What player do you hope has a break out season next year?

[DSouthr]

As for me, I really want to see Hicks take things to a next level, he played much better this past season but I still felt he was tenitive much of the time. In games where he got his offense going the kid played well but many times he still seemed to lack confidence.

I want to see him add some good weight in the weight room over this off season, felt he was still a little lite last season to be battling those big fellas inside. I think he drastically needs to add a scoring move that is dependable and really needs to bring a confident & solid mid range jumper to the table. I know the kid can shoot the mid range but I want to see him confident enough in that shot to take it in the heat of battle, he has that tool in his bag, I want him to use it and to believe in it when he does.

A BIG issue with Issiah is his habit of reaching and not moving his feet, seemed to keep him in foul trouble all last season, hard to really get done what you need sitting over there next to Roy in foul trouble. I do think a little lacking of strength hurt him being able to hold position thus my weight room comment but got to move those puppies to.

IDK, was maybe looking for more from Hicks last season and felt he was on the brink of providing it but just kept being limited by foul trouble, it almost seemed to get in to his head because he seemed to really back off on the defensive end worried that he was going to pick up fouls and yet of course he would stick his hand in and the whistle would blow again. It is able confidence, feeling like he really belongs out there with the best players in the country and just relaxing and playing the game he loves, he is thinking rather than reacting, not surprising considering how little he played as a freshman but next season it is time for him to merge the thought process to instinct. Example, catch the ball and immediately go in to this scoring move rather than take that split second to think if he should, a split second when a defender is reacting is a life time, it can be a career amount of time.

 

[jah420]

All of them????

I definitely want to see what Isiah brings next season as I love his aggressiveness! Also looking for Berry to take off as well.

 

[dadika13]

I simply don't see Hicks "breaking out". He's a decent rebounder and decent finisher but that's about it. Is he suddenly going to develop a 15 footer or anything remotely close to a handle? I don't see it.

For me, it's JB becoming the next great UNC point guard. That allows Marcus to move to the 2 and we have someone who can distribute to our other 4 starters who can all score.

 

[RoyWilliamsCOY]

I see Justin Jackson having an amazing season this year! You could tell that he was going to be a really great player; however, with his Freshman year under his belt, I see this happening sooner rather than later.

 

[CURRY2WOODYR80]

As for me, I really want to see Hicks take things to a next level, he played much better this past season but I still felt he was tenitive much of the time. In games where he got his offense going the kid played well but many times he still seemed to lack confidence.

I want to see him add some good weight in the weight room over this off season, felt he was still a little lite last season to be battling those big fellas inside. I think he drastically needs to add a scoring move that is dependable and really needs to bring a confident & solid mid range jumper to the table. I know the kid can shoot the mid range but I want to see him confident enough in that shot to take it in the heat of battle, he has that tool in his bag, I want him to use it and to believe in it when he does.

A BIG issue with Issiah is his habit of reaching and not moving his feet, seemed to keep him in foul trouble all last season, hard to really get done what you need sitting over there next to Roy in foul trouble. I do think a little lacking of strength hurt him being able to hold position thus my weight room comment but got to move those puppies to.

IDK, was maybe looking for more from Hicks last season and felt he was on the brink of providing it but just kept being limited by foul trouble, it almost seemed to get in to his head because he seemed to really back off on the defensive end worried that he was going to pick up fouls and yet of course he would stick his hand in and the whistle would blow again. It is able confidence, feeling like he really belongs out there with the best players in the country and just relaxing and playing the game he loves, he is thinking rather than reacting, not surprising considering how little he played as a freshman but next season it is time for him to merge the thought process to instinct. Example, catch the ball and immediately go in to this scoring move rather than take that split second to think if he should, a split second when a defender is reacting is a life time, it can be a career amount of time.

All of them????

I definitely want to see what Isiah brings next season as I love his aggressiveness! Also looking for Berry to take off as well.

 

[CURRY2WOODYR80]

I say Hicks also.
He has the talent and I feel like he's ready to break out as well.
He just needs more confidence and added weight.
He's shown he has the ability to shoot the mid range jumper, he just needs to take it.
He also needs to develop his footwork and a go to move in the post.
And of course he needs to move his feet and not reach.
Hicks could be a load if he gains the confidence he needs.

