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Quick stuff (Louisville game)...

gary-7

gary-7

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...and that was TCB and "ball don't lie".

After a crappy start we indeed took care of business, but I'd be remiss if I didn't go ahead and get outta the way: Is there a competent friggin officiating crew left in college basketball? Geez, these guys stunk it up and thankfully this game wasn't gonna be close enough for the zebras to make a difference, because trust me, that would NOT have gone well for us.

OK, let's get to the more pleasant stuff:

- Louisville has a lotta size but only one skilled perimeter guy. and once we actually started seeing man-and-ball and cutting off his drives, they were gonna be challenged to mount much offense outside the paint. We took advantage of that by anticipating their passing lanes and handoff action, which generated TOs and transition.

- Speaking of size, when we went "Big" in the second half with Washington at the 4, that completely negated them inside. And how about Washington in general? Man, he has sure picked a good time to get his legs under him. And what more can say about Mando, back with a double-double in the first 10 minutes on a leg-and-a-half?

- and speaking of TRANSITION --- we committed to pushing the ball and it accounted for getting out of the early hole and closing the first half with a decent lead --- 20 out of our 37 came in transition. We took the foot off the gas again some in the second half, but some of that was understandable, what with (often anticipation/phantom) fouls mounting up.

- speaking further of transition, nothing sparks sound breaks like passing ahead --- and Dunn in particular made at least 3 sweet pitch-aheads that resulted in baskets. The bad news is that once our starting Guards put their heads down, this concept too often disappears. We indeed got away with some ill-advised takes and/or quick-triggers :rolleyes:

- After a clunky first half in his start, Puff came back with a strong second.

- As for Dunn, I would hope that today's play removed any doubt as to who should be the first 2/3 off the bench. He has made a big Sophomore leap in every facet of the game (which was apparent going back to camp, TBH), and if you give him the minutes he's more than likely to deliver. Also, good to see Styles give us some solid minutes amidst the aforementioned foul issues.

- However, as for bench minutes, I'd still like to see Hubert be more consistent and less seat-of-the-pants with substitutions. Trimble had a couple of loose moments in the first half, but that's no reason to get totally buried on the bench until garbage time. And again, Nickel has gone from an early-rotation guy to MIA. I mean, "depth" is just something on paper unless ya utilize it.

- As for defense, we probably could've blown it open sooner with more aggression against these guys, The few times we scrambled, we got TOs or stops, including a backcourt steal off 44. and what's this??? ZONE made an appearance! Good time with all the foul trouble.

- One last thing: I'd really like to see us return to "pointing to the passer" as an expectation, as it was under Dean. It's a Carolina staple and way more than symbolic. I only saw it a couple of times today.

Anyway, a soild TCB win on the road vs a team that had to get a dispropotionate amount of their points at the line. Again, good thing this wasn't a closer one --- that, and their ball-don't-lie bad FT shooting ;). The dichotomy of when we play Carolina basketball as opposed to when we don't, was once again on display. I vote for even more of the former, and moving a step past TCB on Tuesday... :cool:
 
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gary-7 said:
- As for Dunn, I would hope that today's play removed any doubt as to who should be the first 2/3 off the bench. He has made a big Sophomore leap in every facet of the game (which was apparent going back to camp, TBH), and if you give him the minutes he's more than likely to deliver. Also, good to see Styles give us some solid minutes amidst the aforementioned foul issues.

- However, as for bench minutes, I'd still like to see Hubert be more consistent and less seat-of-the-pants with substitutions. Trimble had a couple of loose moments in the first half, but that's no reason to get totally buried on the bench until garbage time. And again, Nickel has gone from an early-rotation guy to MIA. I mean, "depth" is just something on paper unless ya utilize it.

. The dichotomy of when we play Carolina basketball as opposed to when we don't, was once again on display.
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1. Dunn and Styles can be All-ACC guys if given the playing time

2. Hubert did the same thing to Puff at Pitt. :mad:

3. If we get fully healthy by mid February we will be the best team in America.
 
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I Was at the game and Dunn was outstanding. Game changed when he started defending Ellis. I agree Gary, that Dunn is the most qualified 2 way player on our bench. I am not a fan of the 3 guard lineups, but Dunns rebounding and athleticism today allowed us to play those lineups and still dominate the boards.
 
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I’ll gladly brag that I’ve been high on Dunn all year and he showed out today. He can be a such a great six man on this team. Washington continues to be a great asset off the bench and will be big for us down the stretch.

Totally agree on the inexplicable substitutions. And there needs to be consistency with guys and more leeway in certain cases such as Trimble today and Puff at Pitt.

