Because I am ready to play. Albany should not have been allowed to end the game on a 23-2 run. Yes, we did have some walks-ons in there, but that's no excuse for the rotation players to want to try and throw alley-oops and no look passes for 4 straight possessions. I don't have much to say, but I don't think we can keep coming up with excuses for this team. First it was youth, then turnovers, then not manning up, then it was not finishing teams off.
Adam Lucas brought up this point in his post-game article and I think it has some merit. He compares this team to the 2003-2004 team, which had to buy into Roy Williams' system and figure out what was expected of them and I can see it. This team seems to be struggling with following orders and focusing based on Williams comments, but I'm not sure. I'm not there and I can only get so much from print media.
Leslie McDonald played well in the absence of Marcus Ginyard and Justin Watts. It would be great if he could use this game as a spring board and produce more when he is on the court, but time will tell. Until next time...
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Well, I've Seen Better
I watched most of this game, but in the second half, with North Carolina up by 13 and me struggling to stay awake, I went to bed because I was for sure they were on the verge of pushing the Scarlet Knights over the edge. Well, the Heels still won, but the Knights really never went over the edge and I think it's safe to say this team lacks a killer instinct.
I say this because, Rutgers - thought they are a good team, should not have gotten the lead down to 4. I would probably accept 10 or 12, but not 4. This year's squad cannot stay with their foot on the gas pedal and that's because they get out of control and throw turnovers away like they are t-shirts for the fans. I remember a few minutes before halftime that we had three straight turnovers, which led to easy buckets. There was no real pressure on these turnovers, just careless, lazy plays. If these kind of plays keep happening, it could be a long ACC season.
Now, we do have some good things from this game. And we have to fact facts about this game. Good things are that it was a balanced scoring effort, Ed Davis is a double-double machine, and Dexter Strickland is going to be really good. Facts are that they won without senior leader Marcus Ginyard, and that they are disappointed with themselves and Roy is pretty ticked off too.
If you read, the postgame comments, it's obvious that the previous sentence is resounding in the North Carolina locker room, but perhaps, from Twitter is one of the best quotes of this day:
@eddavis32 Bout to get something to eat and head to this 2nd practice. They say college is the best years of your life.
I'm confident things will change in the very near future.
I say this because, Rutgers - thought they are a good team, should not have gotten the lead down to 4. I would probably accept 10 or 12, but not 4. This year's squad cannot stay with their foot on the gas pedal and that's because they get out of control and throw turnovers away like they are t-shirts for the fans. I remember a few minutes before halftime that we had three straight turnovers, which led to easy buckets. There was no real pressure on these turnovers, just careless, lazy plays. If these kind of plays keep happening, it could be a long ACC season.
Now, we do have some good things from this game. And we have to fact facts about this game. Good things are that it was a balanced scoring effort, Ed Davis is a double-double machine, and Dexter Strickland is going to be really good. Facts are that they won without senior leader Marcus Ginyard, and that they are disappointed with themselves and Roy is pretty ticked off too.
If you read, the postgame comments, it's obvious that the previous sentence is resounding in the North Carolina locker room, but perhaps, from Twitter is one of the best quotes of this day:
@eddavis32 Bout to get something to eat and head to this 2nd practice. They say college is the best years of your life.
I'm confident things will change in the very near future.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Hooked by the Horns
Golly. Gee. Whiz. I waited awhile to let this one set in and talk about it on here because I was greatly disappointed, but now that emotions have settled down, I can better rationalize this game.
Let's look at some of the positives from this game. UNC was down by 17 before battling back to get it to 4. Once again, we have battled back after putting ourselves in a whole, which they also did against Kentucky. So, it's nice to see this team not give up, even against a mostly burnt-orange crowd.
