Quick stuff (FSU game)...

[gary-7]

...and this was a WAYYY better win than many probably think.

I was worried about this one, and for good reason. Some fans act like FSU is some scrub team and that is utter BS, so please take that noise elsewhere. Sure, they have underachieved for parts of the season, but they are VERY talented, and as usual, long and athletic as hell.

OK, so I have a bunch o' notes, but lemme start with the two that won this thing:

- 1. REBOUNDING: Yeah, once again our bigger front line paid off, and keeping their athletes off the offensive glass was an amazing feat. I mean, ZERO second chances in the 1st half? AYKM? (and only 4 offensive boards for the game). Yeah, that's doin' work.

- 2. GOING ZONE: For a self-inflicted reason I'll mention below, as well as FSU shooting outta their minds, we had let an early lead dwindle and they had all the momentum. The switch to that hybrid Zone was key. And kudos to Hubert for not getting spooked when they hit a 3 on the first ensuing possession. Every look they got for the rest of the half was difficult and it paid off over time as they cooled off. And speaking of all this, as a coach I always disputed the myth about Zones and rebounding. My teams always rebounded better in Zone, because it's easier to form that magic "triangle" and block out your area than finding a man. We did that quite well tonight.

arright, other stuff:

- We came out again with effort and urgency --- and I'll tell ya what, so did FSU --- and literally everyone wearing blue did praise-worthy things that contributed to this win. The overall thing was --- and this is important --- our guys are finally getting beyond HALF-ASSING things. Our guys went to the rack like we friggin meant it! And when ya do that, what happens? Not only do you finish better, you draw more whistles. I'll use Withers as an example, as some of his attempts weren't pretty, but going hard paid off for him.

- Speaking of going hard, a lot fewer pussified attempts and more flushing was good to see, and how about Seth's grown-ass man drives down the stretch?... I hate it when he crouches in the paint --- tonight he used that explosiveness to power thru. In general, we were converting up close and on put-backs --- many of which we woulda missed earlier in the season.

- We also overcame some zebra nonsense. After the refs (not named Groover, who was lazy and useless) called it pretty fair, they got one-sided whistle-crazy in the 2nd half. I mean, FSU was in the damn double-bonus with 11:27 to go, and we were having to get by with Wash and Lubin hamstrung with some rather questionable fouls. Again, as I have always said, you hafta play thru that junk, and we certainly did.

- Speaking of Wash, we actually made a couple of HIGH entries off fronts (!), and boy, was it nice to see him knock down that 3 on what's left of our Secondary. Now, if he would just post STRONGER with guys on his hip...

- Speakig of entries, Drake made a few sweet passes at key times, and we're starting to see guys get a feel for catching lobs and finishing

- I'm gonna give a special shout to Tyson. He played REALLY well, and not just the points and boards. Most won't notice, but when FSU was getting after it, he made 4 or 5 high-IQ plays that won't show up on a stat sheet, that either saved possessions or allowed teammates to secure the rock. It drives me friggin crazy when fans are quick to relegate guys or call them "busts". Cade can play --- he just needed some real run. Honestly, the only complaint I had tonight was not catching that open dime from EC --- ALWAYS be looking when it's in Eliot's hands.

- Not a great night from 3, but it felt like every one we DID make was at a vital time. Two of RJ's bailed us out of possessions when we reverted to hero-ball, but yeah, they always seemed to come when we had to keep FSU at bay. And how about RJ's acrobatic left-hand finish? --- we were getting him in up/down mismatches but FSU is TOUGH even then.

- On the negative side, the aformentioned self-inflicted bugs are once again coming from subbing out EC too damn soon. Hubert did that junk in the first half, and of course we immediately get a shot-clock violation, then after coming outta halftime and stretching our lead, it happened agan, and the lead almost disappeared. There's a reason FSU was doing everything they could to deny him the rock. Simple fact is, when EC is out, unless we can hit on the first option of a set play, it too often becomes hero time. There was a little bit less of that tonight, and I know Hubert is trying to make room for depth --- and I APPLAUD that --- but it HAS to be smoother, and that under-16 stuff continuity-killing is just unsustainable.

