Okonkwo Fills Out Paper Work, Formally Joins Tar Heels
- Thread starter andrew jones
- Start date
⛹🏾♂️ With this much depth ⛹🏾♂️we better run the floor ⛹🏾♂️ press on defense and play Carolina Freakin’
Basketball. Go Heels.
Basketball. Go Heels.
Oh ye of little faith! We WILL run; we Will play at least 9 significantly; we Will play multiple D; We WILL point to the passer and play UNC bball; and we WILL win!
Welcome to the Family, Mr. Okonkwo!
Go Tar Heels!
Welcome to the Family, Mr. Okonkwo!
Go Tar Heels!
I don't know what world you live in but if all that stuff happens there, I hope you have room for one more because I wanna come!! 😆
I believe!!! Go Heels!!!!!
All true believers are welcome! You simply have to believe that all goodness flows from UNC and the Carolina way is the pinnacle of human achievement!
First, as I have said before, with Cadeau as our PG, there is virtually no way we don't play the running game, the breaks will happen. To think other wise is akin to saying Golden State will not take treys, it would defy any kind of logic. You don't bring in Cadeau if you are not going to run the ball. I don't think that you could stop Cadeau from pushing the running game even if you wanted to, it would be like trying to stop Caleb Love from shooting to much. So we ARE going to run the ball, should be no mystery there.
IN his first season as head coach, Hubert did start that season playing his bench, looked like a solid 8-9 man rotation was developing but then Garcia and Ant went away and Puff kept getting hurt, Styles got some key minutes still. Walton got all the shot he could have wanted early that season but played his way all the way to the end of the bench. So the Iron 5 evolved from that attrition, it worked because the chemistry seemed to take off once Manek settled in as a starter.
Then last seasons disaster happened, especially that long west coast road trip that we just took a beating from. We did play a historic game vs Alabama and as poorly as we shot the ball that game was a 4OT thriller and Alabama was one of the best teams in the country at the time. Losing that game and then having to face a really good Indiana team before finally coming back home and even then having basically no time to recover we have to go to VT and got ambushed. That road trip showed, that team was not ready to play at the level or intensity needed to get back to where they ended the season before, it showed a clear lack of off season development. This I strongly believe led to a series of errors by the coaching staff that began to look like a Keystone Cops brand of ball, not good.
I go in to all of this simply to get to the question of how deep Hubert will go to his bench this season. You would think that he is looking to go 9-10 deep, that most all the guys Hubert had so little trust in last season have now been replaced by guys Hubert hand picked, I have to believe he is looking to use them heavy. His first season would seem to make it a no brainer that he will use that deep bench but then last season did happen and can not be forgotten. So on the deep bench question I feel like I need to be on the wait and see side of the fence even if everything does seem to indicate he will play deep in to his bench this season.
Multiple defenses, well if you play a deep bench it should organically led to playing strong defense with fresh legs but so far what I have watched defensively is a far cry from what Dean taught. Sorry but based on what I have seen for 2yrs now I don't see Hubert using a lot of multiple defensive looks, count for me the number of times you have seen us play any version of a zone in the last 2 yrs? We couldn't handle the high pick to save our life last season, we helped when we didn't need to and didn't help when we needed to and we ran our starters to death which made it even harder to defend strong.
Tell ya what I want to see, not just for next season but for the future.
1) I think this is vital, we have to start games with big time intensity, we can not allow the other team to dictate anything to us, we have to exceed the intensity of the other team from the opening tip and no matter who the opponent may be. You can do that with a deep bench of guys who not only want court time but deserve it, frankly we have at least 10 guys on this team now that I think meet that challenge, coaching has to get them ready for game intensity.
2) I want us to play much more of a pressure trapping defense, speed the other team up mentally. I would NEVER want to see us letting an opposing PG casually bring the ball up court, allowing him to read our defense and his guys plenty of time to get the positions they want. I would pick up no later than 3/4 court, sometimes token pressure and other times strong pressure and half court traps. Have to other team have to work hard just to get the ball over half court, mentally tire out the opposing PG and force him to give up the ball. That kind of stress not only forces a lot of turn overs it forces a lot of bad shots that we can rebound and get out running from.
