Quick stuff (ND game)...

[gary-7]

... and whew!

- I'm gonna start at the end: The sequence after the tie-up with 4 on the shot clock was a definition of winning basketball and coaching. I was pretty sure Roy was gonna call the quick-lob option on the baseline OB but (as they did all day) ND's Bigs pushed Manley off his spot. Credit Sterling for a heads-up play for getting up a shot, and the winning play of Joel getting it up to the rim as he was being fouled, and of course, Dog with the ice-money FTs (even with Bilas double-jinxing him ). Then Roy steps in. First, he crosses them up by showing ball-pressure on the in-bound, then changes up after a Timeout to 3/4 funnel pressure. Correctly anticipating Brey would go with his PG on the move (since there was a full 7 seconds left), he had JB funnel him into Luke for a beautiful slide-double, leaving them with nothing but a prayer attempt. Granted, that otherwise perfect defensive execution damn near got undone by yet another long rebound, but even if that put-back had dropped we did everything right in that final sequence.

- As for the rest, the elephant in the room of course was getting out-rebounded 45-37, and worse giving up 20 Offensive. Thing is, that wasn't just in the small lineups --- it was happening with different configurations. Why? A combination of factors. 1) There were times when we just weren't blocking out worth a damn, 2) ND was more aggressive, both in going for rebounds, and after we initially had them, and 3) let's be honest, ND's guys were also doing a lot of grabbing and poking after we had balls almost secured (none of which they were penalized for).

- The inability to clean the glass certainly contributed to slowing our running game. We only had 4 Fast Break and 17 Secondary Break points. Those are unacceptable numbers for our system and I have to say, it's a wonder we pulled this one out seeing that.

- Speaking of rebounding, that deficit enabled them to get up 5 more shots than us, and muddied up several sequences of really good defense. We actually held them under 31% on 2-pt FGs. Unfortunately we got too often caught up in helping off shooters and that bit us as they made 10 3s at a 42% clip.

- The overall defensive performance was pretty decent considering the friggin' montage of illegal screens they were setting. I'll just say when they finally called one late in the second half that was about the 20th. There's a reason that's supposed to be a point of emphasis this season --- that junk is gonna get somebody hurt.

- I would still like to see more scrambles. We only used a few possessions of 30 or 40, and it definitely bothered them when we did.

- Back to concerns, we just weren't cashing in tonight. We had 16 Assists on 26 made FGs, but the 19 Blown Assists reared their ugly heads, contributing to 9 Blown Transition ops. We were definitely sharing the ball but not finishing the job at nearly the clip we need to.

- Luke had a big first half, but got too hesitant to take advantage of mismatches on the block in the second. Still another double-double (18 and 11) and a good job in Help-D tonight. Theo's Swiss Army Knife exploits were key, especially in a second-half sequence when it looked like we might take control. And JB was JB --- clutch.

- One issue was that the above trio accounted for 2/3 of our points (46 of 69). Cam and Kenny were struggling to score and were a combined 1/8 from 3. Cam in particular is still not getting his feet set in anticipation of his shot, and it is affecting that pretty stroke.

- The frosh Bigs were getting pushed around early, but I did like that they toughened up some in the second half and fought harder for the ball. And BRob did some really nice things tonight --- I just want to see him finish some of those plays and maybe that will get his confidence going.

Anyway, somehow we survived the above issues and a fired-up ND team (and Jamie Luckie). As Shulman said in the ESPN outro, "that was a tough ACC road win"... and that in itself speaks volumes, baby. I'll take it!...

 

[soap - new and improved]

Garbage refs in this game. Decent zebras and we would have shot 40 FTs and ND would have had less than half of their rebounding total. Some peeps will point to total FT shots being close to say good officiating. That's all well and good unless 1 team (like ND) is shoving grabbing bumping and tripping the entire game. On the last possession before Berry hit the FTs he was 100% tripped by ND guy and resulting call was a jump ball. Nonsense, and garbage.

So glad we got out of there with the W in a super-ugly rugby scrum of a game! I dislike Bar Rescue and his team of Domer Homers immensely. Most of 'em should suit up for the football team.

 

[bradythegoat2]

Garbage refs in this game. Decent zebras and we would have shot 40 FTs and ND would have had less than half of their rebounding total. Some peeps will point to total FT shots being close to say good officiating. That's all well and good unless 1 team (like ND) is shoving grabbing bumping and tripping the entire game. On the last possession before Berry hit the FTs he was 100% tripped by ND guy and resulting call was a jump ball. Nonsense, and garbage.

So glad we got out of there with the W in a super-ugly rugby scrum of a game! I dislike Bar Rescue and his team of Domer Homers immensely. Most of 'em should suit up for the football team.

I generally agree but ND is also one of the least fouling teams in the country every year. They historically only play a 6-7 man rotation so really can't afford to foul. There were questionable calls on both sides - most going against us in the first half and then a few down the stretch going in our favor.

