OOTB Carolina Basketball Discussion Thread

[tarheel0910]

Love cranking that ankle randomly was the straw. Aside for Puff's heroics everyone already looked gassed, and up until that point in the second half Love was the only heel to score. Our "create your own shot" guy was suddenly hesitant, slow and less explosive, but still forced to create.

Yeah, I think tiredness started setting in during the second half. A lot of shots were flat and short, which is usually an indication of being tired when it happens late in the game. Going to be interesting to see what changes Hubert will make for next year.

 

[gteeitup]

if self ever gets his just rewards, that win will be vacated. 😆

just saw that news…wow.

 

[bluetoe]

if self ever gets his just rewards, that win will be vacated. 😆

he might get his just rewards, but it won't be that way. 1) the NCAA doesn't want to deal with that sort of messiness, and 2) none of the players in question were on this years' squad.

Still, we can hope.

 

[tarheel0910]

Definitely not the second best team, but I'll take it.

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels skyrocket in final USA Today top 25 coaches poll

The UNC Tar Heels finished up the season ranked No. 2 in the USA Today coaches poll following their National Championship runner-up finish.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[strummingram]

Definitely not the second best team, but I'll take it.

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels skyrocket in final USA Today top 25 coaches poll

The UNC Tar Heels finished up the season ranked No. 2 in the USA Today coaches poll following their National Championship runner-up finish.

sports.yahoo.com

I think #2 is accurate. Look at the teams UNC beat in the last month. The dookies TWICE (that's not easy for anyone, and the circumstances should count as 3 wins), Marquette, Baylor, St Peters, UCLA, and UVA. Not too shabby. And... almost beat another #1 seed for teh championship! I think they definitely deserve to be in the top 5, for sure.

 

[tarheel0910]

I think #2 is accurate. Look at the teams UNC beat in the last month. The dookies TWICE (that's not easy for anyone, and the circumstances should count as 3 wins), Marquette, Baylor, St Peters, UCLA, and UVA. Not too shabby. And... almost beat another #1 seed for teh championship! I think they definitely deserve to be in the top 5, for sure.

K

 

[gteeitup]

kinda silly to evaluate the field after a tournament…kansas was the best team this year, but got pushed by carolina…carolina probably wins if they get that rebound up 69-68, something they’ve done repeatedly.

 

[strummingram]

 

[dadika13]

Definitely not the second best team, but I'll take it.

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels skyrocket in final USA Today top 25 coaches poll

The UNC Tar Heels finished up the season ranked No. 2 in the USA Today coaches poll following their National Championship runner-up finish.

sports.yahoo.com

I think we closed the season playing the second best basketball. Maybe 3rd if that Nova dude doesn't get hurt.

Rumblings that everyone could be back and we do another Redemption season.

 

[tarheel0910]

I think we closed the season playing the second best basketball. Maybe 3rd if that Nova dude doesn't get hurt.

Rumblings that everyone could be back and we do another Redemption season.

I would agree that we played in the tournament like we were a top 5 team, but I've always looked at it from a yearly angle since it's the final ranking. We weren't the second best team taking that into account. I realize the voters don't do that, though.

ETA: Hard for me to see a path to a championship without Manek. He was invaluable to this team.

 

[gunslingerdick]

ETA: Hard for me to see a path to a championship without Manek. He was invaluable to this team.

You just don't believe in the power of Love.

 

[dadika13]

You just don't believe in the power of Love.

It don't take money, don't take fame...

 

[gunslingerdick]

It don't take money, don't take fame...

Don't need no credit card to ride this train.

 

[uncfootball-]

Don't need no credit card to ride this train.

It's strong and it's sudden, it can be cruel sometimes

 

[bluetoe]

It's strong and it's sudden, it can be cruel sometimes

She's got it all, hot loving every night. No wait, wrong tune...

 

[gteeitup]

someone on twitter is saying next week will be very good news about current and future players at carolina.

carry on

 

[uncfootball-]

someone on twitter is saying next week will be very good news about current and future players at carolina.

carry on

Well at least 1 will be leaving that could come back. Can't have 14... that is not counting Dawson.

