Rebounding 2021-22 - What Should We Expect?

[What Would Jesus Do?]

UNC was the 3rd best rebounding team in America last season; 1st in offensive rebounding. As usual.

With the departure of Brooks, Sharpe and Kessler, we will be missing 3 of our top 4 rebounders.

Moreover, it's unclear how heavily Hubert's philosophy will focus on rebounding, even if we do get another center or 4/5 to help out (which looks increasingly unlikely, but is still possible).

Here's how the returning and added guys on our roster (not including frosh or walk-ons) did for the 2020-21 season.

Player	MPG	Offensive RBs/game	Defensive RBs/game	Total RBs/game	Total RBs/40min
Armando Bacot	22.7	3.2	4.7	7.8	13.8
Brady Manek	25.1	1.2	3.8	5.0	8.0
Leaky Black	27.6	1.3	3.6	4.9	7.2
Justin McKoy	11.3	0.9	2.4	3.3	11.6
Caleb Love	27.7	0.4	2.2	2.6	3.7
RJ Davis	22.3	0.4	1.9	2.3	4.1
Kerwin Walton	21.0	0.3	1.4	1.7	3.3
Anthony Harris	11.0	0.4	0.6	1.0	3.6
Puff Johnson	4.1	0.1	0.4	0.5	4.8
Totals		8.2	21.0	29.1
Totals 2021 full team		15.7	27.2	42.8

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

It's worth noting that UVa only ranked 314 in rebounding last season. Oklahoma was just middle of the pack on rebounding.

I feel comfortable about both McKoy and Manek, because they played for good teams in good conferences. But in Justin's case, his rebounding isn't too bad even though he was on a team that (apparently) didn't emphasize rebounding very much.

The optimistic thought is that both McKoy and Manek may be better rebounders than their raw numbers suggest.

This makes me feel better if McKoy ends up backing up both front line positions. If he gets 25-30 minutes in that role, I could see him getting 9 points and 8 rebounds. Not earth-shattering, but pretty decent.

 

[DSouthr]

Our rebound numbers will come down IMO, if Hubert does what he has indicated he will and especially if we do not get another back to the basket big man. When we played with 2 "classic" big men as other teams went much smaller at the 4 and 3 spots (we started a 6'8" wing) you should dominate the rebounding numbers. Seemed at times like it became part of our offensive game plan, throw anything up and use your size advantage to go get the offensive board and stick it back.

Hopefully, should happen if you can bring in more shooters in the game, fewer shots will be panic toss ups, so fewer rebounds to be had. Size and length do mean a lot when it comes to rebounding and altering shots in the paint. And while it is true that effort is a huge part of rebounding, the truth is a guy built like Sharpe finds it easier to snag rebounds when his opponent is 5" shorter and out weighed by 60lbs. Truth is, there are not many Rodman's or Hansbourghs out there that are willing and able to out rebound guys much bigger than they are.

I do think Mancek will rebound better than he has so far in his college experience because Hubert is not likely to for go hard work on that aspect of the game but don't expect a lot of rebounds to go to guys standing 30' from the basket. I think McKoy will be solid as a rebounder, he does have good quickness to the ball and don't forget, he played for Tony Bennett so he gets after it. So for the rebounding stat, we should remain respectfully considered but maybe not top 10 in that stat every year.

 

[trollbaby]

No doubt our numbers will drop especially on the offensive end as Davis wants to spread the court and hopefully our FG% will improve!

 

[gunslingerdick]

We should expect to no longer be the best rebounding program in the country. And that makes me sad.

Oh, but yay...we'll shoot a bunch of 3s. Hope we make them.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

We do like makers better than shooters! I hope we don't go too far down that road. Loyola Marymount was fun to watch but what did they win??? I think valuing the mid-range game and asking our 3 to help rebound will help keep the numbers from skewing too far in the wrong direction!

 

[DSouthr]

We do like makers better than shooters! I hope we don't go too far down that road. Loyola Marymount was fun to watch but what did they win??? I think valuing the mid-range game and asking our 3 to help rebound will help keep the numbers from skewing too far in the wrong direction!

TP says he likes shot maker more than shot takers...Yeah, me to! LOL

We won't fall off the end of the Earth in rebounding thou I do expect the numbers to come down a bit. Hubert is to ingrained in UNC culture to allow that and his emphasis on playing hard is going to mandate that guys work hard on the boards. Point being you are not going to see anything near a Loyala dis-regard for defense, I expect no more than a little bit less over help and more switching screens from our defense. Blocking out, again a work hard type of stat, reading the spot a rebound may come off, and aggressively going for any rebound within your area will still be UNC staples.

