Quick stuff (State game)...

[gary-7]

...and for me this was the most frustrating loss I can remember in a very long time.

- Earlier this week I posted about some adjustments I thought/hoped the staff would make, and well, we pretty much did. We moved the ball better in our Passing Game, we were making quicker and more positive moves when the ball went inside, and the biggest one --- Theo integrated himself back into the flow instead of trying to force from the top. Today he attacked off the catch and against a moving defense, and as a result they didn't know what to do with him. Moreover, no one can complain about us shooting too many 3s. Our selection was more Carolina-like and hell, we shot 64% on 2-pt FGs. Oh, and we took care of the glass well enough all things considered (48-34).

- However, on the other end we had a 32% 3-pt shooting team go 15/30 on us. Even more frustrating is that being unconscious from deep was the only thing that could even keep them in this game, much less win it. Sure we had a few lapses (like Luke accepting some bad high switches late) but we defended that Dribble-Drive mess well enough to hold them to 19/46 from 2.

- Ultimately then, the maddening thing is it came down to us just leaving points on the floor. Yeah, we should have gotten to the line more but 55% FTs will lose you ball-games. But the elephant in the Dome was the gawdawful 3-point shooting. That 1/11 in the first half was a killer (the fact we somehow led at halftime speaks to how well we did everything else), and the second half was worse in a way because by then we were flat hesitating. Making 4 total is even misleading as we were only 2/15 in regulation. That is absolutely gonna lose you some games.

- It's hard to accept a loss when you have two guys with strong double-doubles. Theo and Luke were hosses despite being out-sized in the paint. Brooks also deserves a mention for giving us some offensive production in the post, and Platek gave us a very strong run in the first half with our only 3, but really impressive was a great catch-and-reverse and going up over some bigger guys for an offensive board that led to a score.

- I would be remiss if I didn't mention the incessant and blatant travelling State was getting away with. I'm can't remember when I've seen that many uncalled walks. I mean, I know they're not gonna catch every one but come on... that is a rule for a reason. Almost makes me wish Lenny Wirtz was still reffing... almost.

- Moment that summed up the day: Second half they full-court press on a dead ball. We destroy it textbook with JB passing out of the double to Theo breaking to half-court giving us a 3-on-2 just like Dean drew up our Press-O, and hits Cam all alone in rhythm in front of our bench. I bet most UNC fans were ready to count that 3... but it wasn't really close. Speaking of Dean, when we got that late steal off the in-bound it looked like Larry Miller, Charlie Scott & Co were about to witness a classic Carolina comeback. Alas, Sterling panicked and didn't spot JB going to the block for a 2-on-1.

- Obviously moments like that didn't lose this one, but they were illustrative of the self-inflicted things that did. Even a modicum of shooting competence from 3 and the line and we cruise in this one. And that's the part that's so damned frustrating. Some folks might not want to hear this, but the guys played hard, and made adjustments and did a lot of things right, and it kills me to see them not get rewarded. For all the analyses and stuff, we won this game in every way but the one that actually counts --- the scoreboard. A bad 3-pt and FT shooting night is one thing, but now I'm worried it's getting into their heads .

Welp, it's several hours later and I still feel nauseous about this one. For me, today hurt more than even Wofford, mostly for the reason I mentioned in the paragraph above. I can only hope the guys can push through and recapture their swagger, because it doesn't get any easier...

 

[shun1]

Hi gary...THANK YOU...SMILE...and life goes on. I still have FAITH in our UNC TAR HEELS and coach Roy Williams.

!!!!!!!!!!!! GO TAR HEELS !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Indy_Heel]

I personally think we looked slow the last few games (more so the VT game). The more I keep hearing about JB shooting before games the worse his shot has looked. I feel offensively Williams has disappeared (except for a few minutes near the end of game). Not sure how their center didn't foul out. A lot of over the back and pushes in the back on rebounds.

 

[BillyL]

Let's cry about the refs . . seems thats always an easy out.

State shot 15 of 30 from 3Land, folks . . them dayum refs were setting screens for the Wolfies I 'spose and getting in our way of covering Freeman and company. LOL

The refs had nothing to do with our loss today. We sucked far worse than anything called by the trio of Luckie, Eades & Desai.

 

[Lewis&Miller]

There is one aspect of the game that this years Tar Heels cannot lose and that is the 3 point battle. Roys teams have always overcome the 3 point battle with dominating inside bigs(more possessions, more attempts) but that luxury has left the building.

Time to stop the wide open 3s and don't loose your mind over a drive and layup/dunk.

