Never Again

That's what John Henson said after the NIT Championship lost. Meaning, never again will the Tar Heels be back in the NIT because that's not where they belong. They should be playing on Thursdays or Fridays, not Tuesdays.

At the beginning of March, I didn't know if I wanted the Heels in the NIT. I was hoping they would just to keep playing. But after the play that we saw the second half of the season, I was less excited about the possibilities of playing in the NIT because I did not want to get embarrassed, but the NIT was beneficial for a few reasons.

1. It gave young players more game experience as well as a post-season atmosphere, even though it was the NIT. 2. We get to see John Henson play more because to me, he was the lone bright spot for this team.

Dayton played well and were a tough team. One of the more defensive minded teams. They kept stepping up when UNC would narrow the lead down to 2, and nail a back breaking 3 pointer. Boo Dayton Flyers. Oh well.

This team certainly exceeded my expectations in the NIT and made the record more respectable, but one must ask, where was this all year? This year's team did beat Ohio State, who had the amazing Evan Turner. They also beat Michigan State who is currently playing in the Final Four. They lost by 1 to one of the top teams all year in Kentucky. Injuries played a part with a number of players missing time, but the turnovers never helped and once the losses started coming, the confidence is dwindled, if there at all.

Next year, should be brighter, but I don't want to say we'll be back in the Final Four. I think next year's team can, but I thought the same about this year's team as well. There are a number of other pieces that will need to fall in before we can truly speculate. One big question is whether Ed Davis will be back next year or not. Another is whether John Henson can actually gain some weight. We'll see soon enough.

It will be sad to see Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard go out the way they did, but I believe they should have stepped up more. Maybe they were just role players who were forced to be stars, similar to Kris Lang and Jason Capel. It is hard to image that a chunky freshman named Deon Thompson would become the NCAA leader in games played, but it can just be added to his pretty good player, just not a superstar. I wish them the best as they continue in life.

Well, it's Looking Really Ugly

The lack of blogging has been because of the lack of heart displayed by the UNC basketball team. I figure, if they don't get hyped to play games, why should I get hyped about blogging? How's that little zinger?


With the ACC tournament close-at-hand and other bubble teams looking to make it in the dance, even if UNC made an amazing run to the ACC title game, it probably wouldn't be enough and the selection committee would probably be doing UNC a favor by not including them because they would just not show any heart and get ousted in the first round.

The tip of the iceberg for me was the Duke game recently. A 32 point beat-down against their arch rival. I stopped watching when the score was 48-21 because we have not scorers, who can score that many points and we have no defense to stop the Duke scoring. This game was a polar opposite teams playing. One hard-nosed team versus a team that is just waiting for someone to pull the plug on them.

To top it all off, when the all ACC teams were announced, there wasn't even a hint of a North Carolina player anywhere. For the first time in the school's history. EVER. And there shouldn't have been because no one played like it.

Then word comes out from Marcus Ginyard, via Adam Lucas that all these problems started in the pre-season and it's a wonder that this team made it to .500 on the season. Players didn't care about each other; didn't listen to their coach. The list goes on and on.

With all that said, it is important to keep in mind that until a winner is crowned in Indianapolis, North Carolina is still the defending. We seem to have forgotten that little fact. Though times are tough in the present, draw from the past and look forward to the future.

About That

If Roy Williams doesn't have anything to say, how can I? What can I say that hasn't already been said on this blog, other blogs, message boards, and every national sports media outlet? The Tar Heels aren't doing so hot and no one is really sure why. Turnovers, defense, Marcus Ginyard, no guards, outside shots aren't falling, injuries, weak post players, intensity are all reasons that have been thrown around and no doubt, all of them have played a part in UNC's struggles this year.

We're on the bubble and in need of some big wins in the next few games to avoid NIT talk. I never thought we would see the NIT again with Williams at the helm, but I guess crazier things have happened in the college basketball world.