Said this during the whole season, will say it again, our problem was not defensive, our problem was the inability to score consistently, especially scoring that did not require an offensive rebound. Well it was defensive at times (especially in first halves) but I saw that as simply not being as ready as the other team to play a big game, especially if we are assumed to be able to win the game rather easily. WE just have to adjust to teams that drive with the primary focus being to kick it out to a spot up shooter for a wide open look, we got bathed in that last season and that has to be addressed. IT was 90% or more due to not playing the high pick well combined with the lack of trust of our bigs to alter shots that had our wing defenders dropping down to soon, to far, and letting their drops (and traps) be so easily read. Clearly, the way Roy wanted our big men to handle the high pick was hard to get comfortable with because it constantly took our big men 3 to 4 yrs to be able to handle it. So you just have to simplify that.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Our Bigs never did figure out how to hedge from the right angle and how long to hold it! This often skewed our D so bad we ended up in a scramble to recover. Veterans like AP and Leaky would see the issue and try to compensate, but experienced guards would just take advantage of them having to cover and hit their men. THis would make them both look slow since they were too far away to recover OR rushing out to be blown by! Combine this with our freshmen guards not really understanding how to rotate and voila! Roy was masterful in the halftimes explaining all this and the team would often correct it! Once Leaky was allowed to stay on his man he often shut him down!

 

[dadika13]

We should expect to no longer be the best rebounding program in the country. And that makes me sad.

Oh, but yay...we'll shoot a bunch of 3s. Hope we make them.

Yeah, pretty much this.

Feels like we’ve swung 180 degrees into the other direction on shooters vs rebounders from Roy to Hubert. Our 2022 recruiting is shaping up to be as such as well. Not having a true backup 5 right now is fairly egregious on Hubert’s part. Not sure what he’s waiting for.

I’m sure the same fans who screamed that we needed only guys who can shoot will be the first ones screaming when we lose a game because we were -15 on the glass.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

I'm sure Hubs and his staff aren't waiting! They are evaluating and contacting everyone who fits the new scheme. I see many more offers going out than the past and I would think this indicates a staff hard at work! Why paint this in such a negative light when the opposite seems pretty clear? We have discussed ad nauseum how the Bigs currently in the portal are not worthy and the Bigs we offered said no or didn't pass muster, so why is it "egregious"? The portal changes frequently and I'm sure we are scouring it. If we don't add another beefy center, we will still have plenty of size/skill on our front line so why would we panic so far from the season???

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Feels like we’ve swung 180 degrees into the other direction on shooters vs rebounders from Roy to Hubert. Our 2022 recruiting is shaping up to be as such as well. Not having a true backup 5 right now is fairly egregious on Hubert’s part. Not sure what he’s waiting for.

What's really scary is that there's no certainty that Armando returns. I mean all the signals say he will return - thank goodness - but what if some team guarantees to take him at #21 or some other solid draft slot? Coming back means giving up $2 million. Why risk injury or having an off year in college?

Which gets us to the next sticky question: How does this team fare without Bacot in the middle? I don't mind giving the direction Hubert wants to go a try, but I'm not sure I want to go cold turkey.

 

[dadika13]

What's really scary is that there's no certainty that Armando returns. I mean all the signals say he will return - thank goodness - but what if some team guarantees to take him at #21 or some other solid draft slot? Coming back mean giving up $2 million. Why risk injury or having an off year in college?

Which get us to the next sticky question: How does this team fare without Bacot in the middle? I don't mind giving the direction Hubert wants to go a try, but I'm not sure I want to go cold turkey.

Bacot is coming back. Hubert said as such.

 

[dadika13]

I'm sure Hubs and his staff aren't waiting! They are evaluating and contacting everyone who fits the new scheme. I see many more offers going out than the past and I would think this indicates a staff hard at work! Why paint this in such a negative light when the opposite seems pretty clear? We have discussed ad nauseum how the Bigs currently in the portal are not worthy and the Bigs we offered said no or didn't pass muster, so why is it "egregious"? The portal changes frequently and I'm sure we are scouring it. If we don't add another beefy center, we will still have plenty of size/skill on our front line so why would we panic so far from the season???

For a backup center in 2021, we've made one offer and it was to Reid...who was never coming here.

