Looking at Line-ups

[Ozheelfan]

So it looks like that's it for 2015 recruiting and we've got a few months to kill.... not that I think there's too much contention about next years line up but these things make good talking points.

Couple of questions though:

1. Without the arrogance of calling it a "platoon" system, do you guys think Roy will employ some 5-out-5-in substitutions. I'd guess we could see:
Joel B, Marcus, Justin, Brice, Kennedy all starting,
then subbed by: Nate, K Will, Theo, Isaiah and Joel J.

That makes for a pretty strong second five.

2. How do Luke and Stillman fit in? My guess would be that Luke will find minutes, esp if fouls become a problem in a game (I reckon Luke would have played 5-10 min against Wisconsin with all the guys in foul trouble!)
As for Stillman, he's got another year under his belt and hopefully will be injury free leading to the next question:

3. Could White push Britt for back-up ball handling time? He's older, savvy and filled in nicely prior to his mission. Practices will be interesting.

 

[imajericho]

You do realize Stilman played last year and barely saw the court right?

No, we should never 5 on 5 sub unless it is a "teaching" moment to send a message.

Joel James should never see the court.

 

[Ozheelfan]

You do realize Stilman played last year and barely saw the court right?

No, we should never 5 on 5 sub unless it is a "teaching" moment to send a message.

Joel James should never see the court.

Yup, I know Stillman played, didn't see much action, was injured, etc. Still worth asking the question.

Whether Joel should see the court or not, he will, and considerably in 15-16 simply because he's the biggest body Roy will have at his disposal and without him the front line will be thin. Other players foul trouble will also help Joel get PT.

 

[Bur-Heel]

Earlier in the season we will see it...tournament time,the rotation will be shortened..big James is going to surprise you guys next year!!..and he deserves to be out there!!

 

[DSouthr]

ONLY time I see Roy putting 5 in for 5 is when he is pissed, as the OP says, "a teaching moment".

Stillman, yeah, he played some last season but was hurt for the majority of it as was Luke. I don't really see either playing much outside of a blow out, maybe if Stillman can get his jump shot really solid he can get a few extra minutes.

These 2 fellas give us real value in practice, being able to run some of the opposing teams offense so we can be better prepped for the opponents.

 

[gunslingerdick]

I don't like the 5 in and 5 out subbing pattern. But if we were going to do that, then I would be in support of 2 different 5s than the groups the OP posted. Because if we have Berry, Paige, Jackson, Brice and Meeks all in at the same time, then there's really no firepower in the second 5 of Britt, Kdub, Pinson, Hicks and James. So instead, if we had to platoon, mix them up. Let's go with Britt, Paige, Pinson, Brice and James and then bring in Berry, Kdub, Jackson, Hicks and Meeks. If done this way, then we've got some offensively polished players on the court at all times.

Secondly, Joel James should and will see ample time this year. This will be his last year and I have all the confidence in the world that he will be a valuable contributor to our success.

Don't see Maye playing much at all this year.

 

[Tru Blu Tar Heel]

I don't like the 5 in and 5 out subbing pattern. But if we were going to do that, then I would be in support of 2 different 5s than the groups the OP posted. Because if we have Berry, Paige, Jackson, Brice and Meeks all in at the same time, then there's really no firepower in the second 5 of Britt, Kdub, Pinson, Hicks and James. So instead, if we had to platoon, mix them up. Let's go with Britt, Paige, Pinson, Brice and James and then bring in Berry, Kdub, Jackson, Hicks and Meeks. If done this way, then we've got some offensively polished players on the court at all times.

Secondly, Joel James should and will see ample time this year. This will be his last year and I have all the confidence in the world that he will be a valuable contributor to our success.

Don't see Maye playing much at all this year.

I'm with you on splitting the 5 like that if They plattoon. Joel James WILL see playing time, I don't see Maye taking much time from James, nor should he. I'd love to see James come out with a counter move to his turn around baseline jumper.

 

[CanuckChuck]

So it looks like that's it for 2015 recruiting and we've got a few months to kill.... not that I think there's too much contention about next years line up but these things make good talking points.

Couple of questions though:

1. Without the arrogance of calling it a "platoon" system, do you guys think Roy will employ some 5-out-5-in substitutions. I'd guess we could see:
Joel B, Marcus, Justin, Brice, Kennedy all starting,
then subbed by: Nate, K Will, Theo, Isaiah and Joel J.

That makes for a pretty strong second five.

