Quick stuff (alabama game)...

[gary-7]

...and that was just thievery.

I'll start with the negatives:

- as I posted in a pre-game thread, Oats runs a crap "system" of random iso-ball and dribble-drive and they live and die by the 3 (with no conscience about shot-selection). Hell, y'all saw it. Literally the only way they're gonna hang in a game against us is if they got hot from 3. Welp, check. We defended the rest pretty well, but inexplicably sloughed too far in and thus out of the kick-out gaps, and they got WAY too many rhythm looks. In that sense, we stole a game (we should've won in regulation) from ourselves.

- we also played into their hands by trying to play the OT periods reverting to our own recent bad habits of iso-ball.

- and good grief, are there any zebras left who can call even a reasonably fair game? I've got a column of notes of awful calls that is a page-and-a-half long. Start with #14. That hacker should've fouled out in the first half (he pretty much did vs UConn). And how appropo that we lost that last possession on a play, in which one of the options was designed to go to Leaky, in which he was held throughout his entire cut, right in front of one of those lame-asses. I'll stop there in lieu of getting pissed again, but make no mistake, they were a huge part of this loss (and please don't bother to argue otherwise).

Ok, enough about all that, as the outcome spoiled some really encouraging signs.

- Friday night I called for some adjustments to how we triggered our offense, and that happened, in that we passed more on most possessions and got Leaky more touches. We also made an effort to get the rock to Mando in the paint (although who TF knew what the zebras were gonna not call / invent on any given entry). Generally (at least before OT) we dribbled less and passed more. I am hopeful we can bulid on that once we get extended practice time again.

- perhape THE most encouraging sighting was on defense --- both 32 AND 42 made appearances (!!!), and lemme tell ya, the scrambling was effective. It disrupted their iso game and led to transition. I am hopeful this is a step in the process Hubert has talked about in moving to more multiplicity on D. We've got the horses to do that VERY effectively.

And finally, some random observations:

- Leaky did a number on their frosh phenom Miller, holding him to 4/21 shooting and frustrating the hell outta him

- we self-inflicted some untimely blows by dropping balls and/or failing to secure robounds, but boy did Puff make a brilliant hustle play to call that timeout on the dive.

- Mando looked to get back to his old self for a good spell in the second half before being saddled with foul trouble, and after a terrible defensive outing in regulation, Pete stepped up in OT. We also shot FTs well - 18/20 - thing is, shoulda been WAY more.

- and one more on Oats. That jabronie has the best PG recruit in the country and plays him off-ball half the time. Unreal. I've watched those guys 3 times now, and whenever Bradley plays point, good things usually happen for them, and Oats caused 2 of Bradley's TOs by drawing up dumbass OB plays. That one where they tried to throw it into their frontcourt from in front of our bench? --- just wow --- I mean, having a Guard trying to hit another Guard with a 6'9 guy guarding the inbound? And sure enough, he got the worst possible outcome (thanks, BTW). Unfortunately, we turned around and rushed a damn shot that could've won it right there. 3.3 seconds is a longer time than many think.

Anyway, the outcome was maddening, especially in a game we should've closed out in regulation. But it's November and I saw some signs of turning the corner. I guess we'll see if some of that takes a bit more by Wednesday. That's gonna be a TOUGH environment....

 

[TarHeelFanWV]

Whose brilliant idea was it to have nance throw it inbounds at end of game? You want your tallest guys on the court so they can get it over top of the others in case you get in a situation like we did. Instead we have nance throwing it inbounds, bacot on the bench, no timeouts left, and we decide to scramble and throw it and hope someone catches it.. should’ve had nance and bacot in there and threw it up to one of them.

 

[heels05champs]

I really want to see Mando stop trying to dribble from the top of the key. I’m sure he thinks the scouts need to see that ability out of him but he’s downright terrible with the dribble and loses the ball nearly every time.

As for Wednesday night, go ahead and buckle up because it may be a long night. That place will be going bananas and they have the talent that if we aren’t locked in it could be a 20 point beat down.

 

[gary-7]

Whose brilliant idea was it to have nance throw it inbounds at end of game? You want your tallest guys on the court so they can get it over top of the others in case you get in a situation like we did. Instead we have nance throwing it inbounds, bacot on the bench, no timeouts left, and we decide to scramble and throw it and hope someone catches it.. should’ve had nance and bacot in there and threw it up to one of them.

