This season's team...

[gary-7]

...just for my fellow Tar Heel faithful.

Normally the only "inside" info I'm lucky (or unlucky) enough to pick up is through the coach/AAU grapevine... and that's mostly 'cruitin stuff. However, over the past 3+ years I've gotten some team info from a source who is close to a few of our veteran players (not gonna be any more specific lest covers be blown and such). Trust me, this info has come warts and all, and normal discretion dictates that I be careful in what I post here (context and stuff).
Example: Some of y'all may remember midway thru the 2012-13 season I found out that JMM had already pretty much decided to return the following season. I posted that for you guys because it was positive news with no bad side-affects. On the other side of the coin, earlier that season I heard that Brice as a freshman was considering transferring. Nothing good could have come from posting that on a message board at that time, so I didn't. But then later that same season I got word that he had gotten his head right and had bought in to Roy coaching him hard and was going nowhere. I later posted that to quell the negative stuff I was seeing on here about Brice's attitude.

Anyway, here's the point: I only get these nuggets every couple of months or so. The latest batch was at the end of the summer (after the pick-up games, before real practices) and boy did I get an ear full, especially about last season's team --- again, warts and all. The positive harmless stuff I've been happy to share (e.g. who was having good summers, impressions made by the freshmen --- y'all have seen it on here). The tricky part is how to convey the other things constructively. I'm going to do so because the net result is positive for this upcoming season. My apologies if anything sounds cryptic, just gonna mention 2 big issues that are happily (and hopefully) now resolved. These will probably come as little surprise to many.

1. Roles: Last season a couple of our intrepid posters mentioned rumors of a rift that involved JP. They were correct. It wasn't a personal thing, it was about his role on the team. He got it into his head that he needed to be a 2-guard. We saw the results too often just watching. Well, that didn't sit well with our Bigs especially, because although JP made some really nice passes that made his stat line look more effective, he also slowed down our offense by the ball sticking to his hands and he wasn't doing his part on the defensive boards --- too much time on the perimeter and looking for "snowbirds". BTW: Although Roy unintentionally enabled it with his lineup choice, it had him quite frustrated as well.
2. Rotation: This is on the same line as above (but with an added element I'm going to be careful about). You can be pretty sure if an ol' coach can see it on a TV screen then the players know it. They knew (by playing in it) that the lineup and rotation wasn't optimal, and that became apparent fairly early on and caused tension. Carolina is an inside-out system --- but that system depends on guard play. The players, especially the Bigs (who have to work their tails off for position to hopefully get fed at the right place and time by the guards) figured out pretty quick who our best PG was... and he wasn't playing enough. And even though the PG in question being a team guy never said a word, this issue was, let us say, a proverbial elephant in the room. Roy eventually adjusted, albeit a little too little and too late for a few reasons.

I'll be happy to relate some of the wart-ier details down the road (there's nothing scandalous or anything)... but not now. Now is about moving onward and upward.

Bottom line is, this season's group should have much, much better chemistry!

Although JP was my "favorite" coming in, the above issues were what they were... but are no longer there. His move was probably best for all concerned.
And Roy's too good a coach not to address the rotational issue and it appears he has. If we can get healthy this team could look like the hotrod Roy wants to run. This season promises to be a lot more fun!

 

[Tom79]

so what you sayin' willis? We good?

 

[Crimson Ghost]

Appreciate the info as always gary!

 

[keysersosay#1]

I had that feeling/sense about watching JP last year ..... he wanted a LOT more to showcase HIS game and I believe it did cause some rifts.

 

[dadika13]

Good stuff gary. I wasn't upset when JP decided to go pro. We're deep enough to absorb that kind of loss and it was pretty apparent last year that he just didn't quite fit. I loved his effort on the defensive end and his freak athleticism, but it's not like we are lacking for guys like that.

The thing I loved about our 2012 team (still not over the KM injury that cost us the NC) was their chemistry. The guys were always going to the courts together playing pickup, hanging out, etc..

Hope we have similar success and the injury to our backcourt already happened.

 

[2 skerz 3]

So Roy decided to play a rotation for the sake of 1 player instead of the team?