3) Off a rebound, even off a made shot, get the ball out to Cadeau and let him initiate the primary and secondary breaks. Read the rebound, if it looks like Bacot has it snagged then Ingram or Withers need to leak out to be on the receiving end of a Cadeau pass to finish. No more of this take our time and slowly bring the ball past half court.
4) If the break is not there and we have to go in to half court offense go in to it immediately, none of that pounding the ball east west for 15-20 seconds, go directly in to free lance, using your stretch 4. I want to see screens set that make it hard for defenders to get in to their base defense, set screen cut hard off that screen in to a passing lane for Cadeau to deliver the pass for easy finish. Set screen, roll off and set another and then roll to a open spot within the passing lane, force defenders to leave their primary assignment and their defense breaks down, this requires constant off ball movement, this will lead to constant wide open looks for guys like RJ, Ryan, Ingram, and Withers to to knock down and a lot of Bacot getting a defender pinned having to handle him 1 on 1.
5) By pushing the tempo you have to go deep to your bench, legs tire and you want fresh legs out there. But it as well forces the other team to use a deep bench, even if they don't prefer to, it takes them out of their comfort zone, it forces them in to foul trouble if they don't. Players with tired legs pick up fouls or allows scoring to be easier. Any time we can get Bacot one on one, especially with the defense inside the block charge circle Bacot has to attack straight thru the defender. No need to try to be cute and lay it in softly, attack the defenders body, use that brute force and wide body and play right thru him and any contact he may provide, then go to the line for that and 1.
6) PRACTICE FREE LANCE OFFENSE, if the vast majority of your set plays are going to end up in free lance because the other team is ready for that set play then maybe actually practicing free lance is the best idea? IF set plays represent over 10% of your trips to that end of the court then you are not letting your players play, you are restricting them and it usually does not end well.
7) For the love of God PLEASE, pretty please, play players at their natural positions, please don't put weak shooters in positions where they have to take jump shots, please don't have Bacot putting the ball on the floor and trying to drive like a guard?
8) PLEASE be absolutely settled on what type of attack you want your team to play with and when you do make sure it fits the players you actually have, if it doesn't then scrap it before the season begins. Best I could tell we tried about 3 different attacks last season, that had to confuse that team, it sure in the end looked like a confused bunch of players and coaches and no one seemed to know what to do about it. Tweek your attack sure but tweek it not radically change it because your players are not able to play that style, you have to know that before the season begins, not discover it in season? We actually had a center camping out well past the 3pt arch with the ball on the opposite side of the court and he just stood there, heck, someone check, Nance may still be standing there today, he could have finished off a whole pack of Lemon Oreos as much as he stood around?
IN his first season as head coach, Hubert did start that season playing his bench, looked like a solid 8-9 man rotation was developing but then Garcia and Ant went away and Puff kept getting hurt, Styles got some key minutes still. Walton got all the shot he could have wanted early that season but played his way all the way to the end of the bench. So the Iron 5 evolved from that attrition, it worked because the chemistry seemed to take off once Manek settled in as a starter.
Then last seasons disaster happened, especially that long west coast road trip that we just took a beating from. We did play a historic game vs Alabama and as poorly as we shot the ball that game was a 4OT thriller and Alabama was one of the best teams in the country at the time. Losing that game and then having to face a really good Indiana team before finally coming back home and even then having basically no time to recover we have to go to VT and got ambushed. That road trip showed, that team was not ready to play at the level or intensity needed to get back to where they ended the season before, it showed a clear lack of off season development. This I strongly believe led to a series of errors by the coaching staff that began to look like a Keystone Cops brand of ball, not good.
I go in to all of this simply to get to the question of how deep Hubert will go to his bench this season. You would think that he is looking to go 9-10 deep, that most all the guys Hubert had so little trust in last season have now been replaced by guys Hubert hand picked, I have to believe he is looking to use them heavy. His first season would seem to make it a no brainer that he will use that deep bench but then last season did happen and can not be forgotten. So on the deep bench question I feel like I need to be on the wait and see side of the fence even if everything does seem to indicate he will play deep in to his bench this season.