The throw-in wasn't the issue. We tried to go tall-to-tall as one of the options. Leaky had a mismatch but blatantly got held and should have gone to the line for the win.

 

[Goheels83]

Long time listener first time caller haha
Love your write-ups Gary. Thanks for doing it!
One question how the hell did nobody foul out of this game? Unreal

 

[CarolinaBlue5]

I hate to say it but “Oates system” looks a lot like Hubert’s system right now! We play iso ball/pick and rolls and that’s it! We got hot at the right time and beat a bunch of terrible acc teams the last 3/4 of the season..we are the terrible team that started last year

 

[FlaTarHeel]

Gary, you have been dead on about Oats.
I didn't realize how low class that guy was until tonight.
And the school seems to be ok with it.

 

[gberry78]

Gary

So how does UNC defend the 3 better? My old knees still believes it starts with stopping dribble penetration and keeping your man with the ball in front of you. Obviously the scouting report should say who can help off their man, but is the scheme wrong or are players not executing as they are suppose too

 

[gary-7]

Long time listener first time caller haha
Love your write-ups Gary. Thanks for doing it!
One question how the hell did nobody foul out of this game? Unreal

Good question.........

 

[gary-7]

I hate to say it but “Oates system” looks a lot like Hubert’s system right now! We play iso ball/pick and rolls and that’s it! We got hot at the right time and beat a bunch of terrible acc teams the last 3/4 of the season..we are the terrible team that started last year

Well, it did in OT. But, in fairness, last season we at least played some 2-man game and moved the ball enough to get Brady good looks, so it wasn't just the hero-ball.

 

[gary-7]

Gary

So how does UNC defend the 3 better? My old knees still believes it starts with stopping dribble penetration and keeping your man with the ball in front of you. Obviously the scouting report should say who can help off their man, but is the scheme wrong or are players not executing as they are suppose too

We fell for over-help, which you really don't need with teams like this. You hafta see man-and-ball and never loose reach of the passing lane. we had off-ball guys getting caught in the paint, and that's a no-no these days if your man is prone to drifting to the arc, and especially with a team that telegraphs its drives like bama does. They're just not gonna beat you with the 2.

 

[UNC-75]

Anyone concerned at all that on one of most important plays in the game Leakey was called for a charge when the defender was clearly in the restricted zone? Isn't that reviewable? That call alone would have put the Heels over the top. IMO that was the missed call of the game (yes, there were many, but this one ultimately decided the game). Am I the only one that saw that?????

 

[gary-7]

Anyone concerned at all that on one of most important plays in the game Leakey was called for a charge when the defender was clearly in the restricted zone? Isn't that reviewable? That call alone would have put the Heels over the top. IMO that was the missed call of the game (yes, there were many, but this one ultimately decided the game). Am I the only one that saw that?????

That was one the most egregious, and yes a game-changer. Not only was he inside the arc, he flat-out moved in under Leaky while he was in the air. That's a block, no matter where you are on the court.

 

[alabamaheel]

Anyone concerned at all that on one of most important plays in the game Leakey was called for a charge when the defender was clearly in the restricted zone? Isn't that reviewable? That call alone would have put the Heels over the top. IMO that was the missed call of the game (yes, there were many, but this one ultimately decided the game). Am I the only one that saw that?????

Ridiculous for sure. I really didn’t understand the thinking of the refs on that call. Both feet on the line.

 

[TarHeelFanWV]

Grill has 1 point tonight guys.. Iowa state as a whole has three 3 pointers all game.. is it a wonder why UConn is handling them well and winning?

Our defense sucks and until we learn how to guard the 3, we ain’t going anywhere.. take away 1 of Alabama’s 3 pointers and we win.. that’s how crucial 3 point defense is.

 

[DaveChapelle]

Whose brilliant idea was it to have nance throw it inbounds at end of game? You want your tallest guys on the court so they can get it over top of the others in case you get in a situation like we did. Instead we have nance throwing it inbounds, bacot on the bench, no timeouts left, and we decide to scramble and throw it and hope someone catches it.. should’ve had nance and bacot in there and threw it up to one of them.

That would be a certain assistant coach. Hubert rarely draws up plays.

And yes, it was a dumbass play. They should have lined up the players, and Nance should have been on the court. Bacot is hurt.

