...that I wanted to throw out there that, IMO, are things to watch for as we hope this team comes together in vintage Roy Williams fashion for March.
- Effort & Execution: I bit the bullet and rewatched most of the Wofford game this afternoon, and it certainly reaffirmed what I saw live, and what Roy and JB harped on in their interviews. The team was largely MIA on the E&E front, and we can't expect to roll the ball out and win because we have North Carolina on our jerseys. I'll take that a step further: Having that name on our jerseys also makes us a big ol' target, and on second watch I noticed even more how Wofford's staff scouted the crap out of us. They treated that game like their Final Four, and credit to 'em for doing that. For example, I mentioned in my post-game thread that we came up lacking in Secondary Break efficiency, and one of the reasons was they were ready for our tricks... and that's a good lesson. Many coaches have said you know you're good when the opponent knows what you're trying to do and they still can't stop you. The key to getting to that point? Effort and execution.
- Theo be a Threat: Speaking of scouting, if I'm coaching against UNC right now I tell my guys to back off Theo, and that's been starting to happen --- and it's a contributing factor in his recent TO issues. Yeah, I know that jacking up 3s is not his game, BUT he has become a non-threat, and that's affecting his play-making. If his defender backs off, suddenly he's trying to pass into 5 sets of hands instead of 4, and that's bad geometry. Like it or not, Theo needs to take the rhythm 3 that comes in the flow, and he needs to make some. Moreover, the other "book" on Theo is that he drives to dish, and teams are expecting him to pass. Thus, he also needs to drive to score, and not just by having to throw up an acrobatic leaner, but by using that athletic ability and dunking on some mofos' heads! Bottom line is a 3-man has to be a legit threat to score before he can be a secondary play-maker.
- Post, Pin and Show... and Defend: It's painfully apparent that our biggest offensive deficit is at the 5 position against legit opponents. I know Kennedy or Brice ain't walking thru the door, but these frosh need to improve in a hurry on the fundamentals of posting strong and wide, pinning the defender on a hip, and showing an open hand for entries. They don't need to dominate, just execute the fundamentals that allow us to be an inside-out team. Same holds true on the other end. They have to learn to be more physical and use their feet in defending. Brooks is very good away from the rim, but none of our 5s are adequate in traditional post defense. Think about it from a team standpoint --- JB and Kenny are simply the best defensive tandem in the business, and when Theo locks in for full possessions the way Roy wants him to the perimeter gets scary, and while Luke will never be great on-ball, he's smart and tough and usually in the right place. We're already a good defensive team. If we can defend better at the 5-hole we can be great. BTW: OSU's Big is a HS rival of Manley's and a stout fella to say the least. I don't think either one was able to stop the other when they faced off.
- What about Cam? The first thing to remember is that Cam's injury is a tougher setback for him to overcome than say, Theo's or Kenny's were because, unlike them, Cam has never played in the Carolina system before... and that's a big deal. He's a smart kid but probably 70% of what we do is free-lance within pre-set principles, and a whole lotta feel goes into that. Plus there are myriad set plays to remember. Just keep in mind it's not always gonna mesh right out of the gate. There will be bumps, but it should be worth it in the long run. The other issue is that Cam playing the role he played at Pitt is not what we need here, and Roy didn't recruit him to be a 6'8 2-guard. We need him to attack the rim and show a mid-range game, as well as shoot from deep. In other words, the closer he can come to a JJ imitation the better off we'll be. One encouraging thing from Weds. was his effort on the defensive end --- and since defense has never been his strong suit, that's a good sign of the right attitude.
- Let Luke be Luke: I love how he's started the season but some of the gaudy early scoring numbers just aren't sustainable, and shouldn't be necessary. Teams are already starting to key on him. Oh, we need him to average a double-double --- but it's the second number that's the most critical for this team. Gimme 16 and 12 and shoot a good percentage inside and we're in business, and of course that stretch ability is a big bonus.