 

[gary-7]

so what you sayin' willis? We good?

We good, Arnold... and could be real good

 

[coryfly]

I think most of us know there were some chemistry issues regarding JP last year. The offense never had quite the flow it needed to because of some of the overdribbling (there are a few other guys who could clean that up a little as well) and other things. I like JP and did not want him to leave but I do believe that one positive byproduct of it will be improved chemistry. I don't think it was a 'like' issue as I think the guys all got along but more of an on the court chemistry thing. I think Pinson can step in to his role a little better offensively and not quite as good defensively. Plus, Pinson really loves being here and playing and I'm not sure JP was ever really into the college game.

 

[coryfly]

So Roy decided to play a rotation for the sake of 1 player instead of the team?

All you ever do is shoot out silly little one liners over here.

It isn't quite that simple but you know that. K has done similar things a few times in the past. All coaches have had to balance positives and negatives regarding their lineups. The 'one player' in the rotation did a heck of a lot of good things for UNC while he was in there.

 

[DSouthr]

...just for my fellow Tar Heel faithful.

Normally the only "inside" info I'm lucky (or unlucky) enough to pick up is through the coach/AAU grapevine... and that's mostly 'cruitin stuff. However, over the past 3+ years I've gotten some team info from a source who is close to a few of our veteran players (not gonna be any more specific lest covers be blown and such). Trust me, this info has come warts and all, and normal discretion dictates that I be careful in what I post here (context and stuff).
Example: Some of y'all may remember midway thru the 2012-13 season I found out that JMM had already pretty much decided to return the following season. I posted that for you guys because it was positive news with no bad side-affects. On the other side of the coin, earlier that season I heard that Brice as a freshman was considering transferring. Nothing good could have come from posting that on a message board at that time, so I didn't. But then later that same season I got word that he had gotten his head right and had bought in to Roy coaching him hard and was going nowhere. I later posted that to quell the negative stuff I was seeing on here about Brice's attitude.

Anyway, here's the point: I only get these nuggets every couple of months or so. The latest batch was at the end of the summer (after the pick-up games, before real practices) and boy did I get an ear full, especially about last season's team --- again, warts and all. The positive harmless stuff I've been happy to share (e.g. who was having good summers, impressions made by the freshmen --- y'all have seen it on here). The tricky part is how to convey the other things constructively. I'm going to do so because the net result is positive for this upcoming season. My apologies if anything sounds cryptic, just gonna mention 2 big issues that are happily (and hopefully) now resolved. These will probably come as little surprise to many.

1. Roles: Last season a couple of our intrepid posters mentioned rumors of a rift that involved JP. They were correct. It wasn't a personal thing, it was about his role on the team. He got it into his head that he needed to be a 2-guard. We saw the results too often just watching. Well, that didn't sit well with our Bigs especially, because although JP made some really nice passes that made his stat line look more effective, he also slowed down our offense by the ball sticking to his hands and he wasn't doing his part on the defensive boards --- too much time on the perimeter and looking for "snowbirds". BTW: Although Roy unintentionally enabled it with his lineup choice, it had him quite frustrated as well.
2. Rotation: This is on the same line as above (but with an added element I'm going to be careful about). You can be pretty sure if an ol' coach can see it on a TV screen then the players know it. They knew (by playing in it) that the lineup and rotation wasn't optimal, and that became apparent fairly early on and caused tension. Carolina is an inside-out system --- but that system depends on guard play. The players, especially the Bigs (who have to work their tails off for position to hopefully get fed at the right place and time by the guards) figured out pretty quick who our best PG was... and he wasn't playing enough. And even though the PG in question being a team guy never said a word, this issue was, let us say, a proverbial elephant in the room. Roy eventually adjusted, albeit a little too little and too late for a few reasons.

I'll be happy to relate some of the wart-ier details down the road (there's nothing scandalous or anything)... but not now. Now is about moving onward and upward.

Bottom line is, this season's group should have much, much better chemistry!

