Next season?

[DSouthr]

OK, so now we know Tony will not be back, Knox is not coming, and it looks doubtful that Pitt releases Cam Johnson to be eligible to play for us. So now we can look at the players we will have and form some opinions on what next season may look like. Will give my look, please share your own view of the coming season.

Back court, by far our team strength, one of if not the best back courts in the country is what I think we will have. The talent level in our back court is off the chain and it begins with Joel Berry. One of the most hard nosed tuff minded competitors in the country, not another PG in the college game I would trade him for! Now Kenny has shown his 2 guard chops, very strong defender, can shoot better than he showed even last season but he is a lock down defender from the 2 that does not take bad shots. Jalek will be there, score first combo, I like him more at the 2 and think Kenny will have his hands full holding on to his PT, don't be surprised if Jalek ends up starting at some point and if he does I do not think he will lose that starting job until he leave the college game.

I am expecting a huge leap in 7th Woods production and over all play, showed flashes last season, either he or BRob are my picks for break out players for next season, 7th has to shoot better, critical that he does. Looking for 7th to continue to back up Joel but Jalek is in the wings if 7th does not expand his game enough.

Wing (3, small forward), I seperate wings from back court because I have always seen wings as crosses between front and back courters, I still look at them as small forwards. Of course Theo starts at the wing, builds on what we have already seen, a facilitating wing more than a shooter, more a scorer than a shooter, has to jump shoot better but his Leadership along with Joel are the keys for this team IMO. I see Brob backing Theo up, like this kid, he to me is a mini Theo but he really has to get a lot stronger this off season and work on that shooting, he can shoot MUCH MUCH better than he showed last season!

Front court, yeah, we are all concerned here, gonna just have to rely on Luke and 3 frosh big men. Fortunately those 3 kids are all really long and none are rail thin or in need of losing a hundred pounds. Personally, I think Huffman and Brooks will come out of the gate stronger than many realize. Not saying they will replace what Meeks/hicks/Tony gave us last season. But having good length we should be able to challenge shots in the lane with the frosh, I think they can give us decent rebounding on both ends and stick backs off the offensive glass. Luke will be there for leadership of that group, looking for him to step outside more often and be able to draw his big man defender away from the defensive glass. I do expect to see some Huffman and Brooks and want to see that, Brooks IMO is more a natural 4 with a nice lil mid range shooting touch.

T\I think by season end Roy will have cobbled together a solid team, our leadership with Joel and Theo will be excellent and if our frosh big men can come around due to the extended PT they will get earlier on, who knows how far we can go. I think we will be a sweet 16 team but elite 8 is not out of the question and with some luck who knows...

 

[superstar57]

Defensively I think we can be great because of lenght and speed, offensively we live or die by the three point shot period.

We will look similar to Puke with the style we will have to play.

 

[Archer2]

OK, so now we know Tony will not be back, Knox is not coming, and it looks doubtful that Pitt releases Cam Johnson to be eligible to play for us. So now we can look at the players we will have and form some opinions on what next season may look like. Will give my look, please share your own view of the coming season.

Back court, by far our team strength, one of if not the best back courts in the country is what I think we will have. The talent level in our back court is off the chain and it begins with Joel Berry. One of the most hard nosed tuff minded competitors in the country, not another PG in the college game I would trade him for! Now Kenny has shown his 2 guard chops, very strong defender, can shoot better than he showed even last season but he is a lock down defender from the 2 that does not take bad shots. Jalek will be there, score first combo, I like him more at the 2 and think Kenny will have his hands full holding on to his PT, don't be surprised if Jalek ends up starting at some point and if he does I do not think he will lose that starting job until he leave the college game.

I think we're going to need solid point production from the SG spot as we're going to be more perimeter oriented than usual. I love Kenny's defense but he must shoot the ball with more confidence if he is to hold off Jalek who I think will be very good from day one.