Please tell me where the "size" is on this roster outside of Bacot. Manek doesn't guard bigs, McKoy is 6'8'' 215lbs and we're going to put him on 6'10'' 250lb monsters?

 

[CarolinaBlue5]

For a backup center in 2021, we've made one offer and it was to Reid...who was never coming here.

Please tell me where the "size" is on this roster outside of Bacot. Manek doesn't guard bigs, McKoy is 6'8'' 215lbs and we're going to put him on 6'10'' 250lb monsters?

I agree and we have at least 2 open scholarships! There were plenty of quality centers in the portal and we never even talked to them! The portal has slowed down tremendously, as far as players entering. I’m all for small ball and playing with a stretch 4 but to be successful we need a quality back up center! If we get that I will feel really good about this team

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Saying who we did or did not talk to is what I'm talking about! That is an opinion and none of us know whether it is true. Using this as a basis for any conclusion is silly at best! The freaking portal is not the only avenue available and we offered HS bigs and have spoken to grad transfer potentials. (at least that is what I heard) I do speak to ancillary peeps (ticket office, managers, assistants to trainers, etc)from time to time, but I claim no incontrovertible intel!

Saying we haven't gotten any of them is a FACT and reasonable to say!

I'm a traditionalist and I really hope we get a Big, but I'm sure we have the bodies to handle it if we don't AND I think we will get someone by freakin' September!

Styles, Manek, McKoy and even Leaky have the potential to play 4 for a team that was successful with Bullock, Hairston, and other smallish peeps there!

Assuming you know what Manek will do after this off season is also a little unreasonable too! He has never been in OUR S/C program or been with our staff.

Why assume the worst with no info when the best is just as likely! The evidence that Hubs has the program going in the right direction is way more prevalent than the opposite!

 

[ChiShankCity]

Is that total rebounds or rebounding percentage? The first one is less relevant than the second one.

If it's total rebounds, then obviously we would've been a good rebounding team last year. We had more opportunities because we missed so many shots.

I hope we have fewer offensive rebounds next year, that means our shooting is better. We probably won't be a 40% offensive rebounding team, but if we're a 36% 3-point shooting as a result, I'll gladly take that trade-off.

 

[dadika13]

Styles, Manek, McKoy and even Leaky have the potential to play 4 for a team that was successful with Bullock, Hairston, and other smallish peeps there!

Me: We don't have anyone that can guard 5's when Bacot is on the bench.
You: But we have a lot of 4s.

I agree with you that we don't know everyone the staff talks to (on premium, we're told a ton of info that never makes it to this board so you're underestimating a bit about what we do know) but that wasn't really the argument either.

The point is it's May 18th and we do not have a body that can guard 5's when Armando is out. Armando has at least a few games a season where he picks up 2 fouls very quickly, what do we do then? We've offered a grand total of one big since Hubert has been coach, despite the glaring need. I'm sure we're talking to lots, but talks need to turn to offers when we're in mid-May and we have a hole for this season. To me, not OFFERING more than 1 big (who was never coming here anyway) who can play next season is egregious. Sorry that ruffled your feathers.

 

[CarolinaBlue5]

Manny Bates is leaving N.C. State! I doubt it happens but he would be a huge pick up and to do that to Moo U would be awesome! Doubt he’d come to UNC but if I’m Hubert I’d give it a shot...he would play a decent amount this year but next year and beyond he could be the starter at the 5! Regardless, that’s a huge loss for little brother lol

 

[TPFKAPFS]

As a bald man my plumage is too sparse to get ruffled! Not offering is way different than not talking to! Where we disagree is the fact that it is somehow a negative commentary on our coach that he didn't offer peeps he vetted. I think it could be seen as a positive that he wasn't willing to compromise and offer peeps he didn't feel would really consider us or had issues or didn't fit the culture. My optimism is seen by many as silly, but the pessimism by peeps is hard to stomach. We are on the cusp of a new era and I think we should assume the positive! I have been on Premium on this site and TOS and I'm not really underestimating by much! (Sisk and Sherrell are plugged in pretty well but nobody can tell what will happen in the mind of an 18 year old) I think everyone including Hubs feels we need another center, but I'm glad he hasn't appeared to be willing to compromise or take shortcuts!

May 18 is a long way from September and I fully expect us to add more. In fact Hubs said himself in several recent interviews that he would be adding pieces!

