Carolina is pretty deep at every position but I would not mind a additional small forward with hops to back up Ingram…Which position would you like the Tar Heels to consider looking at?
With two scholarships still available which position should the Tar Heels been focusing on…
- Thread starter IDUNK4HEELS
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Not disagreeing with your point, but let's see if there is enough playing time for the roster which Davis has assembled for this upcoming season. Would be nice if he would develop a bench, and play the bench which could be the deciding factor in keeping players fresh and injury free.
Here is a hypothetical for you. We enter a key game against a team with a 6'8" athletic small forward who is a top scorer on his team. Who on our current roster do you feel could shut that player down?
We only have one true small forward on the roster (Ingram) and everyone seems to believe he is best suited to guard power forwards, not athletic wings.
We only have one true small forward on the roster (Ingram) and everyone seems to believe he is best suited to guard power forwards, not athletic wings.
Withers is the most versatility wing defender on the team. He would be the best best to guard this detailed make believe player you have presented.
We could discuss unlikely hypotheticals till the cows come home. What we need is an entire team playing tough defense, not just Leaky. That entails an attitude adjustment from Hubert on down. We have the talent, can the staff instill the proper attitude and create synergy that was so lacking last year? No excuses barring serious injury issues to Cadeau or Bacot.
I 100% agree. Attitude and desire go a long way on defense and rebounding. Your offense comes and goes but effort should should be there every game.
You are correct. He has quickly developed a reputation for not playing his bench. He needs to nix that immediately this season or he will struggle to fill out a roster of scholarship players and we will see more and more transfers out of the program.
You honestly believe it's unlikely we're going to run into any tall small forwards?
Ryan is too small. Ingram is better suited for guarding PFs. Withers is a mediocre defender at best.
We need to add an athletic SF to the roster. A guy who can come off the bench, defend tall/athletic small forwards, and if nothing else help us keep the more important players out of foul trouble. It also wouldn't hurt to give Cadeau a SF who can finish lobs.
We'll have to wait and see if any grad transfers become available in the coming weeks.
We need to add an athletic SF to the roster. A guy who can come off the bench, defend tall/athletic small forwards, and if nothing else help us keep the more important players out of foul trouble. It also wouldn't hurt to give Cadeau a SF who can finish lobs.
We'll have to wait and see if any grad transfers become available in the coming weeks.
We were VERY fortunate that Konkwo fell in to our laps, to be able to get a kid with 2 and maybe 3yrs eligibility left as well as a guy willing to accept his PT will be limited due to Bacot and yet still can actually play meaning full minutes pretty well. That was really the only potential hole we had and even that was not glaring because we had Jalen, High, and Withers that could all handle minutes at the 5 when Bacot is out and likely will handle some of those minutes.
At the 3 we have Ingram, who should start, we have Paxon who is decent size for a 3, and we have Ryan as a more small ball 3, I actually think 3 deep is enough. Well yes of course, we are going to run in to some teams that have a longer 3 even thou many, maybe even more now days are going to more guard like 3s but yeah, some will roll out longer wings. You can tie yourself up what iffin forever but at some point reality needs to step in such that you understand that you will never be able to cover every possibility that may happen.
Was everyone paying attention to why Wilcher de-committed from us, it wasn't hard to understand, when all the smoke cleared it was simply about playing time. As I read it right now, feel free to disagree, I don't see High getting much PT next season but I see him as maybe the ONLY guy we have on scholly, Konkwo included, that is likely to have several DNP games, I think everyone else should get minutes and even High may depending on what he shows. NOT counting High, that is 10 guys that really should get minutes every game and I would love to see them all get over 5mins a game.
But how many 10 deep teams do you see, that 10 deep being at least 2 deep at every position and frankly it is more like 3 deep at every position due to kids playing multiple positions, coaches that go a full 10 deep and play them? Yet here we are at 10 deep that should play and we are asking who else should we add to this? LOL
If you want to argue that maybe Hubert should have brought in a longer wing rather than Paxon then do so but clearly Paxon was a guy Hubert wanted and I am pretty sure he already knew the kids height when he extended the offer. And as for this speculative long wing some future teams may have that is a great scorer, ect... I think we do what we always have done when we face a team with a great talent, no matter the position, don't let his team mates beat you, the great scorer is NOT going to beat you by himself. So shut everyone else down and count your win!
At the 3 we have Ingram, who should start, we have Paxon who is decent size for a 3, and we have Ryan as a more small ball 3, I actually think 3 deep is enough. Well yes of course, we are going to run in to some teams that have a longer 3 even thou many, maybe even more now days are going to more guard like 3s but yeah, some will roll out longer wings. You can tie yourself up what iffin forever but at some point reality needs to step in such that you understand that you will never be able to cover every possibility that may happen.
Was everyone paying attention to why Wilcher de-committed from us, it wasn't hard to understand, when all the smoke cleared it was simply about playing time. As I read it right now, feel free to disagree, I don't see High getting much PT next season but I see him as maybe the ONLY guy we have on scholly, Konkwo included, that is likely to have several DNP games, I think everyone else should get minutes and even High may depending on what he shows. NOT counting High, that is 10 guys that really should get minutes every game and I would love to see them all get over 5mins a game.