I don't know what it boils down too. And I don't think it's precisely one problem, but several problems. I do know that the problem is not the coach because Williams has taken the blame for his team's performance for awhile, but they players have to take up and take responsibility for their play. They keep talking about wanting it more and intensity, but talk is cheap at this point. We have seen Williams play zone, which I can only remember him doing in the 05 title game to keep Raymond Felton out of foul trouble. He has called timeouts to try to stop runs, but nothing has worked. I don't play Ol' Roy at all for this year's lack of success. Injuries haven't helped, as a healthy Tyler Zeller would have helped when Ed Davis was out, but it happens. We can only hope as fans, that something clicks soon in the player's heads and the W's start acomin'.

That One Stung

I thought they were going to win. I had my title all picked out. It was going to read "That's what I'm talking about." It just felt like they were going to win, despite the Mr. Hyde first half, the Dr. Jekyll second half comeback seemed like it was made for this team.

The team played with a sense of urgency in the second half. If they could play like that for a whole game, instead of one half, we could be sitting at 14-4 instead of 12-6. So far this season, every chance to become optimistic is resulted with another poor performance and another reason to remain down in the dumps about this team. I still believe that this team can turn things around, but sometimes I need to see it in order to believe it too. I'm not seeing it. I see glimpses, but not enough to put it together. Not enough ownership; not enough leadership; not enough urgency.

Will Graves played the game of his life and we finally see the shooting that we have heard about for a number of years. I hope it can continue.

If it's any consolation, last year's team was 1-2 in the ACC, beginning with 2 opening losses, so it's possible. But reality is that last year's team won the NCAA Tournament, which is highly unlikely at this point. Ed Davis, Deon Thompson, and Marcus Ginyard said they wanted to have their own championship ring, but most of their actions suggest otherwise.

Go Team

Well, we are guarteend not to go winless in ACC play now. Virginia Tech is a tough team and they may not be Top 25, but they have played North Carolina tough lately. I did have my doubts, especially thinking we wouldn't have Marcus Ginyard and possibily without Will Graves and Leslie McDonald. But they all played and I think it's a good thing because they don't have too many games together.

Hopefully this game can be a confidence builder for the team. the crowd was good and I thought the team looked good for the most part. I thought the team was patient against the Va Tech zone, moving the ball around and looking for the open man instead of forcing shots. Some balanced scoring to fill up the box score. Ed Davis continues to impress and do well. He needs to stay another year for my sake. Team him and Harrison Barnes together....oh golly.

Defense looked pretty good too and the team really clamped down on Malcolm Deleaney in the second half. And we threw 4 different defenders at him. That might be what we need to do in order to prevent these scoring guards from having big nights. We'll see.

Execution

We lack it. Hardcore. Very hardcore. Marcus Ginyard and Will Graves certainly would have helped in the C of C game, but they were held out and though the hill was a little steeper to climb, North Carolina should not have lost this game. But they did and there is no use crying over it now. It's a loss and we can get over it and move on. It is however a little tough because we exepcted so much more from this team by now.

We thought Ed Davis would be awesome and he has been. That dunk he threw down after the little pump fake was pretty nasty. Marcus Ginyard was supposed to be David Noel II and he hasn't been quite that good. He has been better than the Marcus of old, at least on the offensive end, but I'm not quite sold on defense. But I would have rather taken his defense on Goudelock than Deon Thompson, but obviously that's not how the basketball world wanted it. Larry Drew II has been better than most expected, but still has mental lapses and bad judgement and John, Henson, who was supposed to be Kevin Durant, has done nothing but block shots. We were over-hyped to begin with, and it's coming into play now. I wouldn't say we were losing to College of Charlestown over-hyped, but that's why they play the game.

