Stats and stuff (MD game)

[gary-7]

It was a quality win so just to be ornery I'll start this one with the bad:
- Defending high screens. I posted before the game that they were gonna come after our Bigs high and though we executed ok at times, for the most part we didn't do a very good job with that. Too often our Bigs are just getting in our Guards' way. Most of Melo's points came off that mess.
- Closing out on kick-outs. We wasted some good defensive series by failing to get out on 3-pt shooters.
- FT shooting down the stretch. Good googly-moogly! First JB, who was 100% coming in, starts missing, then Theo who was 4-4 early throws 2 clunkers, and even Marcus bricks 2. Sheesh! Only thing that kept us from a mid-90s scoring night.
14-25 FTs. Not good.

- Finishing thru contact. Make no mistake: It was "physical" in the paint and they weren't calling much. We had several blown assists by Bigs from not finishing. "New rules" or not, gotta be tougher. JJ struggled with MD's physicality as well.

The good:
- Defensive intensity early. We attacked and it paid off. It was especially pretty to see JB and Marcus going after people when we scrambled. Would've liked to have seen more of that in the second half. Melo had 8 TOs y'all.

- 9-13 from 3. Yowzer!

- Marcus is back, baby! And folks, make no mistake, he absolutely flourished at the 2. and speaking of that,
MP - 33+ minutes (rounded up to 34)
JB - 31+ minutes (rounded up to 32)
Winning formula! Also we were 1 point short of all 5 starters being in double figures.

JB at PG - 2.25 PPM
NB at PG - 2.13 PPM

- Bigs were much better (at least in the paint) on D in the second half. Got a bit meaner and rebounded thru contact better.

- Other than the aforementioned FTs and getting hung up and committing a couple of late TOs, Joel Berry played a sweet all-around floor game on both ends. Had 5 dimes, incl 2 beauties down the stretch (and had 6 more of his assists blown) and some clutch shots. Also, I read some nonsense on here about his defense. JB (when he wasn't getting hung out to dry by our Bigs on screens) played a helluva defensive game --- 2 steals and caused 6 more TOs from deflections and forces. By my count he was responsible for 6 of Melo's TOs.

- Speaking of defense, although he struggled some offensively, Jackson played a quietly strong defensive game. They were trying to isolate and muscle him --- had a little success at that early --- but JJ didn't back down and busted his butt. Picked up a career high 5 steals, a few of them complementing our Guards' scrambling and deflections.

- Theo and Hicks brought good energy off the bench. Theo had 18 minutes --- 5:22 at the 2, a few seconds at the end at the 4 on defense, and the rest at the 3. Nate had some really nice offensive moments, especially in the first half, and did a credible job spotting at the 1 and 2 (but oh Lordy, that defense... yikes).

Anyway, big-time win! Can't wait for the next one.

 

[gary-7]

It was a quality win so just to be ornery I'll start this one with the bad:
- Defending high screens. I posted before the game that they were gonna come after our Bigs high and though we executed ok at times, for the most part we didn't do a very good job with that. Too often our Bigs are just getting in our Guards' way. Most of Melo's points came off that mess.
- Closing out on kick-outs. We wasted some good defensive series by failing to get out on 3-pt shooters.
- FT shooting down the stretch. Good googly-moogly! First JB, who was 100% coming in, starts missing, then Theo who was 4-4 early throws 2 clunkers, and even Marcus bricks 2. Sheesh! Only thing that kept us from a mid-90s scoring night.
14-25 FTs. Not good.

- Finishing thru contact. Make no mistake: It was "physical" in the paint and they weren't calling much. We had several blown assists by Bigs from not finishing. "New rules" or not, gotta be tougher. JJ struggled with MD's physicality as well.

The good:
- Defensive intensity early. We attacked and it paid off. It was especially pretty to see JB and Marcus going after people when we scrambled. Would've liked to have seen more of that in the second half. Melo had 8 TOs y'all.

- 9-13 from 3. Yowzer!