Bottom line is this game shouldn't have been close with their top two guys out. We played terribly. I'm just happy we came out of there with a win.

 

[uncfanatic]

I generally agree but ND is also one of the least fouling teams in the country every year. They historically only play a 6-7 man rotation so really can't afford to foul. There were questionable calls on both sides - most going against us in the first half and then a few down the stretch going in our favor.

Bottom line is this game shouldn't have been close with their top two guys out. We played terribly. I'm just happy we came out of there with a win.

+1

 

[Spaceytoyz]

I agree played pretty bad and escaped, how does that last shot off the glass not go in for them...

 

[gary-7]

I agree played pretty bad and escaped, how does that last shot off the glass not go in for them...

It's funny, Luke was talking about post-game how bouncy the rims were --- how the ball would stay up there. ND already made a couple of around-the-world 3s previously that probably don't fall on most rims, so I think everyone, including their players, our players and us as fans were expecting that put-back to drop. Fortunately, it didn't.

 

[Indy_Heel]

UNC played the game like they just expected to win with their two top guys out. It was almost comical how much they were getting away with illegal screens and pushing/grabbing. Hell the first one their center finally got called for he was moving straight from one horrible pick to the next one. I don't like blaming refs but that was bad all night.

UNC played lazy. No one fought for rebound position. Don't know how many times it was all white under the basketball and our guys just content to stand behind. Cam didn't try too hard tonight to rebound. Watch the last above the rim replay of the final put back, Cam was just standing there. ND wanted it more than us tonight. The two loses and this game looked the same to me. Just kinda look like they are mailing it in. Hopefully Luke gets his head straightened out when it comes to FTs. 2 FT air balls in the last couple of weeks.

It's just difficult watching this team. Not used to seeing UNC teams look scared on the road. We are missing our inside presence we normally have to calm games down. Too much pressure on the back court to deliver. Oh well should be used to it by now this year. To end on a positive note...it was a victory and if they get their crap together I feel they can beat anyone.

 

[dtodd4475]

I was able to go to the game. ND was just more assertive going for rebounds. Cam was just god awful, he was tentative on everything he did, including rebounds. He just seemed uncertain and soft with the ball and on the glass. B. Rob gave some good moments all around, but he is lacking confidence too, and was soft trying to finish at the bucket.

To shoot as poorly as we did from 3 while getting the usual (very little) in from post, we were very lucky to get the "W". They kicked our behinds on the boards. If we are going small, we better shoot it better. I thought Manley was affective when in.

Just glad to sneak that one out, thanks to the missed layup.

 

[Archer2]

How many shots did we miss from point blank range against FSU? A ton. It's all a part of the game.

 

[TheGLOV]

OK, here I go:

I think we did play a 'lazy-game' as it were.

We won,....BARELY!

I went absolutely through the roof when ole Roy did not pressure the in-bound pass/the ND player taking the ball out of bounds in order to throw it in with so little time left on the clock.

As smart as he is, he is MORE stubborn, than he needs to be when it comes to changing things.

Our team, maybe, could have gotten a 5-second delay on the inbounds pass possibly and it could have impacted the game.

For ole Roy to sag-off the inbound pass and basically left them throw it to an open man is beyond comprehension!

We came oh-so-close to losing this game.

Our defense at the time seemed to be: "Let's hope they miss!"

UNREAL.

 

[FranktheHeel]

Nicely done again Gary.

It was good to see Theo get going in the second half, he provided an offensive boost when we needed it and heyyy, he nailed a three too. Another good game from him as he did his Swiss army knife shenanigans with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Also, another key area is that he had no turnovers again today. It is now back to back games where neither him nor Joel committed any turnovers. And maybe the biggest defensive play of the game, him sliding into the lane and taking the charge.

Once again, I am impressed with Sterling, he came off the bench in the 1st half and contributed in a big way by giving us good minutes and scoring 5 points in 6 minutes in the first half. And his effort on the last play by being able to come down with the ball, know the situation and get something up toward the rim was really big as it lead to a Joel rebound and foul. Gonna say it again just like after last game, this kid keeps getting better and better and it is very good for this team.

Thought Roy made a great call on running the slip play the second time for Luke after he saw that the first one would’ve been successful if not for the hold. That was a successful play with Isaiah last year and by using Luke in that same action we will be able to have the same success. It always seems to be a big play late in games leading to a W. I like when Luke gets up there and jams it home!

Ole Roy always says that he saves his timeouts for late game situations when his team needs them because he doesn't want to take away their chances to pull out a game late, well he had them at the end of the game today and used them really wisely and to our advantage.

Rebounding- I'm not going to really get into it, I thought Gary put it really well. You know Roy is going to get on them for that, it was something that they stressed in their game plan today and didn't execute.