 

[Lewis&Miller]

This game was a great matchup for Carolina. We had so many advantages yet could not exploit them as a collective unit. Leaky shut down their best big man(tremendous game by him, he had nothing left, and it was desperation to inbound the ball to him for the merciful game loser turnover). Their 5 man was a non existent offensive threat and that proved itself with 3 made baskets during regulation(dunks, layups). Bacot should have dominated and fouled out Bediako(its hard to do that setting screens 28 feet from the basket multiple times per possession). Is it impossible to consistently make a wing pass or have Leaky/Nance set that initial perimeter screen?

It is last year all over. Execution is a slow process where Hubert/staff make adjustments after viewing the tape of each progressive game. It took until late February for staff to get patterned Manek movement that freed him for consistent open looks. This offense has miles to go to get a consistent production from Nance(without him, we cannot sniff a championship). Sixty shots from RJ/Caleb is a staff embarrassment(surely that is a modern day NCAA record).

 

[HoopsCoach42]

Without overthinking anything, here's the biggest takeaways from the 2 Portland losses...

Caleb and RJ took 88 shots between the two of them. 88!!! And only hit 30 of them. 31 of the 88 were from 3, only connecting on 7 of those.

Armando was 12/18 in the 2 losses.

Gotta play inside-out and get more touches on the inside. Until this trend reverses, this is the product we'll get.

 

[DrJaaay]

I see us as the same team as last year ... which can obviously be great! When our guards hit shots, we will probably win. When they don't we will likely lose ... especially if the other team is unconscious from 3.
Last year we pummel Marquette in the tournament. We pummel Baylor and then almost lose to Baylor. We should have lost to UCLA but our guards save us with shots. We pummel St. Peters. We could have lost to dook but our guards save us. We lose to Kansas because our guards can't save us ... but almost did.
Although it remains to be seen how we will do against Indiana, at least we are in every game to the end. If our guards make shots we'll likely win. Even if we get smashed by Indiana I feel like we can be the best team come March Madness ... as long as our guards make shots. LOL. Go Heels !!!

 

[Grover Thomas]

Great write-up Gary and you were dead nuts in about their SOB Coach……but you didn’t mention they pay the refs too. That was the worst officiating I’ve seen in my lifetime.

 

[gary-7]

Without overthinking anything, here's the biggest takeaways from the 2 Portland losses...

Caleb and RJ took 88 shots between the two of them. 88!!! And only hit 30 of them. 31 of the 88 were from 3, only connecting on 7 of those.

Armando was 12/18 in the 2 losses.

Gotta play inside-out and get more touches on the inside. Until this trend reverses, this is the product we'll get.

Straight to the point and true.

 

[gary-7]

Great write-up Gary and you were dead nuts in about their SOB Coach……but you didn’t mention they pay the refs too. That was the worst officiating I’ve seen in my lifetime.

Not quite to the Baylor game level, but yes, the zebras literaly changed the outcome, and more than once.

 

[DSouthr]

In 108mins of PT, Caleb and RJ hit 21 of 60 shots (35%), were a combined 5-17 treys (29%). They snagged a combined 18 rebounds but only 2 of them were offensive rebounds. AS a team we shot 38-91 (41.7%), 7-23 from trey (30%). Aside from Caleb and RJ the team hit 17 of 31 shots (54.8%), 2 for 5 from trey land (40%). Caleb and Love MISSED 39 shots, rest of the team only took 31 shots and hit 17 of them, rest of the team missed 14 shots?

So Love scores 34 and it becomes a great game from him, RJ scores 19 great game from him as well? NO, that was anything but a solid game from either of those guys, they shots us out of a winnable game, not the first time this combo has done that and unfortunately it will not be the last time. RJ played 50mins, Love played 58mins, while Trimble played 7mins and Dunn 16? Styles 2mins, McKoy 1 min, Shaver less than a minute in a 4 OT game?

Guys, you do not have to be a hall of fame coach to understand this, you see the numbers, they are not hard to understand, they are hard to agree with. The bottom line is that our back court is shooting way to much. We can argue as to why but my question is why is it being allowed, this can not be what Hubert wants, if it is then sad to say he will not have the job long because it would be coaching decision to not focus this team on balanced approach to the offense and creating good shots. I can't imagine what we watched be what Hubert or his staff wants so why is it allowed to go on game after game? I am a Hubert supporter big time but I don't like what I am watching this season because what I see to often looks like the players are running this team and do not care what the coaching staff wants and that falls way more on the staff than the players. You can not expect the other players to have great ball movement and work hard when your 2 back court guys are dominating the ball and playing HORSE with the majority of the shots.