- Marcus is back, baby! And folks, make no mistake, he absolutely flourished at the 2. and speaking of that,
MP - 33+ minutes (rounded up to 34)
JB - 31+ minutes (rounded up to 32)
Winning formula! Also we were 1 point short of all 5 starters being in double figures.

JB at PG - 2.25 PPM
NB at PG - 2.13 PPM

- Bigs were much better (at least in the paint) on D in the second half. Got a bit meaner and rebounded thru contact better.

- Other than the aforementioned FTs and getting hung up and committing a couple of late TOs, Joel Berry played a sweet all-around floor game on both ends. Had 5 dimes, incl 2 beauties down the stretch (and had 6 more of his assists blown) and some clutch shots. Also, I read some nonsense on here about his defense. JB (when he wasn't getting hung out to dry by our Bigs on screens) played a helluva defensive game --- 2 steals and caused 6 more TOs from deflections and forces. By my count he was responsible for 6 of Melo's TOs.

- Speaking of defense, although he struggled some offensively, Jackson played a quietly strong defensive game. They were trying to isolate and muscle him --- had a little success at that early --- but JJ didn't back down and busted his butt. Picked up a career high 5 steals, a few of them complementing our Guards' scrambling and deflections.

- Theo and Hicks brought good energy off the bench. Theo had 18 minutes --- 5:22 at the 2, a few seconds at the end at the 4 on defense, and the rest at the 3. Nate had some really nice offensive moments, especially in the first half, and did a credible job spotting at the 1 and 2 (but oh Lordy, that defense... yikes).

Anyway, big-time win! Can't wait for the next one.

Oh BTW, the win tonight means UNC has the most wins vs Top-2 teams in NCAA history.

 

[Heelicious]

Good recap Gary! I am elated with the win, especially how they didn't wilt down the stretch. All that being said.... wow I hope we find a way to get more minutes for Pinson on the court..... and who to take those minutes from is clear to me, but I'll leave that dead horse alone.

I don't know if guys like Marcus and JB can play any better than tonight, except for the FT line of course. BUT - Justin Jackson while he did some nice things, and had some good important shots, seemed pretty careless with the ball. An off night, but hey you can't have (and likely don't need) a great night from every guy every night.

I also liked what Hicks does. Not sure how he is on defense, but I just think he is our best (or at least our strongest) finishing big man around the rim. He seems very quick, agile, great ball handler for a big man.

I even wonder if Maye would be better than James, if we need another big to sub for Meeks and Brice. Or maybe the big athletic Terps front line would've eaten Maye up, overpowered him. It is clear to me though that Maye has better foot speed, more "basketball instincts" and is less likely to make the boneheaded TO than James (who had two turnovers basically, without even being near the ball (moving screen when on the court for three seconds, and stepping into the lane costing us two potential freebies).

 

[DSouthr]

It was a quality win so just to be ornery I'll start this one with the bad:
- Defending high screens. I posted before the game that they were gonna come after our Bigs high and though we executed ok at times, for the most part we didn't do a very good job with that. Too often our Bigs are just getting in our Guards' way. Most of Melo's points came off that mess.
- Closing out on kick-outs. We wasted some good defensive series by failing to get out on 3-pt shooters.
- FT shooting down the stretch. Good googly-moogly! First JB, who was 100% coming in, starts missing, then Theo who was 4-4 early throws 2 clunkers, and even Marcus bricks 2. Sheesh! Only thing that kept us from a mid-90s scoring night.
14-25 FTs. Not good.

- Finishing thru contact. Make no mistake: It was "physical" in the paint and they weren't calling much. We had several blown assists by Bigs from not finishing. "New rules" or not, gotta be tougher. JJ struggled with MD's physicality as well.

The good:
- Defensive intensity early. We attacked and it paid off. It was especially pretty to see JB and Marcus going after people when we scrambled. Would've liked to have seen more of that in the second half. Melo had 8 TOs y'all.

- 9-13 from 3. Yowzer!

- Marcus is back, baby! And folks, make no mistake, he absolutely flourished at the 2. and speaking of that,
MP - 33+ minutes (rounded up to 34)
JB - 31+ minutes (rounded up to 32)
Winning formula! Also we were 1 point short of all 5 starters being in double figures.