Luke did a great job in the first half today doing what he does best by moving without the ball, picking his spots and scoring in a variety of ways. Him going 6-6 from the field for 13 points in the beginning of the first half was really big as the rest of the team was struggling to get anything going. There were two plays tonight in the first half from Luke where he was able to find Joel for a three that stood out to me. He was able to get positioning in the post and instead of trying to make a tough play for himself, he kicked it back out to Joel for 3, I would really like to see more of this as the season progresses because Luke will continue to get trapped and double teamed, and we have seen that at times he tends to force things when this happens, hopefully he sees those plays which I think he will and realize that as that pressure comes, he needs to keep his head up, stay under control and find the open shooter on the perimeter or someone cutting into the lane. He is definitely capable of doing this as he is a good enough passer to do so. I think we all would’ve liked to see him keep things up in the second half, but that is just not how things went today, he did convert nicely on that big slip play late in the game and played a game high 35 minutes.

Joel Berry did it baby - Calm, Cool, Collective, Confident and CLUTCH as he sunk those 2 bigggg ones from the charity stripe!!!

We had 7 turnovers today and 8 against BC, hopefully this is a sign to come of valuing the basketball better.

You have to also give our guys credit for pulling this one out being down by 6 with 6 minutes to go without allowing any field goals in the final 6 minutes and forcing 4 turnovers, the defense stepped up when we needed it to and our offense was able to make enough plays down the stretch. Also, thank God that he is a Tar Heel fan and was with us on the last shot.

It seemed like after the game the guys and Roy were glad they got the win because it is not easy to get any road wins in the ACC, but were not satisfied with how they got it done, so I fully expect them to get some good work in the next few days and prepare for a big time game against Clemson in order to be fully prepared to get another WIN. We will gladly take this W in South Bend!!

 

[FranktheHeel]

Two great moments from our Seniors tonight…. Off the court

Theo spoke about this in his presser, which I thought was a pure example of how vital Theo is to this team with the upperclassmen leadership that he provides and his ability to be able to interact with his teammates. He talked about how he went up to Sterling after the game and told him that what he did on that last play was a big reason why they won and that he wanted him to know that. He talked about how he wanted to give him confidence and show him that little plays like that make a big difference in games which was exactly what his did tonight. The reason he did this was because Marcus did something similar to this to him during his Freshman year and it stuck with him, as he made a similar play which also led to a win. Another reason why Marcus is one of the greatest Heels and that who he was to Carolina is shown through the play of this years team and will continue to be. I would love to see Sterling have a moment like this is a year or so where he talks to another player in a similar way and brings up this moment he shared with Theo.

Joel also had a moment where he spoke up during Roy’s postgame speech to the team as Roy was blaming himself for the team’s effort. Joel said "Coach, it's not you," he said. "It's us. We've got to play better." I thought this was a big moment for Joel and the team. We have seen this a few times this year where Joel has taken ownership for his play and that of the teams, but this was done during Coach addressing them, so you know that Joel really felt that he needed to make this point to the rest of the guys. That’s what it is about right there, stepping up and showing the guys that they need to take ownership for the way they play and need to make a change to it. It is a complete team effort because everyone needs to improve and this stems from each individual player doing what they can do in order to make the team the best it can be. Hopefully, this can inspire some of the guys and be something that motivates them moving forward.

The rest of what Joel said is in Adam’s article below:
http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/adam-lucas-lucas-senior-speech.aspx

We certainly have two of the best in Joel and Theo!!!

 

[Archer2]

Two nice posts Frank. We have a coach who is willing to accept the blame for a subpar effort and senior leaders who are men enough to know that they are responsible for that, not Coach. Pretty rare stuff in this day and age.

Makes me proud and bodes well for better things to come.

 

[MWHeels]

Nice analysis, Gary. I really like what I saw from Manley on both offense and defense. He made a couple of nice baskets inside after some initial contact. That's an area he seems to be making some improvement since the beginning of the season. He also altered a few shots and made some nice plays on help defense to prevent easy baskets.

My concern is that they are still giving up more 3's than I would like, especially from the corners. Hopefully, they will continue to work on perimeter defense.

Overall, it was a good road win against a quality opponent, even if they were missing some players.

 

[TarHeelMark]

Two great moments from our Seniors tonight…. Off the court

Theo spoke about this in his presser, which I thought was a pure example of how vital Theo is to this team with the upperclassmen leadership that he provides and his ability to be able to interact with his teammates. He talked about how he went up to Sterling after the game and told him that what he did on that last play was a big reason why they won and that he wanted him to know that. He talked about how he wanted to give him confidence and show him that little plays like that make a big difference in games which was exactly what his did tonight. The reason he did this was because Marcus did something similar to this to him during his Freshman year and it stuck with him, as he made a similar play which also led to a win. Another reason why Marcus is one of the greatest Heels and that who he was to Carolina is shown through the play of this years team and will continue to be. I would love to see Sterling have a moment like this is a year or so where he talks to another player in a similar way and brings up this moment he shared with Theo.