But how many 10 deep teams do you see, that 10 deep being at least 2 deep at every position and frankly it is more like 3 deep at every position due to kids playing multiple positions, coaches that go a full 10 deep and play them? Yet here we are at 10 deep that should play and we are asking who else should we add to this? LOL
If you want to argue that maybe Hubert should have brought in a longer wing rather than Paxon then do so but clearly Paxon was a guy Hubert wanted and I am pretty sure he already knew the kids height when he extended the offer. And as for this speculative long wing some future teams may have that is a great scorer, ect... I think we do what we always have done when we face a team with a great talent, no matter the position, don't let his team mates beat you, the great scorer is NOT going to beat you by himself. So shut everyone else down and count your win!
We appear to be deep. We really don't know about several players in the rotation (Trimble, Wojcik, Washington). Then we're hoping that Withers and Ingram will be impactful and solid for a competitive team, which is still somewhat of an unknown. Cadeau will probably be really good (he better be really good) but he's a freshman.
I think we know what we'll get out of: RJ, Cormac, Bacot, and Okonkwo should fill his role. Assuming Cadeau is good an at least an upgrade over last year's PG. 1/2 our roster is basically an unknown IMO.
I would prefer some 6'7 dude with a lot of bounce, who can switch 1-3 and hold their water against some 4's. This team doesn't have a ton of bounce. But if Trimble has a dud season and continues to be an offensive zero, then we probably will have hoped we got a legitimate backup PG. But hard to bring in a backup PG now if you want Trimble here.
If you look at Wojcik's game by game box scores, he only shoots well against low majors or Ivy League teams. He shoots terrible percentages against the type of teams that make up 90% of UNC's schedule. I personally don't expect him to even be in the rotation come ACC play.
I'm also a bit concerned about reports Withers has been playing some SF in pickup games. He's a terrible ball handler (leading Louisville in unforced turnovers last season,) a mediocre defender, and last season when he played SG/SF it was the worst season of his college career. I truly hope we never have to see him play any position besides PF/C this upcoming season.
Adding an athletic SF could help us a great deal. It could help Ingram stay out of foul trouble, it could keep Withers from being forced to play a position he is not capable of playing well, and it will help us be prepared to matchup against teams with tall athletic SFs.
I hope you don't fall off that unicorn you are riding in fantasy land.
Roster is set, and Withers is NOT a mediocre defender.
When it rains, I lament the lack of sunshine: When it is hot, I laugh at those who complain about the rain!-SDung's body of work!
The team is 2-3 deep at every position. The team is experienced with 100% positive attitudes. Every player on the team has ACC starter potential(Wojcik?). We are more athletic, deeper, more skilled, and much healthier! The coaches are more experienced, and they had the perfect addition. All peeps can now play their best positions. Team camaraderie is through the roof. Old time players are raving about the toughness and skill of our current guys. Non-revisionists know that last year's team was a PG away from 10+ more wins! And Hubs proved once again to be the Master of all Recruiting-picking up exactly what he needed from all streams!-Yeah, I see the need for such extreme caution!!! Why it is clear that if Wojcik and Trimble aren't All-ACC, we have no shot! If Washington can't play 30 minutes a game, we are done!
Even if the worst happens it simply means:
Wojcik is a situational player and 10th on the chart-hmmmm
Trimble is a situational guard that brings exceptional D and energy-hmmmmm
Washington continues to improve slowly and can handle 10-15 minutes a game by ACC-hmmmm
I'll take it! BUT: I expect at least Trimble and Washington to be regular rotation dudes that are pivotal on a top 3 ACC team!
The team is 2-3 deep at every position. The team is experienced with 100% positive attitudes. Every player on the team has ACC starter potential(Wojcik?). We are more athletic, deeper, more skilled, and much healthier! The coaches are more experienced, and they had the perfect addition. All peeps can now play their best positions. Team camaraderie is through the roof. Old time players are raving about the toughness and skill of our current guys. Non-revisionists know that last year's team was a PG away from 10+ more wins! And Hubs proved once again to be the Master of all Recruiting-picking up exactly what he needed from all streams!-Yeah, I see the need for such extreme caution!!! Why it is clear that if Wojcik and Trimble aren't All-ACC, we have no shot! If Washington can't play 30 minutes a game, we are done!
Even if the worst happens it simply means:
Wojcik is a situational player and 10th on the chart-hmmmm
Trimble is a situational guard that brings exceptional D and energy-hmmmmm
Washington continues to improve slowly and can handle 10-15 minutes a game by ACC-hmmmm
I'll take it! BUT: I expect at least Trimble and Washington to be regular rotation dudes that are pivotal on a top 3 ACC team!
Lol that’s all they played. Played MSU and didn’t shoot well but had 10. Played Northwestern and shot 4-9 from deep. Really the only two decent schools from past history. I look at him as getting an opportunity to not be the defensive focus. If you take that route he might be a huge success here.
Hubert has a 10 deep roster and now needs to show his willingness to play/develop 10 deep.