JB at PG - 2.25 PPM
NB at PG - 2.13 PPM

- Bigs were much better (at least in the paint) on D in the second half. Got a bit meaner and rebounded thru contact better.

- Other than the aforementioned FTs and getting hung up and committing a couple of late TOs, Joel Berry played a sweet all-around floor game on both ends. Had 5 dimes, incl 2 beauties down the stretch (and had 6 more of his assists blown) and some clutch shots. Also, I read some nonsense on here about his defense. JB (when he wasn't getting hung out to dry by our Bigs on screens) played a helluva defensive game --- 2 steals and caused 6 more TOs from deflections and forces. By my count he was responsible for 6 of Melo's TOs.

- Speaking of defense, although he struggled some offensively, Jackson played a quietly strong defensive game. They were trying to isolate and muscle him --- had a little success at that early --- but JJ didn't back down and busted his butt. Picked up a career high 5 steals, a few of them complementing our Guards' scrambling and deflections.

- Theo and Hicks brought good energy off the bench. Theo had 18 minutes --- 5:22 at the 2, a few seconds at the end at the 4 on defense, and the rest at the 3. Nate had some really nice offensive moments, especially in the first half, and did a credible job spotting at the 1 and 2 (but oh Lordy, that defense... yikes).

Anyway, big-time win! Can't wait for the next one.

Solid recap gary, couple things to add, you started with the bad, I will as well. Love the kid but Joel James, oh my, other than that one turn around jumper it was an ugly night for Joel. Had 10sec even clicked off the clock before he had picked up his first foul? He did work hard but...well, you saw it.

Also on the bad side but more a compliment to those Md players and especially Trimble, those fellas hit some really hard looks, may of which you just are not going to defend any better and then near the end they got us spread out penetrated the lane & kicked out to wide open jump shooters and they missed the easier looks? Either they were lucky to be hitting like they did earlier or we were lucky they missed late, either way proof lucky beats good sometimes. I hear ya on the late game free throws, Roy gets to have something to get on them about, that needs to get cleaned up.

But the good, excellent a;; around game by Marcus, offensive end, defensive end, marcus was terriffic, looked like he was having a lot of fun out there. One thing you always worry about is a guy that has been out for a while coming back in and not blending well with the rest of the team, no problem there, Marcus blended perfectly with his mates and his play took us to that next level last night. Marcus starts off hitting good shots and the rest of our back court seemed to follow along with his trend. Defensively, Marcus and Joel were beasts out front, even given that sullyman and Trimble were red hot, hate to imagine how they would have scored had our back court not defended so well. Please, can we please put top rest the concerns about Joel berry as a defender, last night Joel was King Rice with a jump shot and to me that is outstanding!

But for me the 2 keys to this game was our inside play and the wing match up. Jackson and Theo IMO won that battle hands down, Leyman was nuetralized, wooden award canidate that he is and thou Neither Jackson nor Theo had big scoring games they held their own in that aspect and moved their feet really well chasing leyman around. I was really happy to see brice staying out of first half foul trouble, his little jumpers were on last night, they were back breaking. Oh yeah and brice was involved in the 2 plays of the game, first the Brice lob to marcus that he slipped back to Brice (the give & go as the announcer called it) for the slam and the ultra no look pass from Joel berry thru pretty much the entire Md defense. It is those things that have me I love college basketball so much, those were just works of art on and athletic level. Oh, and that Brice block while his man was going up and taking the ball away from him, sweet sweet stuff!

I thought Hicks played really steady and well, wanted to mention him but Meeks, daaaaaammmmm, way to get it done big fella! Yeah, 3rd in line for play of the game was Berry at half court to Meeks, Meeks turns in mid air, catches, and somehow finishes, guys his size just ain't supposed to do that . Meeks is just so good at block outs, at times he focuses more on blocking a guy out than he does going to get the rebound, one of the reasons in a couple earlier games his rebound numbers have not been great. Tell me ya didn't love watching him deck sillyman on that big time screen and exactly how does 6'9" vertically challenged Meeks block 6'11" Diamond Stone and not just block it but control the ball so we get the turn over?