Joel also had a moment where he spoke up during Roy’s postgame speech to the team as Roy was blaming himself for the team’s effort. Joel said "Coach, it's not you," he said. "It's us. We've got to play better." I thought this was a big moment for Joel and the team. We have seen this a few times this year where Joel has taken ownership for his play and that of the teams, but this was done during Coach addressing them, so you know that Joel really felt that he needed to make this point to the rest of the guys. That’s what it is about right there, stepping up and showing the guys that they need to take ownership for the way they play and need to make a change to it. It is a complete team effort because everyone needs to improve and this stems from each individual player doing what they can do in order to make the team the best it can be. Hopefully, this can inspire some of the guys and be something that motivates them moving forward.

The rest of what Joel said is in Adam’s article below:
http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/adam-lucas-lucas-senior-speech.aspx

We certainly have two of the best in Joel and Theo!!!

We stole ND's brownies, and they were good!

Whew, is all I can say. You could see the same reaction from some of our guys after that last one didn't go in (still can't believe it didn't drop).

Yes, we were fortunate to have Theo get the charge call (but ND was lucky not to have the obvious interference call too). I was surprised that the foul on Joel was called, as refs usually let those go. But I rewound and watched that one a few times and he did get hit in the face / upper arm. And the big dog knocked 'em down.... dude has ice in his veins.

I felt like this was a big game, and it definitely keeps us near the top in the standings. Otherwise, we were looking up at a lot of teams.

Ok, on to Clemson. Let's keep the streak alive!

 

[bax4444]

How many shots did we miss from point blank range against FSU? A ton. It's all a part of the game.

It shouldn't be though at this level. Layups should almost be automatic. This team misses way too many of them. I've gotten on luke because he's the most obvious example but it's an epidemic with this team. Kenny misses a lot of them as well.

At least it went in our favor when it mattered most last night.

 

[DrJaaay]

I watched the game twice, since it's difficult for me to watch the game in an analytical way when I don't know who is gonna win.
I'll just say that other than rebounding, which was abysmal, we could have easily won that game if we had been hitting our outside shot. Cam, Kenny and Jalek all had wide open shots that would not fall.
Unfortunately this analysis sounds like dook teams of yore. But those dook teams won a lot of games shooting 3s, so I guess we can too.
We are a very dangerous team, and we will crush some teams when the 3-ball is falling. When it's not, I expect Joel and Theo to keep us close enough to win a lucky one ... like we did tonight. On to Clempson! Go Heels!

 

[SeaHawk98]

I was disappointed with the overall play last night. Trend of late, except for BC. Notre Dame was down two of its best players and UNC barely won, especially since this was a must win game in Heels have any chance of being repeat champs in the ACC. That being said, a road win this year in this league is a big accomplishment given how the league is going this year. I really wish UNC would get some home cooking refs like last night. I am biased, but man they made some game changing calls. I am glad that last second shot didn't go in because ND got that rebound because #23 literally shoved Luke Maye out of the way to open up that rebound. I know refs will let some things go at the very end, but you can't let an intentionally shove like that to go. Oh well, Heels escaped.

 

[gary-7]

I

OK, here I go:

I think we did play a 'lazy-game' as it were.

We won,....BARELY!

I went absolutely through the roof when ole Roy did not pressure the in-bound pass/the ND player taking the ball out of bounds in order to throw it in with so little time left on the clock.

As smart as he is, he is MORE stubborn, than he needs to be when it comes to changing things.

Our team, maybe, could have gotten a 5-second delay on the inbounds pass possibly and it could have impacted the game.

For ole Roy to sag-off the inbound pass and basically left them throw it to an open man is beyond comprehension!

We came oh-so-close to losing this game.

Our defense at the time seemed to be: "Let's hope they miss!"

UNREAL.

I'm gonna have to disagree here. With a full 7 seconds to go and up 1, pressuring the in-bound in a full-court situation is extremely risky. It was after a make, so the passer can run the baseline and they're almost certain to get the pass in, which now leaves you with your rim-protector 94 feet away from doing any good, and them essentially attacking you 5-on-4. Roy actually threw ND a curve by showing deny before the TO --- changing to 3/4 took away any chance of finding an open shooter down-court. The shot they got was a guarded force that had little chance of going in. The fact it was a brick caused the long rebound (which was almost disaster) and there's nothing you can do about those. I stand by Roy's late-game management there 1000%.

 

[TarHeelMark]

So glad Roy had some timeouts to work with at the end.

