Totally agree, very hurtful loss. HUGE difference in the quad for tournament chances though. Sub .500 absolutely no impact at all (other then helping to get their quad rating). Quad is everything as it pertains to selection Sunday.
Wow. I know you likely are right, and that NBA (which I hate, may as well not exist as far as I am concerned) drafts on potential.....but there are only like 30 NBA teams, right? I think there have to be at least 60 (maybe 90) guards available to come out that I would rank / select over Caleb Love. Seriously, tell me one part of his game - just one out of maybe ten - that are NBA worthy. Is a turnover machine. Can't shoot. Can't defend. Not particularly big. Doesn't drive and finish well. Doesn't focus to shoot FTs well.
It's about where he thinks he can develop for the league better. I know many people here think college is the place for that, it may be for some. Others have taken the full time commitment to the chosen profession is the better route. The teams will develop a high skilled raw youngster, it is part of their structure now. Personal skill coaches with no practice time limits, playing and training to the skills needed for the league, in game G league grown man talent, NBA practice, summer league, etc.
We should have a modest wager.
@dtodd4475 what you and @imajericho said makes sense, and I'm not going to argue with it. It just seems that if some freshman is going to get drafted to the NBA - it'd seem as a NBA GM you need to see some spark of something more than pure athleticism, to draft on. So he can jump out of the gym maybe, is strong, is fast. Great. If he has the basketball IQ of a turnip, and doesn't want to listen, and doesn't seem that interested or able to pass well.... are these things a kid can learn? Or are they just what he is as a person or player? Maybe a bad comparison, and I know McCants was here three years, and he turned out to be a total head case, but he was super athletic, was a great shooter and scorer and decent passer and defender especially by junior year....but flamed out in NBA because he had an attitude and wouldn't listen.
Neither player being discussed look to be even a late 1st round guy, so that bodes well for developing another year at the college level. They will have to decide where and how they think is best to work on their deficiencies.
His greatest gift is his size and strength. He has no shooting touch. Zero at this point. And he so often plays smaller and weaker than he actually is. Doesn't meet the ball to catch it (even sort of backs away from it, allowing a defender to step in and steal it), doesn't make a big broad target in post up position, and when he gets the ball right on the block, often tries some spinning, moving away off balance circus shot, instead of taking one step or dribble and trying to dunk it.
I'm not expecting him to go to a different college program - even if he doesn't have to sit out a year - but it's an interesting question.Something not talked about here on this forum is Love possibly leaving, not to go Pro, but for another program. Don't forget that these kids can play anywhere they can find an open scholly next season. Style of play to mimic the NBA will surely be on the single minded NBA hopefuls
I don't think he will either WWJD but it is out there. I no longer watch the NBA but to say Kentucky is the only team that mimics that is kinda off base. UK this year reall doesn't mimic the NBA as much as the team we saw last night, Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, , NC State..........That kind of ball screen your turn, my turn basketball is AAU through College and into the NBA now. Still can't win at the highest level without Balance, but kids care less about winning with each generation.
Why feel bad for him? He's part of the team that's underperforming. Plus he's getting paid millions to do it.
I hear ya, but after that game I feel more mad than sad at Roy and his staff. Only a couple of these kids think they are OAD. They presumably want to learn. So why can't our coaches do better with them?
Yeah... I'm the same way. I dunno what it is, but something is amiss. I guess it could be a lot of things-- a collective sorta thing. Over the last 3 seasons: Coby goes early, Cole & Co. was a disaster, Covid-19, patchwork season, lack of seasoned PG players. There are a lot of missing pieces needed for the typical "Roy WIlliams Team." I think Roy's loss of his FIL was an impact. It's hard to know for sure. When you look at the other "blue-bloods" that are struggling this season, it's obvious that UNC isn't the only one struggling. And, this season is kind of an "asterisk" season because of all of the Covid protocols and so forth.
All of those have certainly had an impact. Roy's lineups have been a little... let's say impactful as well. If we're talking about sad, it was sad to hear the announcers talk about how "impactful" our defensive philosophy is. But as a general rule of thumb, I don't feel sorry for people who get paid no matter how they perform.
I feel sure that Roy Williams is more concerned about keeping UNC a competitive program than anyone else alive.