Second positive is the fact that Ed Davis is such a beast. I was very impressed with his ability to control his body while in the air and then finish the play with a bucket, with some contact sometimes. The same could be said about Tyler Zeller, as combined, the two sophomores were 16-21 from the field. It's nice to see them be effective when they get the ball. This will be a good front court next year if Davis stays and while Zeller may not be a super strong defender, I believe he will get better and you might be surprised that he is averaging just under a block per game.
A final positive is that Dexter Strickland knows when the team needs someone to just make something happen. Yes, he did force a shot before the end of the first half and that caused Texas to get two baskets in the last 15 seconds, but he sometimes just lowers his head and barrels his way to the hoop. He had a few nice drives where he just drove hard and finished. I also really liked him in the backcourt with Larry Drew II. I thought that was a very effective backcourt while they were in the game together.
Now for some negatives. I know the argument has been made that our big men have the tendency to be soft and sometimes I think that argument is valid. For the life of me, I'm not sure why Deon Thompson thought he was Michael Jordan circa 1998, trying all these fade aways and runner-like shots in the lane, but he's 6'9," 245. He should not be fading away from contact, but rather going into the contact. Ed Davis did well for his weight, but seemed like his hands lacked a bit.
Another negative is Marcus Ginyard. Early in the second half, I was really questioning him as the 5th year senior leader. Then he did hit a few shots to help widdle away at the lead, but his lack of defense is what amazed me. This is Marcus, the shutdown man, who seemed to struggle greatly. His lateral movement seemed slow. Part of this could be his foot is causing him pain, because he was probably going into the game, but I must say I was disappointed with his effort. He had a number of careless turnovers and I just hope that if some of this is related to his foot, that he can take a few of these easier holiday games off and rest his foot up.
A final negative is the defense and I'm going to include the rebounding on this section too. I have never seen a team score so many points against UNC in the manner that Texas did. They scored 103 points and only shot 41% and that's because they had 26 offensive rebounds and I have no idea how many second chance points, but I thought it was just ridiculous how often Texas ended up with the ball down in the paint after a missed shot. I know Dexter Pittman is a big boy, but there is no excuse for not putting a body on him. I was always taught that if you can get your butt on a guy, you do it and it seemed like North Carolina was content to try and outjump Texas on the boards. I hope Tyler Hansbrough comes back to Chapel Hill this summer and teaches the Heels how to box out because if they continue to do what they did against Texas, it will be a long season.
Now Texas is #2 in the land for a reason and they are a good team. They showed that yesterday, but I think if North Carolina can correct some of these mistakes, they could easily be a good team. Roy said that this Texas team could be the best Texas team Rick Barnes has had, so obviously, this team is good because Texas has had Final Four teams under Rick Barnes. The schedule has been tough, Coach Williams himself has said he was a little over ambitious in scheduling all these games with this young team, but hopefully in the long run, it makes the Heels better. At least we can say that we have played people, which is usually what some of these experts say when UNC rattles off 15 games in a row at the beginning of the season.
A final thought and I will leave you. This is North Carolina's 3rd loss on the year. Last year, the Heels' third loss did not come until February 21nd against Maryland. The year before was against Kansas on April 5th. In 2006-2007, the third loss was on February 3rd against North Carolina State. and in 2005-2006 was on January 14th, versus Miami. I would say this year's Heels have more talent that the 05-06 Heels, but they didn't have the schedule that this year's squad has. The season is far from over and it could be possible that the worse of the schedule is over. Yes, ACC play is tough, but there aren't 5 teams in the ACC ranked in the top 18 in the country. Anyone can admit, we have been pretty spoiled over the last few years and this year is just a bit frustrating because of the success that the past Heels teams have had. We'll be ok, I promise.
Let's look at some of the positives from this game. UNC was down by 17 before battling back to get it to 4. Once again, we have battled back after putting ourselves in a whole, which they also did against Kentucky. So, it's nice to see this team not give up, even against a mostly burnt-orange crowd.