Oh and I should add, it would be nice if our 2 ball dominating starting guards would show up on the defensive end but for example, the ISU kid that drilled us couple nights ago for 31, scored him 1 single point against UConn, their back court guys actually tried to defend him. I guess jacking up all those shots tired RJ and Caleb out to much to worry about defense...

 

[Bubspub88]

Very disturbing that almost into December and these write-ups are pretty much the same concerns game after game. UNC is too experienced and talented (on paper at least) to let zebras impact like this. The "best backcourt in college basketball" is playing like they did as freshmen.

If they do not make the effort to play at both ends of the court this year's UNC team will go down as one of the most disappointing. Bacot has no business setting screens 20 feet from the basket, all he will do from there is pick up a foul. Hubert is using the bench the way k was ridiculed a few years back. There is absolutely no reason for the starters to be playing this many minutes in November.

The Heels need to take a hard look in the mirror, players and staff. Anyone who is okay with the product on the court so far should be taken off the roster. I would rather watch Trimble, Styles, Nickel and Dunn making mistakes playing hard than the shit show this "redemption" team has been producing.

 

[heels05champs]

I see a coach that is allowing the players to do what they want instead of having the backbone to rein it in. Constant praise in the locker room and in media interviews is not ideal. How about a realistic approach and tell Caleb and RJ if they don’t change then they will get more bench minutes and then follow through with actually doing it instead of just talking about it.

I see a team where RJ and Caleb think they can do what they want when they want and don’t respect the opinion of the coaches enough to change and a coaching staff that doesn’t have control to force the change.

 

[Heelicious]

Great comments here including the "play inside-out" ones. But if it were that simple, it'd be solved by now. I know Bacot being injured (maybe all year somewhat so far) - complicates it a lot, but to play inside out, we need Bacot and Nance to LIVE in the paint on many possessions and for them both to do a much better job of making themselves big and working for solid dominant post position.... then catch the ball, don't dribble it, keep it up high and shoot / dunk it. It's not all on the guards, if the bigs don't work to get good post position or don't finish strong once they do get the ball in the paint.

But none of this has anything to do with the problem of the guards dribbling the leather off the ball while 4 others stand in place and stare at him. Nothing on offense is more maddening than the team standing around, no motion, no passing, very few assists. Super easy to defend.

 

[TarHeelFanWV]

I am going to continue to beat a dead horse here, but if we could cut our 3 point defense in half or even 1/3, we would be winning games by a more comfortable margin and would still be undefeated.

I have always heard defense wins championships. I never heard of offense winning championships. Our number 1 focus needs to be on the 3 point defense and I truly believe we will be fine. Uconn went 6-26 from the 3 point line last night and still blasted Iowa State. Why? because Iowa State only made 3 of them the whole game.

 

[Grover Thomas]

Great comments here including the "play inside-out" ones. But if it were that simple, it'd be solved by now. I know Bacot being injured (maybe all year somewhat so far) - complicates it a lot, but to play inside out, we need Bacot and Nance to LIVE in the paint on many possessions and for them both to do a much better job of making themselves big and working for solid dominant post position.... then catch the ball, don't dribble it, keep it up high and shoot / dunk it. It's not all on the guards, if the bigs don't work to get good post position or don't finish strong once they do get the ball in the paint.

But none of this has anything to do with the problem of the guards dribbling the leather off the ball while 4 others stand in place and stare at him. Nothing on offense is more maddening than the team standing around, no motion, no passing, very few assists. Super easy to defend.

Just show them video of Big Bad Brad Daugherty. Dude caught….kept the ball high and shot it. But he could also face the basket and he ran the floor for easy outlet passes and layups. Oh yeah he put in on the floor too…but it was quick spin move.

 

[Bubspub88]

And the UNC women beat two ranked teams to win their Phil Knight tournament. Maybe the Lady Heels can explain to the guys what that uniform is supposed to mean.

 

[gary-7]

I see a coach that is allowing the players to do what they want instead of having the backbone to rein it in. Constant praise in the locker room and in media interviews is not ideal. How about a realistic approach and tell Caleb and RJ if they don’t change then they will get more bench minutes and then follow through with actually doing it instead of just talking about it.