- Kenny be a Killer: Literally the only deficit in KW's game these days is offensive aggression. He's sure as hell efficient. Don't look now, but Kenny is shooting 53.2% --- coincidentally the same percentage in both 2-pt and 3-pt FGs! He's averaging 13.2 ppg, but he goes quiet at times. There's no reason that number couldn't be 15.
- An Offensive Bench: Big Manley has shown some flashes of scoring, but we need more from the bench. Cam obviously makes it better immediately, but in particular, Jalek, BRob and Platek are all very capable scorers and have the capacity to be a bomb-squad. Andrew has played very well overall, but like Kenny, needs to be more assertive offensively. His percentages and ratios are all good, just put it in the score book. Brandon has been pressing and needs to find his flow, and of course, we've talked about Jalek working through his freshman indoctrination at PG. If these three guys start to feel it, we'll be way more dangerous.
- Let the Nasty Dog Eat: Finally, putting it bluntly, when Joel Berry decided to return for his senior season, right then and there we went from a rebuilding team hoping for a 4 or 5 seed to a Final Four contender. One piece of intel from the summer: When Roy had his annual meeting with JB he told him to work on creating more space for his own shot. Now, JB already had the coveted Roy Williams Green Light --- well, that's like a Double-Secret Green Light. It was basically Roy saying, "Son, I trust you to take a shot whenever you think it's right, and I NEED you to score for us." There's probably no way to describe how disappointed in himself JB was over that self-inflicted fluke injury. He was mentally and physically poised for a huge season and that was a big set-back. Hell, how he managed to score 29 at Stanford with that brace on his hand is beyond me, but it definitely affected him, and as Roy said, Joel's been "pressing" since he got it off, trying to be perfect. He's also taken on the burden of wrangling the youngsters. Bottom line is, as things come together an absolute key for us is JB feeling it and having that offensive season he and Roy envisioned. As things progress, his percentages should move back toward what he expected. Dog's already averaging 17 despite the setbacks. I think that needs to be closer to 20 for this particular team to be at its optimum... and I think that's very doable.
Welp, that's my take FWIW. Lessee how it goes. Hopefully we start the rest of the season off right in New Orleans.
- Effort & Execution: I bit the bullet and rewatched most of the Wofford game this afternoon, and it certainly reaffirmed what I saw live, and what Roy and JB harped on in their interviews. The team was largely MIA on the E&E front, and we can't expect to roll the ball out and win because we have North Carolina on our jerseys. I'll take that a step further: Having that name on our jerseys also makes us a big ol' target, and on second watch I noticed even more how Wofford's staff scouted the crap out of us. They treated that game like their Final Four, and credit to 'em for doing that. For example, I mentioned in my post-game thread that we came up lacking in Secondary Break efficiency, and one of the reasons was they were ready for our tricks... and that's a good lesson. Many coaches have said you know you're good when the opponent knows what you're trying to do and they still can't stop you. The key to getting to that point? Effort and execution.
- Theo be a Threat: Speaking of scouting, if I'm coaching against UNC right now I tell my guys to back off Theo, and that's been starting to happen --- and it's a contributing factor in his recent TO issues. Yeah, I know that jacking up 3s is not his game, BUT he has become a non-threat, and that's affecting his play-making. If his defender backs off, suddenly he's trying to pass into 5 sets of hands instead of 4, and that's bad geometry. Like it or not, Theo needs to take the rhythm 3 that comes in the flow, and he needs to make some. Moreover, the other "book" on Theo is that he drives to dish, and teams are expecting him to pass. Thus, he also needs to drive to score, and not just by having to throw up an acrobatic leaner, but by using that athletic ability and dunking on some mofos' heads! Bottom line is a 3-man has to be a legit threat to score before he can be a secondary play-maker.