- One more complaint was trying to actually watch the damn GAME in between BSPN's FSU Reunion Special. I mean, I respect Leonard, and I know he's retiring, but DAMN, save the bench shots for timeouts. All I can say is thank heaven I didn't have sound and have to suffer thru Cory --- I can only imagine...

- Oh, and finally, one more thing --- Joe Lunardi can GFH... 🦨

- Anyway, again, do NOT come back with FSU being a weak opponent. For those who like to cite "metrics", when you go down there and hang 96 on a team with those sort of defensive numbers? That is something to be impressed with... and hopefully, to keep moving forward with... and without any let-downs. That was a good win in more ways than one...

 

[montana_heel]

Really liked Drake looking for Jalen. Wish we could have others look for him. Drake turned him into a threat. We tend to kick it out and don't look much for the middle unless it is an alley oop. Sometimes the simple pass to a post is the answer. Seem to be playing better.
Going to be a really interesting off season. Would love to see Drake, Elliott, Seth and Jalen back.

Interested in people's opinion of Tyson next year. I think he can be a piece with a commitment to maxing out what he can do body wise. Kind of think the same for Jalen. If we can get a center and a knock down shooter along with improved shooting from Elliott, Seth and Drake, I think we could be pretty darn good.

 

[dtodd4475]

I think this may have been the best performance of the season. On the road not clicking with the early shooting, FSU, going "Bama" with the dare EC to score and wild aggressive face guarding of RJ early. Adjusted and controlled the game on the road throughout.

I thought RJ was excellent, zero turnovers, distributed, hawked on dee and still a very efficient 20 points.

Going zone to get Cade and Jalen some run while struggling to shoot it was right on time. Cade also hit the glass well.

Elliot bounced back in the second half, showing growth and some stones. Stayed in the moment and in control.

Seth attacked, finished at the rim, knocked down 2 big 3's out of his 5 looks. His 3ball seems to be drifting back to the extra high arc though, that may just be me, but the balloon jumpers stood out a bit more to me.

The 3 dunks after half was huge, 2 set plays out of the locker room and the quick run out on the play their big turned his ankle, pushed us to a nice cushion, which we held control over weathering the mini runs to answer.

Free throws in the last 10 minutes was troublesome. That is how you snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory. Got the right guys (RJ and Seth) with the rock to go to the line in the final few possessions though.

Huge win, stay focused and full steam ahead with the next two. Get 'em fellas!!

 

[tarwhiz]

...and this was a WAYYY better win than many probably think.

I was worried about this one, and for good reason. Some fans act like FSU is some scrub team and that is utter BS, so please take that noise elsewhere. Sure, they have underachieved for parts of the season, but they are VERY talented, and as usual, long and athletic as hell.

OK, so I have a bunch o' notes, but lemme start with the two that won this thing:

- 1. REBOUNDING: Yeah, once again our bigger front line paid off, and keeping their athletes off the offensive glass was an amazing feat. I mean, ZERO second chances in the 1st half? AYKM? (and only 4 offensive boards for the game). Yeah, that's doin' work.

- 2. GOING ZONE: For a self-inflicted reason I'll mention below, as well as FSU shooting outta their minds, we had let an early lead dwindle and they had all the momentum. The switch to that hybrid Zone was key. And kudos to Hubert for not getting spooked when they hit a 3 on the first ensuing possession. Every look they got for the rest of the half was difficult and it paid off over time as they cooled off. And speaking of all this, as a coach I always disputed the myth about Zones and rebounding. My teams always rebounded better in Zone, because it's easier to form that magic "triangle" and block out your area than finding a man. We did that quite well tonight.

arright, other stuff:

- We came out again with effort and urgency --- and I'll tell ya what, so did FSU --- and literally everyone wearing blue did praise-worthy things that contributed to this win. The overall thing was --- and this is important --- our guys are finally getting beyond HALF-ASSING things. Our guys went to the rack like we friggin meant it! And when ya do that, what happens? Not only do you finish better, you draw more whistles. I'll use Withers as an example, as some of his attempts weren't pretty, but going hard paid off for him.

- Speaking of going hard, a lot fewer pussified attempts and more flushing was good to see, and how about Seth's grown-ass man drives down the stretch?... I hate it when he crouches in the paint --- tonight he used that explosiveness to power thru. In general, we were converting up close and on put-backs --- many of which we woulda missed earlier in the season.