There are not many teams in the country that would have beat Md last night, they were ready and they stepped up to the challenge, hit some well defended shots, Trimble was amazing. What a treat, watching Trimble and Marcus battle. Trimble is so physically strong, head is always up, great court vision, does not rush, takes his time and plays with amazing balance. Sillyman hitting some really tuff deep treys those guys kept Md in that game. But we pretty much matched them shot for shot, Md seemed wot wilt a little bit at the end, we did to, at least from the foul line but the intensity of that game defied the date it was played, this could have been a NCAAT final 4 intensity type of game, a game I think both coaches should be proud to have coached their respective teams.

 

[HeelFan58]

Good recap Gary! I am elated with the win, especially how they didn't wilt down the stretch. All that being said.... wow I hope we find a way to get more minutes for Pinson on the court..... and who to take those minutes from is clear to me, but I'll leave that dead horse alone.

I don't know if guys like Marcus and JB can play any better than tonight, except for the FT line of course. BUT - Justin Jackson while he did some nice things, and had some good important shots, seemed pretty careless with the ball. An off night, but hey you can't have (and likely don't need) a great night from every guy every night.

I also liked what Hicks does. Not sure how he is on defense, but I just think he is our best (or at least our strongest) finishing big man around the rim. He seems very quick, agile, great ball handler for a big man.

I even wonder if Maye would be better than James, if we need another big to sub for Meeks and Brice. Or maybe the big athletic Terps front line would've eaten Maye up, overpowered him. It is clear to me though that Maye has better foot speed, more "basketball instincts" and is less likely to make the boneheaded TO than James (who had two turnovers basically, without even being near the ball (moving screen when on the court for three seconds, and stepping into the lane costing us two potential freebies).

The lane violation set off a run for them that cut our lead from double digits to 4 at the half.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

WOW! Joel Freaking Berry played his best game in a Tar Heel Uniform. This is the guy G7 saw the whole year and I suspected was inside him. Melo is a load and JB consistently stayed with him. Thanks Mr. Berry for making that leap on D. (now teach Mr. Britt how to do it!)

I thought MP was great, but who could have foreseen the extreme difference his presence made. The entire team lfted its play and intensity to match his inspiration. Every time they made a run, he stepped up to stop it.

 

[acarter0277]

Great analysis. I think it's spot on. The ball screen D is what bothered me the most. I think our Bigs have proven that they suck in a hedge situation, so I'd like to see us play it differently. 1 time out of a media TO, we doubled the ball screen and got a Turnover. I think we need to keep doubling, or just let the Bigs "Jam" the screen and let our guards slide under.

Also agree with what DSouthr wrote about James. He was out of his league last night. No way he should have been on the floor. If Meeks needs rest, I'd like to see us go "Small" more and go with Hicks at the 4 and Brice at the 5.

It was a quality win so just to be ornery I'll start this one with the bad:
- Defending high screens. I posted before the game that they were gonna come after our Bigs high and though we executed ok at times, for the most part we didn't do a very good job with that. Too often our Bigs are just getting in our Guards' way. Most of Melo's points came off that mess.
- Closing out on kick-outs. We wasted some good defensive series by failing to get out on 3-pt shooters.
- FT shooting down the stretch. Good googly-moogly! First JB, who was 100% coming in, starts missing, then Theo who was 4-4 early throws 2 clunkers, and even Marcus bricks 2. Sheesh! Only thing that kept us from a mid-90s scoring night.
14-25 FTs. Not good.

- Finishing thru contact. Make no mistake: It was "physical" in the paint and they weren't calling much. We had several blown assists by Bigs from not finishing. "New rules" or not, gotta be tougher. JJ struggled with MD's physicality as well.

The good:
- Defensive intensity early. We attacked and it paid off. It was especially pretty to see JB and Marcus going after people when we scrambled. Would've liked to have seen more of that in the second half. Melo had 8 TOs y'all.