What this loss comes down to is a lack of leadership and execution. Coach Williams pinned the leadership aspect on himself and maybe part of that is true, but the team was down two upperclassman starters. Logic dictates that someone else speaks up or steps up. From the execution side of the argument, they are a young team and are trying to worry about the right plays and defensive sets, let alone late game clock management. They simply haven't practiced it much and when looking at this game on the schedule, the coaches probably figured they wouldn't need to worry about practicing these types of situations right now against this caliber of a team. Well, lesson learned.

I'm not blaming this on any one individual, but the team and I'm just not sure what to think anymore. The lofty expectations seemed achievable and some of these goals are still out there, but I hope these young players know that in ACC play, you have to bring it every night or you're going to walk out of the gym with the C of C loss feeling a lot. Go Heels! Please!

Put Me in Coach

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...

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.

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.

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.

So Was That One

Easy. Maybe too easy, but it's not like the Heels can't use this extra practices out there to get used to each other. I didn't watch much of the game, so I don't have too many observations to relay to you readers out there. I think the defense was pretty good again, especially during that run towards the end of the first half.

Turnovers were lower, but still could be better. The whole team did a nice job working the ball around with a jaw-dropping 29 total assists. Will Graves was the only regular rotation player to not register an assist. One assist I was particularly impressed with was when one of the Wear twins was double-teamed in the post and he made a nice little dump pass to Tyler Zeller for the two handed flush. Those Wear twins are impressive to me so far this year.

Defensively, the blocked shots are awesome. If an opposing frontcourt ever dominates this team, then they all need to eat their Wheaties or something because they are so big. Same thing with the rebounds, but I expect the rebounding margin to lessen with better competition.

Free throw shooting has been solid for 2 games, which is great, especially from Deon Thompson and Ed Davis because they are weak from the line, but so far so good.

It's hard to know this team very well yet with all the sporadic minutes so far this season. Marcus Ginyard led the team with 23 minutes played and all the rotational players logged at least 10 minutes. Dexter Strickland also had a nice bounce back game after Monday's disaster.

I am very impressed with Tyler Zeller's play, as well as Justin Watts. I know Zeller will play quite a bit this year and will probably be the first Heel off the bench, so I expect his play to stay steady. Watts is a question mark to me. I'm not sure if Coach Williams is playing him as much because he expects him to be a regular player, or if he's trying to build confidence in Watts, or if he is just trying to throw different line-ups out there and seeing what happens. I know last year, Watts usually only played at the end of routs, and there was a reason for that. I was very nervous watching him play in tight games, but if he can continue to keep up his energy play, I will feel more relaxed watching him play, but one must understand as the competition improves, the pressure may get to him. We'll see, but hopefully he can be a nice surprise.

Well, That Was Easy

Maybe Isaiah Thomas should have kept pleading to play Ohio State. Honestly, though it didn’t matter who they played, they were going to lose. This game turned out like a lot of us thought it would, with the Heels blowing out FIU, Deon Thompson doing a lot of the heavy lifting, and some careless turnovers by the team.

If this game were mid-season, I might be upset, but I’d like to think that I’m a little more mature than that. 26 turnovers are very unlikeable, but 4 were from the end of the bench in the last few minutes. Not to say that 22 is all that much better, but first, this team has only had 16 practices together, with an apparently new offense; 5 of these players are freshman, playing in their first college game on the grandest stage in college basketball.

I think there are a lot of positives to this game: first, it was a win, which is always a good thing. Secondly, I thought the defense played very well. 10 Steals and 8 blocks are pretty good, even against a weaker team. Half of those blocks came from Ed Davis and opponents will definitely be wary when they drive the lane with him in the game. Although there were no major scoring threats on the other team, I thought the perimeter defense was solid as well, especially considering the fact that the big guys had to shuffle their feet a bit guarding some smaller, quicker players.

Things I liked:

1. Deon Thompson. I thought he had a great game and if he can a consistent force for this year’s team, then we are talking All-ACC first team and possibly player of the year because I’m still not sold on Kyle Singler winning it. Roy said he didn’t need to be Tyler Hansbrough, but it didn’t look too much different. I’d like to see him finish with contact a bit more, but we’ll see. I am also pleased with his free throws because that has been a weak point for him in the past. Isaiah Thomas said that Thompson was as good as any big man in the NBA right now. I wouldn’t go that far, but he looked sharp and I hope it continues.