 

[gary-7]

I personally think we looked slow the last few games (more so the VT game). The more I keep hearing about JB shooting before games the worse his shot has looked. I feel offensively Williams has disappeared (except for a few minutes near the end of game). Not sure how their center didn't foul out. A lot of over the back and pushes in the back on rebounds.

Yeah, I think JB needs to take a break from the pre-game shooting. Sometimes you just need to clear your head. Apparently Cam had been throwing up the last couple of days which doesn't help things. One way or another we need to make more 3s. It's a reality of the modern game.

 

[uncfanatic]

Let's cry about the refs . . seems thats always an easy out.

State shot 15 of 30 from 3Land, folks . . them dayum refs were setting screens for the Wolfies I 'spose and getting in our way of covering Freeman and company. LOL

The refs had nothing to do with our loss today. We sucked far worse than anything called by the trio of Luckie, Eades & Desai.

This

Our D is ridiculous and I watched plenty of boneheaded plays from upperclassman today.

A lay up is less than a 3 last time I checked. Let em dunk it and lay it up all day.

After Freeman hit his first 3, someone should have been starring him in the chest all day. “He breathes, you help” mentality.

 

[FranktheHeel]

Theo was great today, he took exactly what the defensive gave him, took advantage of switches, and really showed how good he can be when he attacks the rim and gets into the paint. We really did need him to attack and score today and that was exactly what he gave us, really nice day with a career high 22 points and 15 big rebounds to show for it. I really hope that today was the day that he saw how good he can be doing what he did and be like this every game. It really showed me that we are so much better as a team when Theo is fully involved and is an aggressor, he may just be our most important piece as he can affect games in so many different ways.

Luke, I think 31 and 12 kind of sums up the day that he had today, he once again came to play. I think Luke deserves a ton of praise for the year he is having, it really is awesome to see it from such a hard worker and a great kid. My only gripe with him has to be defending ball screens and allowing those 2 offensive rebounds late in the game. In regards to free throws, I think he's gonna get it, just give him a chance. One thing I would like to see more of is Luke getting some more feeds on the low block where he can create his own shot off of a stepback or fadeaway from the corner, he did it a few times today and was very successful. Also, I think we need to run more pick and pops for him, let him get shots more shots from the 3. I also love Luke taking it coast to coast.

I thought our inside attack was very good today and if we could've knocked in some more threes we would've had a balanced attack. A lot of that was to Theo’s credit and I hope we continue to try to get into the lane and inside a lot more moving forward, as we went 34/53 on two point attempts and we have seen that we can’t rely on the long ball.

I would like to see us get Cam and Kenny more action off of curls allowing them to have room to drive, they both had plays like that today and they were effective. We need both of them to get going and to gain some confidence from other areas to show them that they don't need to be so reliant on threes and also not have teams not contest them so much out on the perimeter. I would also like to see some inside looks off of backdoor cuts- Cam, Theo and Luke are good enough passers to have Kenny and Joel run some backdoor action, especially when the floor is spaced and we have good movement.

Garrison had some great first half minutes as he 7 points in 5 minutes, he looked a lot more aggressive and composed. I definitely think that his spark off the bench caught Roy's attention and hopefully this is a sign of things slowing down for him and him making a bigger impact moving forward.

Like most of you my biggest gripe is definitely defensively, it was very frustrating to see us get beat off the dribble, have trouble with ball screens and allow very much open shooters on the perimeter that we were able to step in for threes. I really would have loved to see us force them to shoot twos because you know what we would’ve beat them. I know that we don’t have a strong inside presence, but having a long and athletic small ball lineup, we shouldn’t be allowing so many open threes. If we are going to continue to supply help on drives, we have to just resort to giving a jab instead of over committing allowing a shooter to get free and hit an open three. Simply said, our guys need to commit to this end of the floor and it starts with each guy buying in.

I really, really do HATE state and losing this one today when Theo put up career numbers and having the 1967-69 teams honored really does hurt, we played well enough to win and played with better energy .I still do believe in this group, as Adam said “It is a ride and It's too early to get off the ride just yet.” We can turn things around, the main focus now needs to be Clemson because we really need do need that one. It’s time to dig deep boys!!

 

[venom660turbo]

Theo was great today, he took exactly what the defensive gave him, took advantage of switches, and really showed how good he can be when he attacks the rim and gets into the paint. We really did need him to attack and score today and that was exactly what he gave us, really nice day with a career high 22 points and 15 big rebounds to show for it. I really hope that today was the day that he saw how good he can be doing what he did and be like this every game. It really showed me that we are so much better as a team when Theo is fully involved and is an aggressor, he may just be our most important piece as he can affect games in so many different ways.