 

[TPFKAPFS]

"That's exactly why we got Justin and Brady. Those are the type of bigs that I like," Coach Davis said on the College Hoops Today Podcast with Jon Rothstein. "We've got Armando Bacot coming back next year and he led our team and points and rebounds, he's gonna have an unbelievable, fantastic junior season. But we needed guys that can play alongside them that had more perimeter skills. And you mentioned Brady, he can do that, but he's more than just a shooter. He's an unbelievable passer. He can rebound and can defend and those are the type of bigs that I like to play."

He filled this immediate need and now will move to fill out the roster! Sounds like it is progressing exactly as Hubs wants it to! I say give it a chance!

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Bacot is coming back. Hubert said as such.

But what if some team he likes offers him $2 million.

I'm not expecting that to happen but if it does, would Hubert encourage him to return to school?

 

[bobcrane14]

Manny Bates is terrific. If he's available, he is just what we need

 

[bobcrane14]

We will average five fewer rebounds per game. Sharpe and Kessler averaged between 13 and 14 rebounds per 40 minutes. Manek, McKoy, and Black average about 8 rebounds per 40 minutes

 

[TPFKAPFS]

McKoy had a really small sample size and was in an offense with few shots. Manek was in a different system and will now be asked to focus more on rebounding and D. Black had excellent rebounders already in the paint and was responsible for the best wing on the other team so had to get back on D. In a different system all should increase their rebounds + with 1 traditional Big on the floor, wings will be asked to rebound more!

So you think puke needs Bates? Interesting.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Manny Bates is leaving N.C. State! I doubt it happens but he would be a huge pick up and to do that to Moo U would be awesome! Doubt he’d come to UNC but if I’m Hubert I’d give it a shot...he would play a decent amount this year but next year and beyond he could be the starter at the 5! Regardless, that’s a huge loss for little brother lol

Whoa! Just when it looked like State might have a solid roster.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Manny Bates is terrific. If he's available, he is just what we need

Slow to develop, but seemed to be getting there.

State losing Bates is sort of like us losing Bradley or Kessler. Not saying he's as good as they are but, like them, he jumped ship just when he would have been a critical asset.

As for him coming to UNC, why would he move to a school where he'll only come off the bench? I mean we could use him, but he won't start here unless Bacot goes pro.

Do we know why he left?

 

[CarolinaBlue5]

Whoa! Just when it looked like State might have a solid roster.

Yeah, that’s a huge blow! He’s a shot blocking machine and was starting to really develop in other areas! I would love to add him to UNC roster as a back up 5 next year..sounds like he might enter the draft

 

[trollbaby]

dadika13 said:
For a backup center in 2021, we've made one offer and it was to Reid...who was never coming here.

Please tell me where the "size" is on this roster outside of Bacot. Manek doesn't guard bigs, McKoy is 6'8'' 215lbs and we're going to put him on 6'10'' 250lb monsters?
———————————————————————————————————————————————————-

I agree we need another backup center, but the sky is not falling. Most teams would love to have our size.

Bacot 6’10” 240lbs.
Manek. 6’9” 231lbs.
McCoy. 6’8”. 225lbs.
Styles. 6’7. 205lbs.
Black. 6’8”. 200lbs.
Silver. 6’5”. 255lbs.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

dadika13 said:
For a backup center in 2021, we've made one offer and it was to Reid...who was never coming here.

Please tell me where the "size" is on this roster outside of Bacot. Manek doesn't guard bigs, McKoy is 6'8'' 215lbs and we're going to put him on 6'10'' 250lb monsters?
———————————————————————————————————————————————————-

I agree we need another backup center, but the sky is not falling. Most teams would love to have our size.

Bacot 6’10” 240lbs.
Manek. 6’9” 231lbs.
McCoy. 6’8”. 225lbs.
Styles. 6’7. 205lbs.
Black. 6’8”. 200lbs.
Silver. 6’5”. 255lbs.

Silver? Did I miss something?

 

[trollbaby]

Silver? Did I miss something?

Keeshawn Silver is our new 5 Star Defensive End and is supposed to walk on the basketball team. Unfortunately I hear he has ballooned up to 300 lbs which might not work out so well on the hardwood. His future is in football but he averaged a double double last year at Rocky Mount!

 

[DSouthr]

dadika13 said:
For a backup center in 2021, we've made one offer and it was to Reid...who was never coming here.

Please tell me where the "size" is on this roster outside of Bacot. Manek doesn't guard bigs, McKoy is 6'8'' 215lbs and we're going to put him on 6'10'' 250lb monsters?
———————————————————————————————————————————————————-

I agree we need another backup center, but the sky is not falling. Most teams would love to have our size.

