in the record books.

One thing I heard recently and didn’t realize is how differently assists are rewarded in NBA vs college. In nba you can basically get an assist as long as the guy scores after you pass to him. 15 dribbles, whatever.

But in college unless maybe it’s a dribble or two on a fast brisk or in the paint, once the scorer dribbles, the assist goes away.

They should really get assists on plays ending in made fts too but that’s not changing.

 

[Heelicious]

HI says hi!

Harrison Ingram IMO is not getting nearly enough love or recognition on this board. Mando had a great game but in a key game against a huge rival and good team, one we really had to win to not start raising questions, Ingram was THE MAN and player of the game by a pretty far margin. It wasn’t just his 3s and 2s falling. He hit some great tough shots from both.

He was just KILLER at hustle, rebounds, steals, blocks, defense, loose balls, running the court…

I can’t say enough about him. I still think he is the Heels most important and dynamic player, definitely with best chance to play in the NBA.

If each player on this team brings HIs level of intensity, effort, hustle, positive / team attitude, great decision making - we have to be favorites in basically every game rest of the way - at least deep into the NCAA tourney.

 

[KinstonNC]

Hey please stop saying anything about Ingram going to NBA. I selfishly won’t him around for 1 more year!

 

[gary-7]

One thing I heard recently and didn’t realize is how differently assists are rewarded in NBA vs college. In nba you can basically get an assist as long as the guy scores after you pass to him. 15 dribbles, whatever.

But in college unless maybe it’s a dribble or two on a fast brisk or in the paint, once the scorer dribbles, the assist goes away.

They should really get assists on plays ending in made fts too but that’s not changing.

The ones they missed last night are dimes anywhere. For example, the sweet zip from EC to Seth in the corner, who took it to the rack off the catch. That is a no-brainer Assist --- a shot op created by the pass.

 

[KinstonNC]

We straight-up took control of this game at the start and stoked the crowd. dookies made some
inroads here and there and made some tough shots, but never really threatened.
Armando said F U to both Young and Flopowski multiple times, Ingram prolly won a bet against his sister with
the heaters, RJ let the game come to him despite the dirty intentions of the dookies
to take him out of the game (but he still got to stroll down Franklin Street with that shiner near his right eye). 😎
Seth, Cormac, and Elliot controlled the rock and maintained possession control by limiting
turnovers and disrupting dook’s offense. Jwash and Jwit played with purpose in limited roles.
Our coaches substituted with care and never let the dookies get a leg up (unless it was a jump shooter creating
contact to draw a foul-we’ve seen that movie before Coach Face).

l guess the GT loss served it’s purpose, because the ACC is OURS to win or lose. Back to work, fellas.
Beat the Tiggers Tuesday. ⛹🏾‍♂️🏀👍🏾

The great NBA bound Proctor only got 2pts! That’s just 2pts more than me! Let that sink in about our D.

 

[Heelicious]

The ones they missed last night are dimes anywhere. For example, the sweet zip from EC to Seth in the corner, who took it to the rack off the catch. That is a no-brainer Assist --- a shot op created by the pass.

I totally agree with you it SHOULD BE an assist. No question. Also pointing out the “reasoning” why they do not mark it as an assist. It’s not right but it’s how they keep them. I don’t think it’s even that subjective unfortunately

 

[TarHeelMark]

While we're on the subject, I feel like an assist should be rewarded if the recipient of the pass gets fouled in the act of shooting if they make a free throw.