I see a team where RJ and Caleb think they can do what they want when they want and don’t respect the opinion of the coaches enough to change and a coaching staff that doesn’t have control to force the change.

Guys, I want to temper this school of thought a tad. Don't get me wrong, I feel ya, and hell, I write about it from time to time. but I want to caution on perspective.

Anyway, first I'll tell ya what I know, then what I see...

What I know: For those who think Hubert's "green light" is more egalitarian than Roy's, you are certainly correct. Hubert is trying to make a conscious effort to instill more confidence in his shooters (as Roy's could be somewhat arbitrary, especially towards the end). OK, fine. And Hubert has also introduced more "NBA stuff" into our half-court offense (e.g., forced switches, 2-man game, Bigs diving late from the perimter), which caught some opponents off-balance last season.

But here's what I see: 1) the green light has indeed been too green, especially as it pertains to shot-selection by our Guards, and 2) once that "NBA stuff" is scouted, it loses its surprise luster, and if opponents don't bite, then you have college guys having to be late-shot-clock NBA-level decision-makers... and with no legit PG?... you see where this is going, right?... yikes!

Back to what I know: I CAN tell y'all that Hubert has NOT eschewed Dean's teachings. Without talking too much out of school, in private conversations Hubert has indicated a dedication to reintroducing our guys to the Secondary, and his determination to deploy the defensive arsenal he grew up with.

And again. what I see: The staff HAS been pushing our transition game in practice, and at times it shows. The next steps though involves convincing our Guards not to put their heads down for predetermined finishes, and (for everybody not named Leaky) to PITCH AHEAD. As for the defensive side, THANKFULLY we saw 32 and 42 yesterday (and some 24 on Friday). This roster is TAILOR-MADE for Dean's scrambles and Hubert needs to NEVER be shy about whipping these bad boys out.

Finally, two more observations/prescriptions (and of course, the staff reads these ):
1) IMO, the next step in our evolution is to trigger half-court offense with Secondary action, especially pass reversals, and less reliance on set plays and the NBA stuff. Moreover, we need to evolve out of iso-ball. As I said in the OP, Oats is a crap coach with a crap "system". I mean, I was f***ing THANKING him for running those dumbass iso possessions with Quinerly or MIller dicking around with the ball --- they were a combined 12/47 (!!!) from the field, BTW --- so the obvious self-scouting question for our staff should be, do we really want to emulate that? Welp, we did in the OTs. Food for thought, no?
2) We can't play inside-out with late post action. Let's leave that on the cutting-room floor, as it were... again, IMO.

 

[DSouthr]

What do you as a fan base think Dean Smith would have done had he had players on the court that refused to listen to what he was teaching them? Would he make his decisions based on his recruiting of the current class (his next group of freshmen)? You know what he would do, most of you watched him do it, it would be "ahh", he would look down his bench, decide who was going in, and an assistant coach would advise that player coming out to sit at the end of the bench and they would talk later. Dean didn't cuss, Dean didn't need to because that "ahh" cut deeper that any cuss words ever could. I doubt, of his players, there has ever been a more beloved coach among his players. He put a dead stop to players playing differently than they were taught, if Dean called a play on the sidelines, you ran that play, it didn't matter what YOU wanted to do. Dean's players loved him for sure but more important, much more important is they respected him as a man and as their coach, many times more than they respected their own family. Hubert experienced that first hand.

I seem to have this habit of asking questions few want to answer, I think I ask good questions that I sincerely want the answers to, even if it is not the answers I want to hear. And I have a burning question, why do we still see this crap? We saw it all thru Roy's last season, we saw it all last season in Hubert's first, and we see it now in the early part of this season. Why? Simply why? The head coach has the ultimate power and that is represented by 10 players sitting on the bench, dressed the same as the starters and the coach can put any one of those 10 fellas in the game anytime he wants. So why did that Alabama game play out as it did, I want to know why? It isn't about 21s or 22s or 37s or 16s, it is not.

 

[Bubspub88]

We saw it all thru Roy's last season, we saw it all last season in Hubert's first, and we see it now in the early part of this season. Why? Simply why? The head coach has the ultimate power and that is represented by 10 players sitting on the bench, dressed the same as the starters and the coach can put any one of those 10 fellas in the game anytime he wants. So why did that Alabama game play out as it did, I want to know why?

