Quick stuff (GaTech game)...

[DSouthr]

Inaccurate take, and if that's the case, how far will be first weekend of the NCAAT.

Not a knock at all on RJ, but when we have to rely on him creating shots off the bounce that is a very limited future.

The potential of this team can only come by utizing all our weapons. That means playing INSIDE-OUT, which means Bacot touches, ball-movement directed by Cadeau, getting the rock to RJ in motion, Ingram showing versatility from the perimeter to the block, and getting the ball to Ryan in good shooting spots so he doesn't have to create or force.

This UNC team is MUCH stronger when we see balanced scoring. I love what RJ is doing, but I have been concerned for 2 or 3 weeks now that we seemed to be depending more and more on RJ, to the extent at times we seemed to stand around some watching to see what RJ was going to do. I want all 5 guys involved, I want the best shot taken, not the first shot. I feel like we have slowly creeped away from working to get the best shot and moved a touch to far in getting RJ a shot. I want to see a box score where all 5 starters score double digits and a player or 2 off the bench do so as well.

I want to see a guy like Ryan taking step in treys rather than flying off a screen catch and shoot treys, I like Ryan driving off those screens rather than jump shooting because the defense is not looking for that yet he is pretty effective when he does. I really like Ingram backing down smaller wings, especially when Cadeau is not in the game so that he has multiple options to pass to catch and shoot guys or drop off to Bacot if they come to double and if they don't go ahead and hit that spin off finish in the middle. I want to see Ingram star off looking for OPs closer in, both he and Ryan are guys I think that need to see the ball go in for their game to really get cranked up. I want motion in our offense where all our guys are looking for scoring ops, not just waiting on what RJ can manufacture thru his own double teams.

 

[ChiShankCity]

Inaccurate take, and if that's the case, how far will be first weekend of the NCAAT.

Not a knock at all on RJ, but when we have to rely on him creating shots off the bounce that is a very limited future.

The potential of this team can only come by utizing all our weapons. That means playing INSIDE-OUT, which means Bacot touches, ball-movement directed by Cadeau, getting the rock to RJ in motion, Ingram showing versatility from the perimeter to the block, and getting the ball to Ryan in good shooting spots so he doesn't have to create or force.

I don't think it's ridiculous to say this team goes as far as RJ takes it. That doesn't mean RJ needs to shoot it 25x/game. But that does mean if he shoots it 15-18x, he needs to score his 20 points still play efficient basketball and make big-time plays at the end of the game.

This team has offensive limitations and RJ (despite his limitations) is our best offensive player.

My stance has been pretty clear on this team's upside. If they make their 3's, they can beat anyone and that is where their upside is directly tied to (along with Cadeau's development). I don't care how much "Carolina Basketball" you play. If you don't make enough 3's, you're probably not going to beat Arizona, Purdue, UConn-types in March.

The team is versatile! The problem analysts and most of us have is the versatility means we don't have to have what is often called an "identity"! We can play through the bigs OR generate O off the bounce OR half court OR fast break OR bombs from the perimeter! We have been successful because we employed the proper style at the proper moments! Last time the style was forced upon us and we reacted instead of choosing! Despite GT controlling pace AND style, we still managed to give ourselves a chance to win.

Where is this coming from that Georgia Tech controlled pace? Georgia Tech averages 67 possessions/game. That's outside of the top 200 in the country. UNC averages 71 possessions/game, that's 48th fastest in the country. The game finished with 74 possessions. That's a UNC-preferred pace.

And I don't know how versatile this team truly is. Like Cadeau and RJ can't guard more than 1 or 2 positions. What this team is is they're built right above the shoulders. RJ and Ryan will at least compete above their weight class. I think most of Cadeau's mistakes come from a good place above the shoulders. Ingram is built right and competes like hell. I don't think Bacot is the most ultra-competitive dude in the world.

And IMO, the turnaround is because we're shooting a significantly higher percentage from 3 than we're allowing this season.

Last year we shot 31.1% from 3 and allowed 33.0%. Really hard to win if you're almost -2.0% in your 3PT efficiency.
This year, we're shooting 35.2% and allowing 29.8%

 

[FlaTarHeel]

The team is versatile when nobody is getting 20+ shots a game!

FIFY

 

[gary-7]

Your eyes have been closed Gary. He gets to the rim frequently. EC gives us our best potential sure but without RJ it doesn’t matter what EC does.