2. How do Luke and Stillman fit in? My guess would be that Luke will find minutes, esp if fouls become a problem in a game (I reckon Luke would have played 5-10 min against Wisconsin with all the guys in foul trouble!)
As for Stillman, he's got another year under his belt and hopefully will be injury free leading to the next question:

3. Could White push Britt for back-up ball handling time? He's older, savvy and filled in nicely prior to his mission. Practices will be interesting.

1. If other teams also have to sub 5 for 5 at the same time then yes, it would be pretty strong. But other teams won't so this lineup will get smoked by at least 50% of the teams on the schedule next year. So, not that strong. But there is always a game or two when Roy has to send a message so we probably will see it.

2. They don't. I think signing KW limits them to mop up/emergency duty.

3. Britt would have to take a big step back for that to happen.

CC

 

[dadika13]

There is 0.0% chance we will platoon. We aren't THAT deep.

We go Berry, Paige, Justin, Brice, Kennedy. Theo, Britt, and Isiah with the most bench minutes. Then James and K Will when we need them. Stillman and Maye won't get much burn this year and that's fine.

You go 8-9 deep but your starters get the minutes they should. That's what we'll do, no more, no less.

 

[tarh33ls]

I love Roy and I don't mind when he subs for a teaching moment. However, this season in particular I found his subbing patterns to be even more frustrating than usual. It just seemed as if he subbed out 2-3 guys when we were hitting our stride during several games. Then we also had moments where we had 4 guys out there who could not really create any O and relied on someone like Marcus or Brice to heave something up as the shot clock ran down. I like that we are deep but I would like to see Roy shave down the rotation as the season goes along, particularly when we should be prepping for a deep run.

Early on in the season it's fine because you never know when someone will have to step up but I wasn't a fan of the over-subbing this year.

 

[ChapelHeeled]

I love Roy and I don't mind when he subs for a teaching moment. However, this season in particular I found his subbing patterns to be even more frustrating than usual. It just seemed as if he subbed out 2-3 guys when we were hitting our stride during several games. Then we also had moments where we had 4 guys out there who could not really create any O and relied on someone like Marcus or Brice to heave something up as the shot clock ran down. I like that we are deep but I would like to see Roy shave down the rotation as the season goes along, particularly when we should be prepping for a deep run.

Early on in the season it's fine because you never know when someone will have to step up but I wasn't a fan of the over-subbing this year.

 

[Bubspub88]

I expect to see Roy going 9-10 deep pretty consistently November through January. Starting in February a couple of those spots will drop except in case of emergency. I don't care about undefeated (ain't gonna happen in ACC next year anyhow) and would much rather build depth to have confidence coming off the bench in March. IF Berry can run the point as hoped this team is built for transition with Meeks role being outlet passes not running the floor. The one thing I am hoping to see from Kenny Williams is the transition 3. That is the one thing I have not seen consistently from UNC since the '09 season. There is something about those spurts that only last about 2 minutes that push a slight lead to double digits that destroy the opponent's morale. Lately those attempts have been slightly off and allowed a long rebound for the other team to hit a run out 3. Berry, Paige, Jackson, Johnson and Meeks is a strong 5 and bringing a couple of guys off the bench to add something specific (outside shooting, lockdown defense, etc) on a game-by-game basis is a luxury other teams cannot match.

 

[Steat]

I don't care what back-ups and minutes these back-ups get in November and December as long as the Heels "WIN" the games. It's all about securing a #1 seed and loosing games in November and December is not going to be accepted this year. This is the year Roy needs to lead the team to the Final Four as a minimum, barring a major injury to a key player. Roy is not Izzo. In fact, there is no one like IZZO. This is the year to win it all.

 

[mikeirbyusa]

PRICELESS!

 

[ACC Bball Fan]

A concern is that Roy will try to play too many guys

Paige-1
Johnson-2
Meeks-3
Jackson-4
Hicks-6
Berry-8
Pinson-9

Seems like these 7 plus whichever of Britt/Williams can consitently hit a 3 point shoot should garner the most PT, but agree he will probably play James more than a lot of folks would prefer, and possibly try to play both Britt and Williams rather than picking one as primary.

Britt-7, James-10
Williams
Maye

Even Calamari now admits that platoon system was a disaster.

 

[GoNtheDistance]

I'm all for developing some type of depth in November and December. However, as another poster mentioned, Roy's sub patterns this year became so all over the place and disruptive that it was mind boggling to say the least. I also think that other coaches have done a good job in letting younger kids play a lot early to get them through some of the bumps and the above the learning curve before conference season starts. for example, if you look this year, Roy kept Joel Berry on the bench for heavy minutes in a majority of the games early in the season against inferior competition, costing him valuable minutes that could have provided growth that could have paid off late in the season as he emerged as our lead guard. it didn't take an expect to realize early on that we were best with Joel at the 1 and Marcus at the 2. i just think we missed a valuable opportunity to develop Joel and push him farther along in the learning process. It sickens me to say this, but K and Dook went through some bumps in the road early in the season, conference season even, that I feel paid off hugely for them en route to a title. Whiplash and Kick Ball had some tough moments but grew tremendously over the course of that season.