- We also overcame some zebra nonsense. After the refs (not named Groover, who was lazy and useless) called it pretty fair, they got one-sided whistle-crazy in the 2nd half. I mean, FSU was in the damn double-bonus with 11:27 to go, and we were having to get by with Wash and Lubin hamstrung with some rather questionable fouls. Again, as I have always said, you hafta play thru that junk, and we certainly did.

- Speaking of Wash, we actually made a couple of HIGH entries off fronts (!), and boy, was it nice to see him knock down that 3 on what's left of our Secondary. Now, if he would just post STRONGER with guys on his hip...

- Speakig of entries, Drake made a few sweet passes at key times, and we're starting to see guys get a feel for catching lobs and finishing

- I'm gonna give a special shout to Tyson. He played REALLY well, and not just the points and boards. Most won't notice, but when FSU was getting after it, he made 4 or 5 high-IQ plays that won't show up on a stat sheet, that either saved possessions or allowed teammates to secure the rock. It drives me friggin crazy when fans are quick to relegate guys or call them "busts". Cade can play --- he just needed some real run. Honestly, the only complaint I had tonight was not catching that open dime from EC --- ALWAYS be looking when it's in Eliot's hands.

- Not a great night from 3, but it felt like every one we DID make was at a vital time. Two of RJ's bailed us out of possessions when we reverted to hero-ball, but yeah, they always seemed to come when we had to keep FSU at bay. And how about RJ's acrobatic left-hand finish? --- we were getting him in up/down mismatches but FSU is TOUGH even then.

- On the negative side, the aformentioned self-inflicted bugs are once again coming from subbing out EC too damn soon. Hubert did that junk in the first half, and of course we immediately get a shot-clock violation, then after coming outta halftime and stretching our lead, it happened agan, and the lead almost disappeared. There's a reason FSU was doing everything they could to deny him the rock. Simple fact is, when EC is out, unless we can hit on the first option of a set play, it too often becomes hero time. There was a little bit less of that tonight, and I know Hubert is trying to make room for depth --- and I APPLAUD that --- but it HAS to be smoother, and that under-16 stuff continuity-killing is just unsustainable.

- One more complaint was trying to actually watch the damn GAME in between BSPN's FSU Reunion Special. I mean, I respect Leonard, and I know he's retiring, but DAMN, save the bench shots for timeouts. All I can say is thank heaven I didn't have sound and have to suffer thru Cory --- I can only imagine...

- Oh, and finally, one more thing --- Joe Lunardi can GFH... 🦨

- Anyway, again, do NOT come back with FSU being a weak opponent. For those who like to cite "metrics", when you go down there and hang 96 on a team with those sort of defensive numbers? That is something to be impressed with... and hopefully, to keep moving forward with... and without any let-downs. That was a good win in more ways than one...

Tyson was huge tonight, probably his best game as a Tar Heel.
I am pretty sure the pass from EC to Tyson in the corner was tipped right before it got to Cade, I will slow it down and re watch tomorrow. Huberts willingness to use the zone in real strategic manners is refreshing and changed the course of the game in each half.
I love that Hunbert is trusting the bench and getting them extended min finally when they are producing.
Davis was really good 20 points 5 assists and zero turnovers and Seth played with an aggressive mindset. Seth also was an active secondary ball handler tonight when Davis and Cadeau were being denied the ball on press O.
EC made some fantastic passes and some frustrating turnovers. All in all it was a good night.
Survive and advance. Win these next two and give Dook a real Carolina/ Dook rematch kinda game.

 

[gkss]

...and this was a WAYYY better win than many probably think.

I was worried about this one, and for good reason. Some fans act like FSU is some scrub team and that is utter BS, so please take that noise elsewhere. Sure, they have underachieved for parts of the season, but they are VERY talented, and as usual, long and athletic as hell.

OK, so I have a bunch o' notes, but lemme start with the two that won this thing:

- 1. REBOUNDING: Yeah, once again our bigger front line paid off, and keeping their athletes off the offensive glass was an amazing feat. I mean, ZERO second chances in the 1st half? AYKM? (and only 4 offensive boards for the game). Yeah, that's doin' work.