 

[heelmanwilm]

Lots of buzz on twitterverse that love,bacot, and black are returning. Which of course would be great but expectations will be through the roof. Prob preseason no 1 or 2

 

[dadika13]

Lots of buzz on twitterverse that love,bacot, and black are returning. Which of course would be great but expectations will be through the roof. Prob preseason no 1 or 2

I'm obviously bias, but that should easily be the #1 team in the country. National title game runner ups bring back nearly everyone, I'm sure we're going after a stretch 4 in the portal, and Trimble will contribute right away. No one else has that.

 

[nctransplant]

I'm obviously bias, but that should easily be the #1 team in the country. National title game runner ups bring back nearly everyone, I'm sure we're going after a stretch 4 in the portal, and Trimble will contribute right away. No one else has that.

Wish styles could fill that role

 

[gunslingerdick]

I'm obviously bias, but that should easily be the #1 team in the country. National title game runner ups bring back nearly everyone, I'm sure we're going after a stretch 4 in the portal, and Trimble will contribute right away. No one else has that.

Losing Manek is a major blow and makes us a lot less dangerous. I could see us being dropped to 5-7 range without him. Puff cannot fill that role. Nor Styles. For us to be in the same spot next year, we need a legit stretch 4. I heard Nate Laszewski is considering the portal. That would be the closest thing to Manek we could find and, IMO, would put us at #1 preseason if we were fortunate enough to get him. Without a legit stretch 4, I'm not sure we can duplicate our late season run.

 

[nctransplant]

Losing Manek is a major blow and makes us a lot less dangerous. I could see us being dropped to 5-7 range without him. Puff cannot fill that role. Nor Styles. For us to be in the same spot next year, we need a legit stretch 4. I heard Nate Laszewski is considering the portal. That would be the closest thing to Manek we could find and, IMO, would put us at #1 preseason if we were fortunate enough to get him. Without a legit stretch 4, I'm not sure we can duplicate our late season run.

I do think Puff and Styles will make us much better next year due mainly because of the depth and the experience they got this year.

 

[gunslingerdick]

I'm obviously bias, but that should easily be the #1 team in the country. National title game runner ups bring back nearly everyone, I'm sure we're going after a stretch 4 in the portal, and Trimble will contribute right away. No one else has that.

I really like Trimble. If Love is back, his role will be small. Although I'm going to go ahead and predict he throws one down on Lively next year. I'm sure JP reminds him of the one he threw down on a freshman duke big man when he was here.

 

[gunslingerdick]

I do think Puff and Styles will make us much better next year due mainly because of the depth and the experience they got this year.

Agreed. Both got some valuable time throughout the season and Puff got some really big minutes in the tournament. But neither are anywhere close to the shooter that Manek is and without that threat, we're going to be easier to guard.

I'd give up 2 scholarships for a couple years if we could have Brady back for one more ride.

 

[tarheel0910]

Lots of buzz on twitterverse that love,bacot, and black are returning. Which of course would be great but expectations will be through the roof. Prob preseason no 1 or 2

People are getting way too excited about next year's right now. Expectations are too high. Manek is a huge loss and we still don't know if Hubert is going to be the type of coach that can put together that type of run again. It could be that Hubert was finally able to get them to buy in or it could have just been us getting hot at the right time.

Did we strike gold for the third time or is this just fool's gold? This is why I said I was waiting until year three to judge him. This is just starting to feel like 2021 UNC football to me.

 

[carolinablue34]

People are getting way too excited about next year's right now. Expectations are too high. Manek is a huge loss and we still don't know if Hubert is going to be the type of coach that can put together that type of run again. It could be that Hubert was finally able to get them to buy in or it could have just been us getting hot at the right time.

Did we strike gold for the third time or is this just fool's gold? This is why I said I was waiting until year three to judge him. This is just starting to feel like 2021 UNC football to me.

I get there are some question marks but unlike football we have a proven history of success in basketball. In Caleb, Mando, and Leaky do return, there's no reason why we couldn't run the table.

Which, of course, isn't a guarantee God knows. 2012 is a prime example.