 

[gary-7]

Just gonna say a couple f things after reading some of these responses:
1. Underestimate White at your peril. If healthy he should get some good minutes.
2. Unless he's planning to redshirt someone, Roy should go 12 deep early. That may not last but let's find out what we've got.
3. The two players who should lead the team in minutes/game are Berry and Paige.

 

[gunslingerdick]

Just gonna say a couple f things after reading some of these responses:
1. Underestimate White at your peril. If healthy he should get some good minutes.
2. Unless he's planning to redshirt someone, Roy should go 12 deep early. That may not last but let's find out what we've got.
3. The two players who should lead the team in minutes/game are Berry and Paige.

1 - Not sure about that. He's a decent player with good athleticism. But he's small and not super quick. And we've never seen his shot but I'm guessing he's not a marksman or we would have known that by now. If White is playing more than mop up duty or in the rare occasions of severe foul trouble, we're in trouble.

2 - We're not that deep. Who would you even consider redshirting? James? Britt? Each one of those guys is an injury away from being the starter.

3 - Agreed.

 

[coryfly]

I don't think Berry should lead the team in minutes along with Paige. I think having depth at that position is worthless if you don't use it. There will be plenty of games where we won't need huge minutes from our starters and those games should see plenty of both Britt and White at times. If Britt can improve he'll get good minutes anyway. The wing is way more shallow so I would be surprised if Jackson isn't a minutes leader right there with anyone.

 

[RP12]

I'd like to see Berry get 25 minutes plus and Paige stay below 30, but I agree that Justin will likely be second with 28ish, similar to JP's average this year.

 

[gunslingerdick]

I'd like to see Berry get 25 minutes plus and Paige stay below 30, but I agree that Justin will likely be second with 28ish, similar to JP's average this year.

I think people are underestimating how good Theo can be and how much Roy will value his defensive abilities. With JP leaving, he's easily our best athlete and defender. If healthy, he will get time at the 3. Significant time.

 

[gary-7]

I think people are underestimating how good Theo can be and how much Roy will value his defensive abilities. With JP leaving, he's easily our best athlete and defender. If healthy, he will get time at the 3. Significant time.

Truth. JJ and Theo will be a great platoon at the 3. Theo will also see spot minutes at the 2 and his versatility could enable Roy to go "small" at times.

 

[Steat]

I'm all for developing some type of depth in November and December. However, as another poster mentioned, Roy's sub patterns this year became so all over the place and disruptive that it was mind boggling to say the least. I also think that other coaches have done a good job in letting younger kids play a lot early to get them through some of the bumps and the above the learning curve before conference season starts. for example, if you look this year, Roy kept Joel Berry on the bench for heavy minutes in a majority of the games early in the season against inferior competition, costing him valuable minutes that could have provided growth that could have paid off late in the season as he emerged as our lead guard. it didn't take an expect to realize early on that we were best with Joel at the 1 and Marcus at the 2. i just think we missed a valuable opportunity to develop Joel and push him farther along in the learning process. It sickens me to say this, but K and Dook went through some bumps in the road early in the season, conference season even, that I feel paid off hugely for them en route to a title. Whiplash and Kick Ball had some tough moments but grew tremendously over the course of that season.

Yep, and K went through all of this pain and only lost 4 games and maintained a Top 5 ranking all year. That's the key. A team that wants to win it all just can't go through the season losing 8-12 games and expect to win the title. There is an ocassional exception (I.e UCONN in 2014), but the NCAA title winner can't loose several games and expect to win a title. Gotta secure a #1 seed and coast into the sweet 16.

 

[Tru Blu Tar Heel]

Just gonna say a couple f things after reading some of these responses:
1. Underestimate White at your peril. If healthy he should get some good minutes.
2. Unless he's planning to redshirt someone, Roy should go 12 deep early. That may not last but let's find out what we've got.
3. The two players who should lead the team in minutes/game are Berry and Paige.

I hope Roy DOES go 12 deep early. I definitely want to see a LOT of minutes for Pinson, Williams, & Maye. Give them time to grow and fill out their positions. With that so, the rotation needs to be cut to about 9 by ACC play and really 7-8 by tourney time. No reason for Roy to run Paige, Johnson, Meeks, Jackson, or Berry into the ground playing 35mpg early. Save those legs. There's a bench, USE IT!