Although JP was my "favorite" coming in, the above issues were what they were... but are no longer there. His move was probably best for all concerned.
And Roy's too good a coach not to address the rotational issue and it appears he has. If we can get healthy this team could look like the hotrod Roy wants to run. This season promises to be a lot more fun!

Yeah gary, think many of us noticed something very odd with JP about mid way thru last season, think you & I discussed it for a while. I had caught wind of some of that, appreciate the validation of what I was hearing was on target but watching JPs actions on & off the court showed me as well it had legs.

And yeah, I do know who the PG the bigs preferred to play with were, you & I have both known that one for a long while now. The mystery I really want more info on, the one I just can not seem to gain any insite on is what happened to Meeks beginning in Jan and stretching thru the rest of last season? I suspect a version of mono but can get no confirm on that. I know it was more than was reported.

On Brice, he had a ton of pressure to play for the game cocks from his family and coaches. My understand it it really increased during his frosh season at UNC, a lot of see, they are not using your talents right. Roy got on him hard and early, rode him hard because truth is Brice needs to be coached that way, he can be a little hard headed if I can say that. Roy had a sit down with him & his dad and the result was the kid never again gave transferring a second thought.

 

[GoNtheDistance]

good post Gary. Thanks for the intel. Confirms a lot of what we saw, especially with JP.

 

[gary-7]

So Roy decided to play a rotation for the sake of 1 player instead of the team?

No, no... not at all.
JP had earned a starting position going into the season, so Roy had a decision on which way to go at first: He had a badd-ass freshman class, two of whom were ready to start here from day-one (and Theo could have started on most teams). So it was either start two true guards (Berry/Paige or Britt/Paige) with JP at the 3, or play JP and JJ together on the assumption JJ could be the 2 (although the 2 and 3 roles are often interchangeable, in a few key areas there is a difference).
His decision to go with the latter likely came down to his unsatisfactory experience with having to start a freshman PG the previous season (because of the suspensions), plus Britt was still unlikely to be the best answer, and Berry could have time to fully absorb the most complex position on the system.
Not what I would've done but fair enough Perfectly understandable. However JJ as a freshman was not assertive and wasn't shooting well from deep which affected his face-up confidence (plus he's a natural 3), and JP (also a natural 3) just assumed the 2 role.
By Xmas Berry was playing well, and it wasn't long til the JP role issue was showing and soon the talk of Roy making a mid-season lineup change was in the air. The assumption is that it got derailed by Berry missing the GT game with the stomach flu and then the lateness in the season. There were a lotta factors in play so I'm told, that are more appropriate for a later date here. Anyway, with JB and JJ's emergence, JP would have likely lost his starting job this season and that prolly helped hasten his departure.

 

[gary-7]

Yeah gary, think many of us noticed something very odd with JP about mid way thru last season, think you & I discussed it for a while. I had caught wind of some of that, appreciate the validation of what I was hearing was on target but watching JPs actions on & off the court showed me as well it had legs.

And yeah, I do know who the PG the bigs preferred to play with were, you & I have both known that one for a long while now. The mystery I really want more info on, the one I just can not seem to gain any insite on is what happened to Meeks beginning in Jan and stretching thru the rest of last season? I suspect a version of mono but can get no confirm on that. I know it was more than was reported.

On Brice, he had a ton of pressure to play for the game cocks from his family and coaches. My understand it it really increased during his frosh season at UNC, a lot of see, they are not using your talents right. Roy got on him hard and early, rode him hard because truth is Brice needs to be coached that way, he can be a little hard headed if I can say that. Roy had a sit down with him & his dad and the result was the kid never again gave transferring a second thought.

Dave, I'm chuckling as I type this because 1. you are pretty much spot on with Brice (the rest of that story I'll save for next season), and 2. I'm still waiting on the Meeks story (I do think he was being honest about falling off the diet wagon though) which I'm not sure I'm gonna get .

 

[Ozheelfan]

................. Anyway, with JB and JJ's emergence, JP would have likely lost his starting job this season and that prolly helped hasten his departure.

Thanks for all the above Gary and your last line resonates hugely. It's exactly how I read the early departure. That said, I reckon JP had his eye on the exit door before last season began, don't think he wanted to be a senior going into the draft.