Bacot 6’10” 240lbs.
Manek. 6’9” 231lbs.
McCoy. 6’8”. 225lbs.
Styles. 6’7. 205lbs.
Black. 6’8”. 200lbs.
Silver. 6’5”. 255lbs.

Mancek is 6'9" and 230lbs and he can neither defend or rebound, he can not guard centers? He did what he did at Ok but UNC is not Ok.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

He hasn't been asked to do this so we can't judge whether he can or not. But he averaged over 1 block for a season. He averaged 7 rebounds for a season. He averaged close to a steal for a season. It could be he is more versatile than we know. But I also believe we can cross guard if needed for a short time. I trust that our staff will handle this if needed, but I also expect them to add pieces before the season starts!

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Mancek is 6'9" and 230lbs and he can neither defend or rebound, he can not guard centers? He did what he did at Ok but UNC is not Ok.

From something I read, it sounds like Hubert has more confidence in Manek's rebounding and defending. I hope he's right.

As for the difference between OK and UNC, that actually makes me feel better. The Big 12 is a tough conference to play in. So I'm assuming he won't have trouble adjusting to the level of competition.

The biggest question is whether he'll have trouble adjusting to UNC's style and playing demands. Even fans are heading into uncharted waters on that front.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

I also expect them to add pieces before the season starts!

I hope you are right, but am getting less optimistic as the best available players in the portal are getting snapped up pretty fast, and there's hardly anybody left in the 2021 class.

Hubert may be looking at decisions like this: "Do I spend this scholarship right now on a backup center who won't ever be good enough to start for us, or do I save it for a guy in the 2022 class who has good starter potential?"

Tough choice. My gut tells me Hubert is leaning toward saving the remaining scholarships.

I remind myself that we don't necessarily lose more than 1 player after the upcoming season. Manek only has the one season, but Leaky will still have another year if he and Hubert want him to stick around. So we may only have 3 scholarships to hand out in the 2022 class (and the 2022 portal). If we give one to a mere backup, we might regret it. Unless that mere backup only has 1 year of eligibility - in which case that could make sense.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

We have a backup center spot open. Peeps in the portal are leaving their current homes because they want a place the either fits them better, their coach is leaving, or offers them more PT/exposure! The top level Bigs would be a little silly to leave their starting spots back home to come here and sit the bench! It is NOT a negative on our coach that we didn't get them! I am truly bothered by peeps who think it is!

 

[jeans1515]

I expect the same.

Attack the offensive board.

That's not about how big your are.

 

[uncfootball-]

The chances that Hubcap would take a transfer from NC state is slim.

 

[Archer2]

We have a backup center spot open. Peeps in the portal are leaving their current homes because they want a place the either fits them better, their coach is leaving, or offers them more PT/exposure! The top level Bigs would be a little silly to leave their starting spots back home to come here and sit the bench! It is NOT a negative on our coach that we didn't get them! I am truly bothered by peeps who think it is!

It’s obvious that you really, really, really want Hubert to succeed. Guess what? All UNC fans do. We have a rookie HC replacing a HOF coach with 900 wins to his credit, a coach that was routinely criticized on this board. Until Hubert has proven to be a great coach/recruiter, it is only natural that some fans will be anxious regarding his ability to lead a top five program. If you’re going to circle the wagons every time someone questions any aspect of Hubert’s program, it’s going to be a long season for you.

 

[dadika13]

It’s obvious that you really, really, really want Hubert to succeed. Guess what? All UNC fans do. We have a rookie HC replacing a HOF coach with 900 wins to his credit, a coach that was routinely criticized on this board. Until Hubert has proven to be a great coach/recruiter, it is only natural that some fans will be anxious regarding his ability to lead a top five program. If you’re going to circle the wagons every time someone questions any aspect of Hubert’s program, it’s going to be a long season for you.

Well said Arch.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

It is a really long leap from I disagree with the idea that it is "egregious" that he hasn't gotten a backup Big or he "never spoke with any bigs" to I'm "circling the wagons every time he is criticized" but that is the norm on a chat board! I also think much of the criticism of Roy was downright silly, but at least it had some basis in truth.

Hubs just got the job and has already started to see peeps saying he is failing somehow and other "fans" calling him disrespectful names. That is ridiculous and I will continue to point it out! If commenting on here makes my season long, I'm good because I love discussing the Heels. I wish it could actually make the season longer!