Luke, I think 31 and 12 kind of sums up the day that he had today, he once again came to play. I think Luke deserves a ton of praise for the year he is having, it really is awesome to see it from such a hard worker and a great kid. My only gripe with him has to be defending ball screens and allowing those 2 offensive rebounds late in the game. In regards to free throws, I think he's gonna get it, just give him a chance. One thing I would like to see more of is Luke getting some more feeds on the low block where he can create his own shot off of a stepback or fadeaway from the corner, he did it a few times today and was very successful. Also, I think we need to run more pick and pops for him, let him get shots more shots from the 3. I also love Luke taking it coast to coast.

I thought our inside attack was very good today and if we could've knocked in some more threes we would've had a balanced attack. A lot of that was to Theo’s credit and I hope we continue to try to get into the lane and inside a lot more moving forward, as we went 34/53 on two point attempts and we have seen that we can’t rely on the long ball.

I would like to see us get Cam and Kenny more action off of curls allowing them to have room to drive, they both had plays like that today and they were effective. We need both of them to get going and to gain some confidence from other areas to show them that they don't need to be so reliant on threes and also not have teams not contest them so much out on the perimeter. I would also like to see some inside looks off of backdoor cuts- Cam, Theo and Luke are good enough passers to have Kenny and Joel run some backdoor action, especially when the floor is spaced and we have good movement.

Garrison had some great first half minutes as he 7 points in 5 minutes, he looked a lot more aggressive and composed. I definitely think that his spark off the bench caught Roy's attention and hopefully this is a sign of things slowing down for him and him making a bigger impact moving forward.

Like most of you my biggest gripe is definitely defensively, it was very frustrating to see us get beat off the dribble, have trouble with ball screens and allow very much open shooters on the perimeter that we were able to step in for threes. I really would have loved to see us force them to shoot twos because you know what we would’ve beat them. I know that we don’t have a strong inside presence, but having a long and athletic small ball lineup, we shouldn’t be allowing so many open threes. If we are going to continue to supply help on drives, we have to just resort to giving a jab instead of over committing allowing a shooter to get free and hit an open three. Simply said, our guys need to commit to this end of the floor and it starts with each guy buying in.

I really, really do HATE state and losing this one today when Theo put up career numbers and having the 1967-69 teams honored really does hurt, we played well enough to win and played with better energy .I still do believe in this group, as Adam said “It is a ride and It's too early to get off the ride just yet.” We can turn things around, the main focus now needs to be Clemson because we really need do need that one. It’s time to dig deep boys!!

Who wins between DSourhr and Frank? Lol!

Listen I’m as angry with this loss as anyone because we continue to do the same things wrong and do not have the inside game to relive the pressure !

I know the game is suppose to be going towards the perimeter but a good big man, or two, still matters in the College game!

 

[j-doolsheels]

Thanks for the breakdown...I thought NCSU really brought their A game today. Still should have finished the job, but this is definitely a rebuilding year.

 

[Tru Blu Tar Heel]

Fact of the matter is this. It's one thing for a team to shoot 50% from 3 when they only shoot 8-10 threes a game. When they shoot 30 though? That's 45 points folks. That's difficult to overcome. Hard to overcome when everyone in Carolina blue not named Luke Maye shoots 1-12 from 3. That's 8%. DEFINITELY not when you leave 9 points on the free throw line. Even when you take Luke's 4-8 from the stripe out of the equation, the rest of the team still only made 7-12 (or 58%). I don't know what has happened to the shooting.

Also, is Berry injured or just exhausted? I know he's playing more minutes than Roy would like as a result of Felton have a 2 inch leash, but I counted at least 4-5 occasions when Joel's man LITERALLY just blew right by him. Get big dog some rest.....if that means an extra 3-4 minutes for Felton then so be it. If it means Pinson or Williams run the point for those 3-4 minutes instead, then so be it. Or maybe Woods is somewhere close to being back?

Also, while I'm at it, what's with the stagnation on offense? I know it's been discussed ad nauseam here, but there is minimal to ZERO movement off the ball. I made sure to pay specific attention off the ball today and unless it was Theo making something happen or a specifically called play, everyone just stood around watching the ball handler trying to take their man off the dribble. I mean, come on! Easiest man to defend is one that doesn't move. I taught my 4th graders that on day one. Doesn't matter if you're just moving corner to corner or drifting around the 3 point line, the defense HAS to account for you.

Scary thing is that the schedule doesn't look like it's going to get anything but harder. Game at Clemson on Monday...Pitt at home on Saturday (might be just what the doctor ordered but at this point I'm not counting ANYONE out).......then it's dook game 1.....If Carolina wants to have ANY chance against the top 4 in the ACC, Williams and Johnson need to get it going. A 2 dimensional offense is super easy to keep from going off. Need Cam and Kenny to get something going to the basket to build confidence then start spotting up for the drive and kicks.