 

[gary-7]

Thanks for all the above Gary and your last line resonates hugely. It's exactly how I read the early departure. That said, I reckon JP had his eye on the exit door before last season began, don't think he wanted to be a senior going into the draft.

The term I heard (and posted a few weeks ago) was "checked out".. and Oz, here's the irony: Maybe the best all-around game JP played all season was at dook --- he was everything that night I had always hoped he would be --- and he did most of his damage playing like a 3 often with two guards on the floor. He slashed, he attacked, he rebounded and finished. Hell, JP prolly did more for his NBA stock in that one night than in all his games combined trying to be Wayne Ellington.

 

[heels05champs]

And some people wonder why the perception exist that sometimes Roy plays upperclassmen over talent... Over the years, there have been several examples of this happening and last year was one of them. Myself and many others could easily see our best lineup was with Berry on the floor and JP on the bench but you always get those posters that question your fandom for questioning our HOF coach. Roy is human like anyone else and does occasionally make mistakes. Last years lineup was one of them.

 

[DSouthr]

So Roy decided to play a rotation for the sake of 1 player instead of the team?

That really is not what gary said nor what Roy did. Roy was starting a freshman in Jackson but had experienced guys at all other positions. Marcus made it known that realizing his NBA position would be at the point that he wanted to play the point in college to prepare for his future NBA role. Roy tried to grant that. Britt was not at the time seen as a viable 2 guard canidate and if you put Marcus at the point, we were pretty much left with JP at the 2 or Theo another frosh at the 2. Roy went with his more experienced guy, realize Jackson at the 3 and Marcus at the 1 forced that hand.

But in reality, with that combination considering that JP was a dare him to shoot guy and Marcus had to find his shot running off screens put JP at the PG role way to often. WE all watched how that paid off, some times it did but many more times it did not.

Now we have the emerging of Joel as a solid PG and Britt as a viable 2 guard.and Marcus may prefer the point but he is to much of a team guy to demand it. Not to mention that we now have a true 2 guard in Kenny, a position that really never fit Theo, Jackson or JP. Theo will cover the 2 more now that Marcus is out but Theo is a wing, that is the position he was born to play. This just fits better than having a wing that listens to the smoke blown up his butt that he has to be a 2 guard. This team of players are not so demanding of playing a particular position, we have a team of basketball players that will play no matter what position they are inserted in to.

 

[gary-7]

And some people wonder why the perception exist that sometimes Roy plays upperclassmen over talent... Over the years, there have been several examples of this happening and last year was one of them. Myself and many others could easily see our best lineup was with Berry on the floor and JP on the bench but you always get those posters that question your fandom for questioning our HOF coach. Roy is human like anyone else and does occasionally make mistakes. Last years lineup was one of them.

I'll only disagree on one count: IMO, JP could have and should have started from the beginning with JB and MP at guards, and JJ coming off the bench. JJ actually had a bit of a rough transition early on but of course came on like gangbusters in the last 3rd of the season. I think we would have seen a lot more "Good-JP" if he was bumped to the 3 where he needed to be.

 

[soap - new and improved]

Fact - Nobody on this board knows as much about basketball as Roy Williams. Neither do any of his players, present or past.

Nobody on this board has the day to day access to and observation of all the players and how well they are "getting" and "doing" the things he needs them to get and do.

Is he perfect? Of course not. But I will take his knowledge, approach and accomplishments over every poster on this board combined

Y'all get back to me when you are Basketball Hall of Famers with a couple of National Championships and all the other accolades Roy has accumulated along the way.

 

[DSouthr]

Dave, I'm chuckling as I type this because 1. you are pretty much spot on with Brice (the rest of that story I'll save for next season), and 2. I'm still waiting on the Meeks story (I do think he was being honest about falling off the diet wagon though) which I'm not sure I'm gonna get .