- 9-13 from 3. Yowzer!

- Marcus is back, baby! And folks, make no mistake, he absolutely flourished at the 2. and speaking of that,
MP - 33+ minutes (rounded up to 34)
JB - 31+ minutes (rounded up to 32)
Winning formula! Also we were 1 point short of all 5 starters being in double figures.

JB at PG - 2.25 PPM
NB at PG - 2.13 PPM

- Bigs were much better (at least in the paint) on D in the second half. Got a bit meaner and rebounded thru contact better.

- Other than the aforementioned FTs and getting hung up and committing a couple of late TOs, Joel Berry played a sweet all-around floor game on both ends. Had 5 dimes, incl 2 beauties down the stretch (and had 6 more of his assists blown) and some clutch shots. Also, I read some nonsense on here about his defense. JB (when he wasn't getting hung out to dry by our Bigs on screens) played a helluva defensive game --- 2 steals and caused 6 more TOs from deflections and forces. By my count he was responsible for 6 of Melo's TOs.

- Speaking of defense, although he struggled some offensively, Jackson played a quietly strong defensive game. They were trying to isolate and muscle him --- had a little success at that early --- but JJ didn't back down and busted his butt. Picked up a career high 5 steals, a few of them complementing our Guards' scrambling and deflections.

- Theo and Hicks brought good energy off the bench. Theo had 18 minutes --- 5:22 at the 2, a few seconds at the end at the 4 on defense, and the rest at the 3. Nate had some really nice offensive moments, especially in the first half, and did a credible job spotting at the 1 and 2 (but oh Lordy, that defense... yikes).

Anyway, big-time win! Can't wait for the next one.

 

[gary-7]

Great analysis. I think it's spot on. The ball screen D is what bothered me the most. I think our Bigs have proven that they suck in a hedge situation, so I'd like to see us play it differently. 1 time out of a media TO, we doubled the ball screen and got a Turnover. I think we need to keep doubling, or just let the Bigs "Jam" the screen and let our guards slide under.

Also agree with what DSouthr wrote about James. He was out of his league last night. No way he should have been on the floor. If Meeks needs rest, I'd like to see us go "Small" more and go with Hicks at the 4 and Brice at the 5.

Yeah, Coach, my biggest fear was they would high-screen us all night and they sure as heck did... we'd defend it well once then f** it up 3 more. I agree 100% that I'd rather see us be more aggressive.

IMO, Our best defense against it was to just preempt it by attacking with the Guards when the ball crossed half court. Early on when Roy was running some 30 and 40 with JB and MP swarming we gave Melo and Sillyman absolute hell. And I gotta say it again, one of the reasons I've been jonesin' for this backcourt so long (besides the obvious offensive firepower) is the way JB and MP mesh defensively.

 

[Steat]

Maye didn't see the floor last night and I assuming Roy didn't like the match-ups. I do think Roy will eventually give Maye most of James minutes. I'll stop now.

 

[mikeirbyusa]

Considering who was missing the freebies at the end I'm not concerned. They won't do that again.

FUN game to watch and even more fun to see us respond down the stretch and not wither. Our team has grown up. Good to be a Tar Heel!

 

[gary-7]

Solid recap gary, couple things to add, you started with the bad, I will as well. Love the kid but Joel James, oh my, other than that one turn around jumper it was an ugly night for Joel. Had 10sec even clicked off the clock before he had picked up his first foul? He did work hard but...well, you saw it.

Also on the bad side but more a compliment to those Md players and especially Trimble, those fellas hit some really hard looks, may of which you just are not going to defend any better and then near the end they got us spread out penetrated the lane & kicked out to wide open jump shooters and they missed the easier looks? Either they were lucky to be hitting like they did earlier or we were lucky they missed late, either way proof lucky beats good sometimes. I hear ya on the late game free throws, Roy gets to have something to get on them about, that needs to get cleaned up.