 

[CURRY2WOODYR80]

As for me, I really want to see Hicks take things to a next level, he played much better this past season but I still felt he was tenitive much of the time. In games where he got his offense going the kid played well but many times he still seemed to lack confidence.

I want to see him add some good weight in the weight room over this off season, felt he was still a little lite last season to be battling those big fellas inside. I think he drastically needs to add a scoring move that is dependable and really needs to bring a confident & solid mid range jumper to the table. I know the kid can shoot the mid range but I want to see him confident enough in that shot to take it in the heat of battle, he has that tool in his bag, I want him to use it and to believe in it when he does.

A BIG issue with Issiah is his habit of reaching and not moving his feet, seemed to keep him in foul trouble all last season, hard to really get done what you need sitting over there next to Roy in foul trouble. I do think a little lacking of strength hurt him being able to hold position thus my weight room comment but got to move those puppies to.

IDK, was maybe looking for more from Hicks last season and felt he was on the brink of providing it but just kept being limited by foul trouble, it almost seemed to get in to his head because he seemed to really back off on the defensive end worried that he was going to pick up fouls and yet of course he would stick his hand in and the whistle would blow again. It is able confidence, feeling like he really belongs out there with the best players in the country and just relaxing and playing the game he loves, he is thinking rather than reacting, not surprising considering how little he played as a freshman but next season it is time for him to merge the thought process to instinct. Example, catch the ball and immediately go in to this scoring move rather than take that split second to think if he should, a split second when a defender is reacting is a life time, it can be a career amount of time.

All of them????

I definitely want to see what Isiah brings next season as I love his aggressiveness! Also looking for Berry to take off as well.

 

[Tom79]

The critical thing David points out on Hicks is catch/fire...no hesitation, through the end of the season, at times, when he went in and just played and played hard on every possession and rebound he was headed toward beast mode...on his offense, like in my golf game, don't think, just do it, he has a great little turn around out to 12-15 feet use it, draw your opponent then one dribble and a step he could be at the rim. I'd love to see our soon to be sophomores all break out. Our juniors/seniors need to lead by example, we should be a pretty good club.

 

[What Would Jesus Do?]

Unless Roy decides to play a good bit of small ball, it's hard to see Hicks noticeably breaking out next year. I suspect he could have this year and could next year, too - EXCEPT that he's stuck playing behind Brice and won't get enough minutes (or enough minutes playing with the starters) to get and stay in the groove.

I don't think it makes sense to talk about Justin breaking out, either. He's already at a pretty high level. He will get even better but how much better can he get on a team with (we all hope) Marcus, Theo and Berry finally healthy? There are only so many basketballs.

I think it will be either Berry or Theo. Probably whichever one Roy chooses to start. Most seem to think that well be Berry, but who knows?

 

[jah420]

I simply don't see Hicks "breaking out". He's a decent rebounder and decent finisher but that's about it. Is he suddenly going to develop a 15 footer or anything remotely close to a handle? I don't see it.

For me, it's JB becoming the next great UNC point guard. That allows Marcus to move to the 2 and we have someone who can distribute to our other 4 starters who can all score.[/QUOTE

Joel developed a jumper....no reason why the staff can't do the same with Hicks.

 

[RP12]

I think Jackson, and to a lesser extent Brice, Meeks, and Paige, will all look better with more and improved Berry. Justin is the biggest winner because he can play a more natural position, but all will be in better positions to succeed on offense. Hopefully Paige can play a little less and be able to finish strong.

 

[johnhelvete]

Unless Roy decides to play a good bit of small ball, it's hard to see Hicks noticeably breaking out next year. I suspect he could have this year and could next year, too - EXCEPT that he's stuck playing behind Brice and won't get enough minutes (or enough minutes playing with the starters) to get and stay in the groove.

I don't think it makes sense to talk about Justin breaking out, either. He's already at a pretty high level. He will get even better but how much better can he get on a team with (we all hope) Marcus, Theo and Berry finally healthy? There are only so many basketballs.

