SI Preaseason top 5
- Thread starter HeelFan58
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Bleacher Report (I know, I know) has the Heels slated as pre-season #2 behind UK. The rest are #3 UVa, #4 Iowa St, #5 Maryland.
We're definitely going to be in the conversation...while all the top teams are going to suffer significant losses..we are returning everyone!!
The only value this stuff could have is hopefully it helps sway Ingram (or Brown I suppose) a little more in our favor, although the issue of minutes is there.
I hate to sound like a spoiled fan, but anything less than a national title next year has to be seen as a failure. You don't have top recruiting classes stay in tact and stick around for 4 years (Marcus, Brice and JP). As I stated in a thread last week, and you can call me whatever, but our team should win the ACC reg season, sweep duke and win the national title next year. UVa will be a problem, but our ceiling is higher. And a big difference will be Marcus' health.
Make it happen Roy.
Make it happen Roy.
I think the media will overrate the returning talent of this team. The core group of seniors next year will have lost 34 games going into the first game. That kind of turnaround seems extremely rare. Everyone will need to get substantially better and IMO, Roy needs to do a better job in game.
Pound for pound, will we be as good as anyone next year? Probably. But Roy needs to have a better understanding of this group of guys. The halfcourt offense needs to be better and I'm hoping to see more pro style sets, but we don't have the shooting personnel to do that. We're one of the worst high ball screen offenses because we can't spread the court. This is pretty much how Duke beat Wisconsin. They had 3 capable shooters, a big and Tyus Jones or Grayson Allen getting a high ball screen, turning the corner and making a play. That's today's default offense and we don't have that. I've never seen a team in today's basketball win a national title without being a good ball screen offense and defense team.
Maybe the potential of CBB being down next year (next year's class isn't anything great) will help but this group needs to prove it before I'm on board.
btw, I would bet Kentucky is preseason #1 if they return Ulis, Lee, Johnson, Poythress because they're probably going to have 5 of the top 25 kids coming in then. Once the recruiting class becomes finalized, they'll probably be #1 regardless if they lose their starting 5.
Also, if Tyus Jones comes back, I wouldn't bet against him leading Duke deep every year he's there. He can be a dislikable player because he sells literally every call, but he's probably the best big game player in the country right now.
Lot needs to be settled still but right now, I'm probably selling my stock on us for next year since they've sort of been the same "ok" team for 3 years. Would take a leap of faith to think it will get exponentially better, which it will need to get.
Pound for pound, will we be as good as anyone next year? Probably. But Roy needs to have a better understanding of this group of guys. The halfcourt offense needs to be better and I'm hoping to see more pro style sets, but we don't have the shooting personnel to do that. We're one of the worst high ball screen offenses because we can't spread the court. This is pretty much how Duke beat Wisconsin. They had 3 capable shooters, a big and Tyus Jones or Grayson Allen getting a high ball screen, turning the corner and making a play. That's today's default offense and we don't have that. I've never seen a team in today's basketball win a national title without being a good ball screen offense and defense team.
Maybe the potential of CBB being down next year (next year's class isn't anything great) will help but this group needs to prove it before I'm on board.
btw, I would bet Kentucky is preseason #1 if they return Ulis, Lee, Johnson, Poythress because they're probably going to have 5 of the top 25 kids coming in then. Once the recruiting class becomes finalized, they'll probably be #1 regardless if they lose their starting 5.
Also, if Tyus Jones comes back, I wouldn't bet against him leading Duke deep every year he's there. He can be a dislikable player because he sells literally every call, but he's probably the best big game player in the country right now.
Lot needs to be settled still but right now, I'm probably selling my stock on us for next year since they've sort of been the same "ok" team for 3 years. Would take a leap of faith to think it will get exponentially better, which it will need to get.
The returning players thing is overrated. Duke, Kentucky proved it wrong winning 2 of the last 4. Kentucky got to another one last year. The key is having the right returning players and top 10 prospects. Kentucky had the right returning players with Doron Lamb, Terrance Jones and Darius Miller... Incoming top 10 prospects with Davis and MKG. Duke had the right returning player in Quinn Cook and had the loaded class. We're lacking mega talents on this team.
He's a big time player for sure. But it will be him next year. Him only. He'll be a marked man. Defenses will be geared to stop him - not Okafor and Winslow. His numbers will fall off considerably if he were to come back. Personally, I think he knows this and he'll enter the draft. If there was ever a "strike while the iron is hot" situation, it's him. Tell him to call JMM and ask how returning works out?
I wouldn't be so quick to rule out Jones coming back. Remember that Tyus wore the pants in the Jones/Okafor recruitment and virtually drove away any chance of any other schools landing him. Even before they commited, Tyus was always a dookie in my eyes. He loved dook.
I hope I'm wrong, but i could see both Jones and Allen returning.
I hope I'm wrong, but i could see both Jones and Allen returning.