Huh? You might wanna read what I wrote again. Didn't say a damn thing about "without RJ", did I?

When we bog down to RJ having to carry the offense then we are in pure survival mode, and this last time, you saw it, we didn't survive.. and vs a non-NCAAT team, no less.

We just can't keep putting that much on his shoulders --- show me another game down the road with RJ the only one in double figures and I'll show you another loss. This group can be damn near unguardable when all 5 guys are playing in synch, and THAT is where we need to be.

And for the record, my eyes are NEVER closed. Fact is, when this team is moving the rock as a team and playing in transition, we can beat ANYBODY, but when we fall back into half-court, we are eminently beatable.

 

[gary-7]

I don't think it's ridiculous to say this team goes as far as RJ takes it. That doesn't mean RJ needs to shoot it 25x/game. But that does mean if he shoots it 15-18x, he needs to score his 20 points still play efficient basketball and make big-time plays at the end of the game.

This team has offensive limitations and RJ (despite his limitations) is our best offensive player.

My stance has been pretty clear on this team's upside. If they make their 3's, they can beat anyone and that is where their upside is directly tied to (along with Cadeau's development). I don't care how much "Carolina Basketball" you play. If you don't make enough 3's, you're probably not going to beat Arizona, Purdue, UConn-types in March.



Where is this coming from that Georgia Tech controlled pace? Georgia Tech averages 67 possessions/game. That's outside of the top 200 in the country. UNC averages 71 possessions/game, that's 48th fastest in the country. The game finished with 74 possessions. That's a UNC-preferred pace.

And I don't know how versatile this team truly is. Like Cadeau and RJ can't guard more than 1 or 2 positions. What this team is is they're built right above the shoulders. RJ and Ryan will at least compete above their weight class. I think most of Cadeau's mistakes come from a good place above the shoulders. Ingram is built right and competes like hell. I don't think Bacot is the most ultra-competitive dude in the world.

And IMO, the turnaround is because we're shooting a significantly higher percentage from 3 than we're allowing this season.

Last year we shot 31.1% from 3 and allowed 33.0%. Really hard to win if you're almost -2.0% in your 3PT efficiency.
This year, we're shooting 35.2% and allowing 29.8%

"Pace" is just another empty number. Tempo is what matters. When we've played well we've gotten leads using tempo, and THEN slowed down to use clock, thus the number of possessions in a game is not an accurate indicator of tempo.

We seldom got consistent tempo Tuesday because we didn't secure enough clean rebounds to get into transition consistently, we got outscrapped for loose balls too often, and played way too long without the guy who drives our tempo (or more accurately, a rogue zebra gummed up the works).

You are certainly correct as to the power of shooting from 3 vs what we allow. That got skewed Tuesday by a GT guy shooting out of his mind, while our second and third 3-pt options layed bricks. We also didn't get to the line nearly as much as we should have --- and shot poorly when we did --- and they got there more than they deserved (largely thanks to the afoprementioned zebra).

But, in general here's the thing: When we are operating at our tempo with motion and ball-movement, everything comes easier and numbers go up over time. And when we do that we create working leads and by reaction speed up the opponent, most of whom don't operate well in that circumstance.

 

[gary-7]

This UNC team is MUCH stronger when we see balanced scoring. I love what RJ is doing, but I have been concerned for 2 or 3 weeks now that we seemed to be depending more and more on RJ, to the extent at times we seemed to stand around some watching to see what RJ was going to do. I want all 5 guys involved, I want the best shot taken, not the first shot. I feel like we have slowly creeped away from working to get the best shot and moved a touch to far in getting RJ a shot. I want to see a box score where all 5 starters score double digits and a player or 2 off the bench do so as well.

I want to see a guy like Ryan taking step in treys rather than flying off a screen catch and shoot treys, I like Ryan driving off those screens rather than jump shooting because the defense is not looking for that yet he is pretty effective when he does. I really like Ingram backing down smaller wings, especially when Cadeau is not in the game so that he has multiple options to pass to catch and shoot guys or drop off to Bacot if they come to double and if they don't go ahead and hit that spin off finish in the middle. I want to see Ingram star off looking for OPs closer in, both he and Ryan are guys I think that need to see the ball go in for their game to really get cranked up. I want motion in our offense where all our guys are looking for scoring ops, not just waiting on what RJ can manufacture thru his own double teams.