For whatever reason he played shortened rotations the last two years and it’s beginning to show: we’ve seen Wilcher de-commit and Stevenson commit to ‘Bama. Now you can be sure rival recruiters will be using it when telling kids to avoid UNC.
So adding another player who’ll expect playing time will either:
a) knock another player down the order - more dissatisfaction
b) have that player getting less than expected minutes = more dissatisfaction
So for the theoretical upside there is too much downside from what I can see.
For whatever reason he played shortened rotations the last two years and it’s beginning to show: we’ve seen Wilcher de-commit and Stevenson commit to ‘Bama. Now you can be sure rival recruiters will be using it when telling kids to avoid UNC.
So adding another player who’ll expect playing time will either:
a) knock another player down the order - more dissatisfaction
b) have that player getting less than expected minutes = more dissatisfaction
So for the theoretical upside there is too much downside from what I can see.
Fair enough, but where are we going to find another Leaky this late in the day?
What we could use is a specialist defender who is still on the market because he doesn't bring enough offensively to start, is fully aware of that, and is willing to sit on the bench - "on call" so to speak - just for the chance to play at Carolina.
Is there someone like that out there? If so, snap him up.
OTOH, suppose we bring in a seriously good SF. Whose minutes does he take? Would one of our transfers go back to the portal? I'm assuming they can, but I don't know.
I definitely don't want to lose Ryan or Withers. And while I'm less sure what Wojcik brings, I like having him, too.
So, yeah, we'll miss having that lock-down defender, but most teams don't have a Leaky and Hubert will just have to figure it out.
We've won plenty of games over the years where the other team's best player "got his." As long as we score more.
Not looking for a guy who will contend for defensive player of the year.
Looking for a back-up SF with upside. Sort of a SF version of Okonkwo.
Wojcik field goal percentage against teams that aren't low majors.
Rhode Island - 21.4%
Mich State - 27.3%
Northwestern - 30.8%
UNC - 36.8%
Creighton - 30%
Syracuse - 37.5%
Maryland - 25%
I expect him to continue shooting poorly and struggling to defend the type of talent you find on most of our opponents. Especially if he ever has to play SF.
This is very simple. We just go to the Fantasy Portal where 6'8" athletic all world defenders are just lining up to play a few minutes here and there.
Shouldn't be a problem mid july🤣
Heck with that, lets just get Victor Wembanyama, maybe we could bring Britney in as a cheer leader? LOL
I agree with you 100 hundred percent with the biggest difference there is so much more experience on this years club compared to all of the young freshmen and sophomores that were on the team last season…
Tennessee got a surprise return from Josiah Jordan James. Major playing time crunch on the wing.
Don't be surprised if Chris Ledlum next stop is Queens, NY.
Definitely won't be surprised after his comments about not needing a scholarship if the NIL is good enough.
Pitino is all about tampering with committed players these days.
Maybe we will play 9 deep and run secondary break a lot this year and some 3/4 court pressing on D. That should get into the other teams forward's legs by the end of the game. Just rotating multiple fresh guys on him would be effective.
Ideal since we have what seems to be good depth.
Ideal since we have what seems to be good depth.
I don't think it's completely accurate to say I'm overly negative about this team. I've said think they're a second weekend team but some talent short of a Final Four/National Title team. But they can certainly make a Final Four run if they get a break in their bracket. So I don't agree that I'm being way negative with this team.
I disagree with a few of your points though. I don't know how deep this team will be. If Seth improves and is solid, and if Washington is healthy and improves, then we probably have a really deep team. But those things are far from guaranteed. I just want to see it in action. I also disagree strongly that we were "a PG away from 10+ more wins" last year. I thought we were light years away last year. We had to completely overhaul last year's roster because we were more than "a PG away" last year.
I actually think we're good enough where we don't have one key player who will make or break our season (assuming Bacot stays healthy). I think we're a solid team.
The keys to being great are relatively simple (assuming we stay relatively healthy).
1. Cadeau needs to be near or as good as advertised. If Cadeau shoots a high percentage from 3, I'll raise my expectations. But I'm assuming he's a low 30% shooter. Might be unfair, but that's what I'm going off.
2. We need to shoot the ball well. That means RJ maintaining a high volume 36%+ that he's shot for the last two seasons. That means Cormac Ryan shooting a high volume 35%+ that he's shot for their career. And I think Withers is the X-Factor for the team (as of now). If he shoots it 37%+ on fairly high volume, that opens up a lot of things for us. But if any of those 3 have low 30% seasons, I think that offers a lot more challenges. We need 3 good relatively high volume 3-point shooters.
3. Will we guard enough? Bacot's never anchored a top 25 national defense and that's with an elite wing defender in Leaky. So I'm not too sure a Bacot anchored defense without Leaky will be all that good defensively, but we'll see.
I guess I'm not assuming progress from Seth or Washington until I see it. Another year doesn't guarantee anything other than the fact you're a year older. If Trimble and Washington are rotation dudes, that would be great. But I don't think that makes us a ton better. The season will come down to how good Cadeau is. And how well we shoot it.