 

[tarheel0910]

I get there are some question marks but unlike football we have a proven history of success in basketball. In Caleb, Mando, and Leaky do return, there's no reason why we couldn't run the table.

Which, of course, isn't a guarantee God knows. 2012 is a prime example.

We have a proven history under Dean and Roy. The chances of us getting Dean were extremely small. Getting a coach like Roy after Dean was basically zero chance. That's two all time greats. Not sure any school can claim that. Then to think we have a third after one season? I'll give astronomical odds a couple of years.

But replacing Manek is going to be ridiculously hard. People are underestimating his impact. He was one of our best players.

 

[Archer2]

But replacing Manek is going to be ridiculously hard. People are underestimating his impact. He was one of our best players.

I think most real fans realize that.

 

[tarheel0910]

I think most real fans realize that.

All the championship talk says otherwise. Although THI probably isn't representative of the general fan base.

 

[JuleZ '02 HEEL]

Mando's in

 

[TarHeelMark]

Mando's in

View embedded media

Dude has worked his way into my all time favorite Heels room.

 

[gunslingerdick]

Dude has worked his way into my all time favorite Heels room.

He doesn't make my starting 5 but he's now one of the first off the bench. Ask me after we win the title next year and that might have changed.

 

[TarHeelMark]

He doesn't make my starting 5 but he's now one of the first off the bench. Ask me after we win the title next year and that might have changed.

That sums it up perfectly.

 

[nctransplant]

Bacot's career is what a college athlete should be. Loves his school and there to play his sport and get his education.

 

[randman1]

Losing Manek is a major blow and makes us a lot less dangerous. I could see us being dropped to 5-7 range without him. Puff cannot fill that role. Nor Styles. For us to be in the same spot next year, we need a legit stretch 4. I heard Nate Laszewski is considering the portal. That would be the closest thing to Manek we could find and, IMO, would put us at #1 preseason if we were fortunate enough to get him. Without a legit stretch 4, I'm not sure we can duplicate our late season run.

What about Washington? I know he'll be just a freshman and coming off an injury and can't expect someone as savvy as Manek. Nor really like him even, but he's 6'9" with 7'4" wing-span who can shoot and take the ball to the hoop.

 

[nctransplant]

What about Washington? I know he'll be just a freshman and coming off an injury and can't expect someone as savvy as Manek. Nor really like him even, but he's 6'9" with 7'4" wing-span who can shoot and take the ball to the hoop.

He's an unproven freshman who is coming off some serious injuries.

 

[randman1]

He's an unproven freshman who is coming off some serious injuries.

Yes, of course. But had he not been injured, perhaps he'd be 5 stars or even one and done. Who knows?

 

[gunslingerdick]

He's an unproven freshman who is coming off some serious injuries.

Exactly. I think Washington will end up being an All-ACC type player. But I would hate to rely on a freshman in a year where we can possibly win it all with the right addition at the stretch 4 position.

 

[heelmanwilm]

Garcia transferring, Walton next

 

[uncboy10]

I think a championship is possible next year if all those guys return. But that’s also assuming they stay healthy and we get some more help in the post.

Love could probably average 25 a game next year if continues to stay hungry and develop his game. I think he probably eliminates some of the questionable decisions and rounds out his game next year if he's back.

RJ really came on late in the year as well. He was unstoppable at times during the tourney. His biggest area to improve would have to be on defense, particularly with developing some more lateral quickness to stay in front of his man. Most D1 guys are going to eat him for lunch on that end of the court if they can get going downhill. He just doesn't have the size to defend much in the paint.

Bacot is already a monster. Not really sure how he can improve much more besides maybe avoiding foul trouble. His post moves are already awesome. I'm sure he will try to develop a jump shot but I'm not super optimistic that is going to happen this late in his career.

I think we've already gotten a glimpse of what Leaky can do when he is playing with confidence. I think he would be even more of a monster on defense next year and could use the offseason to develop his offensive game more. If he can improve his 3pt shooting by another 5-10% then defenses will have to play him more honest and that will create more space for Bacot in the post.