Do you think his role will increase next season with Marcus gone. What areas of his game do you see him improving in.
Theo Pinson next year...
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He's got to work on his shot. He should be shooting all the time during the summer, during class, while he is asleep. If he can do that, then he has a chance to get a lot more playing time. If not, he's going to be splitting with more people like Williams, Britt, Woods, etc.
Here's what I'd have him spending a lot of time on.
1. Shooting.
2. Defensive focus.
3. Basketball IQ.
Shooting is obvious and we all agree on that.
He's is capable of being our best defensive player. But he often isn't. Why? Because he loses focus. He takes his eye off his man when his man doesn't have the ball, and the next thing you know is that some other UNC player has to drop off his assignment to pick up Theo's man. This happened over and over again last year.
Defensive lapses are part of his IQ problem, but they only signify that he doesn't really grasp the offensive flow and what Roy wants him to do. He isn't getting yelled at the way JP and Brice were last year - so I don't want to overstate the problem - but Roy has said plenty of things that let us know he thinks Theo plays out of control and has trouble following instructions. While he often does things to make the team play better, he is also the closest to a Lone Ranger we have on the court.
I'm not a coach, so I don't claim to know how to fix those things, but they need to be fixed. Solid improvements on all 3 and we're looking at the reincarnation of Walter Davis.
1. Shooting.
2. Defensive focus.
3. Basketball IQ.
Shooting is obvious and we all agree on that.
He's is capable of being our best defensive player. But he often isn't. Why? Because he loses focus. He takes his eye off his man when his man doesn't have the ball, and the next thing you know is that some other UNC player has to drop off his assignment to pick up Theo's man. This happened over and over again last year.
Defensive lapses are part of his IQ problem, but they only signify that he doesn't really grasp the offensive flow and what Roy wants him to do. He isn't getting yelled at the way JP and Brice were last year - so I don't want to overstate the problem - but Roy has said plenty of things that let us know he thinks Theo plays out of control and has trouble following instructions. While he often does things to make the team play better, he is also the closest to a Lone Ranger we have on the court.
I'm not a coach, so I don't claim to know how to fix those things, but they need to be fixed. Solid improvements on all 3 and we're looking at the reincarnation of Walter Davis.
Theo is going to be a stud after a full off season of working on his game
Theo and a coach need to work on his jump shooting mechanics 4hrs a day, he has to first shoot with the proper mechanics and second develop the feel of a shooter using those mechanics and third get the muscle memory from so many repetitions that he shoots this way without thinking about it.
That is going to take someone feeding him the ball and he taking jump shots from every spot in the half court. This plus a couple hours a day in the weight room and conditioning and the kid can have a very special season.
It is pretty clear to me that no one has EVER really worked with Theo on his jump shooting mechanics, it isn't something you want to do during the season because it can totally mess you up and effect confidence if you mess with that in season. Keep in mind, Theo could not do this last off season, he spent the last off season in a walking boot.
That is going to take someone feeding him the ball and he taking jump shots from every spot in the half court. This plus a couple hours a day in the weight room and conditioning and the kid can have a very special season.
It is pretty clear to me that no one has EVER really worked with Theo on his jump shooting mechanics, it isn't something you want to do during the season because it can totally mess you up and effect confidence if you mess with that in season. Keep in mind, Theo could not do this last off season, he spent the last off season in a walking boot.
off topic -- but your comment reminded me of a memorable experience i had when I was a student at carolina. i got to rebound for george karl in carmichael as he practiced shooting from different spots. nice memory...
Yeah, George karl was one of my all time favorite Tar Heel players.
I see kids practice shooting now days and I see 2 things that just drive me nutzs. First they will have racks of balls to shoot from as if they are in a 3pt shooting contest. When you are in a game you do not have racks of ball set up for you and you darn sure do not reach over and pick up a ball before you shoot it in a game, someone passes you the ball, you catch it, and you shoot it in a game, that is how you should practice it. You play like you practice because you practice like you play.
The other thing that drives me nutzs is to watch these kid's shooting before games, notice how often you see a kid take long jump shots and their feet barely leave the court, many times their feet do not leave the court. That isn't how you shoot a jump shot in a game is it? In a game you catch the ball from a passer and you square, elevate, and release at a consistent release point above your head. This is important, especially for those kids that have strong elevation, say a Theo or a 7th Woods. They have to practice shooting like it comes to them to shoot in a game and how many times will you see a kid in a game shoot a trey and his feet never leave the floor? If you elevate 8" off the floor in a game to take your jump shots you should do exactly that in practice because the view of the basket is very different 8" lower than it is elevating 8" and again, you want to get the same view of the basket in practice that you get in a game.