My opinion, and I am sure others will disagree, is the landscape of college basketball is so different. The majority of players feel their brand is bigger than that jersey. NIL has made that worse. I can understand that minutes are earned in practice but not developing a bench is just bad coaching. Either the staff completely whiffed on evaluating Styles' and Dunn's ability to play at this level or they are afraid of upsetting the starters. A good coach adapts his style to maximize his talent, and this staff does not seem to make adjustments.

If you are a top 5 recruit do you see UNC as a place where you will get your minutes no matter what or a place where the competition will force you to bring the A game or sit? I want us to be the latter but it looks like the former. Hubert could be the player's friend last season as it was a transition year but he needs to be the HC this season.

 

[DSouthr]

My opinion, and I am sure others will disagree, is the landscape of college basketball is so different. The majority of players feel their brand is bigger than that jersey. NIL has made that worse. I can understand that minutes are earned in practice but not developing a bench is just bad coaching. Either the staff completely whiffed on evaluating Styles' and Dunn's ability to play at this level or they are afraid of upsetting the starters. A good coach adapts his style to maximize his talent, and this staff does not seem to make adjustments.

If you are a top 5 recruit do you see UNC as a place where you will get your minutes no matter what or a place where the competition will force you to bring the A game or sit? I want us to be the latter but it looks like the former. Hubert could be the player's friend last season as it was a transition year but he needs to be the HC this season.

" The majority of players feel their brand is bigger than that jersey"... Sadly, I could as well make that same case for our society as a whole, it is now Me, I am more important than anyone else and we see this playing in nearly every aspect of our society. We have seen this play out for the last several years in professional sports, the NBA is about the players now and not the teams, it was not always this way, it was so much better when it wasn't.

But Bubs, it really should not matter what the players think, I don't mean that to sound as cold as it may seem but these fellas committed to UNC and to the UNC coaching staff, it is their role to execute what the coaching staff wants executed, other wise the inmates run the asylum.

Now one of two things is crystal clear, either these players are actually executing exactly what this staff wants done or they are not, there is no in between there. Now lets say the players are not executing what this staff wants them to. As would seem to be the case considering what Hubert has said in post game PCs that he told his players that it was actually HARDER for them to do the exact opposite of what they are being taught. In easy to understand form that directly says players, you are doing the opposite of what I am asking you to, no other way to transcribe that. Why does it continue, why does it continue from very experienced players, starters? It is as simple as you don't do what I asked you to in a game, I pull your from that game, be it one guy or be it 5 or anywhere in between. You sit the rest of the game and after we talk privately 1 on 1 in my office. There I explain that you can execute what this staff calls or you can leave this team. Harsh, maybe but the coaches coach, the players execute what the staff wants done and that applies to coaches everywhere.

The other case is they actually are doing exactly as the coaches ask? After nearly every game Hubert talks about how proud he is of their play, did it again after the Bama game. Now that would tell me pretty clearly that the players actually are doing what this staff wants? This yet the other side of the coin had just as solid a proof? There is some double speak going on that to me is impossible to make any sense from?

What I fear is that these players love Hubert, that I do not doubt but there was NEVER a more beloved UNC coach than Dean Smith yet you did what Dean and his staff asked you to do to the best of your ability and that very simply was to play smart, play hard, and play together. Dean's players loved him for the person he was but more importantly they respected him as a coach, they knew he knew more about the game than they did, they wanted to learn from him. My fear is that as much as these players love Hubert as a man, they do not respect him as a coach, in other words, they do not see any ramifications if they basically do what they want. Caleb can miss 20 shots in a game and knows he will start the next game and still get nearly 30mins or more? I am sorry but that isn't Caleb's fault, that is on the staff and the head coach. Hubert needs these kids to treat him more as a head coach than their buddy, than their press agent.

Yet again I ask, how many bad shots did you put up playing for Dean before the hook came? Why was that?

 

[Grover Thomas]

" The majority of players feel their brand is bigger than that jersey"... Sadly, I could as well make that same case for our society as a whole, it is now Me, I am more important than anyone else and we see this playing in nearly every aspect of our society. We have seen this play out for the last several years in professional sports, the NBA is about the players now and not the teams, it was not always this way, it was so much better when it wasn't.

