Which player do you think will step up this year.
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All of them on some level, but I think Hicks will be the stud of the group. I also see Pinson's production improving significantly. I mean this as a good thing, but I think Britt and Meeks just about are what they are.
I would love for Kennedy to go out with a nice senior season. Hick has potential to blow up, hope he does! Theo is still the energy guy. He does a number of things to help his team, defense, rebounding, distributing on the break, or out of sets. Nate will be Nate, steady, hustle, good defense, and a bit of offense.
I'm also hopeful that our freshmen will have some time in prior to fall to work with the more senior kids. In that regard a Meeks Bradley high/low game would be sweet.
I'm also hopeful that our freshmen will have some time in prior to fall to work with the more senior kids. In that regard a Meeks Bradley high/low game would be sweet.
I agree 100% on The KW love! I expect big things from this young man. I already saw flashes of the lock D guy and his stroke is too pure not to eventually be great. I love how he seems to play with energy and joy and is easy to coach. I bet he clicks mentally this year and his shot goes off! Britt should maintain his usual steady contribution and this is a good thing.
I bet we see great strides from both Hicks and TP as well. Hicks should be All-ACC and I expect him to get there. TP is going to grow exponentially in confidence to me and will wow us more than scare us this year. I expect Meeks to be motivated by the Pro Feedback he got and , hopefully, good health. I expect him to be a steady double (pretty sure), double(optimistic) guy by ACC time.
I bet we see great strides from both Hicks and TP as well. Hicks should be All-ACC and I expect him to get there. TP is going to grow exponentially in confidence to me and will wow us more than scare us this year. I expect Meeks to be motivated by the Pro Feedback he got and , hopefully, good health. I expect him to be a steady double (pretty sure), double(optimistic) guy by ACC time.
"TP is going to grow exponentially in confidence " ? man, I don't know if Theo growing in confidence is a good thing or not. I mean, of all the things one can suggest Theo is lacking in, I don't think confidence is one that many would spot. Not a dig at you or Theo but if anything Theo walks the line between over confidence more than lacking it it.
Might sound funny but I think Justin will be the one.
He's been mighty patient, deferring to Marcus and Brice last year.
Also, his shot just wasn't dropping at the start of last season and he went into a little soph slump.
I reckon 'home school'/'walking buckets' will lead the team in 16-17 with 18-20 ppg. He'll also have some monster nights where you'll barely notice him till you look at the box score after the game and realise he racked up 30+.
He's been mighty patient, deferring to Marcus and Brice last year.
Also, his shot just wasn't dropping at the start of last season and he went into a little soph slump.
I reckon 'home school'/'walking buckets' will lead the team in 16-17 with 18-20 ppg. He'll also have some monster nights where you'll barely notice him till you look at the box score after the game and realise he racked up 30+.
In TP's case confidence means NOT looking over your shoulder every time you make a mistake. He will know that he has earned his place and he is a leader now. I believe he never suffered from lacking confidence in his natural abilities, he suffered because he was unsure of his role.
I believe this is exactly the same for Hicks too! He can simply react instinctively instead of that little hesitation he sometimes had last season. When you KNOW you are the man or, at least an indispensable starter, you can relax and play without worrying about pleasing coach.
I believe this is exactly the same for Hicks too! He can simply react instinctively instead of that little hesitation he sometimes had last season. When you KNOW you are the man or, at least an indispensable starter, you can relax and play without worrying about pleasing coach.
The upside: We have a lot of guys who could improve enough to be really good.
The downside: We have a lot of guys who really need to improve - some more than others.
If Kennedy can be healthy and play with energy, he could have a stunning senior year. Just think of how good he sometimes is. Now instead of seeing that in just some games, mainly early in the season, imagine that for most games, and especially down the stretch. He doesn't need to get a lot better, he mainly needs to play at a high level with consistency.
Which is to say I'd like it to be Kennedy.
The guy with the most tools to be our breakout star is probably Theo. To be more than just a spark off the bench, Theo needs a better sense of the game and his role as a member of the team, and he needs better focus. These are all mental. This will either click for him this season, or he'll become the guy Roy yells at the most. Which works for some (Brice) but not others (JP).
So those are my 2 picks: Kennedy if he turns the corner on motor; Theo if he turns the corner mentally.
The downside: We have a lot of guys who really need to improve - some more than others.
If Kennedy can be healthy and play with energy, he could have a stunning senior year. Just think of how good he sometimes is. Now instead of seeing that in just some games, mainly early in the season, imagine that for most games, and especially down the stretch. He doesn't need to get a lot better, he mainly needs to play at a high level with consistency.