 

[imajericho]

Stop saying the word platoon. We aren't gonna do it. We are going to sub as needed.

Berry backup Britt
Paige backup Williams
Jackson backup Pinson
Johnson backup Maye/Hicks
Meeks backup Hicks

 

[CanuckChuck]

Stop saying the word platoon. We aren't gonna do it. We are going to sub as needed.

Berry backup Britt
Paige backup Williams
Jackson backup Pinson
Johnson backup Maye/Hicks
Meeks backup Hicks

I see it more like

Berry - Britt - Paige
Paige - Pinson - Williams
Jackson - Pinson
Johnson - Hicks - Maye
Meeks - James - Johnson

CC

 

[HeelFan58]

I just cannot figure out why some think White will get significant minutes. He is a good kid but just not ACC talent and had 0 stars coming out of HS. There are kids that come out with 3-4 stars and play like 5's but there are very few if any that come out with 0 and are relevant ACC players. I think Maye will get a few minutes a game and possibly more if he can knockdown a 3 and play some adequate defense. I think he is a much better option than Simmons was and he has already played tough competition in HS and held is own in AllStar tournaments.

 

[Steat]

So it looks like that's it for 2015 recruiting and we've got a few months to kill.... not that I think there's too much contention about next years line up but these things make good talking points.

Couple of questions though:

1. Without the arrogance of calling it a "platoon" system, do you guys think Roy will employ some 5-out-5-in substitutions. I'd guess we could see:
Joel B, Marcus, Justin, Brice, Kennedy all starting,
then subbed by: Nate, K Will, Theo, Isaiah and Joel J.

That makes for a pretty strong second five.

2. How do Luke and Stillman fit in? My guess would be that Luke will find minutes, esp if fouls become a problem in a game (I reckon Luke would have played 5-10 min against Wisconsin with all the guys in foul trouble!)
As for Stillman, he's got another year under his belt and hopefully will be injury free leading to the next question:

3. Could White push Britt for back-up ball handling time? He's older, savvy and filled in nicely prior to his mission. Practices will be interesting.

So it looks like that's it for 2015 recruiting and we've got a few months to kill.... not that I think there's too much contention about next years line up but these things make good talking points.

Couple of questions though:

1. Without the arrogance of calling it a "platoon" system, do you guys think Roy will employ some 5-out-5-in substitutions. I'd guess we could see:
Joel B, Marcus, Justin, Brice, Kennedy all starting,
then subbed by: Nate, K Will, Theo, Isaiah and Joel J.

That makes for a pretty strong second five.

2. How do Luke and Stillman fit in? My guess would be that Luke will find minutes, esp if fouls become a problem in a game (I reckon Luke would have played 5-10 min against Wisconsin with all the guys in foul trouble!)
As for Stillman, he's got another year under his belt and hopefully will be injury free leading to the next question:

3. Could White push Britt for back-up ball handling time? He's older, savvy and filled in nicely prior to his mission. Practices will be interesting.

The answer to question #1 is "NO" with emphasis. Calipari is so upset that recruits are turning their heads he has issued a blog telling recruits that he will never platoon again. We have enough problems on the recruiting front. K is the opposite. He selects his 5-6 and give them the minues and pissed off players transfer, but the 5-6 are very happy. Roy needs to fine tune his rotation somewhat but IMO you will not see a platoon. Never thought I would see the Calipari begging....lol http://www.coachcal.com/34612/2015/05/we-may-never-platoon-again-but-players-will-always-come-first/

 

[goheels653]

The answer to question #1 is "NO" with emphasis. Calipari is so upset that recruits are turning their heads he has issued a blog telling recruits that he will never platoon again. We have enough problems on the recruiting front. K is the opposite. He selects his 5-6 and give them the minues and pissed off players transfer, but the 5-6 are very happy. Roy needs to fine tune his rotation somewhat but IMO you will not see a platoon. Never thought I would see the Calipari begging....lol http://www.coachcal.com/34612/2015/05/we-may-never-platoon-again-but-players-will-always-come-first/

I can't believe he wrote that for the public to read.

 

[soap - new and improved]

ONLY time I see Roy putting 5 in for 5 is when he is pissed, as the OP says, "a teaching moment".

Stillman, yeah, he played some last season but was hurt for the majority of it as was Luke. I don't really see either playing much outside of a blow out, maybe if Stillman can get his jump shot really solid he can get a few extra minutes.

These 2 fellas give us real value in practice, being able to run some of the opposing teams offense so we can be better prepped for the opponents.

This is correct. Roy does not like to do 5 man Platoon subbing. He won't do that unless pissed and sending a message.