Multiple defenses, well if you play a deep bench it should organically led to playing strong defense with fresh legs but so far what I have watched defensively is a far cry from what Dean taught. Sorry but based on what I have seen for 2yrs now I don't see Hubert using a lot of multiple defensive looks, count for me the number of times you have seen us play any version of a zone in the last 2 yrs? We couldn't handle the high pick to save our life last season, we helped when we didn't need to and didn't help when we needed to and we ran our starters to death which made it even harder to defend strong.
Tell ya what I want to see, not just for next season but for the future.
1) I think this is vital, we have to start games with big time intensity, we can not allow the other team to dictate anything to us, we have to exceed the intensity of the other team from the opening tip and no matter who the opponent may be. You can do that with a deep bench of guys who not only want court time but deserve it, frankly we have at least 10 guys on this team now that I think meet that challenge, coaching has to get them ready for game intensity.
2) I want us to play much more of a pressure trapping defense, speed the other team up mentally. I would NEVER want to see us letting an opposing PG casually bring the ball up court, allowing him to read our defense and his guys plenty of time to get the positions they want. I would pick up no later than 3/4 court, sometimes token pressure and other times strong pressure and half court traps. Have to other team have to work hard just to get the ball over half court, mentally tire out the opposing PG and force him to give up the ball. That kind of stress not only forces a lot of turn overs it forces a lot of bad shots that we can rebound and get out running from.
3) Off a rebound, even off a made shot, get the ball out to Cadeau and let him initiate the primary and secondary breaks. Read the rebound, if it looks like Bacot has it snagged then Ingram or Withers need to leak out to be on the receiving end of a Cadeau pass to finish. No more of this take our time and slowly bring the ball past half court.
4) If the break is not there and we have to go in to half court offense go in to it immediately, none of that pounding the ball east west for 15-20 seconds, go directly in to free lance, using your stretch 4. I want to see screens set that make it hard for defenders to get in to their base defense, set screen cut hard off that screen in to a passing lane for Cadeau to deliver the pass for easy finish. Set screen, roll off and set another and then roll to a open spot within the passing lane, force defenders to leave their primary assignment and their defense breaks down, this requires constant off ball movement, this will lead to constant wide open looks for guys like RJ, Ryan, Ingram, and Withers to to knock down and a lot of Bacot getting a defender pinned having to handle him 1 on 1.
5) By pushing the tempo you have to go deep to your bench, legs tire and you want fresh legs out there. But it as well forces the other team to use a deep bench, even if they don't prefer to, it takes them out of their comfort zone, it forces them in to foul trouble if they don't. Players with tired legs pick up fouls or allows scoring to be easier. Any time we can get Bacot one on one, especially with the defense inside the block charge circle Bacot has to attack straight thru the defender. No need to try to be cute and lay it in softly, attack the defenders body, use that brute force and wide body and play right thru him and any contact he may provide, then go to the line for that and 1.
6) PRACTICE FREE LANCE OFFENSE, if the vast majority of your set plays are going to end up in free lance because the other team is ready for that set play then maybe actually practicing free lance is the best idea? IF set plays represent over 10% of your trips to that end of the court then you are not letting your players play, you are restricting them and it usually does not end well.
7) For the love of God PLEASE, pretty please, play players at their natural positions, please don't put weak shooters in positions where they have to take jump shots, please don't have Bacot putting the ball on the floor and trying to drive like a guard?
8) PLEASE be absolutely settled on what type of attack you want your team to play with and when you do make sure it fits the players you actually have, if it doesn't then scrap it before the season begins. Best I could tell we tried about 3 different attacks last season, that had to confuse that team, it sure in the end looked like a confused bunch of players and coaches and no one seemed to know what to do about it. Tweek your attack sure but tweek it not radically change it because your players are not able to play that style, you have to know that before the season begins, not discover it in season? We actually had a center camping out well past the 3pt arch with the ball on the opposite side of the court and he just stood there, heck, someone check, Nance may still be standing there today, he could have finished off a whole pack of Lemon Oreos as much as he stood around?
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