Second positive is the fact that Ed Davis is such a beast. I was very impressed with his ability to control his body while in the air and then finish the play with a bucket, with some contact sometimes. The same could be said about Tyler Zeller, as combined, the two sophomores were 16-21 from the field. It's nice to see them be effective when they get the ball. This will be a good front court next year if Davis stays and while Zeller may not be a super strong defender, I believe he will get better and you might be surprised that he is averaging just under a block per game.
A final positive is that Dexter Strickland knows when the team needs someone to just make something happen. Yes, he did force a shot before the end of the first half and that caused Texas to get two baskets in the last 15 seconds, but he sometimes just lowers his head and barrels his way to the hoop. He had a few nice drives where he just drove hard and finished. I also really liked him in the backcourt with Larry Drew II. I thought that was a very effective backcourt while they were in the game together.
Now for some negatives. I know the argument has been made that our big men have the tendency to be soft and sometimes I think that argument is valid. For the life of me, I'm not sure why Deon Thompson thought he was Michael Jordan circa 1998, trying all these fade aways and runner-like shots in the lane, but he's 6'9," 245. He should not be fading away from contact, but rather going into the contact. Ed Davis did well for his weight, but seemed like his hands lacked a bit.
Another negative is Marcus Ginyard. Early in the second half, I was really questioning him as the 5th year senior leader. Then he did hit a few shots to help widdle away at the lead, but his lack of defense is what amazed me. This is Marcus, the shutdown man, who seemed to struggle greatly. His lateral movement seemed slow. Part of this could be his foot is causing him pain, because he was probably going into the game, but I must say I was disappointed with his effort. He had a number of careless turnovers and I just hope that if some of this is related to his foot, that he can take a few of these easier holiday games off and rest his foot up.
A final negative is the defense and I'm going to include the rebounding on this section too. I have never seen a team score so many points against UNC in the manner that Texas did. They scored 103 points and only shot 41% and that's because they had 26 offensive rebounds and I have no idea how many second chance points, but I thought it was just ridiculous how often Texas ended up with the ball down in the paint after a missed shot. I know Dexter Pittman is a big boy, but there is no excuse for not putting a body on him. I was always taught that if you can get your butt on a guy, you do it and it seemed like North Carolina was content to try and outjump Texas on the boards. I hope Tyler Hansbrough comes back to Chapel Hill this summer and teaches the Heels how to box out because if they continue to do what they did against Texas, it will be a long season.
Now Texas is #2 in the land for a reason and they are a good team. They showed that yesterday, but I think if North Carolina can correct some of these mistakes, they could easily be a good team. Roy said that this Texas team could be the best Texas team Rick Barnes has had, so obviously, this team is good because Texas has had Final Four teams under Rick Barnes. The schedule has been tough, Coach Williams himself has said he was a little over ambitious in scheduling all these games with this young team, but hopefully in the long run, it makes the Heels better. At least we can say that we have played people, which is usually what some of these experts say when UNC rattles off 15 games in a row at the beginning of the season.
A final thought and I will leave you. This is North Carolina's 3rd loss on the year. Last year, the Heels' third loss did not come until February 21nd against Maryland. The year before was against Kansas on April 5th. In 2006-2007, the third loss was on February 3rd against North Carolina State. and in 2005-2006 was on January 14th, versus Miami. I would say this year's Heels have more talent that the 05-06 Heels, but they didn't have the schedule that this year's squad has. The season is far from over and it could be possible that the worse of the schedule is over. Yes, ACC play is tough, but there aren't 5 teams in the ACC ranked in the top 18 in the country. Anyone can admit, we have been pretty spoiled over the last few years and this year is just a bit frustrating because of the success that the past Heels teams have had. We'll be ok, I promise.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Decade Dominance
Boom! Decade of Dominance is over. Sports Illustrated is doing their decade recap of different sports and in the process, they named Tyler Hansbrough player of the decade and Coach Williams coach of the decade.I can't say this is a huge surprise as no other player put together quite a storied career or stay in school for four years, or won a national player of the year, or set the ACC scoring record, or won a national championship. Hansbrough is absolutely deserving and I can think of no other player in the running, let alone deserving to win.