- 2. GOING ZONE: For a self-inflicted reason I'll mention below, as well as FSU shooting outta their minds, we had let an early lead dwindle and they had all the momentum. The switch to that hybrid Zone was key. And kudos to Hubert for not getting spooked when they hit a 3 on the first ensuing possession. Every look they got for the rest of the half was difficult and it paid off over time as they cooled off. And speaking of all this, as a coach I always disputed the myth about Zones and rebounding. My teams always rebounded better in Zone, because it's easier to form that magic "triangle" and block out your area than finding a man. We did that quite well tonight.

arright, other stuff:

- We came out again with effort and urgency --- and I'll tell ya what, so did FSU --- and literally everyone wearing blue did praise-worthy things that contributed to this win. The overall thing was --- and this is important --- our guys are finally getting beyond HALF-ASSING things. Our guys went to the rack like we friggin meant it! And when ya do that, what happens? Not only do you finish better, you draw more whistles. I'll use Withers as an example, as some of his attempts weren't pretty, but going hard paid off for him.

- Speaking of going hard, a lot fewer pussified attempts and more flushing was good to see, and how about Seth's grown-ass man drives down the stretch?... I hate it when he crouches in the paint --- tonight he used that explosiveness to power thru. In general, we were converting up close and on put-backs --- many of which we woulda missed earlier in the season.

- We also overcame some zebra nonsense. After the refs (not named Groover, who was lazy and useless) called it pretty fair, they got one-sided whistle-crazy in the 2nd half. I mean, FSU was in the damn double-bonus with 11:27 to go, and we were having to get by with Wash and Lubin hamstrung with some rather questionable fouls. Again, as I have always said, you hafta play thru that junk, and we certainly did.

- Speaking of Wash, we actually made a couple of HIGH entries off fronts (!), and boy, was it nice to see him knock down that 3 on what's left of our Secondary. Now, if he would just post STRONGER with guys on his hip...

- Speakig of entries, Drake made a few sweet passes at key times, and we're starting to see guys get a feel for catching lobs and finishing

- I'm gonna give a special shout to Tyson. He played REALLY well, and not just the points and boards. Most won't notice, but when FSU was getting after it, he made 4 or 5 high-IQ plays that won't show up on a stat sheet, that either saved possessions or allowed teammates to secure the rock. It drives me friggin crazy when fans are quick to relegate guys or call them "busts". Cade can play --- he just needed some real run. Honestly, the only complaint I had tonight was not catching that open dime from EC --- ALWAYS be looking when it's in Eliot's hands.

- Not a great night from 3, but it felt like every one we DID make was at a vital time. Two of RJ's bailed us out of possessions when we reverted to hero-ball, but yeah, they always seemed to come when we had to keep FSU at bay. And how about RJ's acrobatic left-hand finish? --- we were getting him in up/down mismatches but FSU is TOUGH even then.

- On the negative side, the aformentioned self-inflicted bugs are once again coming from subbing out EC too damn soon. Hubert did that junk in the first half, and of course we immediately get a shot-clock violation, then after coming outta halftime and stretching our lead, it happened agan, and the lead almost disappeared. There's a reason FSU was doing everything they could to deny him the rock. Simple fact is, when EC is out, unless we can hit on the first option of a set play, it too often becomes hero time. There was a little bit less of that tonight, and I know Hubert is trying to make room for depth --- and I APPLAUD that --- but it HAS to be smoother, and that under-16 stuff continuity-killing is just unsustainable.

- One more complaint was trying to actually watch the damn GAME in between BSPN's FSU Reunion Special. I mean, I respect Leonard, and I know he's retiring, but DAMN, save the bench shots for timeouts. All I can say is thank heaven I didn't have sound and have to suffer thru Cory --- I can only imagine...

- Oh, and finally, one more thing --- Joe Lunardi can GFH... 🦨

- Anyway, again, do NOT come back with FSU being a weak opponent. For those who like to cite "metrics", when you go down there and hang 96 on a team with those sort of defensive numbers? That is something to be impressed with... and hopefully, to keep moving forward with... and without any let-downs. That was a good win in more ways than one...