2. Larry Drew II. Pretty good game from the Ty Lawson clone. Actually, he wasn’t even close to Lawson and that’s fine because he doesn’t need to be. I think a good statement game for him to show that he can fill the point guard shoes. He hit a three pointer to prove that he can and had some nice dishes and only 2 turnovers. I especially liked his little drive and dish to Thompson in the second half and the little scoop layup he had. Pretty snazzy stuff.

3. Throw backs uniforms. I can’t say that they looked that good in the 50’s, but I think they look pretty nice in the modern day style. Really wouldn’t mind seeing them again in the future.

4. Bench play. Specifically, the 2 sophomores off the bench, Justin Watts and Tyler Zeller. I was blown away by how well Watts played and he looked as if he had improved quite a bit from his first year. His dunk in garbage time was pretty sick too, but he played very well and hope he can continue and give the backcourt a little boost every once in awhile.

Things I didn’t like:

1. Turnovers. As I said earlier, if this were mid-season, I would be a bit more upset, but I’m not. I would like to see the Heels limit the turnovers more, but it could have been worse – somehow.

2. 3 point shooting. I know, the two biggest question marks coming into this season, but this was the number of three pointers taken. The Heels were really sinking them at the beginning, but then cooled off quite a bit. Let’s not fall in love with the 3 ball early because nobody has proven they can deliver.

Overall, not bad for the Heels. Lots of room for potential improvement, especially with some big games looming in the next 2 months. Welcome back Marcus Ginyard. You did a fine David Noel impression.

Carolina Catch-Up

Sorry, wanted to do some posts last week, but other responsibilities limited me to do this and now I'm paying the price because I can't find something I wanted to comment on. It was from Tar Heel Blue and one thought from the article that stuck out to me was the fact that North Carolina will be searching for a go-to-guy this year.

Last year's team had 3 players, who we knew could take over the game at any time. Tyler Hansbrough was the returning scorer; we knew Wayne Ellington could get hot from 3 land and start filling up the box score; and there was Ty Lawson, who was faster than a lighting bug. This year, we have Marcus Ginyard, a fifth year senior, but has never been called to carry a team. Deon Thompson returns after averaging a respectable 10.6 points per game last, but never really showed the ability to take over a game. Ed Davis had a few double digit games, but nothing that makes you think that he is going to throw down 20 and 12 every night. Tyler Zeller scored 17 points in his debut, but was never the same after missing so many games. And Will Graves is Will Graves. I have been relying on the fact that this year's team will probably be very balanced in scoring, but the fact of the matter is that we will need someone who can take over games in crunch time. My feeling is that it will be one of the seniors, who is asked to put on their big-boy shoes in late game situations. Remember in the 06-07 season, that team was also very young with a few upperclassman and that team struggled to close out games, which often ended up costing them in the end. Hopefully a repeat will not happen this year.

North Carolina has played in two exhibition games this year, but the first one was a secret one, which is some NCAA rule that I don't quite understand. The first was against Vanderbilt and was described as ugly. The second was against Belmont Abbey and you can read the recap here. If you look at the box score, you'll see that Thompson had 23 points, so he could be considered the go-to guy, right? Well, UNC had a superior height advantage with no one from Belmont over 6'8", but I highly doubt that Thompson will always go 11-12 from the field. I don't want to take a lot of things from this scrimmage because it is just a glorified practice as Roy Williams said about the Vandy game, but a few things stick out. The Wear twins looked good in their minutes. The rebounding margin was great, but it should be for as tall as we are. The block shots are amazing, particularly John Henson. Marcus Ginyard didn't have a great game, but filled up the box score, so it appears he is ready to be a do-all. Larry Drew had 8 assists, which I like, but the three turnovers need to be eliminated. Hopefully they were just lazy passes that can easily be corrected, because once the competitions kicks up, Drew must handle the ball with great poise.