I think it will be either Berry or Theo. Probably whichever one Roy chooses to start. Most seem to think that well be Berry, but who knows?

If Hicks plays well, rebounds the ball on defense and can avoid foul trouble, I think Roy will play Brice/Hicks together more next season. Joel James gave us solid mins especially at the end of the season, but there will teams that we dont need to play a traditional center against and/or bad matchups for James, and Hicks will get some of those mins.

 

[gary-7]

Dave, the first thing Hicks needs to do is take care of the basketball. His turnover ratio was just above that of Joel James (and I never had even a reserve HS kid with one that bad). At least many were TOs of aggression which makes them more forgivable. I expect that to get way better.

Truth be known, though? Once the offensive tempo starts running on high-octane again it will help everyone. If Roy just puts the right lineup and rotation on the floor and hands the keys to the Ferrari to JB there will likely be several break-out seasons, and most importantly, a break-out season for the team.

 

[BillyL]

I want to see major contributions from our sophomore players.

Hoping the second coming of Ty Lawson is finally able to crack the starting line-up. That Theo develops a reliable outside shot and JJ keeps on improving his game all around.

 

[Ozheelfan]

......EXCEPT that he's stuck playing behind Brice and won't get enough minutes (or enough minutes playing with the starters) to get and stay in the groove.
...

Agree whole heartedly WWJD. For the last 5 or so years there's been a jam at PF, first with JMM and now with Brice. Sadly JMM didn't become the beast many/most hoped he would. Now there's Brice who, while good, isn't great. Could this be a pointer to recruiting woes? Isaiah was a McD AA and he's been stuck behind a four-year, four star player who was ranked above Montrezl Harrel in HS!

..... I don't think it makes sense to talk about Justin breaking out, either. He's already at a pretty high level. He will get even better but how much better can he get on a team with (we all hope) Marcus, Theo and Berry finally healthy? There are only so many basketballs......

Don't agree here though. JJ is my pick and I think Joel starting will lift Justin into Lotto talk. His McDonalds game was an insight into what he can do. I don't think he maxed out his potential in 14-15, particularly he struggled from beyond the arc early in the season and he deferred too much..... Also it didn't help Justin when JP played defacto point - he never got the ball where he needed and ended up forcing late shot clock efforts.
Marcus will get his, especially if healthy again, Theo will get his too but I believe more as instant offence coming off the bench.
Justin?.....don't be surprised if he averages 15-18ppg or more and stuffs stats across the board.

 

[gary-7]

Agree whole heartedly WWJD.
JJ is my pick and I think Joel starting will lift Justin into Lotto talk. His McDonalds game was an insight into what he can do. I don't think he maxed out his potential in 14-15, particularly he struggled from beyond the arc early in the season and he deferred too much..... Also it didn't help Justin when JP played defacto point - he never got the ball where he needed and ended up forcing late shot clock efforts.
Marcus will get his, especially if healthy again, Theo will get his too but I believe more as instant offence coming off the bench.
Justin?.....don't be surprised if he averages 15-18ppg or more and stuffs stats across the board.

For all the reasons you listed that is a good pick. Jackson indeed sometimes struggled to find his place and flow when JP monopolized the ball. However, once he found his mojo (after the first dook game which was really bad for him) we started to see what "Walking Buckets" was all about. And when he actually got (too little) time on the floor with Berry and Paige there were glimpses of future magic. We shouldn't forget that after struggling mightily from deep for much of the season, young fella shot 70% from 3 in the NCAA dance!
With Berry and Marcus handling the rock and 2 legit post threats on the blocks, JJ will be be free to run amok and do what he does. On the other end we're gonna need him to put on some weight and be a bigger help on the defensive glass.

 

[DSouthr]

Unless Roy decides to play a good bit of small ball, it's hard to see Hicks noticeably breaking out next year. I suspect he could have this year and could next year, too - EXCEPT that he's stuck playing behind Brice and won't get enough minutes (or enough minutes playing with the starters) to get and stay in the groove.