I am expecting a huge leap in 7th Woods production and over all play, showed flashes last season, either he or BRob are my picks for break out players for next season, 7th has to shoot better, critical that he does. Looking for 7th to continue to back up Joel but Jalek is in the wings if 7th does not expand his game enough.

Not sure what to expect from 7th next year. He does have a world of potential but with Jalek getting most of the backup minutes at PG(purely my opinion), 7th's shot must improve if he's to earn PT in a crowded back court.

Wing (3, small forward), , I still look at them as small forwards.I seperate wings from back court because I have always seen wings as crosses between front and back courters. Of course Theo starts at the wing, builds on what we have already seen, a facilitating wing more than a shooter, more a scorer than a shooter, has to jump shoot better but his Leadership along with Joel are the keys for this team IMO. I see Brob backing Theo up, like this kid, he to me is a mini Theo but he really has to get a lot stronger this off season and work on that shooting, he can shoot MUCH MUCH better than he showed last season!

I agree, Brandon is my choice for the guy to make the biggest freshman to sophomore jump. Needs more weight but he has the toughness and the confidence.

Front court, yeah, we are all concerned here, gonna just have to rely on Luke and 3 frosh big men. Fortunately those 3 kids are all really long and none are rail thin or in need of losing a hundred pounds. Personally, I think Huffman and Brooks will come out of the gate stronger than many realize.

Been saying this for a while, much to the disagreement of some. We don't need them to dominate, just use their fouls and play center by committee. We shall see.

Not saying they will replace what Meeks/hicks/Tony gave us last season. But having good length we should be able to challenge shots in the lane with the frosh, I think they can give us decent rebounding on both ends and stick backs off the offensive glass. Luke will be there for leadership of that group, looking for him to step outside more often and be able to draw his big man defender away from the defensive glass. I do expect to see some Huffman and Brooks and want to see that, Brooks IMO is more a natural 4 with a nice lil mid range shooting touch.

Agreed.

I think by season end Roy will have cobbled together a solid team, our leadership with Joel and Theo will be excellent and if our frosh big men can come around due to the extended PT they will get earlier on, who knows how far we can go. I think we will be a sweet 16 team but elite 8 is not out of the question and with some luck who knows...

I'm looking forward to watching Coach build this team.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Joel will play 32-34 minutes per game. That doesn't leave many minutes at PG for either 7th or Jalek.

One option to give 7th and/or Jalek practice at the point is to play Joel less. I can see that happening early in the season as Roy experiments. But not later. Later, Joel will play closer to 34 than 32.

Another option to give 7th and/or Jalek time at PG is to play Joel at SG. I could see that early - again to give the other guys practice - and I could also see some of it later in the season if Joel's 3pt shot is clicking. Playing some minutes at SG is a way to give Joel a little rest while still on the court - as we sometimes saw with Marcus. For that to happen later in the season, 7th or Jalek will have to be playing well enough at PG for that to make sense.

Obviously the problem with playing Joel at SG is that it pushes Kenny, Brandon and Andrew down the bench. But with Brandon probably getting most or all of his minues at SF, and Andrew being the new kid at the end of the rotation, that still leaves Kenny with plenty of minutes. Problem is that neither 7th nor Jalek are going to be satisfied with minor minutes at PG. So they will want that PLUS serious minutes at SG.

 

[DSouthr]

I think we're going to need solid point production from the SG spot as we're going to be more perimeter oriented than usual. I love Kenny's defense but he must shoot the ball with more confidence if he is to hold off Jalek who I think will be very good from day one.

Not sure what to expect from 7th next year. He does have a world of potential but with Jalek getting most of the backup minutes at PG(purely my opinion), 7th's shot must improve if he's to earn PT in a crowded back court.
I agree, Brandon is my choice for the guy to make the biggest freshman to sophomore jump. Needs more weight but he has the toughness and the confidence.
Been saying this for a while, much to the disagreement of some. We don't need them to dominate, just use their fouls and play center by committee. We shall see.
Agreed.
I'm looking forward to watching Coach build this team.