- Post, Pin and Show... and Defend: It's painfully apparent that our biggest offensive deficit is at the 5 position against legit opponents. I know Kennedy or Brice ain't walking thru the door, but these frosh need to improve in a hurry on the fundamentals of posting strong and wide, pinning the defender on a hip, and showing an open hand for entries. They don't need to dominate, just execute the fundamentals that allow us to be an inside-out team. Same holds true on the other end. They have to learn to be more physical and use their feet in defending. Brooks is very good away from the rim, but none of our 5s are adequate in traditional post defense. Think about it from a team standpoint --- JB and Kenny are simply the best defensive tandem in the business, and when Theo locks in for full possessions the way Roy wants him to the perimeter gets scary, and while Luke will never be great on-ball, he's smart and tough and usually in the right place. We're already a good defensive team. If we can defend better at the 5-hole we can be great. BTW: OSU's Big is a HS rival of Manley's and a stout fella to say the least. I don't think either one was able to stop the other when they faced off.
- What about Cam? The first thing to remember is that Cam's injury is a tougher setback for him to overcome than say, Theo's or Kenny's were because, unlike them, Cam has never played in the Carolina system before... and that's a big deal. He's a smart kid but probably 70% of what we do is free-lance within pre-set principles, and a whole lotta feel goes into that. Plus there are myriad set plays to remember. Just keep in mind it's not always gonna mesh right out of the gate. There will be bumps, but it should be worth it in the long run. The other issue is that Cam playing the role he played at Pitt is not what we need here, and Roy didn't recruit him to be a 6'8 2-guard. We need him to attack the rim and show a mid-range game, as well as shoot from deep. In other words, the closer he can come to a JJ imitation the better off we'll be. One encouraging thing from Weds. was his effort on the defensive end --- and since defense has never been his strong suit, that's a good sign of the right attitude.
- Let Luke be Luke: I love how he's started the season but some of the gaudy early scoring numbers just aren't sustainable, and shouldn't be necessary. Teams are already starting to key on him. Oh, we need him to average a double-double --- but it's the second number that's the most critical for this team. Gimme 16 and 12 and shoot a good percentage inside and we're in business, and of course that stretch ability is a big bonus.
- Kenny be a Killer: Literally the only deficit in KW's game these days is offensive aggression. He's sure as hell efficient. Don't look now, but Kenny is shooting 53.2% --- coincidentally the same percentage in both 2-pt and 3-pt FGs! He's averaging 13.2 ppg, but he goes quiet at times. There's no reason that number couldn't be 15.
- An Offensive Bench: Big Manley has shown some flashes of scoring, but we need more from the bench. Cam obviously makes it better immediately, but in particular, Jalek, BRob and Platek are all very capable scorers and have the capacity to be a bomb-squad. Andrew has played very well overall, but like Kenny, needs to be more assertive offensively. His percentages and ratios are all good, just put it in the score book. Brandon has been pressing and needs to find his flow, and of course, we've talked about Jalek working through his freshman indoctrination at PG. If these three guys start to feel it, we'll be way more dangerous.
- Let the Nasty Dog Eat: Finally, putting it bluntly, when Joel Berry decided to return for his senior season, right then and there we went from a rebuilding team hoping for a 4 or 5 seed to a Final Four contender. One piece of intel from the summer: When Roy had his annual meeting with JB he told him to work on creating more space for his own shot. Now, JB already had the coveted Roy Williams Green Light --- well, that's like a Double-Secret Green Light. It was basically Roy saying, "Son, I trust you to take a shot whenever you think it's right, and I NEED you to score for us." There's probably no way to describe how disappointed in himself JB was over that self-inflicted fluke injury. He was mentally and physically poised for a huge season and that was a big set-back. Hell, how he managed to score 29 at Stanford with that brace on his hand is beyond me, but it definitely affected him, and as Roy said, Joel's been "pressing" since he got it off, trying to be perfect. He's also taken on the burden of wrangling the youngsters. Bottom line is, as things come together an absolute key for us is JB feeling it and having that offensive season he and Roy envisioned. As things progress, his percentages should move back toward what he expected. Dog's already averaging 17 despite the setbacks. I think that needs to be closer to 20 for this particular team to be at its optimum... and I think that's very doable.
Welp, that's my take FWIW. Lessee how it goes. Hopefully we start the rest of the season off right in New Orleans.
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