But Bubs, it really should not matter what the players think, I don't mean that to sound as cold as it may seem but these fellas committed to UNC and to the UNC coaching staff, it is their role to execute what the coaching staff wants executed, other wise the inmates run the asylum.

Now one of two things is crystal clear, either these players are actually executing exactly what this staff wants done or they are not, there is no in between there. Now lets say the players are not executing what this staff wants them to. As would seem to be the case considering what Hubert has said in post game PCs that he told his players that it was actually HARDER for them to do the exact opposite of what they are being taught. In easy to understand form that directly says players, you are doing the opposite of what I am asking you to, no other way to transcribe that. Why does it continue, why does it continue from very experienced players, starters? It is as simple as you don't do what I asked you to in a game, I pull your from that game, be it one guy or be it 5 or anywhere in between. You sit the rest of the game and after we talk privately 1 on 1 in my office. There I explain that you can execute what this staff calls or you can leave this team. Harsh, maybe but the coaches coach, the players execute what the staff wants done and that applies to coaches everywhere.

The other case is they actually are doing exactly as the coaches ask? After nearly every game Hubert talks about how proud he is of their play, did it again after the Bama game. Now that would tell me pretty clearly that the players actually are doing what this staff wants? This yet the other side of the coin had just as solid a proof? There is some double speak going on that to me is impossible to make any sense from?

What I fear is that these players love Hubert, that I do not doubt but there was NEVER a more beloved UNC coach than Dean Smith yet you did what Dean and his staff asked you to do to the best of your ability and that very simply was to play smart, play hard, and play together. Dean's players loved him for the person he was but more importantly they respected him as a coach, they knew he knew more about the game than they did, they wanted to learn from him. My fear is that as much as these players love Hubert as a man, they do not respect him as a coach, in other words, they do not see any ramifications if they basically do what they want. Caleb can miss 20 shots in a game and knows he will start the next game and still get nearly 30mins or more? I am sorry but that isn't Caleb's fault, that is on the staff and the head coach. Hubert needs these kids to treat him more as a head coach than their buddy, than their press agent.

Yet again I ask, how many bad shots did you put up playing for Dean before the hook came? Why was that?

I think they are playing exactly how HD tells them to play. HD is probably just as stubborn as Roy.

I wonder how Bacot can keep turning the ball over 6 times a game trying to score over double and triple teams and not get yanked.

I wonder how Love and RJ can play that many minutes missing shots all over the place and not get yanked

I wonder how Nance at Damn near 7 feet is averaging less rebounds than Love and RJ and not get yanked

HD probably knows his bench better than we do and say “damn” ain’t no better options on that bench

They respect him plenty. Y’all just hold on and…..always believe in the Power of Love!

 

[DSouthr]

I think they are playing exactly how HD tells them to play. HD is probably just as stubborn as Roy.

I wonder how Bacot can keep turning the ball over 6 times a game trying to score over double and triple teams and not get yanked.

I wonder how Love and RJ can play that many minutes missing shots all over the place and not get yanked

I wonder how Nance at Damn near 7 feet is averaging less rebounds than Love and RJ and not get yanked

HD probably knows his bench better than we do and say “damn” ain’t no better options on that bench

They respect him plenty. Y’all just hold on and…..always believe in the Power of Love!

If you are right then there is a very serious to be made on the question of is Hubert the guy we need as head coach. I am strong in Hubert's corner but I am neither blind, deaf, or dumb. I do NOT like what I see so far and I am hearing Hubert say polar opposite things. I want to see Hubert establish his unquestionable authority on this team. I GUARENTEE you this, we would not have the same starters for the upcoming game vs Indiana if I had a say, I don't so rest easy. If my call, I would sit Nance and RJ and start Puff and Trimble (just as Hubert sat leaky early last season and you saw what effect that had on Leaky).

 

[Grover Thomas]

If you are right then there is a very serious to be made on the question of is Hubert the guy we need as head coach. I am strong in Hubert's corner but I am neither blind, deaf, or dumb. I do NOT like what I see so far and I am hearing Hubert say polar opposite things. I want to see Hubert establish his unquestionable authority on this team. I GUARENTEE you this, we would not have the same starters for the upcoming game vs Indiana if I had a say, I don't so rest easy. If my call, I would sit Nance and RJ and start Puff and Trimble (just as Hubert sat leaky early last season and you saw what effect that had on Leaky).