 

[DSouthr]

Maybe the best 40mins we have played against a really strong opponent in the last season and a half. This was a really nice 40min team win. To rip a page out of Ks book, ya want to see a team playing like a "fist" just plug the tape of this game in and tell them to watch UNC! I felt like we played our B+ game for 40mins, scary to think we have yet another level we can rise to. Credit duke, they hit much harder shots on whole than we did. Struck me as really funny, in a TO Sheyer was on the bench imploring his guys to keep face guarding RJ hard, coming out of the TO RJ was not in the game! LOL I guess Sheyer wanted Proctor to go sit beside RJ on the bench? LOL

Schyer tried to be cute, he had Proctor try to face guard RJ all night, worked really hard to try to keep RJ from touching the ball and when he did they sent an immediate double. They did the same to Bacot, ran a double at him hard on the catch, they backed way off Cadeau baiting him to jump shoot. Duke was crashing the boards as hard as they could, many times sending 4 guys to the boards on either end. I don't know that duke can play much better than they did because their front court is SOFT! We beat that duke front court hard with physicality and this duke team just is not built to handle that. This was NOT even close to being the most hard test this UNC has faced this season, Wake IMO is a better team.

I was really happy to watch RJ play in that game, with all the junk they threw at him, all the face guarding, all the flash doubles, with the mugging they gave him, with the WWE holds they put on him, RJ maintained his composure, he let the game come to him, he didn't look to force anything, he trusted his team mates and that trust was well placed. I felt Seth really helped us, while giving the same level of amazing defensive work his chipping in with timely scoring was a nice boost, kid does need to see a jump shot drop. I felt JWash played well in his brief (to brief) mintues, real strong board and couple pump fakes before the strong finish. JWit didn't force anything so that automatically qualifies as good. Ryan, again, timely scores but his defense and all around play is not talked about nearly as much as it should be.

Make no mistake thou, take that game ball and cut it in half, give half to Bacot and the other half to Ingram because they played like grown arse men, they controlled this game from tip to final buzzer. I am not even going to try to justify that statement, it just is what it is! LOVED Bacot putting that final exclamation mark on that game! The last time UNC fans will see Bacot play duke at the Dean Smith center and Bacot finishes it off in style! It was poetic!

 

[FlaTarHeel]

What I thought was scary was that I still didn’t think that we played our A game and I felt that dook played about as well as they could. RJ was getting grabbed, hand checked , etc… RJ finished with 17 points but most of them were near the end of the game on free throws and we won by 9 points. We were in control of this whole game from start to finish. To your point Gary I always monitor the ongoing box score as the game is being played and I saw several missed things. Absolutely EC had more assists and both Ingram and Bacot had more rebounds than they were credited for the game.

All facts ✅✅

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Dook did a great job on RJ but the Heels countered it by sharing the ball and Ingram getting hot.

The Heels did a fantastic job of transition and aggressive D, dook had no answer other than hitting some hope and pray heaves.

I love the way the game was called in the 1st half, we can play it physical.

Frankly I'm a little surprised that we are still complaining about refs these days. We give as good as we get, and we initiate plenty of the contact. Sure, as a biased fan I tend to see more bad calls against us, and seldom analyze bad calls that favor us. But I'm not naive enough to think the calls are as unbalanced as they look through my Carolina blue-tinted glasses.

 

[imajericho]

While we're on the subject, I feel like an assist should be rewarded if the recipient of the pass gers fouled in the act of shooting if they make a free throw.

I think that's too subjective because the pass could have been awful, the shot nowhere close to going in, but a foul could have bailed them out.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Make no mistake thou, take that game ball and cut it in half, give half to Bacot and the other half to Ingram because they played like grown arse men, they controlled this game from tip to final buzzer. I am not even going to try to justify that statement, it just is what it is! LOVED Bacot putting that final exclamation mark on that game! The last time UNC fans will see Bacot play duke at the Dean Smith center and Bacot finishes it off in style! It was poetic!

How about cut it into 3 pieces and give Seth a 1/3?
IMO he played good defense as usual and attacked the rack on offense not relying on open 3's

 

[gunslingerdick]

Ingram is my favorite Harrison.

 

[reggaeheel]

 

[reggaeheel]

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I think that's too subjective because the pass could have been awful, the shot nowhere close to going in, but a foul could have bailed them out.

True, but I still like the idea.