But the good, excellent a;; around game by Marcus, offensive end, defensive end, marcus was terriffic, looked like he was having a lot of fun out there. One thing you always worry about is a guy that has been out for a while coming back in and not blending well with the rest of the team, no problem there, Marcus blended perfectly with his mates and his play took us to that next level last night. Marcus starts off hitting good shots and the rest of our back court seemed to follow along with his trend. Defensively, Marcus and Joel were beasts out front, even given that sullyman and Trimble were red hot, hate to imagine how they would have scored had our back court not defended so well. Please, can we please put top rest the concerns about Joel berry as a defender, last night Joel was King Rice with a jump shot and to me that is outstanding!

But for me the 2 keys to this game was our inside play and the wing match up. Jackson and Theo IMO won that battle hands down, Leyman was nuetralized, wooden award canidate that he is and thou Neither Jackson nor Theo had big scoring games they held their own in that aspect and moved their feet really well chasing leyman around. I was really happy to see brice staying out of first half foul trouble, his little jumpers were on last night, they were back breaking. Oh yeah and brice was involved in the 2 plays of the game, first the Brice lob to marcus that he slipped back to Brice (the give & go as the announcer called it) for the slam and the ultra no look pass from Joel berry thru pretty much the entire Md defense. It is those things that have me I love college basketball so much, those were just works of art on and athletic level. Oh, and that Brice block while his man was going up and taking the ball away from him, sweet sweet stuff!

I thought Hicks played really steady and well, wanted to mention him but Meeks, daaaaaammmmm, way to get it done big fella! Yeah, 3rd in line for play of the game was Berry at half court to Meeks, Meeks turns in mid air, catches, and somehow finishes, guys his size just ain't supposed to do that . Meeks is just so good at block outs, at times he focuses more on blocking a guy out than he does going to get the rebound, one of the reasons in a couple earlier games his rebound numbers have not been great. Tell me ya didn't love watching him deck sillyman on that big time screen and exactly how does 6'9" vertically challenged Meeks block 6'11" Diamond Stone and not just block it but control the ball so we get the turn over?

There are not many teams in the country that would have beat Md last night, they were ready and they stepped up to the challenge, hit some well defended shots, Trimble was amazing. What a treat, watching Trimble and Marcus battle. Trimble is so physically strong, head is always up, great court vision, does not rush, takes his time and plays with amazing balance. Sillyman hitting some really tuff deep treys those guys kept Md in that game. But we pretty much matched them shot for shot, Md seemed wot wilt a little bit at the end, we did to, at least from the foul line but the intensity of that game defied the date it was played, this could have been a NCAAT final 4 intensity type of game, a game I think both coaches should be proud to have coached their respective teams.

Lotta good points, Dave. Yeah, in a pregame thread I said the battles with their 3s would be a difference-maker, and JJ/Theo did their collective job neutralizing Layman, et al.

Our Bigs didn't rebound as well as I hoped but still did their jobs.

Of course, all the attention couldn't help but be on what was an EPIC Guard battle. JB/Marcus vs Melo/Sillyman/Nickens. That was the real deal! Reminded me of some of the classic UNC-MD wars with guys like Ford and Keuster vs Lucas and Howard back in the day! They hit difficult 3 after difficult 3 but Marcus and JB woukd say "right back atcha!". And I think we got the edge in that epic battle on the basis of defense. How often are you gonna see Melo with 8 TOs? Their Guards had 12 TOs collectively, ours had 3 in an intense game. Win.

 

[gary-7]

Maye didn't see the floor last night and I assuming Roy didn't like the match-ups. I do think Roy will eventually give Maye most of James minutes. I'll stop now.

Steat, I'm not surprised that Roy went with big Joel. It was actually a good spot for his bulk against their big goons. Just wish his contribution was, um, more consistent.

 

[gary-7]

Considering who was missing the freebies at the end I'm not concerned. They won't do that again.

FUN game to watch and even more fun to see us respond down the stretch and not wither. Our team has grown up. Good to be a Tar Heel!

Mikey, when I was responding to Dave's post and talking about the epic UNC/MD guard battles I thought about you. That was a classic... and yeah, I think our backcourt will be ok at the line.down the road

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Both JJames and Maye have strengths and both have significant weaknesses. Who gets the time will depend on matchups, but JJ isn't going to the bench for good this season. Maye would have been destroyed by their bigs, he is just too small and JJ held his ground against their really large and skilled bigs.