Thanks gary-7- well said. As soon as I saw RJ running the point, I could feel everyone shut down, and a shot clock violation ensued. Good point on Tyson- I think he needs more minutes. Spot on about the zone; and I might add that we pressed and trapped a little more! I still long for more of an emphasis on the secondary break! You mentioned JWash being stronger with a defender on his hip. More secondary break would get the ball to our bigs in an advantageous position. Good of you to notice the the high IQ plays by Tyson. And yes, EC can distribute that rock! I loved the board work and it’s so good to be the aggressor!! Lastly, FSU is a long athletic team! It’s a huge win and it was great to see! Thanks for the breakdown and also to the posters on our fine forum. We must continue the momentum, and as always-Go Heels!

 

[tarwhiz]

@gkss
"As soon as I saw RJ running the point, I could feel everyone shut down, and a shot clock violation ensued"

So taking Cadeau out of the game shut everyone down? Can you please explain to everyone the following numbers if Eliott Cadeau is the only reason Carolina runs any good offense:

During Carolinas first 13 ACC conference games in 2024-25 Eliott Cadeau played on average (29.1 )minutes per game.
As a team Carolina averaged (72.5) ppg.

During Carolinas last 4 ACC conference games in 2024-25 Eliott Cadeau played on average (22.5) minutes per game.
As a team Carolina averaged (90.5)

I am not putting this HUGE difference solely on Eliott Cadeau, but do attribute the move away from the two small guard lineup nearly as much, as being critical to our revamped basketball team.

EC offensive efficiency has certainly gone down a great deal due to the roster construction of this team. His efficiency was much better last year, and I think will be much better in 2026 season if he stays.

The current roster is not changing this year though, and it has become. Alarmingly clear that playing Cadeau and Davis together more than 15 or so minutes, is detrimental to our teams success.
Tonight's pg breakdown:
Cadeau 27 min 10 pts 7as 3 turnovers
Davis. 33 min 20 pts 5 as 0 turnovers.
RJ +/- tonight was +20 his 2nd best nu.ber all year.

I think they played less than 15 min on the floor together. Tonight was probably the best overall game the Tar Heels have played all year.

 

[tarwhiz]

"As soon as I saw RJ running the point, I could feel everyone shut down, and a shot clock violation ensued"

So taking Cadeau out of the game shut everyone down? Can you please explain to everyone the following numbers if Eliott Cadeau is the only reason Carolina runs any good offense:

During Carolinas first 13 ACC conference games in 2024-25 Eliott Cadeau played on average (29.1 )minutes per game.
As a team Carolina averaged (72.5) ppg.

During Carolinas last 4 ACC conference games in 2024-25 Eliott Cadeau played on average (22.5) minutes per game.
As a team Carolina averaged (90.5)

I am not putting this HUGE difference solely on Eliott Cadeau, but do attribute the move away from the two small guard lineup nearly as much, as being critical to our revamped basketball team.

EC offensive efficiency has certainly gone down a great deal due to the roster construction of this team. His efficiency was much better last year, and I think will be much better in 2026 season if he stays.

The current roster is not changing this year though, and it has become. Alarmingly clear that playing Cadeau and Davis together more than 15 or so minutes, is detrimental to our teams success.

During the last 4 games with Cadeau minutes decreasing by almost 7/game, he is still averaging basically the same amount of assists per game (5.25)apg, but also the same amount of turnovers per game (3.25)
His scoring is down almost 4ppg in this four game stretch (7.25)ppg

 

[gkss]

@gkss
"As soon as I saw RJ running the point, I could feel everyone shut down, and a shot clock violation ensued"

So taking Cadeau out of the game shut everyone down? Can you please explain to everyone the following numbers if Eliott Cadeau is the only reason Carolina runs any good offense:

During Carolinas first 13 ACC conference games in 2024-25 Eliott Cadeau played on average (29.1 )minutes per game.
As a team Carolina averaged (72.5) ppg.

During Carolinas last 4 ACC conference games in 2024-25 Eliott Cadeau played on average (22.5) minutes per game.
As a team Carolina averaged (90.5)

I am not putting this HUGE difference solely on Eliott Cadeau, but do attribute the move away from the two small guard lineup nearly as much, as being critical to our revamped basketball team.