Gary, I will never forget sitting down with a former gamecock player that was a head coach for a little tiny school in the county next to where Brice attended high school. He was VERY close with Brice's head coach and while he did respect the UNC program, his wife actually was a UNC grad, he was not shy in telling me that the pressure was coming at Brice from every angle to commit to the cocks and that it would not stop even if he committed to UNC. He did share some funny stories of what I have called Brice being hard headed as well as the fact that the first person in line to call him that would be his dad. What Brice respects, what he responds to is a hard hand, he wants a coach to be extra demanding of him, even if at times it upsets him and Roy did upset him many times that frosh season. I think in the end it was Brice's dad that made the point, son, coach treats you just like I did raising you and it has worked well for you so far hasn't it. From that point on there was never another question of Brice as much as thinking of playing for another college coach, Brice loves him some Roy!

 

[Ozheelfan]

I'll only disagree on one count: IMO, JP could have and should have started from the beginning with JB and MP at guards, and JJ coming off the bench. JJ actually had a bit of a rough transition early on but of course came on like gangbusters in the last 3rd of the season. I think we would have seen a lot more "Good-JP" if he was bumped to the 3 where he needed to be.

Yep, a pity both for the team and I believe for JP.
Still, now time to move on and how exciting is this years team?!!

 

[gary-7]

Gary, I will never forget sitting down with a former gamecock player that was a head coach for a little tiny school in the county next to where Brice attended high school. He was VERY close with Brice's head coach and while he did respect the UNC program, his wife actually was a UNC grad, he was not shy in telling me that the pressure was coming at Brice from every angle to commit to the cocks and that it would not stop even if he committed to UNC. He did share some funny stories of what I have called Brice being hard headed as well as the fact that the first person in line to call him that would be his dad. What Brice respects, what he responds to is a hard hand, he wants a coach to be extra demanding of him, even if at times it upsets him and Roy did upset him many times that frosh season. I think in the end it was Brice's dad that made the point, son, coach treats you just like I did raising you and it has worked well for you so far hasn't it. From that point on there was never another question of Brice as much as thinking of playing for another college coach, Brice loves him some Roy!

Yep, and it wasn't just USCjr in his ear back then...
Still, he got his head right. Brice loves Roy and loves the real Carolina

 

[gary-7]

Fact - Nobody on this board knows as much about basketball as Roy Williams. Neither do any of his players, present or past.

Nobody on this board has the day to day access to and observation of all the players and how well they are "getting" and "doing" the things he needs them to get and do.

Is he perfect? Of course not. But I will take his knowledge, approach and accomplishments over every poster on this board combined

Y'all get back to me when you are Basketball Hall of Famers with a couple of National Championships and all the other accolades Roy has accumulated along the way.

Ummm... o k .
Not sure where that came from, but in case you missed it or misread it, none of this was any kind of attack on Roy .
In fact, if anything it's a real-life illustration of the human interactions, dynamics and sometimes foibles of 12 to 15 young athletes that a coach --- even a Hall of Fame coach --- has to wrangle in any given season.

And BTW, not every decision a coach makes --- even a Hall of Fame coach --- turns out the way he planned. The great ones adjust... as Roy more often than not does. That's a big reason why he's quite deservedly in the Hall of Fame.
But again... o k .

 

[heels05champs]

Fact - Nobody on this board knows as much about basketball as Roy Williams. Neither do any of his players, present or past.

Nobody on this board has the day to day access to and observation of all the players and how well they are "getting" and "doing" the things he needs them to get and do.

Is he perfect? Of course not. But I will take his knowledge, approach and accomplishments over every poster on this board combined

Y'all get back to me when you are Basketball Hall of Famers with a couple of National Championships and all the other accolades Roy has accumulated along the way.

Exactly the type of response I was talking about... Smh. How dare any one at any time question the perfect mistake-free decision making of Roy Williams. Geez people, Jesus Christ was the only perfect person to walk this earth. Pretty sure Roy himself would admit to coaching decisions he regrets.

 

[coryfly]

I have no issues with people disagreeing about JP but I think many forget the positives he brought to the table as well. I had no problem with him starting. He gave us things we would have lost without him in the lineup. While his ability in certain areas was a weakness when he was checked in he added a lot to the team.