Williams is a bit of different story because it depends on how you want to base this on; whether it is on national titles, final four appearances, NCAA tournament appearances, program success. I do think Williams is deserving because he did go to 5 final fours, won 2 national titles, and has been a recruiting genius. Sure, Billy Donavon won 2 titles with Florida, but fell on the national stage for a year or two after the titles. I'm not in anyway saying that Williams is not deserving, but I can see critics arguing this more than the player of the decade.
Interesting enough, Michigan State was voted team of the decade because they made the tournament every year and won a national title as well as a number of Final Fours.
And another piece of information from this is biggest bust of the decade and it goes to Shavlik Randolph, shocking that we have another Duke failure.
Slow week again, but it should pick up again soon. Go Heels!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Ho Hum
Well, at least UNC got a tougher practice out of the way. Seriously, Presbyterian had no business being on the floor with North Carolina and Coach Williams said in his post-game comments that they had had some bad practices and challenged the players to get more out of this game then in practice the last few days.Not a lot can be said about this game. With Marcus Ginyard out, as well as Dexter Strickland, the backcourt was even smaller, but players who normally don't play much stepped into some bigger shoes and was able to get the job done. I was pleased with John Henson's effort in the box score and hope this is a sign of things to come.
With Texas looming on Saturday, I hope the Heels come to play and that Ginyard and Strickland are good to go. Strickland apparently felt better last night then he did yesterday morning, so I would expect him to go at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Ginyard's foot problem is supposedly unreleated to last year's injury, but only time will tell.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Challenge Answered
Well, I was proven wrong and boy, am I happy to be wrong! This was easily the statement game of the young season.
I look at this game as a tale of two halves and two teams: potential team vs inexperienced team. The first half was amazing and proves that this team can hang with anyone in the country. Michigan State was picked to win the Big Ten and was supposed to be one of the front runners for the national title in April. But after a Dexter Strickland dagger at the end of the half, there stood the young Heels up 16 points, proving that North Carolina has the potential and ability to play with anyone. This game was especially encouraging with some big games looming against Kentucky and Texas. Neither one of these is a guaranteed win, because we have the second half to talk about.
The second half represented the inexperienced team. I say inexperienced because of the silly mistakes like not getting back on transition defense, missing free throws, and Deon Thompson for three?!?! Part of this inexperienced is the fact that MUS is a good team as noted above and you knew they would make a run at some point and North Carolina could not shoot 64% for the whole game. The whole half wasn't awful, just a little sloppy because UNC started off strong, pushing the lead up to 19 points before the sloppiness began.
Things I didn't like:
1. Transition defense. I can't recall a team beating North Carolina down the court for easy buckets. Sure, a team will get an occasional basket, but MSU was doing more times in this game than I can recall all last year.
2. Turnovers. Yes, shocking, but it wasn't the number of turnovers, but it was the fact that of the 17 turnovers, 14 were from the starters, the more experienced of the team, but also Michigan State had 15 steals off of those 17 turnovers. I can handle the turnovers, but lets not give up the ball off steals.
Things I liked:
1. Freshman domination. If the freshman were waiting to show up, they picked a good time. I was very pleased with all of them. Even if Dexter Strickland was the only one who scored over two points, they all contributed in some way, with John Henson blocking 4 shots - all coming out of nowhere, and The Wear Twins chipping in with solid defense. Dexter Strickland was awesome. He was aggressive, poised, and played some solid defense.
2. Super Sophomores. The freshman were good, but the sophomores were outstanding. Larry Drew II, in his last two games has almost made me forget about Ty Lawson. Ok, not quite, but he has been pretty Ty Lawson-like. He is shooting the ball with confidence and finding open teammates for easy buckets. Ed Davis played how every major broadcaster thought he would and showed more of his potential and why he was projected as a top 5 pick in the draft. I still think Deon Thompson is the man for this team, but Ed Davis is a pretty good sidekick.