 

[MJUNC]

I watched the game twice, since it's difficult for me to watch the game in an analytical way when I don't know who is gonna win.
I'll just say that other than rebounding, which was abysmal, we could have easily won that game if we had been hitting our outside shot. Cam, Kenny and Jalek all had wide open shots that would not fall.
Unfortunately this analysis sounds like dook teams of yore. But those dook teams won a lot of games shooting 3s, so I guess we can too.
We are a very dangerous team, and we will crush some teams when the 3-ball is falling. When it's not, I expect Joel and Theo to keep us close enough to win a lucky one ... like we did tonight. On to Clempson! Go Heels!

This got me to thinking how much I miss our power basketball play this year. You know when we can out muscle and out play out rebound most any team with our bigs running the ball through the post. I catch myself yelling at the TV for them to throw it inside sometimes and then remember we don't have anyone who we can really do that to yet this year. Tony I miss what could have been, Manley Brooks Huff keep working and get stronger we need you.

 

[MWHeels]

I always get a little worried when I see them settling for 3's early in the shot clock, especially with this new small lineup. There were a lot of defensive rebounds yesterday that led to easy points for the Irish. They have to be committed to driving inside, where there is a greater chance of either scoring or drawing a foul. The spacing should be better with the new lineup to allow that to happen.

I watched a lot of the Michigan / MSU game yesterday. Michigan as the road team shot 35 FT attempts and made 28 of them. We have guys who can make free throws, but we need to get there first.

 

[TheGLOV]

I

I'm gonna have to disagree here. With a full 7 seconds to go and up 1, pressuring the in-bound in a full-court situation is extremely risky. It was after a make, so the passer can run the baseline and they're almost certain to get the pass in, which now leaves you with your rim-protector 94 feet away from doing any good, and them essentially attacking you 5-on-4. Roy actually threw ND a curve by showing deny before the TO --- changing to 3/4 took away any chance of finding an open shooter down-court. The shot they got was a guarded force that had little chance of going in. The fact it was a brick caused the long rebound (which was almost disaster) and there's nothing you can do about those. I stand by Roy's late-game management there 1000%.

Gary, I think the (risk) was played out and almost bit us in the butt. I do hear you sir but the ending of this game, was almost, like the ending of a past game against Villanova! His late game mangernt is IMO something to be worried about. *Offical disclaimer’ I have not coached not even one NCAA Div. 1 basketball game!

 

[MWHeels]

Gary, I think the (risk) was played out and almost bit us in the butt. I do hear you sir but the ending of this game, was almost, like the ending of a past game against Villanova! His late game mangernt is IMO something to be worried about. *Offical disclaimer’ I have not coached not even one NCAA Div. 1 basketball game!

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of the last out of bounds play to Manley. If It were Meeks or Hicks, I probably won't have as much of an issue with it. I thought there were better options to go to in that situation. Fortunately it worked out in the end.

 

[Heels5150]

... and whew!

- I'm gonna start at the end: The sequence after the tie-up with 4 on the shot clock was a definition of winning basketball and coaching. I was pretty sure Roy was gonna call the quick-lob option on the baseline OB but (as they did all day) ND's Bigs pushed Manley off his spot. Credit Sterling for a heads-up play for getting up a shot, and the winning play of Joel getting it up to the rim as he was being fouled, and of course, Dog with the ice-money FTs (even with Bilas double-jinxing him ). Then Roy steps in. First, he crosses them up by showing ball-pressure on the in-bound, then changes up after a Timeout to 3/4 funnel pressure. Correctly anticipating Brey would go with his PG on the move (since there was a full 7 seconds left), he had JB funnel him into Luke for a beautiful slide-double, leaving them with nothing but a prayer attempt. Granted, that otherwise perfect defensive execution damn near got undone by yet another long rebound, but even if that put-back had dropped we did everything right in that final sequence.

- As for the rest, the elephant in the room of course was getting out-rebounded 45-37, and worse giving up 20 Offensive. Thing is, that wasn't just in the small lineups --- it was happening with different configurations. Why? A combination of factors. 1) There were times when we just weren't blocking out worth a damn, 2) ND was more aggressive, both in going for rebounds, and after we initially had them, and 3) let's be honest, ND's guys were also doing a lot of grabbing and poking after we had balls almost secured (none of which they were penalized for).

- The inability to clean the glass certainly contributed to slowing our running game. We only had 4 Fast Break and 17 Secondary Break points. Those are unacceptable numbers for our system and I have to say, it's a wonder we pulled this one out seeing that.

- Speaking of rebounding, that deficit enabled them to get up 5 more shots than us, and muddied up several sequences of really good defense. We actually held them under 31% on 2-pt FGs. Unfortunately we got too often caught up in helping off shooters and that bit us as they made 10 3s at a 42% clip.

- The overall defensive performance was pretty decent considering the friggin' montage of illegal screens they were setting. I'll just say when they finally called one late in the second half that was about the 20th. There's a reason that's supposed to be a point of emphasis this season --- that junk is gonna get somebody hurt.

- I would still like to see more scrambles. We only used a few possessions of 30 or 40, and it definitely bothered them when we did.