EC offensive efficiency has certainly gone down a great deal due to the roster construction of this team. His efficiency was much better last year, and I think will be much better in 2026 season if he stays.

The current roster is not changing this year though, and it has become. Alarmingly clear that playing Cadeau and Davis together more than 15 or so minutes, is detrimental to our teams success.
Tonight's pg breakdown:
Cadeau 27 min 10 pts 7as 3 turnovers
Davis. 33 min 20 pts 5 as 0 turnovers.
RJ +/- tonight was +20 his 2nd best nu.ber all year.

I think they played less than 15 min on the floor together. Tonight was probably the best overall game the Tar Heels have played all year.

It’s good that you’re into analytics- I’m certainly not. Hubert probably needs to use them more. No disrespect to RJ but he is not a point guard. I guess I should not have focused my comment on more than the first possession that RJ ran point when we did indeed shut down with a shot clock violation. I erred in saying that we totally shutdown with RJ at the point- and for that my apologies to the forum. However, analytics aside, EC passes my eye test to be our best option- especially offensively. And now we’re coming together catching and finishing at the rim, and being more aggressive. What I’m saying is that one on one crap with everyone standing around is no good. Furthermore, that horizontal motion is no good either. Often a shot is taken with no one near the basket for an offensive board or tip out. I hope I clarified my comment enough for you and the forum. This is my honest opinion without stats to back it up. Thanks to you Tarwiz for diving deep into the numbers and to all of the posters for their contributions. As always, Go Heels!

 

[39 Feet Above Sea Level]

Thanks to Gary and other observant posters for the solid comments and critiques.
R freakin’ J Davis has played his ass off as a Tar Heel for five seasons and last night was just another
in a long string of leaving it on the floor despite the physical shenanigans
that the Noles utilized to exploit his strengths. The young man only knows one way to
play: gives his all, never sulks when he gets creamed on a drive, always about the next play.

Loved this play a lot: Jalen snatches a one-handed rebound and fires a pass to Elliot
in the corner who strokes the three. 😳👏🏾
And speaking of Elliot; kudos for not giving up on the three point shooting. It was cringeworthy
on the sequence when he missed two in a row, then had a big smile when he finally hit one.

Great victory against a tall team with an agenda!
GDTBATH

 

[tarwhiz]

It’s good that you’re into analytics- I’m certainly not. Hubert probably needs to use them more. No disrespect to RJ but he is not a point guard. I guess I should not have focused my comment on more than the first possession that RJ ran point when we did indeed shut down with a shot clock violation. I erred in saying that we totally shutdown with RJ at the point- and for that my apologies to the forum. However, analytics aside, EC passes my eye test to be our best option- especially offensively. And now we’re coming together catching and finishing at the rim, and being more aggressive. What I’m saying is that one on one crap with everyone standing around is no good. Furthermore, that horizontal motion is no good either. Often a shot is taken with no one near the basket for an offensive board or tip out. I hope I clarified my comment enough for you and the forum. This is my honest opinion without stats to back it up. Thanks to you Tarwiz for diving deep into the numbers and to all of the posters for their contributions. As always, Go Heels!

An efficient and focused Cadeau at pg is our best pg, on that I will agree.
I am just pointing out ( yes with facts) but also the eye test, that inefficient Cadeau has been all to present this season.
His analytics say it, and my eyes repeat it each game since December.
He is still an important piece, and they still must be on the court together some, but limiting that time on the court has proven to be advantageous for Carolina success last four games.

 

[gkss]

An efficient and focused Cadeau at pg is our best pg, on that I will agree.
I am just pointing out ( yes with facts) but also the eye test, that inefficient Cadeau has been all to present this season.
His analytics say it, and my eyes repeat it each game since December.
He is still an important piece, and they still must be on the court together some, but limiting that time on the court has proven to be advantageous for Carolina success last four games.

Thank you for your thoughts and your depth of research. I will respectfully disagree as I believe we are better with both on the court. I think what we saw last night is our kids gaining more confidence and attacking. I will agree that there are times when they are not together and when that occurs we must execute at a high level. I know some of the turnovers are frustrating, but some of our basketball iq overall can be lacking as well as our ability to look for and catch the basketball. EC gets us vertical, frees up RJ and others, and he gets some layups at the rim for easy buckets. We’ll see how it plays out going forward and I’m certainly respectful of your research and thoughts, but I’m going with putting out our best lineup and for me that includes both EC and RJ.