The good news is that the defense is there and that should improve all year, we just might not see as many games in the 100's as we have grown accustomed to seeing.

Season starts tomorrow!!

Check This

Holy lots of information. I was checking out some of the Tar Heel sites today and came across this one from Tar Heel Fan Blog. It's from some observers who watch practice after Roy's Coaching Clinic and there is a ton of analysis about the current Tar Heel team. I'll post the whole piece below and then have some comments about it.


A work in progress.

Those are the words from Roy Williams himself. After spending two practices watching the Tar Heels, I would agree. Let’s just say that it’s a good thing the Final Four isn’t any time soon. This team has a chance to be very, very good. Up front, they’re huge. And they all run. And they all handle the ball extremely well. And…….you get the picture. I’ll elaborate more on the personnel in a bit, but the strength of this year’s team will be the 6 guys in the front court. If those six play well, UNC could have a terrific year.

Going in to this season, there are some assumptions I think we’re all making. First, shooting the ball will be a problem. Second, it’s unclear how effective Larry Drew will be as the starting point guard. Third, while Deon Thompson has shown nice promise as a low post threat, the Tar Heels will have to develop a true replacement for Tyler Hansbrough on offense. Fourth, despite their youth the Heels look to be a good defensive team.

Before going in to specifics, here a few overall observations. Marcus Ginyard looks good. Defensively, he’s everywhere. He’s tone, he’s lost a little weight, and he can really guard the ball. The five rookies are all no-nonsense guys. They all take basketball seriously and it shows. Roy Williams is catering to Will Graves (I’ll elaborate in a bit). Larry Drew has the tools to be a top-flight point guard, but his experience level is so low that his maturation may take a while (like, the whole season).

So, after a sort of pessimistic start to this email let’s talk about some things UNC will be good at this year. Rebounding should be a major plus for the Heels. The Big 6 and Ginyard will be a formidable board group (these six consist of Deon Thompson, Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller, and freshmen John Henson, David Wear, and Travis Wear). More importantly, the Tar Heel coaching staff is emphasizing crashing the glass. During the sessions of the clinic on Saturday, both Roy and C.B. McGrath talked about how critical rebounding will be to UNC’s success. The other clear advantage Carolina will have over virtually every team it plays this year may come as a surprise. The Heels should be the best ball-handling team on the floor every night. Typically a young team will kick the ball all over the gym for a while. In 2005, I was almost depressed leaving the clinic weekend after watching Bobby Frasor, Danny Green, Hansbrough, and Ginyard throw the ball in to the third row for two days. Thankfully I didn’t have to suffer through the same thing this year.

Ok, let’s dive in to some specifics. The best place to start is with the new offense that Roy is installing. Let me say that again. The University of North Carolina Men ’s basketball team is going to use an offense it has never used in my lifetime (or before, I imagine). The genesis of this new offense came a few weeks ago during the staff’s annual retreat. Each year the basketball staff gets out of the office just before practice starts to discuss the upcoming season. This year’s retreat focused on trying to figure out what to do with all the new bodies. Answer: They have no idea (this is almost the exact quote from Roy ). But, one thing that came out of the retreat was the realization that there are no proven low post scorers on this team. Sure, Ed Davis could be awesome. And Deon Thompson could come on big-time. Tyler Zeller may be improved too. But none of those guys is Hansbrough. It was the most glaring issue I saw in the two practices – a slew of big guys who can’t finish in traffic. Hansbrough made his living carrying people to the bucket, and then to the foul line. To paraphrase a line from Rick Pitino, Tyler Hansbrough ain’t walking through that door. Somehow, some way, Carolina is going to have to get consistent production from it’s stable of big guys.