 

[Lewis&Miller]

Everyone knows this is not the typical Carolina team but this team does have some dynamic pieces and when they come together its a beautiful thing. Its those games that make it appear this team "might" have an outside chance to make a deep run in the tourney. This team can beat Virginia and other top teams.

The small lineup sounds great. One slasher(Theo) and 4 players around the perimeter that can knock down threes. But realistically Roy does not have any experience with this style. How many times does Theo have multiple options on the drive? Few. These drives need designed options especially for a player of such high turnover tendencies. Theo has to just make it up as he goes, so it is not a winning formula.

Kenny Williams together with Cam Johnson are not paying the needed dividends on offense. Time to go back and play Brooks/Manley. Maye is having an All American type season(retired jersey?) and is our best 3 point shooter. Allow Maye to be the player he was Saturday on offense and give us some type of rim defender on defense in Manley/Brooks.

This small lineup is not going to work because it is orchestrated within the Carolina half court system and the opponent already knows that offense better than our freshman.

 

[DSouthr]

Who wins between DSourhr and Frank? Lol!

Listen I’m as angry with this loss as anyone because we continue to do the same things wrong and do not have the inside game to relive the pressure !

I know the game is suppose to be going towards the perimeter but a good big man, or two, still matters in the College game!

MEeeee! But I do really enjoy Franks views! LOL

 

[DSouthr]

Fact of the matter is this. It's one thing for a team to shoot 50% from 3 when they only shoot 8-10 threes a game. When they shoot 30 though? That's 45 points folks. That's difficult to overcome. Hard to overcome when everyone in Carolina blue not named Luke Maye shoots 1-12 from 3. That's 8%. DEFINITELY not when you leave 9 points on the free throw line. Even when you take Luke's 4-8 from the stripe out of the equation, the rest of the team still only made 7-12 (or 58%). I don't know what has happened to the shooting.

Also, is Berry injured or just exhausted? I know he's playing more minutes than Roy would like as a result of Felton have a 2 inch leash, but I counted at least 4-5 occasions when Joel's man LITERALLY just blew right by him. Get big dog some rest.....if that means an extra 3-4 minutes for Felton then so be it. If it means Pinson or Williams run the point for those 3-4 minutes instead, then so be it. Or maybe Woods is somewhere close to being back?

Also, while I'm at it, what's with the stagnation on offense? I know it's been discussed ad nauseam here, but there is minimal to ZERO movement off the ball. I made sure to pay specific attention off the ball today and unless it was Theo making something happen or a specifically called play, everyone just stood around watching the ball handler trying to take their man off the dribble. I mean, come on! Easiest man to defend is one that doesn't move. I taught my 4th graders that on day one. Doesn't matter if you're just moving corner to corner or drifting around the 3 point line, the defense HAS to account for you.

Scary thing is that the schedule doesn't look like it's going to get anything but harder. Game at Clemson on Monday...Pitt at home on Saturday (might be just what the doctor ordered but at this point I'm not counting ANYONE out).......then it's dook game 1.....If Carolina wants to have ANY chance against the top 4 in the ACC, Williams and Johnson need to get it going. A 2 dimensional offense is super easy to keep from going off. Need Cam and Kenny to get something going to the basket to build confidence then start spotting up for the drive and kicks.

I don't think Joel is tired, I think he is taking on to much on himself. He had some other senior leaders he could fall back on last season, it is more for him to carry right now mentally.

 

[BillyL]

MEeeee! But I do really enjoy Franks views! LOL

Yeah . . Frank has a long way to go before he unseats Dave as the King of verbiage on this board.






(but, he's inching closer with every poast)

 

[dadika13]

We are just bad defensively, it's that simple. We have good individual defensive players but our rotations and help D is god awful.

 

[FranktheHeel]

Who wins between DSourhr and Frank? Lol!

​

MEeeee! But I do really enjoy Franks views! LOL

Yeah . . Frank has a long way to go before he unseats Dave as the King of verbiage on this board.(but, he's inching closer with every poast)

Lol, it's funny you guys say this because when I was posting that I was actually trying to make it shorter, I did try. You do need to give me credit on one front, I am now using paragraphs!!!, next is shortening the length, I'm slowly improving.

And Dave I'll gladly take second behind you, you are a great poster brother.

What can I say I love talking about my Heels, even when they frustrate the "heel" out of me. You guys are the best, love talking basketball and all things Carolina with all of you. GO HEELS!!!

 

[franklin street]

state averages a little over 6 made 3's a game.
today 15.
they played above their heads, give them credit.