All this ^

 

[alabamaheel]

Huh? You might wanna read what I wrote again. Didn't say a damn thing about "without RJ", did I?

When we bog down to RJ having to carry the offense then we are in pure survival mode, and this last time, you saw it, we didn't survive.. and vs a non-NCAAT team, no less.

We just can't keep putting that much on his shoulders --- show me another game down the road with RJ the only one in double figures and I'll show you another loss. This group can be damn near unguardable when all 5 guys are playing in synch, and THAT is where we need to be.

And for the record, my eyes are NEVER closed. Fact is, when this team is moving the rock as a team and playing in transition, we can beat ANYBODY, but when we fall back into half-court, we are eminently beatable.

I agree with several of those points but you act like we lost because EC was out and RJ carried the load. lol if the others shoot a halfway decent percentage we blow them out without EC. We don’t have to “survive”. He’s not the end all be all is my point. What we saw last year was the Love show and EC knows who to get the ball to.

I agree that he can’t be the only one in double digits but that’s not his fault.

 

[montana_heel]

I agree. It starts with a paint touch. I'm not saying a paint shot. Even if it is Ingram or Cadeau driving. Remember when Ingram was backing down guys and setting up Trimble for the corner 3 earlier this year? That is the quality 3 point shot we want that happens with the ball moving all over the court, not just the perimeter. We have gotten away from using the whole floor offensively and it has made us more one dimensional.

The good news is if I can see it, you better believe coach Davis can. As Mr. Pinson says, "Roll the clip!"

I expect we will see a more balanced use of the floor our next game.

Shame to drop this game but it might have woke them up. Almost like they have been wanting to take a shortcut and just get right to the shot and ignored what has to take place for the good shot opportunity. Just have to look at earlier games to see the difference.

 

[gary-7]

I agree with several of those points but you act like we lost because EC was out and RJ carried the load. lol if the others shoot a halfway decent percentage we blow them out without EC. We don’t have to “survive”. He’s not the end all be all is my point. What we saw last year was the Love show and EC knows who to get the ball to.

I agree that he can’t be the only one in double digits but that’s not his fault.

You're right --- it's not RJ's fault --- it's not like last season when he and Love dribbled around and heaved. He attacks now with a purpose. And the other guys need to not stand around and to move the ball when they get the chance, and knock down open shots and/or convert at the rim.

But... with EC out you've seen it all season, We bog down, the tempo goes, we rely on set plays, and truthfully, even those aren't executed as well. Bless RJ for being able to do as much as he does in those circumstances but it's not a winning formula. For all his heroics, as I said preseason,. if RJ plays next to Cadeau, he'd be All-ACC (and now potential POY). Asking him to carry the scoring AND playmaking for any length of time, however, is too much.

 

[alabamaheel]

You're right --- it's not RJ's fault --- it's not like last season when he and Love dribbled around and heaved. He attacks now with a purpose. And the other guys need to not stand around and to move the ball when they get the chance, and knock down open shots and/or convert at the rim.

But... with EC out you've seen it all season, We bog down, the tempo goes, we rely on set plays, and truthfully, even those aren't executed as well. Bless RJ for being able to do as much as he does in those circumstances but it's not a winning formula. For all his heroics, as I said preseason,. if RJ plays next to Cadeau, he'd be All-ACC (and now potential POY). Asking him to carry the scoring AND playmaking for any length of time, however, is too much.

No doubt. He’s definitely flourished with EC out there.

 

[FlaTarHeel]

This UNC team is MUCH stronger when we see balanced scoring. I love what RJ is doing, but I have been concerned for 2 or 3 weeks now that we seemed to be depending more and more on RJ, to the extent at times we seemed to stand around some watching to see what RJ was going to do. I want all 5 guys involved, I want the best shot taken, not the first shot. I feel like we have slowly creeped away from working to get the best shot and moved a touch to far in getting RJ a shot. I want to see a box score where all 5 starters score double digits and a player or 2 off the bench do so as well.

I want to see a guy like Ryan taking step in treys rather than flying off a screen catch and shoot treys, I like Ryan driving off those screens rather than jump shooting because the defense is not looking for that yet he is pretty effective when he does. I really like Ingram backing down smaller wings, especially when Cadeau is not in the game so that he has multiple options to pass to catch and shoot guys or drop off to Bacot if they come to double and if they don't go ahead and hit that spin off finish in the middle. I want to see Ingram star off looking for OPs closer in, both he and Ryan are guys I think that need to see the ball go in for their game to really get cranked up. I want motion in our offense where all our guys are looking for scoring ops, not just waiting on what RJ can manufacture thru his own double teams.