 

[gary-7]

@gkss
"As soon as I saw RJ running the point, I could feel everyone shut down, and a shot clock violation ensued"

So taking Cadeau out of the game shut everyone down? Can you please explain to everyone the following numbers if Eliott Cadeau is the only reason Carolina runs any good offense:

During Carolinas first 13 ACC conference games in 2024-25 Eliott Cadeau played on average (29.1 )minutes per game.
As a team Carolina averaged (72.5) ppg.

During Carolinas last 4 ACC conference games in 2024-25 Eliott Cadeau played on average (22.5) minutes per game.
As a team Carolina averaged (90.5)

I am not putting this HUGE difference solely on Eliott Cadeau, but do attribute the move away from the two small guard lineup nearly as much, as being critical to our revamped basketball team.

EC offensive efficiency has certainly gone down a great deal due to the roster construction of this team. His efficiency was much better last year, and I think will be much better in 2026 season if he stays.

The current roster is not changing this year though, and it has become. Alarmingly clear that playing Cadeau and Davis together more than 15 or so minutes, is detrimental to our teams success.
Tonight's pg breakdown:
Cadeau 27 min 10 pts 7as 3 turnovers
Davis. 33 min 20 pts 5 as 0 turnovers.
RJ +/- tonight was +20 his 2nd best nu.ber all year.

I think they played less than 15 min on the floor together. Tonight was probably the best overall game the Tar Heels have played all year.

TBH, putting it gently, it couldn't be more obvious. The difference is night and day, and the way too many bad possessions with EC out, and thus having to be rescued by bail-out shots (that we've fortunately made the last couple of games) is not sustainable.

As I said, it wasn't as bad tonight, as there were fewer minutes of that with EC playing 27, but he needs to be playing 30. And FYI, EC and RJ played together for the entire final 11:23 and that's when we took it home, expanding the lead to 16 --- and we woulda won by that or more, save for FSU getting unconscious on desperation 3s in the closing minutes.

 

[DSouthr]

This was a big time win, wish I could have enjoyed it more, was very nervous thru this one. We really struggled to get stops, gave up a LOT of free looks to them and they splashed them 10-20 from 3, 54% over all shooting is not a good defensive night, thankfully we shot well and owned the boards. I really enjoyed the balance scoring, like everyone got involved. Hubert's use of the zone has helped us in the last couple games and getting more match up size has clearly helped.

I have wanted this team all season to be less RJ centered and more spread it around, get everyone involved and we have trended toward that since that Clemson game, much harder to stop 5 guys than it to stop just 1. Individual players in this one, not sure I can point to a single player and say they really didn't do anything that helped this win. Heck, I even said in the game call thread that even Tyson gave us a nice spark in that first half, felt we may have been on the verge of letting them claw back and Tyson had a nice put back, a nice in close finish, and splashed a trey and we beat back their claw back. I really can't point to one guy and say he had a bad game because they all had their moments.

As a team, this was tough, quick turn around game and playing at FSU with ESPN holding a Hamilton love fest to the extent Cory stopped calling the game and felt the need to share a Hamilton scrape book, vs the second longest team in the NCAA, FSU not only believed they could win this game they played like they expected to, shot the ball way over their level.

I am not saying it will have the same result but this is really starting to feel a LOT like Hubert's first season with us in how the season was going down the tubes and all the sudden we had life, we have a pulse now.

 

[DSouthr]

Thank you for your thoughts and your depth of research. I will respectfully disagree as I believe we are better with both on the court. I think what we saw last night is our kids gaining more confidence and attacking. I will agree that there are times when they are not together and when that occurs we must execute at a high level. I know some of the turnovers are frustrating, but some of our basketball iq overall can be lacking as well as our ability to look for and catch the basketball. EC gets us vertical, frees up RJ and others, and he gets some layups at the rim for easy buckets. We’ll see how it plays out going forward and I’m certainly respectful of your research and thoughts, but I’m going with putting out our best lineup and for me that includes both EC and RJ.

I do strongly agree with what Tarwiz is saying but I do appreciate your reply, I may not agree with it, I do disagree with respect.