Overall, great game for the Heels and we see what they can be. Hopefully, they can keep up the pace.
I look at this game as a tale of two halves and two teams: potential team vs inexperienced team. The first half was amazing and proves that this team can hang with anyone in the country. Michigan State was picked to win the Big Ten and was supposed to be one of the front runners for the national title in April. But after a Dexter Strickland dagger at the end of the half, there stood the young Heels up 16 points, proving that North Carolina has the potential and ability to play with anyone. This game was especially encouraging with some big games looming against Kentucky and Texas. Neither one of these is a guaranteed win, because we have the second half to talk about.
The second half represented the inexperienced team. I say inexperienced because of the silly mistakes like not getting back on transition defense, missing free throws, and Deon Thompson for three?!?! Part of this inexperienced is the fact that MUS is a good team as noted above and you knew they would make a run at some point and North Carolina could not shoot 64% for the whole game. The whole half wasn't awful, just a little sloppy because UNC started off strong, pushing the lead up to 19 points before the sloppiness began.
Things I didn't like:
1. Transition defense. I can't recall a team beating North Carolina down the court for easy buckets. Sure, a team will get an occasional basket, but MSU was doing more times in this game than I can recall all last year.
2. Turnovers. Yes, shocking, but it wasn't the number of turnovers, but it was the fact that of the 17 turnovers, 14 were from the starters, the more experienced of the team, but also Michigan State had 15 steals off of those 17 turnovers. I can handle the turnovers, but lets not give up the ball off steals.
Things I liked:
1. Freshman domination. If the freshman were waiting to show up, they picked a good time. I was very pleased with all of them. Even if Dexter Strickland was the only one who scored over two points, they all contributed in some way, with John Henson blocking 4 shots - all coming out of nowhere, and The Wear Twins chipping in with solid defense. Dexter Strickland was awesome. He was aggressive, poised, and played some solid defense.
2. Super Sophomores. The freshman were good, but the sophomores were outstanding. Larry Drew II, in his last two games has almost made me forget about Ty Lawson. Ok, not quite, but he has been pretty Ty Lawson-like. He is shooting the ball with confidence and finding open teammates for easy buckets. Ed Davis played how every major broadcaster thought he would and showed more of his potential and why he was projected as a top 5 pick in the draft. I still think Deon Thompson is the man for this team, but Ed Davis is a pretty good sidekick.
Overall, great game for the Heels and we see what they can be. Hopefully, they can keep up the pace.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
UNChallenged
That's a nice picture and it's hard to believe that it was nearly 8 months ago, but it has been and tonight is the rematch in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge against the National runner-up, Michigan State Spartans and your North Carolina Tar Heels.To be honest, this doesn't seem like a rematch to me. North Carolina's roster has undergone an overhaul because of the departures. MSU has lost some too, but not as much.
But before we dive into too much pre-game babble, lets be sure to congratulate Coach Williams on win #600. I wish him many more because I like him around. It seemed like his 500th win was just 2 seasons ago, when it was probably more like 3 and that's quite an accomplishment for the old guy. I only say old because he looks funny with his sling on out there in his defensive stance.
Back to the game at hand and I'm just not feeling too good about this game. Quite a number of ranked opponents in the next few games and I don't think this young Heels squad are up to the task just yet, but they could surprise me because they have before.
Two obvious advantages that the Heels do have is that the game is in Chapel Thrill, so the crowd will be behind them and be cranking at tip-off time. The other advantage is our front court, as will almost always be the advantage for this year's team. UNC, if able to establish themselves in the paint and on the boards, may be able to run away with this game.
So we'll see. As I write this, I starting to feel better about the Tar Heels chances. We haven't lost as ACC/Big Ten Challenge since 06 and the ACC has never lost, so we'll look to keep the streak alive.
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