Roy and his staff figure the best way to do that is to play to the strength of its post players. Without question, the greatest strength of this group is their ability to handle the basketball. So, when you have good ball-handling post guys what do you do? You let them handle the ball. And that’s exactly what Roy is going to do with the new offense. Instead of trying to slam the ball in to the post to players that aren’t able to finish with defenders draped all over them, he’s going to bring those big guys out away from the basket. In the new offense – which is still driven by Carolina ’s age-old motion offense principles – the post guys will start at the foul line extended. The three perimeter players will be in roughly the same places they have been. The goal is to open up the lane to allow cutters and drivers. This should create fantastic passing opportunities for UNC’s big folks. In particular, the Wears, Zeller and Henson are superb passers. Henson and the Wears are equally as good off the dribble too. Frankly, it was stunning to see the Wears handle the ball like guards. Those are two big dudes, but they can really handle the rock. They aren’t going to blow past any guards or win any Cousy awards, but I doubt there are any big guys in the country who pass and dribble as effectively as they do.

A hidden benefit of the new “open” offense (that’s its name) is the offensive rebounding advantage it should give the Heels. It’s one thing for the defense to check out a guy in limited space near or under the goal. It’s an entirely different thing for a defensive big to have to guard away from the bucket and then turn to box out 15 feet from where the ball will end up. Most big guys will just turn and follow the ball, giving no thought to putting a body on Carolina ’s bigs. For Davis , Henson, and the Wears (especially the Wears) that will be trouble for the opposition.
Another plus for the new offense centers on the ability of UNC’s big guys to knock down the mid-range jumper. Henson, Zeller, and David Wear are extremely good shooters near the foul line. In fact, David Wear could be a huge threat from 3 if he’s left alone. That big boy can really shoot. If he’s open, he’s gonna knock down a slew of 3’s. As you can probably tell, I’m a big fan of this type of offense. Larry Drew should thrive. He won’t have to be depended on to feed the post. Instead, he can concentrate on what he does best – drive and dish. If Drew had to run a set play each time down it would be a long year for all of us. Clearly, Roy has figured that out too.
It’s not a definite (according to Roy ) that the Heels will stick with this new offense. But, my gut is that he likes it enough already to keep it. They worked on it both days in practice and the players very much like being able to operate with increased space through the lane. So what wonderful things will this offense bring? I would get used to seeing lots of face-up jumpers by post guys, lots of drive-and-dish buckets, and (hopefully) lots of follow slams. What you aren’t likely to see too much of is what we’ve been used to during Roy’s tenure in Chapel Hill – traditional post baskets from a traditional post feed, and early three-point shots created by the secondary break.

The elephant in the room, of course, is the whole “can they shoot?” question. The answer to that depends on who’s shooting and where they’re shooting from. Just to eliminate the suspense – this is a poor perimeter shooting squad. There is no way to candy-coat it – they just can’t shoot. The Heels went about 30 minutes of practice time – both days – without making a jump shot of any kind. Ugly is a word that comes to mind. I guess the best way to say it is that this team is, and will continue to be, offensively challenged at times. The one guy who can shoot is a bit of a head-case – Will Graves. But as with Rasheed Wallace, Vince Carter, Rashad McCants, and Danny Green, the Heels have managed to win a lot of games with head-cases. Unfortunately, Graves is no where near the player those guys were. Yet, amazingly, Roy has him in the starting lineup right now. I have to be honest – I don’t get it. Graves looks improved, but not that much improved. But Roy talked at some length about not giving up on players. He said that while most days he feels like “punching Will Graves in the face with his ring”, he isn’t going to give up on him. Roy even went as far as to say he’s trying to give Graves more confidence. Well, I would think making Graves a starter would accomplish that in spades. The reality, though, is that Graves is not a starter. He just doesn’t bring enough to the table. Defensively, he’s a liability. He doesn’t rebound well (and he should given his size and strength), he doesn’t handle the ball well, and he lacks the savvy of most of the other players. The one thing he can do, and do well at times, is shoot the 3. But he’s no Danny or Wayne. He’s a good reserve to have, but a starter? I don’t think so.