I would like to see us stop throttling the offense at times in the second half. There has been several examples of this throughout the season and a couple times cost us the win.

Good win in a must win game.
 
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strummingram said:
You serious, Clark?
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Kinda true! If we play Louisville every game until mid-February, some people here will believe we're the best team in the country!

We had Louisville and BC to get our confidence up and get some production out of the role players. Mission accomplished with Louisville. Was also hoping Louisville and BC were games for Caleb to eat and improve his form, but LOL to that.

We haven't even beaten a lock at-large team yet and people are talking about being ranked #1. We don't even know if we're fake good or not!
 
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Nice review Gary.

I'll start with the officiating. From where I sat in the Yum Center, I had a clear view of all the calls on both sides. We were called for 25 fouls with 17 of those in the second half. That lacks just 3 fouls of being 1 every minute. The 2 officials not named Roger Ayers called 15 of those fouls. As I have mentioned before, the officiating is becoming more and more intrusive within games, and it not only is frustrating to watch, but it is also making the games unwatchable. Good officials let many calls go and warn the players before they load them up with foul trouble. In today's game the only fouls that were let go were the Louisville fouls. Just unbelievable incompetence.

I know that the league office instructed and put emphasis on the charge calls, and they have gone too far with-it IMO. It is especially infuriating to watch a team play bumper pool with our players and then our players get the opposite treatment and fouls called on the defensive end. I just wished that officials were made to discuss questionable calls and held accountable for their less than stellar officiating. I believe that making officials full time employees of the conference would be a step in the right direction. Pay them well and fire them when they are ridiculously bad at their jobs.

Enough bitching about officiating, (can't help it though, bad officiating is a real sore spot with me).

I thought that Dunn had his best game as a Heel in this game. I liked that we used the bench (26 pts, 9 RB's, 2 steals, 5TO's & 1 Blk). Of course, we have to consider too, that Louisville is a very poor team at this time. They do have some good components, but overall, they are needing a big influx of talent before they will be competitive in the ACC.

I, like Gary mentioned, like the change-up in defenses and the 44-defense showed itself today as well. I am slightly concerned about our half-court offense at this time. We are having too many hiccups there and it's mostly due to lack of offense or shooting, if you will. The guys are going to have to shoot the ball better or defenses are just going to collapse on Bacot and wait for our misses. There has been an overall shooting slump from the 2G & 3 positions. If we can improve our percentages of makes from those 2 positions, it makes our inside game so much better. See the Virginia game as a good example.

There's not a lot I need to add about today's game other than it's always good to get wins, no matter the competition. Today, we did what we, as a team, should have done, and that was to skull drag this opponent.

BC is up next.
 
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heels05champs said:
I’ll gladly brag that I’ve been high on Dunn all year and he showed out today. He can be a such a great six man on this team. Washington continues to be a great asset off the bench and will be big for us down the stretch.

Totally agree on the inexplicable substitutions. And there needs to be consistency with guys and more leeway in certain cases such as Trimble today and Puff at Pitt.

I would like to see us stop throttling the offense at times in the second half. There has been several examples of this throughout the season and a couple times cost us the win.

Good win in a must win game.
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Being at the game, it usually reads differently than watching on TV. What did you all think about Calebs game today? I will watch the game later, but being there in person it seemed like he would derail our offense many times.
We would have 2-3 trips of good ball movement and team play, and then a 1 on everybody play from Caleb.
Defensively though he was VERY active off the ball, I believe he had 5 steals today.
Dunn was the player of the game though.
By the way, NOBODY in the arena new Bacot was playing until Starting lineups were announced.
 
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I don't take much from this game. Louisville is just not a very good basketball team. They do seem to have some talent, but play totally out of control. If Kenny Payne cannot at least get them a bit structured, which he doesn't seem to make any attempt to do, his coaching era at Louisville will be a short one
 
TarHeelMark said:
I'm really liking what D'Marco is showing us lately. Impressive hops on rebounds, knocking down 3's, and some quick hands on a few steals.
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Looked great today. Do people think he will start as an upperclassman? He's gotten a lot better, still a bit passive on offense usually and hasn't been consistent on D. He also looks a bit short for a wing? At the 2 he's got a lot of competition for the next couple years.
 
gauchoheel said:
Looked great today. Do people think he will start as an upperclassman? He's gotten a lot better, still a bit passive on offense usually and hasn't been consistent on D. He also looks a bit short for a wing? At the 2 he's got a lot of competition for the next couple years.
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If by "passive" you mean playing smart and shooting with confidence, then yeah.
 