- Back to concerns, we just weren't cashing in tonight. We had 16 Assists on 26 made FGs, but the 19 Blown Assists reared their ugly heads, contributing to 9 Blown Transition ops. We were definitely sharing the ball but not finishing the job at nearly the clip we need to.

- Luke had a big first half, but got too hesitant to take advantage of mismatches on the block in the second. Still another double-double (18 and 11) and a good job in Help-D tonight. Theo's Swiss Army Knife exploits were key, especially in a second-half sequence when it looked like we might take control. And JB was JB --- clutch.

- One issue was that the above trio accounted for 2/3 of our points (46 of 69). Cam and Kenny were struggling to score and were a combined 1/8 from 3. Cam in particular is still not getting his feet set in anticipation of his shot, and it is affecting that pretty stroke.

- The frosh Bigs were getting pushed around early, but I did like that they toughened up some in the second half and fought harder for the ball. And BRob did some really nice things tonight --- I just want to see him finish some of those plays and maybe that will get his confidence going.

Anyway, somehow we survived the above issues and a fired-up ND team (and Jamie Luckie). As Shulman said in the ESPN outro, "that was a tough ACC road win"... and that in itself speaks volumes, baby. I'll take it!...

The one ref that Theo accidental kicked did not give us a thing until the very end of the game. I was joking right when it happened and said that to my family member. It turns out he missed more calls then anyone I thought. Once again until the end of the game. I think this will do a lot for the guys confidence. Anytime you get a Road ACC win you Thank God and move on to the next game. In this case Clemson 0-58. Last nights game to me was just down and dirty basketball. But once again the kids closed out the game on a 9-2 scoring margin which shows once again their perseverance.

 

[gary-7]

The one ref that Theo accidental kicked did not give us a thing until the very end of the game. I was joking right when it happened and said that to my family member. It turns out he missed more calls then anyone I thought. Once again until the end of the game. I think this will do a lot for the guys confidence. Anytime you get a Road ACC win you Thank God and move on to the next game. In this case Clemson 0-58. Last nights game to me was just down and dirty basketball. But once again the kids closed out the game on a 9-2 scoring margin which shows once again their perseverance.

That was the infamous Jamie Luckie, who is one of the worst in the game. Let's just be thankful he wasn't the guy under basket when JB got hammered on the last-second follow.

 

[gary-7]

Gary, I think the (risk) was played out and almost bit us in the butt. I do hear you sir but the ending of this game, was almost, like the ending of a past game against Villanova! His late game mangernt is IMO something to be worried about. *Offical disclaimer’ I have not coached not even one NCAA Div. 1 basketball game!

Actually, your mention of Villanova is very relevant here . There was less time left in that one and because of that Roy inadvertently gave Nova too much space to operate by taking away closer-in shots and thus the kick-back was too open. With 7 seconds ND's options were much greater. Luring them into a PG take was a smart way to go. No one was getting a rhythm look off a pass, and JB's assignment (and he's the best there is at that) was to keep their guy from getting a path to the rim and funneling into Luke. Basically their guy was now forced into a running double-team and he had to throw up a prayer. Also notice before that just inside half court Cam was lurking to take away any pitch-backs (like nova got).

There's no perfect way to defend in that situation. As Dean always said, I'd rather be down 1 with the ball than up 1 without it... and 7 seconds is an eternity there. You are very vulnerable in those situations. I'll say again from my perspective, Roy handled that one about as well as anyone could, including Dean.

 

[gauchoheel]

Also, another key area is that he had no turnovers again today. It is now back to back games where neither him nor Joel committed any turnovers.

This is huge for us. They've done a much better job taking care of the ball.

Two great moments from our Seniors tonight…. Off the court

Theo spoke about this in his presser, which I thought was a pure example of how vital Theo is to this team with the upperclassmen leadership that he provides and his ability to be able to interact with his teammates. He talked about how he went up to Sterling after the game and told him that what he did on that last play was a big reason why they won and that he wanted him to know that. He talked about how he wanted to give him confidence and show him that little plays like that make a big difference in games which was exactly what his did tonight. The reason he did this was because Marcus did something similar to this to him during his Freshman year and it stuck with him, as he made a similar play which also led to a win. Another reason why Marcus is one of the greatest Heels and that who he was to Carolina is shown through the play of this years team and will continue to be. I would love to see Sterling have a moment like this is a year or so where he talks to another player in a similar way and brings up this moment he shared with Theo.

Joel also had a moment where he spoke up during Roy’s postgame speech to the team as Roy was blaming himself for the team’s effort. Joel said "Coach, it's not you," he said. "It's us. We've got to play better." I thought this was a big moment for Joel and the team. We have seen this a few times this year where Joel has taken ownership for his play and that of the teams, but this was done during Coach addressing them, so you know that Joel really felt that he needed to make this point to the rest of the guys. That’s what it is about right there, stepping up and showing the guys that they need to take ownership for the way they play and need to make a change to it. It is a complete team effort because everyone needs to improve and this stems from each individual player doing what they can do in order to make the team the best it can be. Hopefully, this can inspire some of the guys and be something that motivates them moving forward.