Aside from watching the new offense, two other things were fantastic to watch. First, this could be a special team defensively. To be fair, some of the poor shooting I saw was the result of some good defense. Guys are there on every catch, there were very few blow-bys, and most of the rotations were sound. Given the fact that these were practices 7 and 8, it was remarkable that they would be so sound defensively. Sure, there is a ton of teaching going on and they don’t do everything perfectly on every pass or drive. But, they get after it. After what we’ve seen the last three years, it was refreshing to see a team really go hard on defense. Even Roy had to comment on the lack of defense in previous seasons, specifically last year. When asked by a high school coach how you motivate players, Roy used last year’s gang as an example of needing the players to believe in the importance of what you’re teaching in order for the motivation to kick in. According to Roy , he could sense that his guys just didn’t think they needed to play much D last year. No matter how much he talked about it, they just “stunk”…..until the NCAA tournament. Then, the motivation kicked in and defense mattered. Consequently, Carolina obliterated the field. This year I doubt Roy will have to cajole his team in to playing defense. Last year’s team was the most efficient offensive group I’ve seen in more than 30 years of watching Carolina basketball. This year’s team? Not so much. So…I bet Roy has their attention when he preaches defense. Given what I saw this weekend, I know he does.

Second, I was blown away by just how smart the rookies are. All five of them possess well above average basketball IQ. The best example of this is the lack of making the same mistake repeatedly. I’ll reference the ’05-‘06 group again. That year, they all made the same mistake time after time (after time after time….and they was a fairly smart bunch). This year, all Roy had to do was make the correction and keep moving. There is no way to overstate just how valuable this will be to the Heels as the year progresses. I watched the rookies get on the floor as a group and run through six options of the secondary break, and do it flawlessly. To be able to do this during the FIRST week of practice is incredible. To underscore this a bit more, after the first practice of the year Dexter Strickland came up to Roy and asked how he did and what he needed to work on. Roy was caught off guard, “I’m worried about whether he’ll have his pants on the right way, and he’s asking me what he needs to work on”. I promise you, Ty Lawson and Danny Green weren’t thinking about what they needed to work on after their first practices.
With that, here are player break-downs (beginning with the starters):

Larry Drew – He’s improved, that much is clear. But he’s not a good shooter. He’ll make a few 3’s, but he won’t make many. I think his biggest issue right now is his need to show that he’s the man. If he’ll just blend in he’ll be fine. He showed good ability to get in the lane, and he can finish. As I mentioned above, his best asset is his knack for getting in to the lane and finding the right guy at the right time. I was pleased with one thing: He didn’t turn it over much, and never above the key (where it almost always leads to a layup on the other end). Larry’s real value will come with the pressure he can put on the other team’s guards. He still struggles a bit off the ball, but on the ball he can be a menace.

Marcus Ginyard – Marcus is the same old Marcus. This is both good and bad. Defensively, he’s a beast. He’s good off the ball, he’s a terror when he’s guarding you, and he crashes the glass with authority. I’d be shocked if he isn’t the defensive player of the year in the ACC. Offensively he’s got a ways to go, sadly. He really has no jumper. You can tell he’s worked on it, but you can also tell he’s not all that confident in it. He is, however, a much improved ball-handler. Not that he was ever bad, but he is much more comfortable with the ball in his hands than he ever has been. Technically, he’s the third point guard. But I would not be shocked to see him at PG in late game situations.

Will Graves – (Shaking my head). Part of me understands what Roy is doing here. The Heels need a three point threat, they need an experienced perimeter player, and Graves is one of the few Tar Heels that can score with a defender hanging on him. But..but..but….Graves is just not the answer. Henson or Leslie McDonald are much better options. What scares me is that historically Roy doesn’t change his lineup once the season begins. If Graves starts the first game there is a better than 50-50 chance he’ll be there all year. That worries me.