Oh and I will add a 3rd thing, I have never seen a kid in a game wear head phones, not one time have I ever seen that, so why the heck do kids wear them when they practice jump shooting? You practice like you play so in a game you can play like you practice!
As you saw George do when you rebounded for him, he didn't stick to one spot on the floor and I gurantee ya it was not all catch & shoot either. He would catch your pass to him and take 2 dribbles and pull up, he would at times catch and shoot, he at times would fade on his shot and at times he would square and go up straight. he shots shots in practice that he saw come to him in games and he shot them just as he would have in a game. The one thing constant I gurantee ya was he went up on balance and he had consistent and maybe even dramatic follow their with his shot.
Catch, square, balance. elevate, release at the consistent release point above your head, smooth follow thru with your hands looking like a ducks bill. I wasn't there you were when George was working on his shooting but tell me that is not exactly what you watched him doing. That is exactly what Theo and 7th Woods need to do this off season. The hard thing for those 2 kids is they both elevate so much and so fluidly that it is harder for them to get that release point tight, hard because as your legs tire it is harder to get to that fresh legs release point. Notice how often a kid will come out red hot and then all the sudden it stops, their legs get tired and they are no longer elevating on balance the same height they were on fresh legs. When they are not on balance they have to correct the shot, I call that Ky windage for those of you that know shooting weapons know what I mean by that. Theo shoots with a lot of Ky windage right now and you can not be consistently accurate when you do that.
It is also very important to get a feel of receiving the ball from different angles and squaring up. It is easier for example to receive the pass from inside back out to you because a pass coming from in front kinda automatically allows you to be squared up and on balance. Where a pass coming to you from a side. as in the ball being passing around the horn is a lot harder to square for because you have to catch, turn, then square and you have to do that quickly cause a defender is flying at you, lots of those shots are missed off to a side because the shooter never got fully square, was trying to turn and square at the same time rather than moving his feet. Watch Seth Curry shoot, when he catches from a side his feet are already set square, he turns his core smoothly but he is on balance at the catch no matter what angle the ball comes to him, he positions his feet so no matter what angle the ball comes to him he is on balance and that means he understands the angles and positions his feet to the angle of the pass.
There will be certain angles that a player prefers that fit his body motion that he just feels more than others. Robert Horry was not a great shooter in college but he got to the NBA and worked on his shooting to become a very deadly 3pt shooter in his day, he LOVED the deep corner trey, he loved it from a pass coming from outside in to him and that was the shot he took when ever he could, he worked to position himself for that shot and got it a lot. Play to your stronger and more comfortable shot. Marcus Paige loved the trey shot off the side of the key, from the inside back out pass. He was much better there than he was in the deep corner, al players find their best spots and should hunt them. But ya have to vary your shots because defenders wil catch on quick and defend your preferred shots harder. Usually a right hand dominant shooter wil prefer shooting from the left side of the key because it is easier to catch and square with your dominant hand. A right hand dominant player shooting from the right side of the key has to turn to catch and reach across his body but does not have to reach across his body to catch the ball when shooting from the other side. Leftys have a advantage because more leftys can use either hand comfortabaly where we rightys seem to struggle with their left hand.
Didn't mean to ramble on so much on this, just one thing lead to another.
Yeah, human catapult needs Hubert's form...and his help. Hope he sorts some of it out this spring/summer, he could be special as he has shown with his energy this past season and working hard and getting others involved. High ceiling with some hard work.
4th season his shooting is not going to improve, but his leadership and Bball IQ need to be on point, and he will get his PT. I would think that he will be on the court at the end of games.
You talking about Theo? Next season he will be a Jr and this is only his second off season since being a Tar Heel and he could not work on his game last off season due to his injury. So this will be his first off season that allows him to get this type of skill development in. Maybe you were thinking of another player?
Agreed on all three points.
Dave has amply covered the shooting aspect and I think he's spot on.
With his arm span and lateral quickness, he has the potential to be a defensive stopper. As you say, he had lapses where he would lose sight of his man and compromise our team defense. But he wasn't alone in that regard, and I think he will improve and join Joel as one of our best defenders. We played some of our best ball when we went small with him and JJ at the forward spots. I hope JJ returns and we see more of that next year.
From a basketball IQ aspect, I'd like to see him work on minimizing his TO's. He's a little flashy at times with his passes and I'd like to see him concentrate on making the easy pass which would reduce his TO's. I'd also like to see him tighten up his handle a little more and curb his tendency to try to dribble through heavy traffic.