Our bigs did what we needed and our guards made the difference to me. JJackson and Theo contributed more on the boards and defensively in this game, but they were pivotal too. If JB can continue the good D he showed last night and our Bigs continue to play with consistent energy, especially on D AND we stay healthy-This will be a special team! The freethrow thing looked like an aberration since the ones who missed them are good shooters.

 

[acarter0277]

Yeah, Coach, my biggest fear was they would high-screen us all night and they sure as heck did... we'd defend it well once then f** it up 3 more. I agree 100% that I'd rather see us be more aggressive.

IMO, Our best defense against it was to just preempt it by attacking with the Guards when the ball crossed half court. Early on when Roy was running some 30 and 40 with JB and MP swarming we gave Melo and Sillyman absolute hell. And I gotta say it again, one of the reasons I've been jonesin' for this backcourt so long (besides the obvious offensive firepower) is the way JB and MP mesh defensively.

We can't look past Davidson. Gibbs and Sullivan are one of the best backcourts in the country. Not as athletic as Sillyman and Melo, but very, very good. Gibbs had 41 vs Charlotte last night and Sullivan is one of the best shooters in the country. They won't ball screen a tenth of what Maryland did, but their constant motion and movement without the ball can give teams fits. This should be a good matchup.

 

[gary-7]

We can't look past Davidson. Gibbs and Sullivan are one of the best backcourts in the country. Not as athletic as Sillyman and Melo, but very, very good. Gibbs had 41 vs Charlotte last night and Sullivan is one of the best shooters in the country. They won't ball screen a tenth of what Maryland did, but their constant motion and movement without the ball can give teams fits. This should be a good matchup.

No doubt. They are always well-coached and a handful. Another challenge for our size to guard away from the paint as well. Might call for some Theo-at-the-4 time.

 

[Tru Blu Tar Heel]

Steat, I'm not surprised that Roy went with big Joel. It was actually a good spot for his bulk against their big goons. Just wish his contribution was, um, more consistent.

Exactly my thought when I read that. Joel was better suited to battle their bulk down low.

 

[Littlejon]

Steat, I'm not surprised that Roy went with big Joel. It was actually a good spot for his bulk against their big goons. Just wish his contribution was, um, more consistent.

Seeing Sillymon's arse laying on the court after Joel's screen ALMOST made up for his poor play. Almost.

 

[johnhelvete]

Yeah, Coach, my biggest fear was they would high-screen us all night and they sure as heck did... we'd defend it well once then f** it up 3 more. I agree 100% that I'd rather see us be more aggressive.

IMO, Our best defense against it was to just preempt it by attacking with the Guards when the ball crossed half court. Early on when Roy was running some 30 and 40 with JB and MP swarming we gave Melo and Sillyman absolute hell. And I gotta say it again, one of the reasons I've been jonesin' for this backcourt so long (besides the obvious offensive firepower) is the way JB and MP mesh defensively.

I watched a little bit of Illinois St at Kentucky the other day, and the Illinois St big men were hedging on the ball screen extremely aggressive and close to perfection at least in the first half. If our big men could play it as well, I think we win the National Championship this year.

 

[CanuckChuck]

Maye didn't see the floor last night and I assuming Roy didn't like the match-ups. I do think Roy will eventually give Maye most of James minutes. I'll stop now.

I think of Maye along the line of Jackson Simmons. He wont play every game but he'll be OK to solid when he does. Anything more is found money.

CC

 

[Steat]

Steat, I'm not surprised that Roy went with big Joel. It was actually a good spot for his bulk against their big goons. Just wish his contribution was, um, more consistent.

Gary, I love Joel, but the "Peter Principle" applies here. The Heels won, so I'll stop here.

 

[gary-7]

I think of Maye along the line of Jackson Simmons. He wont play every game but he'll be OK to solid when he does. Anything more is found money.