The rest of what Joel said is in Adam’s article below:
http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/adam-lucas-lucas-senior-speech.aspx

We certainly have two of the best in Joel and Theo!!!

Great post. I was really impressed with Theo and Sterling today.


A few people have mentioned they thought B-Rob had a good game. What was it that you liked? He missed two layups, one in particular should have been a pretty easy make. He also had a really bad foul on-ball when he had already gotten away with body checking his guy. While it didn't lead to free throws directly, it got them in the bonus earlier so essentially led to two extra ND points down the road. I didn't notice much he did well, but I am not as good observing things that happen off-ball.

 

[gary-7]

A few people have mentioned they thought B-Rob had a good game. What was it that you liked? He missed two layups, one in particular should have been a pretty easy make. He also had a really bad foul on-ball when he had already gotten away with body checking his guy. While it didn't lead to free throws directly, it got them in the bonus earlier so essentially led to two extra ND points down the road. I didn't notice much he did well, but I am not as good observing things that happen off-ball.

BRob will grade very high defensively. He was where he needed to be, had a great steal that he got fouled on to stop a dunk, and was active on both ends. That's why I said in the OP that i really want to see some finishes completed to get his confidence back.

 

[bax4444]

This is huge for us. They've done a much better job taking care of the ball.


Great post. I was really impressed with Theo and Sterling today.


A few people have mentioned they thought B-Rob had a good game. What was it that you liked? He missed two layups, one in particular should have been a pretty easy make. He also had a really bad foul on-ball when he had already gotten away with body checking his guy. While it didn't lead to free throws directly, it got them in the bonus earlier so essentially led to two extra ND points down the road. I didn't notice much he did well, but I am not as good observing things that happen off-ball.

Same. I suppose he plays good defense or whatever but not so much better than anyone else where you could call him a specialist. I'm a bit dissapointed in his play. He was a top 50-60 guy who you'd have thought would be a nice contributor by now. Frankly he looks spastic and unaware on the court.

 

[Heels5150]

Has anyone heard if Kenny Williams is hurt?When he hyperextended his knee it looked pretty bad. I know he came back in but I am still concerned that there might be more to it. Thanks

 

[gobblercalls]

Basically their guy was now forced into a running double-team and he had to throw up a prayer. Also notice before that just inside half court Kenny was lurking to take away any pitch-backs (like nova got)

I believe Kenny had fouled out with 37 seconds left.

 

[gary-7]

I believe Kenny had fouled out with 37 seconds left.

My bad... you're right. Cam had the trailer on that one.
Corrected. Thanks.

 

[FranktheHeel]

A few people have mentioned they thought B-Rob had a good game. What was it that you liked? He missed two layups, one in particular should have been a pretty easy make. He also had a really bad foul on-ball when he had already gotten away with body checking his guy. While it didn't lead to free throws directly, it got them in the bonus earlier so essentially led to two extra ND points down the road. I didn't notice much he did well, but I am not as good observing things that happen off-ball.

BRob will grade very high defensively. He was where he needed to be, had a great steal that he got fouled on to stop a dunk, and was active on both ends. That's why I said in the OP that i really want to see some finishes completed to get his confidence back.

I agree with Gary, there is no doubt that he comes in and plays hard, I would love to see him come in right away and knock down a three, just to get himself going and in a rhythm offensively. I also think that he becomes even more vital to us now when we go small because he is able to sub in for Cam or Theo in order to give them a quick breather while still keeping that same spacing offensively and using his length defensively to keep his man in front of him. He kept the ball moving, ran the floor well and didn't give us any drop off defensively. Like Gary said he knows where he needs to be and does have the length to be disruptive, while also moving his feet well. As you said Gaucho, he does tend to pick up some fouls like yesterdays where he is a little over aggressive, I think with more time he will realize that he can still be aggressive, but can do it in a more controlled way to not pick up those fouls and I have seen Roy discuss that with him during games.
It is important to note that Roy did put him on the floor at the end of the game in order to stay small there, which I think was a good move because in that situation you need defenders that are athletic and have length in order to matchup with the offense who is trying to get their guard a look going towards the rim, as Notre Dame did. With Seventh out and us using some more small ball, we will need B-Rob to be confident and ready to contribute and provide a spark on both ends.