I don't see the consensus national player of the year on the UNC squad do you? Helps when that returns.... But even that didn't get Wisconsin over a much more talented Duke team.
Tyus Jones is not coming back folks...he is gone, gone, gone! Just like Duke fans were ecstatic when Ty Lawson moved on to the NBA, most Heels fans will be happy to see Tyus Jones gone. He is not coming back and don't be surprised if Grayson Allen bolts also.
This article sums it up very well.
This post was edited on 4/7 12:26 PM by Steat
http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/jeff-goodman/insider/post?id=4912
This article sums it up very well.
This post was edited on 4/7 12:26 PM by Steat
http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/jeff-goodman/insider/post?id=4912
I agree with SJung except for two things. Tyus won't be back and UNC will be a top 2 team. Maybe the best team in the country depending on UK. Need some 3 point shooting and consistent half court offense. Jackson could be a beast and Johnosn could take a serious senior leap.
I agreed with you up until this post. The 2014 class was and is miles ahead of the 2015 class in terms of talent. Each player in the top 15 of 2014 could fall somewhere in the top 5 of 2015 class. If our experience is going to beat "talent", this would be the year to do it.
SMH about Jones. He will get his ass handed to him in the NBA. Nothing special as a facilitator and he won't get bailed out on his constant offensive flops and live at the line. dook has 2 legit NBA players and they will both leave early.
Cook is their best Guard and he is a Sr. I have no idea if Jones is leaving, but hey if someone wants to waste a draft pick, oh well.
This post was edited on 4/7 1:04 PM by gary-7
Cook is their best Guard and he is a Sr. I have no idea if Jones is leaving, but hey if someone wants to waste a draft pick, oh well.
This post was edited on 4/7 1:04 PM by gary-7
As did Boatright last year, Kemba Walker in 2011, Singler/Sheyer in 2010, Hansbrough/Green/Ellington/Lawson in 2009, Chalmers in 2008 (against 1 year player Derrick Rose). 2007 and 2006 were those back to back titles by one and done players in Al Horford & Joakim Noah.
Bad logic. Because Kaminsky wasn't POY his junior year. But he came back and was his senior year. Marcus couldn't do that? Like Dekker, Brice couldn't have a whale of tournament and start the lottery talk?
Plus, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
Jesus,...you're such a downer. Discussion with you is like news from the oncologist.
Debbie Downer never has anything positive to say about UNC without serious qualifiers. Kaminsky wasn't consensus player of the year last year AND he wasn't for the majority of this year. Okafor and another kid that slips my mind were serious contenders all year. Brice, Marcus, and JJ could all develop into serious contenders next year. Brice won';t make a leap in ability? How could you possibly know this in light of the jumps he has made EVERY year so far? Tyus Jones is so gone and if he stays it is a very stupid move! Donald Williams anyone?
Roy needs to be a better in-game coach? And your vast coaching experience calls you to question the guy in the top 5 of almost all important coaching metrics, especially concerning the tourney. Which game or games would we have won if he coached better? Could he have coached players to shoot better in key spots and somehow caused peeps to acquire the footspeed and strength to guard Dekker or T. Jones? Ridiculous at best. He probably could have magically caused peeps to NOT turn the ball over or not miss freethrows or not miss layups during end game situations too if he was K. or Cal. Maybe he should have coached up the refs to not fall for obvious flops or, gasp, to cal a foul on Okafor or Kaminsky.
I think I will go with what I see returning and what every other major writer says about my Heels!
You type a good deal, but it is always variations of the same theme. Find a new song or go to a different site because we don't dig your music.
Heels are Family!
Roy needs to be a better in-game coach? And your vast coaching experience calls you to question the guy in the top 5 of almost all important coaching metrics, especially concerning the tourney. Which game or games would we have won if he coached better? Could he have coached players to shoot better in key spots and somehow caused peeps to acquire the footspeed and strength to guard Dekker or T. Jones? Ridiculous at best. He probably could have magically caused peeps to NOT turn the ball over or not miss freethrows or not miss layups during end game situations too if he was K. or Cal. Maybe he should have coached up the refs to not fall for obvious flops or, gasp, to cal a foul on Okafor or Kaminsky.
I think I will go with what I see returning and what every other major writer says about my Heels!
You type a good deal, but it is always variations of the same theme. Find a new song or go to a different site because we don't dig your music.
Heels are Family!
I don't agree at all. I'm usually pretty pessimistic about our chances and pretty much nailed every outcome we had this year on the main board's prediction thread but this team next year is going to be very good. We have our key players back healthy, Jackson has already emerged, and basically add Pinson as a new recruit. At worst, they will resemble the team that played towards the very end of the year which was right up there with the big boys. That is assuming players won't get better, which is pretty ridiculous to assume. They have to be better late in games. That is really the one area they must improve in. The more you are immersed in Roy's system the better you understand it. This may be maddening for young players but it should make us all pretty optimistic for next year.
