Luke....

[Ozheelfan]

Taking a break on the shooting guard discussion..... let's debate who'll be first big off the bench.
Many would say Tony but this article suggests it'll be Luke.

Either way, it's a nice read on one of the more underrated Heels going into next season.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/college/mens-basketball/article86105552.html

 

[gary-7]

Taking a break on the shooting guard discussion..... let's debate who'll be first big off the bench.
Many would say Tony but this article suggests it'll be Luke.

Either way, it's a nice read on one of the more underrated Heels going into next season.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/college/mens-basketball/article86105552.html

Oz, for whatever reason folks have a hard time letting go of preconceived notions, but as I've reported before (and in fact heard again very recently), Luke's teammates know he can play and fully expect him to play a vital role this season. He is a legit stretch guy who can shoot the rock from deep --- and this coming season he will be called upon to be part of our Big rotation and will often find himself guarding tweener 4s, thus Roy emphasizing taking a step up in defensive technique as well as being able to finish inside.

As far as "first" I think that is irrelevant and will likely be dictated by who is the first Big to get a blow (as we saw this past season). If Meeks comes out first it might be Tony first --- if it's Hicks it might more likely be Luke. It will also likely depend on match-ups in a given situation.

 

[Spacegrass]

Maye just needs to show the shooting range we have heard about to take the next step. Tony Bradley has shown range on the jumper.... So having a couple of guys that can be reliable from 18-22 ft playing in the post will help create space for Meeks and Hicks.

 

[DSouthr]

I saw Luke struggle a lot to score inside the paint last season, it was kinda like Meeks, struggled to elevate strong enough or high enough to effective score inside. I hope that has changed but to have 4 big men on your team and 2 of them struggle to score in deep concerns me. I like most all else I saw from him last season and I realize that was just his freshman season but he has to work on those hops!

 

[RoseHeel]

If Maye turns into the solid contributor that you all predicted, I'm all for it. Until then, I believe it should and will be Bradley.

 

[Archer2]

I think Gary's right. If Kennedy get the first breather, Tony will spell him. If Isaiah comes out first, Luke will most likely get the call.

I think we will see very little small ball with Kennedy the lone big. IMO, Isaiah or Tony fit that role better.

 

[soap - new and improved]

I hope Luke can just relax and accept that he really does belong and can play at ACC level. I strongly believe he just needs a bit more confidence and things will start clicking for him.

 

[dadika13]

He looked severely over matched against good competition unfortunately. I fully expect us to roll with a 3 man bigs rotation and occasionally go small with Justin at the 4. Unless he dramatically improves, I'd be surprised to see Luke average more than 6-7 min a game in competitive games.

 

[DSouthr]

He looked severely over matched against good competition unfortunately. I fully expect us to roll with a 3 man bigs rotation and occasionally go small with Justin at the 4. Unless he dramatically improves, I'd be surprised to see Luke average more than 6-7 min a game in competitive games.

Unfortunately I kinda agree, trying to keep in mind he was just a freshman last season and guys like Luke do improve a lot. Now I saw 2 major areas that Luke needed to work on after last season. His verticle was lacking in explosion, how much of that he can improve IDK but especially thru contact he seemed to struggle.

The other area is strength, lots of time in the weight room getting physically stronger and maybe adding some bulk to help him carve out space and work thru contact. ow when I saw that game vs the alums, he did look to me like he may have been working hard in the weight room, seemed to be a little bigger bulk wise to me and IMO that will help him a ton inside the paint. And if he can show off that step out jumper consistently to go along with increased strength inside, yeah, he could help us more than we realize.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

To me defense was his biggest problem. He gives up size AND athleticism and his feet weren't quick enough. I love his shot, rebounding, attitude, and work ethic, but I worry about him on D. I'll wait to see if he is stronger and better able to keep bigger guys out from under the rim and stay in front of quick bigs

 

[Archer2]

He looked severely over matched against good competition unfortunately. I fully expect us to roll with a 3 man bigs rotation and occasionally go small with Justin at the 4. Unless he dramatically improves, I'd be surprised to see Luke average more than 6-7 min a game in competitive games.

With Isaiah being a proverbial walking foul machine and Kennedy still yet to prove he can play more than 21 MPG, we may see more of Luke than you think. I think he's ready to give us a steady 9-10 MPG without hurting us a bit. That depends on Isaiah and Kennedy.

And I think we'll see quite a bit of small ball again, because of the above mentioned issues with Isaiah and Kennedy. I also think Theo will slide down to the PF spot and JJ play the SF spot when we do go small. It seemed to me that's how Roy deployed them last year, and to great effect.