I don't think it makes sense to talk about Justin breaking out, either. He's already at a pretty high level. He will get even better but how much better can he get on a team with (we all hope) Marcus, Theo and Berry finally healthy? There are only so many basketballs.

I think it will be either Berry or Theo. Probably whichever one Roy chooses to start. Most seem to think that well be Berry, but who knows?

I think it is pretty clear or should be by now that if you play behind Brice you will get penty of PT, Brice is just going to find foul trouble in way to many games if you don't liberally sub him. I think Roy will find it easier to go to Hicks next season, a yr of solid PT now under his belt, recall that Hicks got very little PT as a frosh, but now he is very experienced. If Hicks can show that confidence in his offense, as Tom says, catch & fire, Roy will not hestitate as much to put him in there not just after Brice finds a couple fouls but maybe more to prevent Brice from picking up that second 1st half foul.

I also like & expect to see some Brice and Hicks time out there , well let me say some more Brice with Hicks time. Look, behind Meeks is Joel James and I love the big kid but I don't know if we saw glimpse of things to come late last season from Joel James or if we just saw his career highlites. I do expect with Berry in there with Marcus we will run more and I love both Hicks & Brice running along with Jackson or Theo.

With Berry in the game we run much more effectively, some one mentioned Britt is quicker with the bal end to end, maybe so but with Britt, as well as JP this past season, we tended to get out in to the running game only to pull back in to the half court, going no where but getting there quickly isn't effective. Berry may be that splsit second slower but the difference is when Berry pushed the ball in the fast breaks we finish from th ebreak or the secondary, we do nearly as often pull it back and go in to a half court look. Hicks has the stroke to finsh well from the jumper on the secondary break and if he is out running off the rebound the kid runs & finishes well.

With Jackson, seemed to me to disappear in games a good bit early on, it seemed he got the ball in the first half of the season in positions that were hard to score from, not a lot of clean looks for him and especially so from JP. Jackson came on strong late season and by no surprise it corralated with the increase in PT for Berry. Berry to me seems to understand where & how to get the ball to Jackson in positions easier for Jackson to finish.

On Jackson, honestly, I am not as blown away by JJs ability to jump shoot, that to me isn't his real strength, it is that floater that really seperates him from the pack. yeah, he can hot the jumpers from well beyound the arch but that floater is a special special weapon that at times shown last season as un-guardable. It is like Brice's jump hook from the right side, it at times is unguardable.

Now I love what Theo brings this team, we just seem to feed of that kid's energy and he is a constant energizer bunny but the kid's offensive skills are raw, the kid really needs help on his shooting stroke. I wil tell you right now thou, from what I have seen, before that kid leaves UNC he will become one of our best ever wing defenders, I would not be even mildly surprised to see him 1st team all defensive team next season, he is a lock down defender that LOVES to defend. He has those really long arms, moves those puppies, and just has that attitude that you don't score on me. The ball just seems to find Theo, he is ALWAYS around it, I can not recall any portion of time he played last season where he seemed to fade in to the back ground, he was always front and center and in the middle of the action, pretty amazing thing actually. I just really hate that this injury is going to take away from his time to develope this off season.

 

[Bubspub88]

I really hope Berry has a break out season because what he brings will allow Pinson and Hicks to excel. I expect Marcus, Brice and JJ to get theirs. If Berry gets good handle on the offense the Heels can do what Roy wants to do, and that is RUN. Pinson is gifted athletically and I feel more comfortable with him attacking the rim than being a jump shooter. I also dont think there is a 4 in the league who can run the floor with Hicks. Berry establishing himself at the point gives UNC its highest ceiling. They are simply not as effective in the half court offense.

 

[Blue2010]

All of them...to echo previous posters. Redundant question.

That said, J.Berry is the easy and only answer here. PG is the most important position and if you have great guard play, the other positions are a lot of times made to look drastically better than they really are. The reverse of that is not ever true -- a dynamic center isn't going to make your PG look like a great player.

To that notion -- I'd love to see Nate Britt dramatically improve as well. A lot of us probably think we've seen what he is and that's it, but I remember a lot of UNC PG's over the years who were thought of as a liability that really came on strong later in their career (ahem, Quintin Thomas (spell?)). As good of a FT shooter as Britt is and the fact that this has been a real problem in recent years...you want him on the floor late in games.