 

[soap - new and improved]

Exactly the type of response I was talking about... Smh. How dare any one at any time question the perfect mistake-free decision making of Roy Williams. Geez people, Jesus Christ was the only perfect person to walk this earth. Pretty sure Roy himself would admit to coaching decisions he regrets.

Read my post, I state clearly Roy is not perfect. You are welcome to your opinion that you know better than Roy who should be playing more. You said "Myself and many others could easily see our best lineup was with Berry on the floor and JP on the bench".

I just happen to disagree with you about that.

I stand by what I posted. Even if we were to toss all of his other qualifications in to the trashcan, no one here has the daily eyes on his players like he does. No one here knows the "behind the scenes" like Roy and his staff do. And no one here "knows" better than Roy who he should be playing, at what position, and/or why.

No one here wants the Tar Heels to win with even a significant fraction of the passion Roy does. If Roy believed benching Player A and inserting Player B would get more wins, you can bet the house that's what he would do.

If you want to shake your head that's fine, maybe just aim it toward internet posters who with very limited (or no) access to the players and limited (or no) college coaching experience think they know better than a proven HC like Roy "what his best lineup" really is.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

I appreciate the info! I saw the problems with JP and Brice from a distance and now they are confirmed. I disagree that the best team would have JP on the bench, but I agree that he needed to play the 3/4 to be best effective. Both JJ and Berry should have been subs to me until they really learned our system and the speed of college ball. Of the two, JJ was the best choice to start because his position has an easier learning curve and he had physical gifts that make up for his deficiencies. Berry got run when he was ready and that is good for him and the team. Physical attributes and talent are not the only things you must consider when picking your starters. Some don't have the proper mentality to be good coming from the bench and JP was one of them. There have been two players recently that would have checked out completely if they were bench players, JP and Nameless punk PG, and Roy knew the team could not afford to lose them! In both cases,fans accused Roy of making a mistake, but I think he was doing his best to salvage a tough situation.

Everyone makes mistakes, but these decisions were necessary for potential team success even if they didn't work!

 

[gary-7]

There have been two players recently that would have checked out completely if they were bench players, JP and Nameless punk PG, and Roy knew the team could not afford to lose them! In both cases,fans accused Roy of making a mistake, but I think he was doing his best to salvage a tough situation.
Everyone makes mistakes, but these decisions were necessary for potential team success even if they didn't work!

Dayum, TPF... bingin' pain.
Seriously, as I said I would have started JP, too. He had earned it and could be a helluva 3-man. He just needed two real guards on the floor with him to preempt any of his Shooting Guard delusions. But then, going into the season, who knew? And yeah, the choosing dilemma Roy faced on the remaining slot was understandable either way. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. That's the reality of coachin'.

BTW: I guess that "Nameless" PG checked himself out pretty quick, huh?

 

[Tru Blu Tar Heel]

...just for my fellow Tar Heel faithful.

Normally the only "inside" info I'm lucky (or unlucky) enough to pick up is through the coach/AAU grapevine... and that's mostly 'cruitin stuff. However, over the past 3+ years I've gotten some team info from a source who is close to a few of our veteran players (not gonna be any more specific lest covers be blown and such). Trust me, this info has come warts and all, and normal discretion dictates that I be careful in what I post here (context and stuff).
Example: Some of y'all may remember midway thru the 2012-13 season I found out that JMM had already pretty much decided to return the following season. I posted that for you guys because it was positive news with no bad side-affects. On the other side of the coin, earlier that season I heard that Brice as a freshman was considering transferring. Nothing good could have come from posting that on a message board at that time, so I didn't. But then later that same season I got word that he had gotten his head right and had bought in to Roy coaching him hard and was going nowhere. I later posted that to quell the negative stuff I was seeing on here about Brice's attitude.

Anyway, here's the point: I only get these nuggets every couple of months or so. The latest batch was at the end of the summer (after the pick-up games, before real practices) and boy did I get an ear full, especially about last season's team --- again, warts and all. The positive harmless stuff I've been happy to share (e.g. who was having good summers, impressions made by the freshmen --- y'all have seen it on here). The tricky part is how to convey the other things constructively. I'm going to do so because the net result is positive for this upcoming season. My apologies if anything sounds cryptic, just gonna mention 2 big issues that are happily (and hopefully) now resolved. These will probably come as little surprise to many.