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In theory this game should be inflated for everyone since UL loves just giving the ball away and giving up easy transition baskets off the turnovers.
 
Tarheel75 said:
Nice review Gary.

I'll start with the officiating. From where I sat in the Yum Center, I had a clear view of all the calls on both sides. We were called for 25 fouls with 17 of those in the second half. That lacks just 3 fouls of being 1 every minute. The 2 officials not named Roger Ayers called 15 of those fouls. As I have mentioned before, the officiating is becoming more and more intrusive within games, and it not only is frustrating to watch, but it is also making the games unwatchable. Good officials let many calls go and warn the players before they load them up with foul trouble. In today's game the only fouls that were let go were the Louisville fouls. Just unbelievable incompetence.

I know that the league office instructed and put emphasis on the charge calls, and they have gone too far with-it IMO. It is especially infuriating to watch a team play bumper pool with our players and then our players get the opposite treatment and fouls called on the defensive end. I just wished that officials were made to discuss questionable calls and held accountable for their less than stellar officiating. I believe that making officials full time employees of the conference would be a step in the right direction. Pay them well and fire them when they are ridiculously bad at their jobs.

Enough bitching about officiating, (can't help it though, bad officiating is a real sore spot with me).

I thought that Dunn had his best game as a Heel in this game. I liked that we used the bench (26 pts, 9 RB's, 2 steals, 5TO's & 1 Blk). Of course, we have to consider too, that Louisville is a very poor team at this time. They do have some good components, but overall, they are needing a big influx of talent before they will be competitive in the ACC.

I, like Gary mentioned, like the change-up in defenses and the 44-defense showed itself today as well. I am slightly concerned about our half-court offense at this time. We are having too many hiccups there and it's mostly due to lack of offense or shooting, if you will. The guys are going to have to shoot the ball better or defenses are just going to collapse on Bacot and wait for our misses. There has been an overall shooting slump from the 2G & 3 positions. If we can improve our percentages of makes from those 2 positions, it makes our inside game so much better. See the Virginia game as a good example.

There's not a lot I need to add about today's game other than it's always good to get wins, no matter the competition. Today, we did what we, as a team, should have done, and that was to skull drag this opponent.

BC is up next.
Click to expand...
I have to admit that the officiating this year is the worst I’ve ever seen.
 
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There are 2 strong story lines from this game that should jump out to anyone. Bacot not only played but he started and earned yet another double double in just the first half, and then the bench took over. There was strong doubt that Bacot would play in this game, Hubert himself didn't think he would the night before, they prepared to go without him all week but come tip off there was Amando ready to roll. So interesting, Lousiville may not be a great team but they are big think and strong. But there was no doubt who the best big man in this game was. But prepping to play without him came in good when Bacot picked up those couple first half fouls, the Heels were ready.

One of the main reasons these Heels were ready leads in to the second story line, Dunn played his butt off, had a really really good game. Hit big shots yeah, looks great on the box score yeah, but what he did even more important is he handled Ells, didn't just handle him but shut him the heck down. Els started the game marching to the foul line hitting 6 free throws and tally 11pts before anyone broke a good sweat. Dunn came in and Els stayed at that same 11pts til this game was already decided. Love that he stepped up on BOTH sides of the ball.

RJ had a nice game, efficient shooting, got in to a little foul trouble but the bench, specifically Dunn stepped in and rather than a drop off we increased our lead. Caleb, nice assist numbers but yet again, really poor shooting efficiency, what was it, 3 for 17, most shots taken by our players, resulted in 10pts? Very good defensive effort by Caleb considering he is not a guy you look to for consistent defense. Washington came in and again did a good job and really nice to see Puff get some shots and get some shots to drop.

Good game, road win, needed it, now on to BC at the Dome, need to stack wins!
 
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gary-7 said:
Could happen.
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Well... technically, anything could happen. But, this group has a helluva ways to go to even sniff being the best team in the ACC, let alone the entire country. There's no absolute dominant team in CBB, but let's keep our perspective in reality a little bit more.
 
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DSouthr said:
There are 2 strong story lines from this game that should jump out to anyone. Bacot not only played but he started and earned yet another double double in just the first half, and then the bench took over. There was strong doubt that Bacot would play in this game, Hubert himself didn't think he would the night before, they prepared to go without him all week but come tip off there was Amando ready to roll. So interesting, Lousiville may not be a great team but they are big think and strong. But there was no doubt who the best big man in this game was. But prepping to play without him came in good when Bacot picked up those couple first half fouls, the Heels were ready.