 

[gunslingerdick]

It has to be Berry. For us to win the title next year, Berry must have improved the most. Because if Berry improves, the entire offense improves and every player on the floor. Marcus is less stressed. Jackson gets better looks. And Brice and Meeks get the ball when and where they need it.

Hicks is second.

 

[gary-7]

I want to see major contributions from our sophomore players.

Hoping the second coming of Ty Lawson is finally able to crack the starting line-up. That Theo develops a reliable outside shot and JJ keeps on improving his game all around.

Well, the first coming of Ty Lawson only cracked the starting lineup when Bobby Frasor blew a knee...
but yeah, Billy, I agree that the rising sophs hitting their stride and potential is the key to the team going from good to great, and I have every confidence they will.

 

[IDUNK4HEELS]

Lot of good choices to pick from but for me I also have to pick Berry. If Berry can give the team as a starter 10 points then that will free up others for more open looks because then UNC will have 5 starters capable of scoring on double digits in every game.

 

[DSouthr]

Guys look, ya know Brice & Meeks struggle with fouls, yeah I would LOVE to feel like we could depend on 35mins of great play from both those guys but I also know I can not expect that. We have to have a guy come off the bench that does not have a lot of drop off from those 2 fellas. If Berry strugges we can always move Marcus to the point and bring in a shooter in kenny or go to Britt. But Hicks, strated to show some game this past season but was still IMO way to tenative, as someone shared, want to see him do more catch & fire with confidence. Not just have ot make a living on put backs, I want and think he can show as much developement from soph to Jr season as we saw from Brice last season.

But to do so the kid really needs to develope a go to scoring move, like a jump hook and don't hesitate when he has a clean mid range jumper. Go look for opps to score, rather than wait back while someone else steps up. That is the next level that I really want to see Hicks step to, I think he and Meeks are so key for us this coming season. Both have to really attack, seek out contact and finish thru it. Hicks needs real solid weight room improvement in strength and needs to show a mean streak more consistently. I think he has it in him but he didn't seem to really believe it this past season.

From what I see I really think Hicks can be a better mid range jump shooter than Brice if he just believed in his offense like Brice believes in his.

 

[Tru Blu Tar Heel]

Agree whole heartedly WWJD. For the last 5 or so years there's been a jam at PF, first with JMM and now with Brice. Sadly JMM didn't become the beast many/most hoped he would. Now there's Brice who, while good, isn't great. Could this be a pointer to recruiting woes? Isaiah was a McD AA and he's been stuck behind a four-year, four star player who was ranked above Montrezl Harrel in HS!



Don't agree here though. JJ is my pick and I think Joel starting will lift Justin into Lotto talk. His McDonalds game was an insight into what he can do. I don't think he maxed out his potential in 14-15, particularly he struggled from beyond the arc early in the season and he deferred too much..... Also it didn't help Justin when JP played defacto point - he never got the ball where he needed and ended up forcing late shot clock efforts.
Marcus will get his, especially if healthy again, Theo will get his too but I believe more as instant offence coming off the bench.
Justin?.....don't be surprised if he averages 15-18ppg or more and stuffs stats across the board.

The problem with Brice has never been a lack of talent. It's always been about motor and focus. If he can focus, he can be a beast!

 

[Steat]

Joel Berry....first team ACC...gonna be a monster.

 

[ACokeForRoy]

Hicks. I would love for him to improve from the FT line AND develop a mid range jumper. Pulling for Theo also.

 

[ajklum]

I would love it if the new guys (kDub) gets in and shoots 5 3's a game for us. hopefully making 2 of those. I would like to see him have the wayne ellington green light.

 

[Tru Blu Tar Heel]

I would love it if the new guys (kDub) gets in and shoots 5 3's a game for us. hopefully making 2 of those. I would like to see him have the wayne ellington green light.

Heck I'd love to see Williams knock down 6 threes a game consistently in about 10 minutes of action! Talk about uber efficiency!