Now we can agree on something……I would start Puff instead of Nance. Puff brings a type of energy to the team that is super positive. Nance would be better backing up Bacot and backing up Puff. Nance seems to affect the chemistry of the team similar to how García did..even though Nance is not a selfish player. But you can see that something is missing with the chemistry. Starting Puff will set the chemistry right…..All starters from the team that got to the Championship game

RJ is a way better ball handler than Trimble and way better shooter….plus the gang is now complete….let’s go get’em

 

[DSouthr]

I think they are playing exactly how HD tells them to play. HD is probably just as stubborn as Roy.

I wonder how Bacot can keep turning the ball over 6 times a game trying to score over double and triple teams and not get yanked.

I wonder how Love and RJ can play that many minutes missing shots all over the place and not get yanked

I wonder how Nance at Damn near 7 feet is averaging less rebounds than Love and RJ and not get yanked

HD probably knows his bench better than we do and say “damn” ain’t no better options on that bench

They respect him plenty. Y’all just hold on and…..always believe in the Power of Love!

You asked questions and I didn't even try to answer them, my bad.

"I wonder how Bacot can keep turning the ball over 6 times a game trying to score over double and triple teams and not get yanked." It is because he not not being pulled from the game and sat, he knows he will get all the PT he wants no matter what.

"I wonder how Love and RJ can play that many minutes missing shots all over the place and not get yanked" Yet again, they know, they can miss as many as they want, that they can soot themselves hot, and there is no ramification for doing do, even if they do not get hot.

"I wonder how Nance at Damn near 7 feet is averaging less rebounds than Love and RJ and not get yanked" Ya gonna love this answer, because it is really hard for your 6'10 big man to get rebounds when he is 35ft from the basket and little guys are hustling to the ball. Now ya wanna know why nance is 35ft from the basket, ask Hubert?

" HD probably knows his bench better than we do and say “damn” ain’t no better options on that bench" You mean to tell me that no where on our bench can we find guys that hit more than 30% of their shots? If that isn't true then it speaks to the extent our staff is able to develop these kids or are we recruiting the wrong players?

And finally "They respect him plenty. Y’all just hold on" They have not shown that they respect Hubert as a coach, I am sure they do as a man. Hubert can not share in post game PCs multiple times that his team just was not ready at the opening tip to play this game to the level the opponents are and me really believe they respect him as a coach.

 

[Tom79]

yeah David throw dunn/styles in there to, I thought some of our bench outperformed some statrters. Like Puff's play when he was diving for the ball, they all hustled and will keep getting time.
I hope we don't get a Garcia effect. As mentioned above, Nance may need to spell Mando, let Puff go 4. That kid slips and slides so well in and out of situations that help him make plays.

 

[DSouthr]

Now we can agree on something……I would start Puff instead of Nance. Puff brings a type of energy to the team that is super positive. Nance would be better backing up Bacot and backing up Puff. Nance seems to affect the chemistry of the team similar to how García did..even though Nance is not a selfish player. But you can see that something is missing with the chemistry. Starting Puff will set the chemistry right…..All starters from the team that got to the Championship game

RJ is a way better ball handler than Trimble and way better shooter….plus the gang is now complete….let’s go get’em

I can not say in strong enough terms how much I disagree that RJ is a better ball handle than Trimble, I will say it respectfully but I am very strong in this opinion. BTW, I fully realize there are some very vocal folks here that do not agree with me on this, they do not have to agree, they have their own opinions for their own reasons. Let me as well be clear, RJ is a better jump shooter.

 

[DSouthr]

yeah David throw dunn/styles in there to, I thought some of our bench outperformed some statrters. Like Puff's play when he was diving for the ball, they all hustled and will keep getting time.
I hope we don't get a Garcia effect. As mentioned above, Nance may need to spell Mando, let Puff go 4. That kid slips and slides so well in and out of situations that help him make plays.

LOL Tom, man, I am still trying to wrap my mind around how much better Dunn has been this season as opposed to the last, I am still fighting to forget how scared he looked last season. But yeah, that kid has really worked hard this past off season, it shows and yes, he has earned more of a shot than he has so far had. It is really hard thou to get PT with you are behind the starter that played on the team that lost the natty game last season and a guy so many project as a NBA first rounder going in to this season. Even harder when they are using Trimble more as a 2 than at the point (Dunn's position is at the 2, he is not a PG).