1. Roles: Last season a couple of our intrepid posters mentioned rumors of a rift that involved JP. They were correct. It wasn't a personal thing, it was about his role on the team. He got it into his head that he needed to be a 2-guard. We saw the results too often just watching. Well, that didn't sit well with our Bigs especially, because although JP made some really nice passes that made his stat line look more effective, he also slowed down our offense by the ball sticking to his hands and he wasn't doing his part on the defensive boards --- too much time on the perimeter and looking for "snowbirds". BTW: Although Roy unintentionally enabled it with his lineup choice, it had him quite frustrated as well.
2. Rotation: This is on the same line as above (but with an added element I'm going to be careful about). You can be pretty sure if an ol' coach can see it on a TV screen then the players know it. They knew (by playing in it) that the lineup and rotation wasn't optimal, and that became apparent fairly early on and caused tension. Carolina is an inside-out system --- but that system depends on guard play. The players, especially the Bigs (who have to work their tails off for position to hopefully get fed at the right place and time by the guards) figured out pretty quick who our best PG was... and he wasn't playing enough. And even though the PG in question being a team guy never said a word, this issue was, let us say, a proverbial elephant in the room. Roy eventually adjusted, albeit a little too little and too late for a few reasons.

I'll be happy to relate some of the wart-ier details down the road (there's nothing scandalous or anything)... but not now. Now is about moving onward and upward.

Bottom line is, this season's group should have much, much better chemistry!

Although JP was my "favorite" coming in, the above issues were what they were... but are no longer there. His move was probably best for all concerned.
And Roy's too good a coach not to address the rotational issue and it appears he has. If we can get healthy this team could look like the hotrod Roy wants to run. This season promises to be a lot more fun!

Thanks for the info Gary. I would imagine that this year's iteration of Tar Heel basketball will be a little more up tempo and fluid than we saw consistently last season.

 

[TPFKAPFS]

Yeah He checked himself out immediately after having the best game of his career from the bench! Pride certainly went before that fall! He has rightfully disappeared and I think it proof of Kama!

Too bad for us that JP couldn't see what was best for the team OR himself! Hopefully he will lean to put team first and earn a chance to have a good pro career.

 

[tmatheny]

I think we forget that Berry missed a lot of crucial time as well so not until late in the season did he make a strong case to be starting

 

[gary-7]

Thanks for the info Gary. I would imagine that this year's iteration of Tar Heel basketball will be a little more up tempo and fluid than we saw consistently last season.

You said it right there, my friend.

 

[Spacegrass]

I have no issues with people disagreeing about JP but I think many forget the positives he brought to the table as well. I had no problem with him starting. He gave us things we would have lost without him in the lineup. While his ability in certain areas was a weakness when he was checked in he added a lot to the team.

He was a very good cog to the machine but his handles and shot selection at times seemed to bog the offense down. Thing was when JP either decided to find the open man on the immediate pass or take it to the rack off a couple of dribbles he was fine. When he started trying to get too cute with his handle and put it on the floor 5 or 6 times before making a move is when the turnovers happened. Barnes did the same thing. Defense in college is too congested for a guy like JP who is somewhat of a jump shooting liability to be dribbling that much in half court sets.

 

[gary-7]

I think we forget that Berry missed a lot of crucial time as well so not until late in the season did he make a strong case to be starting

Well... remember, the issue at first wasn't as much starting, per se, as it was rotation (think back to how that was playing out in the early season), i.e., order and minutes at PG. That injury just temporarily removed the aforementioned "elephant" to the waiting room, shall we say... and following the return from injury the contrast vs what was happening on the court during the absence was so overwhelmingly apparent that our elephant turned into a mastadon ... and it wasn't long until Roy changed the rotation to what it ended up being... and then the speculation that he was considering different starting lineup options surfaced (that's where the JP role thing comes back in) but didn't materialize for various reasons. That's 'bout as far as I can go....