One of your best DS and you hit it out the park 👏

 

[FlaTarHeel]

AJ confirms what Gary, Myself, DSouth, TPFK and a few others have said.
#1 The ball is not going inside to Mando enough
#2 RJ Davis should not be relied on so much to carry this TEAM

"They gotta get him involved, not alot of people in the country can guard him" -- AJ

"Amando Bacot is an All-American, he's a 2000pt scorer and he got 2 shots in the last 28 minutes of a game that was a 1pt loss, that's inexcusable, that's bad basketball, and it has to change" --AJ

Excellent and well timed podcast

 

[dtodd4475]

I don't think it's ridiculous to say this team goes as far as RJ takes it. That doesn't mean RJ needs to shoot it 25x/game. But that does mean if he shoots it 15-18x, he needs to score his 20 points still play efficient basketball and make big-time plays at the end of the game.

This team has offensive limitations and RJ (despite his limitations) is our best offensive player.

My stance has been pretty clear on this team's upside. If they make their 3's, they can beat anyone and that is where their upside is directly tied to (along with Cadeau's development). I don't care how much "Carolina Basketball" you play. If you don't make enough 3's, you're probably not going to beat Arizona, Purdue, UConn-types in March.



Where is this coming from that Georgia Tech controlled pace? Georgia Tech averages 67 possessions/game. That's outside of the top 200 in the country. UNC averages 71 possessions/game, that's 48th fastest in the country. The game finished with 74 possessions. That's a UNC-preferred pace.

And I don't know how versatile this team truly is. Like Cadeau and RJ can't guard more than 1 or 2 positions. What this team is is they're built right above the shoulders. RJ and Ryan will at least compete above their weight class. I think most of Cadeau's mistakes come from a good place above the shoulders. Ingram is built right and competes like hell. I don't think Bacot is the most ultra-competitive dude in the world.

And IMO, the turnaround is because we're shooting a significantly higher percentage from 3 than we're allowing this season.

Last year we shot 31.1% from 3 and allowed 33.0%. Really hard to win if you're almost -2.0% in your 3PT efficiency.
This year, we're shooting 35.2% and allowing 29.8%

I agree the depth of our run will hinge on us shooting the 3's at a solid level to a large extent. Ingram is going at a career best, but is slowing. Cormac is career low except early on, and needs to get going. If not RJ needs to get 'em up, and will continue to.

Funny how Caleb was seen, and to some still is seen as, a volume shot guy. This year the two have eerily similar stats across the board, output and efficiency. Earning each final 10 Jerry West award finalist status. Caleb on 14 shots per game in 31 minutes per game. RJ 16 shots per game in 34 minutes per.

 

[al would]

"They gotta get him involved, not alot of people in the country can guard him" -- AJ

With all respect due to the boss I'm not sure I agree with that. As a pure offensive player Bacot is not all that. He does not have anything resembling a great handle, athleticism, elevation off the floor or on his shots, and a very limited shot repertoire. jmo

 

[gary-7]

With all respect due to the boss I'm not sure I agree with that. As a pure offensive player Bacot is not all that. He does not have anything resembling a great handle, athleticism, elevation off the floor or on his shots, and a very limited shot repertoire. jmo

It's not about him being "all that", it's about Carolina basketball played inside-out.

 

[dtodd4475]

It's not about him being "all that", it's about Carolina basketball played inside-out.

I hear that, gotta get that interior going. I just wish Mando had a feel for the kick out part. Not natural at all at that. He is a plodding big, who is late more often then not to feel the open kick, and once doubled more of an escape to survive passer then a react and kick out, dump cross block, or hit a cutter to attack guy.

 

[Heelicious]

FWIW I think Shank is right in that we go as far in the tourney as rj takes us meaning if rj has a terrible shooting game that likely is our likeliest chance to get bounced prematurely. We just haven’t consistently had a clear cut #2 scorer. It should be Bacot - then Ingram then cormac but that hasn’t been the case. For whatever reason Bacot has disappeared, not even got enough shots up. I refuse to believe the whole team except EC is icing him out if he’s open. That’s lunacy.