Folks IMO are down on our frosh bigs more because our frosh bigs have not been dominant players in the recent few seasons.That along with the fact that none of them are strong 4 star or 5 star ranked.

Valid concerns for sure but I think some are taking things to an extreme. Look at Tony for example, why didn't he produce more last season than he did, mainly it was because we had Meeks and Hicks as very able and experienced starters. That will not be the case this coming season, it is only Luke, so all of the frosh big men will get time, at least 2 of them will get starter level minutes and one of them will be a starter. Players develop more by playing and all 3 will have more opportunity than is typical for us, ore than Tony was able to get.

These 3 frosh big en are all college ready to play height & weights, a couple of 6'10" 245lb guys and a 6'9" 235 guy that does not shy away from contact, and all 3 willing and able to play above the rim. These guys are longer collectively than the trio of big men we just lost and we don't have to wait till they lose or gain weight before they can compete. We have had a lot of bigs that was not the case for that ended up playing really well for us.

I am excited to see these 3 big kids develop, in a way losing Tony was not the worst for us long term, it gives our frosh bigs the op to get further along the develop curve sooner, that may not pay off as huge this coming season but I think it will be huge for the season after.

 

[DSouthr]

Joel will play 32-34 minutes per game. That doesn't leave many minutes at PG for either 7th or Jalek.

One option to give 7th and/or Jalek practice at the point is to play Joel less. I can see that happening early in the season as Roy experiments. But not later. Later, Joel will play closer to 34 than 32.

Another option to give 7th and/or Jalek time at PG is to play Joel at SG. I could see that early - again to give the other guys practice - and I could also see some of it later in the season if Joel's 3pt shot is clicking. Playing some minutes at SG is a way to give Joel a little rest while still on the court - as we sometimes saw with Marcus. For that to happen later in the season, 7th or Jalek will have to be playing well enough at PG for that to make sense.

Obviously the problem with playing Joel at SG is that it pushes Kenny, Brandon and Andrew down the bench. But with Brandon probably getting most or all of his minues at SF, and Andrew being the new kid at the end of the rotation, that still leaves Kenny with plenty of minutes. Problem is that neither 7th nor Jalek are going to be satisfied with minor minutes at PG. So they will want that PLUS serious minutes at SG.

Joel will play those kind of minutes when he has to but he will not have to every game. If 7th and/or Jalek show they can handle things when Joel sits then Roy will save Joel's legs and bring his time down closer to 25-28mins, IMO.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Player PG  SG  SF  PF  Cn  Tot
Berry  27  06  --  --  --  33
Woods  08  05  --  --  --  13
Felton 05  09  --  --  --  14
Kenny  --  20  --  --  --  20
Theo   --  --  20  10  --  30
BRob   --  --  20  --  --  20
Luke   --  --  --  26  --  26
Brooks --  --  --  04  13  17
Huff   --  --  --  --  17  17
Manley --  --  --  --  10  10
Totals 40  40  40  40  40  200

.

 

[Archer2]

Joel will play those kind of minutes when he has to but he will not have to every game. If 7th and/or Jalek show they can handle things when Joel sits then Roy will save Joel's legs and bring his time down closer to 25-28mins, IMO.[/QUOTE]I agreed. Not only does it save Joel's legs for the stretch, but it allows more PT for our young big men to use to develop.

 

[Archer2]

I am excited to see these 3 big kids develop, in a way losing Tony was not the worst for us long term, it gives our frosh bigs the op to get further along the develop curve sooner, that may not pay off as huge this coming season but I think it will be huge for the season after.

I've said this a couple of times. Couldn't agree more.

 

[IDUNK4HEELS]

I expect to see a TON of a three guard offense with Berry moving to the shooting guard like Paige did for the betterment of the team. I would prefer Berry stay at the point but again and just my opinion I think with the lack of scoring at other positions Berry will have to shoot a bunch and he will end up at the two.