 

[soap - new and improved]

Plenty of folks pointing out the negatives of his FRESHMAN year. Not too many remembering Luke was an instant rebound machine. He was 2nd on the team in rebounds per minute played. That is a pretty strong positive in my book.

Certainly he has much to improve upon, and he seems to be working hard to make progress. I am very glad he is a Tar Heel.

 

[Archer2]

Brice 1 board every 2.7 min. played
Luke 1 board every 3.3 min. played
Kennedy 1 board every 3.5 min. played
Isaiah 1 board every 3.9 min. played

Spot on Soap. I believe Luke rebounds as well as either Kennedy or Isaiah. Add in the fact that many of Kennedy's boards were off of point blank misses and his numbers look even worse. And I have been very disappointed in Isaiah's lack of production on the boards, he simply should be getting more with his great athleticism. He and Kennedy both need to box out better and rebound at a higher level next year in order to compensate for Brice's double digit board average.

Like Kennedy, I'd like to see Luke used in the high post to take advantage of his ability to knock down the 18 foot jumper. I'm going to be very disappointed if we don't run some of that next year. Roy will never have a center more suited to it than Kennedy, with his lack of interior moves and verticality.

 

[dadika13]

With Isaiah being a proverbial walking foul machine and Kennedy still yet to prove he can play more than 21 MPG, we may see more of Luke than you think. I think he's ready to give us a steady 9-10 MPG without hurting us a bit. That depends on Isaiah and Kennedy.

And I think we'll see quite a bit of small ball again, because of the above mentioned issues with Isaiah and Kennedy. I also think Theo will slide down to the PF spot and JJ play the SF spot when we do go small. It seemed to me that's how Roy deployed them last year, and to great effect.

I didn't see much last year that showed he could handle that kind of playing time consistently against top competition. I have no doubt he's working his tail off this off season and hopefully he improves from Frosh to Soph, which many players do.

At this point though, I'm not yet ready to feel good about him playing 10 MPG. Hope that changes come November.

 

[Archer2]

I didn't see much last year that showed he could handle that kind of playing time consistently against top competition. I have no doubt he's working his tail off this off season and hopefully he improves from Frosh to Soph, which many players do.

At this point though, I'm not yet ready to feel good about him playing 10 MPG. Hope that changes come November.

I actually have every bit as much confidence in Luke as I do in Kennedy. As stated, he was a freshman last year and the old adage about the most improvement coming between one's freshman and sophomore years is often true. And we simply need him more this year with concerns about how many minutes Kennedy and Isaiah can play. We won't have to be concerned about lack of effort with Luke. I can't say that was always the case with Kennedy.

 

[All_Heel]

I continue to read about "vertical" often when the topic is Maye or Meeks but what separates
players like them from Bird; who had limited hops, speed, or quickness?

 

[UNC Blue Hup]

Luke's tough as nails and gives max effort--he boxes out as well as anyone and knows the game--if he can hit the consistent jumper to keep D's honest, he'll be a valuable reserve..he's important piece next year and I'll take him. I didn't know Notre Dame offered him either. Good sign that he's a true Tar Heel!

 

[DSouthr]

I continue to read about "vertical" often when the topic is Maye or Meeks but what separates
players like them from Bird; who had limited hops, speed, or quickness?

Right off the top was Bird's amazing jump shooting ability no matter who was guarding him. But even more important was his amazing will to win, a near refusal to lose at anything to anyone at any time. It is the most rare trait you will find and it most always is the common thread you find with greatness in any sport.

There is plenty of talent out there but to find a guy with talent and there are guys out there with limited talent but lots of heart and will. Every now and then you find a guy that is able to combine talent and will and milk every last ounce of the potential they have within. And guys like that make NBA all stars but every now & then a guy comes along that takes all of that to yet another level when greatness is found. We saw it in MJ, we saw it in Magic & Bird, it is a thing that you just know it when you see it and you know that you better enjoy it now because it is such a rare thing.

 

[Archer2]

Very few players understand the game as well and compete as hard as Bird. Like MJ, he refused to lose.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Bird was also almost 6'10". You don't need vertical if you are shooting step backs and fades out to 3 pt range at that height. He was an extremely physical player and had great instincts.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Maye is a natural rebounder that also attacks the board with energy. His motor and desire are not in question. I love having him on the team also and nothing I said indicated otherwise! But the truth remains that he is often physically over-matched in the post and it will be hard to fix this issue. He will be a great spot contributor and will become more valuable if his shot starts falling in games like in practice.