I like EC as much as most people here - I’m not in the camp here that he can do no wrong (even the shots he misses are not his fault - it’s on Hubs for how he plays him) - but EC is going to have to learn to shoot and score from more than 3 feet in. Teams watch the tape and are playing off him meaning they can double team, pack in the paint.

That can be why the front court isn’t getting the open entry passes. EC has to shoot more and make more for people to play him honestly.

And while he seems to be snake bitten re fouls, officials don’t collectively single out a guy and call more fouls on him unfairly. He’s got to play a lot smarter about learning/ knowing where officials will call fouls even on limited contact- and definitely don’t give them the chance to call a foul on you defending 30+ feet from the basket

 

[Heelicious]

AJ confirms what Gary, Myself, DSouth, TPFK and a few others have said.
#1 The ball is not going inside to Mando enough
#2 RJ Davis should not be relied on so much to carry this TEAM

"They gotta get him involved, not alot of people in the country can guard him" -- AJ

"Amando Bacot is an All-American, he's a 2000pt scorer and he got 2 shots in the last 28 minutes of a game that was a 1pt loss, that's inexcusable, that's bad basketball, and it has to change" --AJ

Excellent and well timed podcast

View embedded media

So does Bacot own any accountability for just getting 2 shots, or nah? How many touches did he get? How much did he hustle without the ball to get open? How many offensive rebounds did he have in that time?

God knows there were enough short shot misses to him to get offensive rebounds and follow up shots if he outworked people for the rebound.

 

[ChiShankCity]

The RJ... I guess I'll call it criticism? is weird to me. Over his last 6 games:
50.5% FG, 55.9% 2PT FG, 43.2% 3PT FG

I can only imagine how some of the people would be riding Cadeau if he had that efficiency through a stretch of games in conference, lol. It's really hard for me to criticize him or his style at all. It's easier, and more valid IMO, to criticize the other dudes for not playing as efficiently. And hell, if Armando wants the ball more, how about he finish better around the rim?

I hear that "Carolina Basketball is played this way"... I think it's really easy to say to play inside out when you have May, Hansbrough, Zeller, etc. I don't view Bacot in the same way as those guys. I think he's productive more than he is dominant. May, Hansbrough, and Zeller could dominate games. If you guys want them to prioritize Bacot and that makes the offense better, then fine. I think there are other ways to get the ball inside. I just don't view Bacot as that kind of player.

I think Ingram post ups look better on paper than they do in real action. I don't know how much his wrist is playing a factor in his inability to convert close 2's. This year, he's been a horrendous 2PT shooter thus far. The other telling stat for Ingram this season. 97% of his made 3's were off assists. No coincidence that that's been his most efficient offense. Compare that to 23.3% assisted at the rim and he's shooting 44.8% at the rim. And 4% assisted on other 2s and he's shooting 41.7% on those. Up until now, he's a catch-and-shoot player.

Harrison Ingram is shooting 44.8% on close 2's this season. That ranks dead last by a considerable margin on this team ranking down to Okonkwo on the depth chart. He's also a horrendous free throw shooter so it's not like getting to the free throw line will have him see the ball go through the bucket twice. As of now, Ingram's best way of scoring is through the catch-and-shoot variety in the halfcourt.

 

[ChiShankCity]

AJ confirms what Gary, Myself, DSouth, TPFK and a few others have said.
#1 The ball is not going inside to Mando enough
#2 RJ Davis should not be relied on so much to carry this TEAM

"They gotta get him involved, not alot of people in the country can guard him" -- AJ

"Amando Bacot is an All-American, he's a 2000pt scorer and he got 2 shots in the last 28 minutes of a game that was a 1pt loss, that's inexcusable, that's bad basketball, and it has to change" --AJ

Excellent and well timed podcast

View embedded media

That podcast also predicted Withers would be a real player for us. And I'm pretty sure they really liked Wojcik because he played well at UNC and Michigan State while at Brown. If those 2 players were what they predicted, we would be the best team in the country.

So sweet, they agree with you here so it's "Excellent and well timed podcast."

Confirmation bias at its finest.

(No offense to AJ. And I didn't listen to the episode so I'm not innocent here. Just a comment on confirmation bias. I may not even disagree entirely with the premise).

 

[gary-7]

So does Bacot own any accountability for just getting 2 shots, or nah? How many touches did he get? How much did he hustle without the ball to get open? How many offensive rebounds did he have in that time?