 

[Archer2]

I expect to see a TON of a three guard offense with Berry moving to the shooting guard like Paige did for the betterment of the team. I would prefer Berry stay at the point but again and just my opinion I think with the lack of scoring at other positions Berry will have to shoot a bunch and he will end up at the two.

With Jalek at the point, that could be a great back court combo.

 

[Steat]

Is is a critical year for Seventh to be the back-up for Berry. This is the make or break it season for him if he does not want to fall into a four year role player like Britt. With Cam now on board, this is how I see the first game starting line-up.

Berry
Pinson
Johnson
Maye
Huffman

I was debating between Brooks and Huffman, but I think the Heels need an enforcer at the 5. Brooks will get minutes at the 4 and 5. Manley will get some minutes at the 5. It will be a tough year for the freshmen, but Roy must get them developed while the perimeter offense being the best the Heels have had in years.

 

[heels05champs]

Berry
Pinson
Johnson
Maye
Brooks

 

[tarheel0910]

I'd be willing to bet that Pinson starts at the three and unless Roy decides to change how he operates as a coach, KW will start at the two. That may change as the year goes on, but for game one I think that is what will happen.

 

[al would]

So much for it being doubtful about Cam Johnson playing this season. This opens up tons of options and combinations. This is a incredible get for RW.. he's DA MAN !

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I expect to see a TON of a three guard offense with Berry moving to the shooting guard like Paige did for the betterment of the team. I would prefer Berry stay at the point but again and just my opinion I think with the lack of scoring at other positions Berry will have to shoot a bunch and he will end up at the two.

With Cam on board, we might see good bit of 3-SF offense with these guys on the floor at the same time.

Brandon
Cam
Theo

How good is Cam's defense?

 

[RP12]

With Cam on board, we might see good bit of 3-SF offense with these guys on the floor at the same time.

Brandon
Cam
Theo

How good is Cam's defense?

I'd bet it's about to get a whole lot better!

 

[al would]

I bet practices are gonna be run and fun !!

 

[FlaTarHeel]

I'd bet it's about to get a whole lot better!

 

[UNCFanforLife]

We are going to be a perimeter team for sure. I am sure Roy would like to go inside out with his bigs, but I think this year if we can just get solid rebounding and defense from them with occasional junk points he would be happy.
Hate to make this comparison, but we are going to look like some dook teams of the past. Big men to set picks and rebound while our perimeter guys shoot it.
Getting Cam is HUGE. Now we just need a guy like Felton/Williams/Robinson if not all 3, to step up and hit shots along with Berry and Cam.
Gonna be an interesting season.

 

[gauchoheel]

Ah sorry, just saw the thread I started is very similar to yours.

 

[Tom79]

Cam's letter was great, now let's see if the ncaa will abide by their by-laws, because Cam called y'all on it, so as I said on another thread, dang it sucks to be the ncaa.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Cam's letter was great, now let's see if the ncaa will abide by their by-laws, because Cam called y'all on it, so as I said on another thread, dang it sucks to be the ncaa.

I mentioned earlier that his press release spoke volumes.
If he wrote that himself I'm sold.

 

[gauchoheel]

Cam's letter was great, now let's see if the ncaa will abide by their by-laws, because Cam called y'all on it, so as I said on another thread, dang it sucks to be the ncaa.

Since when have they been worried about following their by-laws with us?