CC

Well now,... let's give Maye a lot more credit for athleticism and up-side.
Make no mistake; Maye will be a player for us, but that was big-boy basketball last night and it Maye still makes freshman blunders. Plus, again. Big Joel's size matched up against MD's bench goons. I think Luke will give us some quality spot minutes vs quality teams this season.

 

[coryfly]

Yeah, I liked the rotations last night. I still think we need to find more time for Pinson at the 2 but it is tough because we certainly need Paige and Berry playing a lot of minutes as well.

 

[gary-7]

Yeah, I liked the rotations last night. I still think we need to find more time for Pinson at the 2 but it is tough because we certainly need Paige and Berry playing a lot of minutes as well.

Well, if Nate doesn't step up his defense.........

Honestly though, I can see Theo getting some 4 time as well in small lineups against some teams.

 

[CanuckChuck]

Well now,... let's give Maye a lot more credit for athleticism and up-side.
Make no mistake; Maye will be a player for us, but that was big-boy basketball last night and it Maye still makes freshman blunders. Plus, again. Big Joel's size matched up against MD's bench goons. I think Luke will give us some quality spot minutes vs quality teams this season.

Every UNC game is big boy basketball. It's UNC! Let's give the recruiting experts a little credit too, he was 3* for a reason. Who was the last lightly regarded front court player to get more than spot time in his career? I'm not saying he can't be good but much like many on this board did with Hubert, we need temper our expectations.

CC

 

[gary-7]

Every UNC game is big boy basketball. It's UNC! Let's give the recruiting experts a little credit too, he was 3* for a reason. Who was the last lightly regarded front court player to get more than spot time in his career? I'm not saying he can't be good but much like many on this board did with Hubert, we need temper our expectations.

CC

I'm gonna have to take issue. Luke can play and will get high quality minutes in his UNC career. No comparison whatsoever to Simmons or Hubert. He genuinely impressed our veterans and the visiting pros in Chapel Hill this summer. As for recruiting "experts", well.....

 

[coryfly]

Well, if Nate doesn't step up his defense.........

Honestly though, I can see Theo getting some 4 time as well in small lineups against some teams.

I think we saw last night that Nate's minutes are definitely going to be cut some. Pinson at the four could be intriguing I guess but I still think he needs more time at the 2. Again, it's tough though. I think it could be worth trying to get more time for Pinson there when Britt is in.

 

[gary-7]

I think we saw last night that Nate's minutes are definitely going to be cut some. Pinson at the four could be intriguing I guess but I still think he needs more time at the 2. Again, it's tough though. I think it could be worth trying to get more time for Pinson there when Britt is in.

Britt and Pinson ran together for a few minutes in the first half and did pretty well offensively. It went south though late in the half when Berry was on the bench and MD started picking on Nate defensively, even with Paige on the floor with him.
I always liked Nate better at the 2 than the 1, and Marcus won't get 34 min every game and there'll be foul trouble at some point, but Theo could very well snag some of those backup minutes.
An interesting thing I saw vis-a-vis Roy was that Marcus did not play a second at the 1. He is free to handle when he wants but being a 2 just frees up his game so much. JB is Roy's PG and that is a VERY good thing for this team.

 

[coryfly]

Yeah, Pinson and Nate were +6 in 4 minutes, which is one reason (among the others already mentioned) I think that having Theo in there with Nate could help both Britt and the team in general. Theo could almost handle the playmaking responsibilities in a secondary kind of way and Britt could maybe even get some looks shooting out of it.

 

[gary-7]

Yeah, Pinson and Nate were +6 in 4 minutes, which is one reason (among the others already mentioned) I think that having Theo in there with Nate could help both Britt and the team in general. Theo could almost handle the playmaking responsibilities in a secondary kind of way and Britt could maybe even get some looks shooting out of it.

In fairness those numbers were skewed by the short time span and we hit a little flurry of shots, but yeah, that was Nate's good stretch for sure and gave the starters a nice blow.

 

[moe#8]

I thought you guys looked fantastic, really a fun team to watch. will be a tough out for my kitties.