God knows there were enough short shot misses to him to get offensive rebounds and follow up shots if he outworked people for the rebound.

Look, I'm not gonna give him a pass for missing stuff inside he used to convert easily. The way he is being banged on he needs to go up stronger than ever.

But if he is working to get position you have to get him touches. Otherwise why work? And it turns us into just another perimeter team.

In fact, I could critique all of our 3/4/5 guys for not finishing with authority. Big-boy basketball time.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Withers is a real player for us and I like what Pax contributes so I love the whole thing! I refuse to argue semantics since it clouds the actual point. While a 2% drop in whatever is an interesting stat; watching peeps work together to get good shots means way more to me! Playing your tail off on D just to see a bad 3 pt shooter bank in his 4th 3 in a row is demoralizing and can change everything about peeps. Watching a player who had only made 3 3pt shots all season swish his corner 3, while peeps who used to shoot high % miss wide open ones also changes you. There are many intangible ways to control a game but none are more powerful than emotional manipulation!

 

[DSouthr]

When I suggest that, not sure I have stated this here, that the GT game changed when Cadeau went out with those 5 ultra quick fouls, it is more for me about what Cadeau represents than the player himself. Right off the top Cadeau represents any semblance of UNC breaking, of our running game. Without Cadeau in and RJ at the point we become a half court team and our tempo slows.

Please anyone, share with me, educate me, if you feel we are a better team in the half court than when we are out running, please educate me on that? LOL RJ is RJ, fantastic player and you darn right he is extremely important to how this season unfolds just as he has been an extremely important guy for us so far this season. But as our PG the kid kills our tempo, it plays in to the hands of most defenses, job #1 being stop UNC from getting in to those Carolina Breaks!

How many times have we seen clips of our practices and watch Hubert screaming for them to get the board and push it, it seems to have dominated our early practices, high tempo push push push. Bacot and Ingram were digging to get down court, digging hard and they were rewarded for that effort. Run the Carolina breaks, keep fresh legs in there by using your bench deep, and push tempo while the opponents wore down before they caved. You see that happen lately when Cadeau is on the bench and RJ is at the point? I don't even see it as much even with Cadeau in there, where did it go? I know where it went against GT, it went to the bench with 5 fouls on Cadeau is about 8mins of that second half. Cadeau has a habit that has to be addressed, he picks up fouls in bunches, when he picks up #1 then you know #2 is just a few seconds away. Has to learn, has to expect they are going to call you for using the body, no matter how straight up you hold your arms, don't risk it. What he represents is to important to risk a silly foul and to important to risk allowing the refs to even question if you fouled, move your feet rather than reaching in the cookie jar. How do you play with Seth so much and not realize that? The kid is trying to force a steal to make up for a mistake and the result is another foul on him, just can't let that happen. It completely disrupts your whole game plan of how you want to attack.

From what I see Hubert is inching his way back in to calling to many set plays again, it bogs us down
and we have no good plan B when the set play is stopped. Get them out running and let them play Hubert, don't fall back in to that same trap that shut on us last season.

The other problem I see as of late is some sub patterns slow us down. I am all about using a deep bench but there are points in every game that we get cranked up, we get on a nice roll and all the sudden we are up double digits and everyone is happy. Then a TO will happen, I see coming out of the TO all the sudden we have Paxon, Withers, Seth, maybe High out there and I am WTF? LOL Now sorry but those guys don't give us much offense, it is like a MO killer! When things are rolling LET THEM KEEP ON ROLLING! You got a TO so your guys can get a blow, let the hot guys stay hot! What ever combination we have in that is working let it continue to work until it cools off on it's own.

 

[DSouthr]

Look, I'm not gonna give him a pass for missing stuff inside he used to convert easily. The way he is being banged on he needs to go up stronger than ever.

But if he is working to get position you have to get him touches. Otherwise why work? And it turns us into just another perimeter team.

In fact, I could critique all of our 3/4/5 guys for not finishing with authority. Big-boy basketball time.