Which is to say I'd like it to be Kennedy.
The guy with the most tools to be our breakout star is probably Theo. To be more than just a spark off the bench, Theo needs a better sense of the game and his role as a member of the team, and he needs better focus. These are all mental. This will either click for him this season, or he'll become the guy Roy yells at the most. Which works for some (Brice) but not others (JP).
So those are my 2 picks: Kennedy if he turns the corner on motor; Theo if he turns the corner mentally.
BTW, I still expect Justin and Joel to be our best players. But they are already very good and I took this thread to be about who else would step up.
Agreed. They will be our best players, night in and night out. I expect increased scoring from both but they were already quite good last year and now they know they are the backbone of the team. We need them to bring it every night.
Theo and Isaiah have the skills to be very good as well, but both need to play a little smarter. Isaiah must avoid silly fouls to enable him to play 28-30 MPG. Theo needs to limit silly turnovers by making the simple pass and avoiding the flashy, but risky passes. Theo must also become a lockdown defender, something he is quite capable of with his quickness and length.
As I've stated numerous times, Kennedy is an enigma to me. If he can give us what he gave us last year, I'll be happy. But I'd love to see him injury free and capable of 25 MPG which I think would make him a little more productive. We got less than 40 MPG combined from him and Isaiah last year. That simply won't be enough next year, not if we want to contend in the ACC and make a deep run in the postseason.
Some of the posters I respect the most seem to think Kenny will take a big step forward this year, I'm still in the wait and see mode. It sure would be nice because I really think we're going to need scoring from the SG spot next year, either from Kenny, BRob, or someone else.
Okay, Mate!
I hope Britt is a problem and I could see it since he is effective slashing to the basket and is steady with the ball. I really expect KW and TP to be the break outs, but I also expect Meeks and Hicks to contribute even more than they have so far. I also expect steady production on both ends from JJ and JB.
I expect to see at least 2 of the freshmen contribute as well. I expect Roy to continue to improve our recruiting too!
This could be another very exciting and satisfying year to be a Tar Heel!
I hope Britt is a problem and I could see it since he is effective slashing to the basket and is steady with the ball. I really expect KW and TP to be the break outs, but I also expect Meeks and Hicks to contribute even more than they have so far. I also expect steady production on both ends from JJ and JB.
I expect to see at least 2 of the freshmen contribute as well. I expect Roy to continue to improve our recruiting too!
This could be another very exciting and satisfying year to be a Tar Heel!
I agree. I like Kenny. He may turn out to be quite good. He played with poise for the few milliseconds of PT he got last season (actual number is 122 minutes over 40 games). But the truth is we didn't get to see enough of him to get to know him that well. And we have a few competitors we have yet to see.
He's going to have better-known, higher-ranked players fighting for his PT. He has a year under his belt, so that should help. But we are crowded at SG so someone is going to get the short end of the stick.
Theo could push everybody aside and claim the SG spot. Or Theo could be mainly a backup SF. Or anything in between. Pretty much up to Theo. Point being that if Theo claims the SG spot, or even if he plays starter minutes divided between SG and SF, that leaves a lot of SGs scrambling for not that many minutes.
For those shaking their heads at that assessment, look at it this way....
There are 80 minutes at SG and SF. Justin will play 30+. If Theo asserts himself, he will play 30+. That leaves 20 or less for everyone else to split. Where "everyone else" means...
Nate
Kenny
Seventh
Brandon
Stilman
... because Nate is not going to be satisfied with 10 min or less backing up Joel and he's a savvy senior who will earn some minutes at SG. So even if you discount Stilman, that leaves 15 min or less of playing time for Kenny, Seventh and Brandon to fight over.
[Edit: I keep forgetting Rush. That's one more mouth to feed, although I suspect he, like Stilman, doesn't expect much PT.]
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Barring injury, the only freshman we really need meaningful minutes from is Tony. Or sophs, for that matter.
Our seniors and juniors are perfectly capable of handling the most of the minutes. I'm not saying these will be the minutes played, but they certainly could be:
30 Joel
20 Nate
30 Theo
30 Justin
25 Isaiah
25 Kennedy
That's 160 minutes. And most of them could play more. Especially if Roy plays more small ball.
If Tony can handle 20, that leaves just 20 minutes for the entire rest of the team - 6 guys (I remembered Rush this time) - to divide.