 

[NathanFielder]

I placed a rather long shot bet (a small one) for UNC to make the Final Four (120-1). I like what I see.

I'm still on the fence of getting my hopes too high. I still think the schedule is helping out a lot. However, this is clearly an improvement from struggling against teams like Boston College and Georgia Tech. Good teams blow out bad teams and at least in the last 4 games, UNC has had and for the most part maintained double-digit leads. So they're showing the characteristics of what good teams do.

I still think most everything will come down to the Duke game and the ACC Tournament. If they fail to beat Duke or Duke/Clemson/Louisville in the ACC tournament, they'll need some luck with no bid stealers and no wrong side of the bubble team beating 2 or 3 NCAA Tournament teams in their conference tournament.

But they're playing their best basketball of the year and the entire roster and coaching staff deserves a lot of credit.

The next 2 games should continue to be opportunities to gain confidence and gain the confidence of everyone on the roster.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

once again our bigger front line paid off

Bingo.

Amazing that nobody - no coach, no fan - ever thought of that until this point in the season. What an amazing, out-of-the-box concept.

/sarcasm

To be fair, I worried that we might have a setback against another tall team, especially since Hamilton had the tapes to see what we've been doing differently the last few games. I'm very gratified we did not stumble.

 

[DSouthr]

Bingo.

Amazing that nobody - no coach, no fan - ever thought of that until this point in the season. What an amazing, out-of-the-box concept.

/sarcasm

To be fair, I worried that we might have a setback against another tall team, especially since Hamilton had the tapes to see what we've been doing differently the last few games. I'm very gratified we did not stumble.

Yeah, I felt this was a big time trap game for us, short turn around and travel to Fla, would our shooing eye travel with us, and yeah, playing the second longest team in the NCAA. Then we had to hit much harder shots early on, they were getting a lot of really easy looks, we struggled to get stops but we owned the boards against those giants.

That is the thing with a Hamilton defense, they are always long but they do not block out well, they go for a lot of blocks with their bigs which take their big out of boarding position. I did appreciate FSUs deny off made baskets and constant pressure on our guards bringing the ball up, like to see us do that and mix in the hard pressure and traps. I absolutely HATE watching the other team roll the ball inbound and their player not touch it til it gets to half court

 

[gkss]

TBH, putting it gently, it couldn't be more obvious. The difference is night and day, and the way too many bad possessions with EC out, and thus having to be rescued by bail-out shots (that we've fortunately made the last couple of games) is not sustainable.

As I said, it wasn't as bad tonight, as there were fewer minutes of that with EC playing 27, but he needs to be playing 30. And FYI, EC and RJ played together for the entire final 11:23 and that's when we took it home, expanding the lead to 16 --- and we woulda won by that or more, save for FSU getting unconscious on desperation 3s in the closing minutes.

I agree 100%. I certainly respect and appreciate the research and opinions of others on this great forum. I think the comment you made about sustainability is most telling.

 

[tarwhiz]

TBH, putting it gently, it couldn't be more obvious. The difference is night and day, and the way too many bad possessions with EC out, and thus having to be rescued by bail-out shots (that we've fortunately made the last couple of games) is not sustainable.

As I said, it wasn't as bad tonight, as there were fewer minutes of that with EC playing 27, but he needs to be playing 30. And FYI, EC and RJ played together for the entire final 11:23 and that's when we took it home, expanding the lead to 16 --- and we woulda won by that or more, save for FSU getting unconscious on desperation 3s in the closing minutes.

You are correct in that they played together 20 min total.
I think playing a large stretch of zone in second half allowed Hubert to stay with them together.
I fully expect them to be on the court at the end of games we are winning by multiple possessions.
The difference at times is Night and day.
Good EC is without a doubt the best pg on this team. The frustrating part is the amount of time this year that he has not been
" Good EC"
I at one point years ago coached 4/5th grade girls basketball. ( Extra credits for getting into heaven, IYKYK😉)
One of my benchmarks for the girls was to at least get a shot attempt. Any shot attemp was a winning possession.
Too often our possessions end without a shot attempt because Eliott Cadeau is either number 1 or 2 in the country in turnovers.
That is a fact.
That is also optically visible to those watching these games.