I have noticed that Bacot seems to be getting the ball further from the basket than where he should, where he has got the ball for most of his time at UNC. I would love to understand why Bacot, with a body like that is allowing himself to be pushed as far out as he has been lately? The ONLY big man on our roster I want to see put the ball on the floor for more than 2 bounces is Ingram which means Bacot/Withers/JWash/High/Konkwo putting the ball on the floor is no bueno! I need Bacot to establish strong solid position and demand the ball close in, so that he is able to make a single move and finish with physicality with strength, with power. You get a defenders feet on the block charge circle you ATTACK that defenders body, you deliver the blow straight in to his chest hard and finish hard thru that contact. Bacot has to many lbs and to much strength to not do that, there are VERY few big men in the country that can stop his doing that when he really wants it.

Now we talk a lot about Bacot being constantly double teamed and he is, we talk a lot about defenders grabbing him, pushing him, holding his jersey ect and that is happening constantly as well and is rarely called. And yet this is different how from the last 2 seasons? LOL

Think about this, last season we had Nance as our 4, he consistently as in nearly every trip down court, ran to a spot outside the 3pt arch and camped out, to the extent he could have downed a box of pop corn, eat a dog, and drank a glass of tea before the ball got near him. So team ran off of him and doubled bacot from the off side. But Ingram demands coverage, hot cold doesn't matter, they are not leaving Ingram all alone for a brunch, so rather than straight double Bacot they are bringing a flash double on the catch from a wing or a guard. Bacot has a lil string of games where he was catching and immediately kicking it to the open guy as the double ran to him, wide open looks was the result. But he doesn't do that consistently nor does he look to finish physically, he puts up one of those cute finess attempts that roll off more than go in, thus the bunny escapes.

 

[DSouthr]

That podcast also predicted Withers would be a real player for us. And I'm pretty sure they really liked Wojcik because he played well at UNC and Michigan State while at Brown. If those 2 players were what they predicted, we would be the best team in the country.

So sweet, they agree with you here so it's "Excellent and well timed podcast."

Confirmation bias at its finest.

(No offense to AJ. And I didn't listen to the episode so I'm not innocent here. Just a comment on confirmation bias. I may not even disagree entirely with the premise).

Wait, you didn't listen to the pod cast? So why are you commenting on a pod cast you did not listen to?

 

[DSouthr]

Withers is a real player for us and I like what Pax contributes so I love the whole thing! I refuse to argue semantics since it clouds the actual point. While a 2% drop in whatever is an interesting stat; watching peeps work together to get good shots means way more to me! Playing your tail off on D just to see a bad 3 pt shooter bank in his 4th 3 in a row is demoralizing and can change everything about peeps. Watching a player who had only made 3 3pt shots all season swish his corner 3, while peeps who used to shoot high % miss wide open ones also changes you. There are many intangible ways to control a game but none are more powerful than emotional manipulation!

Really TP, we got up by double digits early and really things seemed to be coming easy for us, we came out of a time out with some guys that do not give us much offense, it was almost as if they felt they could win this one on cruise control. ALL the sudden we are not scoring and GT gets a guy shooting hot and they even things and we couldn't figure out how to get back on the gas, we gave them a chance rather than putting them down, we stumbled thru the rest of the half. IT looked like we were about to be able to get that second half push that may have led to another 20pt win when the whistle begins to blow on Cadeau and all the sudden he picks up 5 fouls in 8mins and game pressure hit us square in the mouth.

 

[al would]

It's not about him being "all that", it's about Carolina basketball played inside-out.

I understand that 100% but I took exception to the fact that AJ said "not a lot of people can guard him" and I think that's a stretch because he is not a huge offensive threat if he plays against similar size for the reasons stated. UNC bball has always/traditionally played inside out but they generally had good post players, or good decision makers/shooters manning the post, and although I love Bacot's contributions to the program I think the comment about few people being able to guard him is inaccurate and I will likely be proven right or wrong as this season progresses and the competition get's better. Looking forward to seeing how he performs against dook this weekend. GO HEELS !!

 

[FlaTarHeel]

It's not about him being "all that", it's about Carolina basketball played inside-out.

Maybe HD and staff are reading our post

 

[DaveChapelle]

Bacot play scared…he prefers timid layups, 6ft baby hooks, and bunch of weak-weak shidd. Ryan Young gone take his lunch money Sat. Freaking Ryan Young!!!

Nice prediction Madame Cleo

 

[big_deez]

Nice prediction Madame Cleo

Who is Ryan Young?

 

[KinstonNC]

Nice prediction Madame Cleo

It wasn’t a prediction at all, Ruffus…more like a gentle push to get him to do what should’ve been done in GT! Now thank me…it worked!