 

[gary-7]

I agree with Gary, there is no doubt that he comes in and plays hard, I would love to see him come in right away and knock down a three, just to get himself going and in a rhythm offensively. I also think that he becomes even more vital to us now when we go small because he is able to sub in for Cam or Theo in order to give them a quick breather while still keeping that same spacing offensively and using his length defensively to keep his man in front of him. He kept the ball moving, ran the floor well and didn't give us any drop off defensively. Like Gary said he knows where he needs to be and does have the length to be disruptive, while also moving his feet well. As you said Gaucho, he does tend to pick up some fouls like yesterdays where he is a little over aggressive, I think with more time he will realize that he can still be aggressive, but can do it in a more controlled way to not pick up those fouls and I have seen Roy discuss that with him during games.
It is important to note that Roy did put him on the floor at the end of the game in order to stay small there, which I think was a good move because in that situation you need defenders that are athletic and have length in order to matchup with the offense who is trying to get their guard a look going towards the rim, as Notre Dame did. With Seventh out and us using some more small ball, we will need B-Rob to be confident and ready to contribute and provide a spark on both ends.

Absolutely, Frank. For whatever reason some feel the need to take pot-shots at our bench guys. Fact is we are just getting started on the grind of the ACC schedule and as you correctly stated, with our default lineup being small that places more premium on Wing depth.

The fact is BRob and Andrew are going to be key components of what we do. As we've discussed they have been "auditioning" if you will for important minutes, as well as being part of the rotation. Most, including myself were looking for a Soph leap from BRob, especially after he had such a good summer. Unfortunately he came out of the gate this season shaky, maybe trying to do too much,and it was apparent his confidence took an early hit. Andrew on the other hand started out ahead of schedule and gave solid minutes on both ends, and actually passed up Brandon in the pecking order for a spell.

Andrew's last couple of outings haven't been as consistent as he was earlier. For example last night after making a nice pass to JB for a corner 3 (which he unfortunately didn't convert), AP forgot his role as the 2-Guard in that situation and crashed the boards instead of hanging back to keep the floor balanced (since the PG was on the baseline). Rookie mistake --- that led to ND getting a transition bucket--- and it cost him some additional minutes. Brandon on the other hand was mentally solid, and thus got more time.

Bottom line is that is a fluid situation, and as fans we should hope that they BOTH make strides as the season goes, because again, we're gonna need them.

 

[nctransplant]

So glad Roy had some timeouts to work with at the end.

He used one he saved from last year.

 

[FranktheHeel]

Absolutely, Frank. For whatever reason some feel the need to take pot-shots at our bench guys. Fact is we are just getting started on the grind of the ACC schedule and as you correctly stated, with our default lineup being small that places more premium on Wing depth.

The fact is BRob and Andrew are going to be key components of what we do. As we've discussed they have been "auditioning" if you will for important minutes, as well as being part of the rotation. Most, including myself were looking for a Soph leap from BRob, especially after he had such a good summer. Unfortunately he came out of the gate this season shaky, maybe trying to do too much,and it was apparent his confidence took an early hit. Andrew on the other hand started out ahead of schedule and gave solid minutes on both ends, and actually passed up Brandon in the pecking order for a spell.

Andrew's last couple of outings haven't been as consistent as he was earlier. For example last night after making a nice pass to JB for a corner 3 (which he unfortunately didn't convert), AP forgot his role as the 2-Guard in that situation and crashed the boards instead of hanging back to keep the floor balanced (since the PG was on the baseline). Rookie mistake --- that led to ND getting a transition bucket--- and it cost him some additional minutes. Brandon on the other hand was mentally solid, and thus got more time.

Bottom line is that is a fluid situation, and as fans we should hope that they BOTH make strides as the season goes, because again, we're gonna need them.

Well said, and that's why I felt that B-Rob did well yesterday because he filled his role, yes I would've liked to see him come in and convert on one or two of his three attempts, but that wasn't the case. I was also one of those people who was very excited about B-Rob coming into the season and I still have confidence in him because I think that he can really shine as a sub in our small ball lineup. If B-Rob can show he can be aggressive defensively by contributing with a few rebounds and being disruptive on the wing, he will continue to get his time and may see it increase as he continues to improve and gain more of Roy's trust. Adding some scoring would be a big confidence boost for him and a bonus for this team that needs the bench to be able to give all that the production that they can.
You bring up the point of auditioning for minutes which I think is spot on when considering factors that arise throughout the season/game, look at yesterday when Kenny fouled out, say this occurred with 4 minutes to go in the second half and Roy wants to go/stay small, it is important to have B-Rob be comfortable to come in and play in a small ball lineup or any lineup for that case, likewise with Andrew and that is why I think that Roy continues to give them these opportunities and also because he does need them to relieve his starters in order to give them a rest. It's never a bad thing to have your bench guys have in game experience especially in hostile environments in order to help them develop a confidence and comfort level because when the home stretch of ACC play comes along and tourny time, we have seen that it's all hands on deck. All I gotta say is that I trust in Ole Roy to know which guys he can bring in to help us have the best chance of winning and to also have right combos out there when the game is on the line.

 

[TheGLOV]

He used one he saved from last year.

Did not!

That one is still earning interest!!