Not saying it will work out that way, just that we don't actually need any frosh or sophs to assume big roles except Tony. Let's hope Tony is ready for it. If not, we'll still have a fun season coming up with a nifty small lineup in there a good bit.
To say the competition at SG is going to be fierce would be an understatement. And where Theo spends the majority of his time is going to largely determine how much PT at that spot is available. Personally, I see Theo spending 10-12 minutes backing up JJ at SF, 6-8 minutes at PF when we go small, and about 10 minutes at SG. That would leave about 30 minutes at SG to be filled by Kenny/7th/BRob/Nate. I think Nate's primary role will be to back up Joel at PG, say about 10 MPG. I don't think he'll see too much time at SG, 5 minutes max, IMO. So that leaves 25 MPG at SG for Kenny/7th/BRob. Something like this:
PG: Joel 30MPG, Nate 10 MPG
SG: Theo 10 MPG, Kenny 15 MPG, 7th/Brob 10 MPG, Nate 5 MPG
I've given the starting edge at SG to Theo due to his seniority and versatility. But I think the lion's share of the minutes at SG will go to whoever can defend adequately and knock down the trey. Kenny and Theo have both shown they can do the former, neither has proven able to do the latter yet.
PG: Joel 30MPG, Nate 10 MPG
SG: Theo 10 MPG, Kenny 15 MPG, 7th/Brob 10 MPG, Nate 5 MPG
I've given the starting edge at SG to Theo due to his seniority and versatility. But I think the lion's share of the minutes at SG will go to whoever can defend adequately and knock down the trey. Kenny and Theo have both shown they can do the former, neither has proven able to do the latter yet.
Plausible. But I hope not. I really think Theo needs to focus on 1 role as much as possible. Having him play 3 positions means he won't be able to.
Had Justin left early, obviously Theo would be our SF. And that might be the best fit for him, too. But Justin did not go pro. So I'd like to see Theo focus on SG.
To me having Theo as a Jack of all trades is a good fall-back position, but isn't best for the team or for Theo's development.
Sorry buddy, but I couldn't disagree more. Theo's versatility is what makes him so valuable to this team, the fact that he can play three positions effectively. I think the main thing he brings is energy and he can provide that from any one of the three positions he'll play.
Unfortunately, much like Dexter, his shot mechanics don't translate into consistent perimeter shooting and that's something we need from that spot. There's a reason that position is called the shooting guard spot, in most offenses that spot is going to get the most open looks from outside. He is a natural SF but JJ is too, and he will get most of the minutes there, with Theo the obvious recipient of the backup minutes.
Another thing to consider is that our "small ball" lineup was very effective last year. And in that lineup, JJ stayed at the SF spot and Theo moved down to PF. With his length and quickness, he is a mismatch for other PF's. I hope and think we'll see more of the "small ball" lineup next year, especially in lieu of Isaiah's foul issues and Kennedy's health issues, something that limited them to less than 40 minutes combined last year. We certainly just can't assume those troublesome issues are going to be automatically resolved next year. It's why I think Tony will have to play at least 15 MPG next year.
WoW, we see Theo is VERY different terms. I could buy some of that if I just looked at the first half of last season but watching him play the second half of last season I can't go along with your take. I was actually VERY impressed with Theo's sense of the game and especially his realizing that he can pass over shorter defenders or find great passing angles on taller defenders. I was extremely happy that he backed off taking so many long jump shots and became more a passer than a shooter. That to me is showing a great sense for the game, for what his team needs, as well as what his limitations were, that takes extra level focus IMO.
Now I do not believe Theo will come out as a steady jump shooter next season, I will have to see that before I will believe it. For me, you just can not put a kid that struggles as a jump shooter in as your 2 if you do not have great front court scoring and rebounding to get those misses. Kid is a wing but he is a wing that can actually handle the power forward role due to his athleticism and reach. Theo just is not a 2 guard and we have a bunch of 2 guards to handle that role, Theo best helps us as a back up to Justin and as a power forward in small ball.
Who's the Aussie now. You forgot a comma though... it should read: Mate, Britt is gonna be a problem......
I like the idea and agree he has the tools and smarts to achieve it.
And if he does, look out, the Heels are gunna be good.
Oh yeah, if Justin makes first team AA, someone is going to have to get the ball to him..... and that guy will be in strong contention for AA and Cousy!
Not to get off topic but if we are gonna talk about Aussie's and since the Olympics are coming up... Australian track athlete in hurdles , Michelle Jenneke everyone
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