We have to remember he missed a lot of practice time due to injury his freshman year. In effect, he was a freshman this year. With a healthy summer to hone his game, I expect a big leap in his game. And with his infectious enthusiasm, I look for him to be a team leader as well.
My bad, it will be his 3rd season. I will back off that he will not improve. Theo feels more like a slasher that when he gets hot can knock down a 3 here and there.
The fact he could become an elite defender is a reason he could see a lot more action. I just don't see him becoming a great shooter, but what I could see is him becoming the glue to a good team. (Hustle guy guarding 3-4 positions at anytime).
Again my bad about his class, but somehow becoming a great shooter is a stretch, but if I am wrong I still am happy because it only helps the Heels.
Trust me I am not trying to blast Pinson. "Capable" shooter would mean he has the ability to make shots. If that is the case then he is a capable shooter now. I will replace the word "great" with reliable and my point remains the same. Theo is a tremendous athletic player, but I just don't see him becoming a guy who you expect to knock down jump shots. If JJ stays in the draft IMHO we will get to see the true Pinson on the offensive end. A guy who can slash, pass and when he is in a good groove may knock down a 3. I really from the start of my post was only stating I never thought of Pinson as a guy that we would set screens for to knock down jumpers, but I think offensively he can still be effective with his driving and passing ability.
I think Theo can develop into a decent, reliable shooter and that's all the team needs.
Remember, he hit 9-21 in the first 6 games last season but dropped off in consistency once Marcus returned.
And that was with some pretty poor mechanics.
I'm guessing, his confidence in the starters role covered the poor mechanics, hence 42% clip. Once he had less time to work into a game, the poor form affected his percentages.
I do believe, with a true off-season, Theo will be capable of 35+% from 3 next season.
As for the rest of his game, I love what he brings. A little more maturity, both physical and emotional should be expected too....
And yes, I believe if Justin returns, Theo will start alongside Joel. He'll also play some 3, some 4 and pretty much anywhere else Roy asks him.
Also, put him down for the all interview team... I'm betting he's going to have the press corp in stitches sometime in 16-17.
Remember, he hit 9-21 in the first 6 games last season but dropped off in consistency once Marcus returned.
And that was with some pretty poor mechanics.
I'm guessing, his confidence in the starters role covered the poor mechanics, hence 42% clip. Once he had less time to work into a game, the poor form affected his percentages.
I do believe, with a true off-season, Theo will be capable of 35+% from 3 next season.
As for the rest of his game, I love what he brings. A little more maturity, both physical and emotional should be expected too....
And yes, I believe if Justin returns, Theo will start alongside Joel. He'll also play some 3, some 4 and pretty much anywhere else Roy asks him.
Also, put him down for the all interview team... I'm betting he's going to have the press corp in stitches sometime in 16-17.
Hey, no problem, just had me a little confused. I do think Theo can become a good shooter, we not talking Curry or Buddy Hield but much better than we have seen. Reason I say this is you can teach a kid the proper mechanics and it helps them as a shooter but the one thing you can not teach is that shooters feel for the shot, you kinda have to be born with that ability to feel the shot.
I watch Theo shooting free throws and his form is not great there either but he makes a solid % of them and it is all feel. Difference is he does not have to worry about squaring up and going up on balance on those free throws and those things can be taught and incoorperated with a lot of repetitions. I do think he can transform from a "we dare you to shoot" guy to a "ut oh, we better cover him guy" and really that is all we really need for him to force a defender to have to commit to staying on him and not dropping off to double one of his teammates or not play him for the pass exclusively.
Either way next season we will see if his off season work improves his shooting enough and I am excited myself to find out if it is.
if theo had perfect form and still couldn't hit a decent percentage i'd say yes he's hopeless. but his form stinks which ironically is a GOOD sign! form can be fixed. when theo gets it right (and our coaching staff will see to that) he will be a very good shooter. you'll see...
I don't see Theo as a shooter, and I kinda don't really agree that he should spend all of his time trying to become one. Not that he shouldn't work to improve his shot, but I just don't think it's what's best for his game or for the team. I'd rather see him work to develop the 15 footer, which I think he can be more efficient with than from the 3 point line (kind of like how Strickland got really good with that shot by his senior year). Dude needs to keep getting stronger, become a great ball handler, and keep improving defensively (obviously he's already solid there), and he will be exactly what Roy and the team need him to be. I think along with Berry, he'll be the heart and soul of the team because of his energy and aggressiveness, not because he can shoot the long ball. And I am 100% sure he'll start with Berry, Jackson (assuming he's back), Hicks and Meeks.
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