 

[UNC Blue Hup]

Couldn't be better news! All day top 10 recruit if he were coming out high school..very intellligent young man that has goals and by the way...6'9" and hits 42% from 3 Woooooooiiii

 

[Super6Fan]

2018 NCAA Champions worthy?

 

[ChapelHeeled]

Player PG  SG  SF  PF  Cn  Tot
Berry  27  06  --  --  --  33
Woods  08  05  --  --  --  13
Felton 05  09  --  --  --  14
Kenny  --  20  --  --  --  20
Theo   --  --  20  10  --  30
BRob   --  --  20  --  --  20
Luke   --  --  --  26  --  26
Brooks --  --  --  04  13  17
Huff   --  --  --  --  17  17
Manley --  --  --  --  10  10
Totals 40  40  40  40  40  200

.

Roy needs a copy of this NOW!!?!?!.

 

[viking131]

Trust, and believe Jalek will see more than 14 mins on the court!

 

[Tom79]

Gonna be some wide eyed fans with Jalek on the floor. Go Heels!

 

[TPFKAPFS]

RW + TP + JF + JB + CJ + Family = 3-Peat FF!

JF will help cement the Felton legacy at UNC and this Team has a chance to add to the tradition of the best program in college bball history!

 

[DSouthr]

I think it has been pretty clear that Cam wanted to commit to us so his actually doing so is not that shocking but as far I can see there has been no change from Pitt, meaning.this thing is still up in the air as to if this kid can play for us next season or not. The kid feels he will be able to, appears Roy agrees, looks like most here assume it as well but I have not seen either the ACC or the NCAA make a ruling yet so I think it is a good idea to temper some of the excitement until the path is clear of any obstructions.

Having said that, kid is a player, hope we can get things cleared so he can play next season. I do think he as a kid with 3 years of college experience (2 as an active player and one as a red shirt) could be considered a bigger asset than the Knox kid that was coming out of high school (not saying Cam has a greater upside than Knox, saying Cam has 3 years in a college program and got solid PT in the ACC). Cam is absolutely ore an outside shooting threat than KNox would have been so between the 2 it is an easy choice for me to prefer Cam.

I do think and hope, even if we get Cam cleared for next season, that Theo starts at the 3, plenty of PT backing Theo up as well as points where either Cam or Theo would swing down to the 4 in our small ball. Gives us that same dynamic of long 3 and Theo we had with Justin and Theo playing small ball, would have been much harder with Brob and Theo. This would cloud BRob's PT some but you have to earn your time.

 

[mikeirbyusa]

Roy will be able to play some very interesting line-ups this coming season for sure. Gonna be fun to watch them grow.

 

[ChapelHeeled]

I think it has been pretty clear that Cam wanted to commit to us so his actually doing so is not that shocking but as far I can see there has been no change from Pitt, meaning.this thing is still up in the air as to if this kid can play for us next season or not. The kid feels he will be able to, appears Roy agrees, looks like most here assume it as well but I have not seen either the ACC or the NCAA make a ruling yet so I think it is a good idea to temper some of the excitement until the path is clear of any obstructions.

Having said that, kid is a player, hope we can get things cleared so he can play next season. I do think he as a kid with 3 years of college experience (2 as an active player and one as a red shirt) could be considered a bigger asset than the Knox kid that was coming out of high school (not saying Cam has a greater upside than Knox, saying Cam has 3 years in a college program and got solid PT in the ACC). Cam is absolutely ore an outside shooting threat than KNox would have been so between the 2 it is an easy choice for me to prefer Cam.

I do think and hope, even if we get Cam cleared for next season, that Theo starts at the 3, plenty of PT backing Theo up as well as points where either Cam or Theo would swing down to the 4 in our small ball. Gives us that same dynamic of long 3 and Theo we had with Justin and Theo playing small ball, would have been much harder with Brob and Theo. This would cloud BRob's PT some but you have to earn your time.

 

[ChapelHeeled]

The main thing that I see here is that the NCAA has already cleared themselves in this matter, IMO. They absolutely will trump Pitt in any final decision. That being said, Cameron Johnson no longer has any legal tie to Pitt. He is therefore free to do as he wishes because of his college degree in hand. In short, this battle is actually over unless less than stellar legal decisions are made by Pitt in the near future. All of the above is my opinion and my opinion alone...