One of the main reasons these Heels were ready leads in to the second story line, Dunn played his butt off, had a really really good game. Hit big shots yeah, looks great on the box score yeah, but what he did even more important is he handled Ells, didn't just handle him but shut him the heck down. Els started the game marching to the foul line hitting 6 free throws and tally 11pts before anyone broke a good sweat. Dunn came in and Els stayed at that same 11pts til this game was already decided. Love that he stepped up on BOTH sides of the ball.

RJ had a nice game, efficient shooting, got in to a little foul trouble but the bench, specifically Dunn stepped in and rather than a drop off we increased our lead. Caleb, nice assist numbers but yet again, really poor shooting efficiency, what was it, 3 for 17, most shots taken by our players, resulted in 10pts? Very good defensive effort by Caleb considering he is not a guy you look to for consistent defense. Washington came in and again did a good job and really nice to see Puff get some shots and get some shots to drop.

Good game, road win, needed it, now on to BC at the Dome, need to stack wins!
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Just to clarify, Caleb had one assist and 4 turnovers. He did have 5 steals and they came at opportune times.
 
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strummingram said:
Well... technically, anything could happen. But, this group has a helluva ways to go to even sniff being the best team in the ACC, let alone the entire country. There's no absolute dominant team in CBB, but let's keep our perspective in reality a little bit more.
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My perspective is always in reality. Of course we have a ways to go (as I mention constantly), but as you said. there's no juggernaut out there. Hell, we gave away a multiple-OT game to probably the most talented roster in the country, and only then mostly because we were still screwing around with that unfortunate offensive experiment nonsense.

Point is, IF we keep progressing in playing Carolina basketball. and IF the staff commits to utilizing our depth, it is entirely possible we could emerge at the sort of level many envisioned for us.
 
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gary-7 said:
My perspective is always in reality. Of course we have a ways to go (as I mention constantly), but as you said. there's no juggernaut out there. Hell, we gave away a multiple-OT game to probably the most talented roster in the country, and only then mostly because we were still screwing around with that unfortunate offensive experiment nonsense.

Point is, IF we keep progressing in playing Carolina basketball. and IF the staff commits to utilizing our depth, it is entirely possible we could emerge at the sort of level many envisioned for us.
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... and, this was about a whole lotta nuthin' actually being said.
 
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gary-7 said:
My perspective is always in reality. Of course we have a ways to go (as I mention constantly), but as you said. there's no juggernaut out there. Hell, we gave away a multiple-OT game to probably the most talented roster in the country, and only then mostly because we were still screwing around with that unfortunate offensive experiment nonsense.

Point is, IF we keep progressing in playing Carolina basketball. and IF the staff commits to utilizing our depth, it is entirely possible we could emerge at the sort of level many envisioned for us.
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I don't understand how it's a reality that this team has shown it can be the best team in the country. To me, it's a very broad statement to say we can be as good as anyone if we continue to get better. That's the reality for like 30 teams in the country.

I also think things like "playing Carolina basketball" is playing the results. Weird that when we win or play well, it's mainly because we play "Carolina basketball" and when we don't play well it's because we don't play "Carolina basketball."

Everything based on reality indicates that this team is a mile away from the top teams in the country.

Our net rating is +18.2

Houston's net rating is +30.6
Tennessee's net rating is +28.1
UCLA's net rating is +27.5
Alabama's net rating is +26.9
Purdue's net rating is +25.8

That is a huge difference in the quality of the teams. That doesn't mean we can't beat the best teams. We almost beat Alabama. But in totality, we're not close. And the difference probably isn't playing "Carolina basketball" a little bit more.
 
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SJung851 said:
I don't understand how it's a reality that this team has shown it can be the best team in the country. To me, it's a very broad statement to say we can be as good as anyone if we continue to get better. That's the reality for like 30 teams in the country.

I also think things like "playing Carolina basketball" is playing the results. Weird that when we win or play well, it's mainly because we play "Carolina basketball" and when we don't play well it's because we don't play "Carolina basketball."

Everything based on reality indicates that this team is a mile away from the top teams in the country.

Our net rating is +18.2

Houston's net rating is +30.6
Tennessee's net rating is +28.1
UCLA's net rating is +27.5
Alabama's net rating is +26.9
Purdue's net rating is +25.8

That is a huge difference in the quality of the teams. That doesn't mean we can't beat the best teams. We almost beat Alabama. But in totality, we're not close. And the difference probably isn't playing "Carolina basketball" a little bit more.
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"Carolina Basketball" is not even a real thing. It's some tribal BS that's about as real as saying "The American Way." Playing as a team isn't exclusive to any specific team, it refers to ALL teams... when they play AS a team.
 
gary-7 said:
My perspective is always in reality. Of course we have a ways to go (as I mention constantly), but as you said. there's no juggernaut out there. Hell, we gave away a multiple-OT game to probably the most talented roster in the country, and only then mostly because we were still screwing around with that unfortunate offensive experiment nonsense.