 

[Tom79]

I would offer that Cam has completed degree requirements for graduation from Pitt...the thing is the ncaa is violating by-law 14.6 or so (see Cam's letter) if anything the ncaa is consistent as they have been doing it to us for a few years now.

 

[Steat]

Pitt told TOS yesterday that it's in the hands of the NCAA and the NCAA has already cleared Cam to play at UNC. It would be cleaner it Pitt would just make it official by releasing Cam but it's really a moot point. Cam is playing for UNC next season.

 

[Archer2]

I'd bet it's about to get a whole lot better!

Indeed.

I mentioned earlier that his press release spoke volumes.
If he wrote that himself I'm sold.

He's a very smart young man, that's been apparent since high school. Now he's graduated in 3 years and comported himself well. Pitt is just making themselves look more and more petty by trying to stonewall his playing next year.

Having said that, kid is a player, hope we can get things cleared so he can play next season. I do think he as a kid with 3 years of college experience (2 as an active player and one as a red shirt) could be considered a bigger asset than the Knox kid that was coming out of high school (not saying Cam has a greater upside than Knox, saying Cam has 3 years in a college program and got solid PT in the ACC). Cam is absolutely ore an outside shooting threat than Knox would have been so between the 2 it is an easy choice for me to prefer Cam.

I agree wholeheartedly.

I do think and hope, even if we get Cam cleared for next season, that Theo starts at the 3, plenty of PT backing Theo up as well as points where either Cam or Theo would swing down to the 4 in our small ball. Gives us that same dynamic of long 3 and Theo we had with Justin and Theo playing small ball, would have been much harder with Brob and Theo. This would cloud BRob's PT some but you have to earn your time.

I drool at the thought of a lineup with Theo at the four, Cameron at the three, Jalek at the two and Joel at point. Put Brooks or Huffman in the middle and that could be a dynamic team. Our wings are as good as anybody's, especially if Cam is allowed to play.

 

[dadika13]

I drool at the thought of a lineup with Theo at the four, Cameron at the three, Jalek at the two and Joel at point. Put Brooks or Huffman in the middle and that could be a dynamic team. Our wings are as good as anybody's, especially if Cam is allowed to play.

Without a doubt...such a fun lineup and you used the perfect word, dynamic.

Excited for the small ball potential next season.

 

[itstartedwithmj]

I think it has been pretty clear that Cam wanted to commit to us so his actually doing so is not that shocking but as far I can see there has been no change from Pitt, meaning.this thing is still up in the air as to if this kid can play for us next season or not. The kid feels he will be able to, appears Roy agrees, looks like most here assume it as well but I have not seen either the ACC or the NCAA make a ruling yet so I think it is a good idea to temper some of the excitement until the path is clear of any obstructions.

Having said that, kid is a player, hope we can get things cleared so he can play next season. I do think he as a kid with 3 years of college experience (2 as an active player and one as a red shirt) could be considered a bigger asset than the Knox kid that was coming out of high school (not saying Cam has a greater upside than Knox, saying Cam has 3 years in a college program and got solid PT in the ACC). Cam is absolutely ore an outside shooting threat than KNox would have been so between the 2 it is an easy choice for me to prefer Cam.

I do think and hope, even if we get Cam cleared for next season, that Theo starts at the 3, plenty of PT backing Theo up as well as points where either Cam or Theo would swing down to the 4 in our small ball. Gives us that same dynamic of long 3 and Theo we had with Justin and Theo playing small ball, would have been much harder with Brob and Theo. This would cloud BRob's PT some but you have to earn your time.

There's zero chance that a healthy Theo won't start. The question is whether KW or CJ will start.

 

[al would]

There's zero chance that a healthy Theo won't start. The question is whether KW or CJ will start.

Wouldn't bet on KW or CJ either one starting .. but there could be one helluva "Blue Team" coming off the bench.