Point is, IF we keep progressing in playing Carolina basketball. and IF the staff commits to utilizing our depth, it is entirely possible we could emerge at the sort of level many envisioned for us.
Click to expand...
I think the 2 best teams in the country are Houston and Perdue, a small few are and should be seen as contenders once the NCAAT rolls around, I don't think most NON-UNC fans feel UNC is all that close in the hunt, many UNC fans feel same way, I don't. We have not played to our potential at any point, if the goal is to win a natty, you are much better off having your team peak late than early, this team sure did not peak early so a peak has to come to us late.

We had a very early season scheme that just didn't work, was really one that should have stayed on the cutting room floor but guys struggled with it, we had no offensive flow, it had to be scrapped, that could not happen until that west road trip was done and that VT was played, then they were able to get back to the practice court and kill that 5 out nonsense. But doing so, went on a nice 4 game win streak, then Christmas break we came back a bit groggy, our Mo stalled out a bit. Then Leaky tweeks a ankle, Bacot a shoulder, nance back, then Bacot another ankle and we all the sudden have a big man problem, couple more losses jumped in.

However, scrapping the 5 out stuff resulted in both pounding the ball inside to Bacot and creating more open looks for everyone else. That is great but Caleb all the sudden seems a bit lost, not scoring, missing easier shots, kind of in a run of games like that. But Caleb s a good open shot maker, we all get excited when he hits those hard shots but I prefer he hit open shots! So Caleb can really heat up at any time and as long as he is still sharing the wealth, games like 5-7 assists, yesterday 5 steals, good other stuff that is not his scoring. RJ has been solid but I do think he can take it a little further.

But other guys have come off the bench and played really well, Dunn had a great game yesterday, Puff was really good, in other games Trimble, Washington and Nickel have stepped up nice. Can't say we don't have a bench now and that bench gets better with each game. When Bacot fully shakes off his nagging injuries and Nance comes back from that back we become even stronger.

This team went toe to toe against bama, one of the best teams in the country, we had every op to win that game, took 4OTs to settle the matter and frankly, we played poorly in that game. I don't think we have played anything close to our A game this season, I don't think we have played our A game for a full half either, this team can blitz opponents when our jump shots off clean looks drop, we are getting solid front court play and Bacot owning the boards, we make the extra pass for assists, we limit our TOs, and hit our free throws. With the way our bench has been scoring, we can rest our starters legs and still increase leads, when we play our A game you will know it! LOL

I do think our A game beats any other teams A game by double digits, we don't just have talent, we have talent at every position and talent coming off the bench at every position that rivals the starters, some positions that is a full 3 deep. Injuries have forced that depth to step up, that bodes well for us late season.
 
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strummingram said:
"Carolina Basketball" is not even a real thing. It's some tribal BS that's about as real as saying "The American Way." Playing as a team isn't exclusive to any specific team, it refers to ALL teams... when they play AS a team.
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Carolina basketball is absolutely a real thing, it is the standard. I find it funny how over the last few years other programs have tried to copy the UNC "FAMILY" but they can't really do it, they can't because they simply do not understand it. Family is about "together" that is what permeates this UNC program, players that are close, players that play as one, play hard, play smart, play together, and yes Roy, hit our free throws! LOL

The Carolina way is about winning the right way, by playing to our standard, not some other teams, that is real, that is Carolina Basketball, that may not always be how we play an individual game but it is always the goal.
 
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strummingram said:
"Carolina Basketball" is not even a real thing. It's some tribal BS that's about as real as saying "The American Way." Playing as a team isn't exclusive to any specific team, it refers to ALL teams... when they play AS a team.
Click to expand...
You and I are about to get called fake fans, but I agree!
 
DSouthr said:
Carolina basketball is absolutely a real thing, it is the standard. I find it funny how over the last few years other programs have tried to copy the UNC "FAMILY" but they can't really do it, they can't because they simply do not understand it. Family is about "together" that is what permeates this UNC program, players that are close, players that play as one, play hard, play smart, play together, and yes Roy, hit our free throws! LOL

The Carolina way is about winning the right way, by playing to our standard, not some other teams, that is real, that is Carolina Basketball, that may not always be how we play an individual game but it is always the goal.
Click to expand...
I'm glad you believe your version of whatever you think it is. Congratulations.
 
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