Deon Thompson – Two good practices. Deon has picked it up a great deal on the glass. And that is no small feat given who he’s competing against for every rebound. He’s in fantastic shape, and his hands have improved too. He still has trouble scoring in traffic, but he has no trouble operating one-on-one away from the basket. The new offense suits him.

Tyler Zeller – You’re reading this correctly – Zeller instead of Davis .. I think this one is temporary. Davis is not in great shape right now, and he had two lackluster practices. Zeller was equally unimpressive too. He is bigger and stronger though, which is a big plus for him. And he can shoot (one of the few Heels that can). But Davis is better, and the whole world knows it. From what I could tell, Roy is sending Ed a subtle message.

Ed Davis – So, how do you follow-up a stellar NCAA tournament that culminated in a clutch title performance? By being demoted. Again, this is going to be temporary. Davis has a better face-up game now, and he’s just as imposing as a shot-blocker as he was last year. By all accounts, Ed has never been a great practice guy. But when the lights come on he’s a monster. Still, he’ll need to pick it up a bit over the next week or so.

John Henson – Big-time player. I could go through a bunch of “Wow” moments with Henson, but there are two that stand out. On two separate occasions he was matched up with a true guard and had to defend them on the perimeter (Ginyard and Graves ). Each time, Henson stripped them both. Stunning, very stunning. Henson is a playmaker, pure and simple. He’ll block a shot, make a steal, attack the glass, or make a fantastic hi-lo feed to create and easy basket. His skill set is wide. If he doesn’t start over Will Graves I’ll be disappointed. Based on what I saw, he’s already earned it. If he does, no one will be able to handle him – he’s a 6’9 guy with the reach of a 7’1 guy, and the skills of a 6’3 guy. Big-time player indeed.

Dexter Strickland – Dex was moving slow. And that’s to be expected. He’s the back-up point guard and he’s trying to learn a lot. Still, he’s a big-time player too. The thing with Strickland – and I noticed this last year when I saw him play in high school – is that he just doesn’t screw up. He doesn’t turn it over, he doesn’t take bad shots, and he doesn’t get beat on defense. And athletically he’s in the near-freak range. His speed, quickness, and “want to” make him a superior defender even as a freshman. His shot can be good, but I’m not sure he’ll be ready to fire until he can get a little more comfortable mentally. Given how smart he is, though, my money says he gets comfortable pretty quick.

Leslie McDonald – Along with the Wears, McDonald was the nicest surprise. Leslie is Marcus Ginyard with solid offensive skills. He can shoot it decently, he can slash with effectiveness, and does a nice job of finishing in traffic. Defensively he can play too. He’s built like Jackie Manuel, and at times I thought Jackie was running around out on the floor. He’s going to get minutes at the 2 and 3. I like this guy a lot.

David and Travis Wear – I debated on whether to separate these guys in this section. No need – they play almost exactly alike. Which is to say, they’re both really good. I can’t get over how skilled they are with the ball in their hands. At 6’9, you’d think they would not be comfortable on the perimeter. Not so. They are going create a bunch of matchup problems for just about every team UNC plays. David is the better shooter, Travis is the better defender. Both of them are willing to bang. If a team wants to press the Heels, there is no doubt these guys will be in the game.

Justin Watts – Justin has really improved. He has a decent shot and he’s not afraid to stick his nose in on defense and on the glass. For a 12th man, Watts is fantastic.

Normally I wouldn’t mention the walk-ons too much. But I have to say, this year’s group is exceptional. Marc Campbell is now a senior and he’s not bad. He has good quickness and knows exactly what to do. The star of this group is a guy they call T.P. (settle down…it’s not that funny). This dude is fast, fast, fast. He had several moments where you had to check his number to make sure it wasn’t Strickland or Drew. If he’s in at the end of some blow-outs he’s going to get some steals and run-outs. With Campbell , Watts , and T.P, the last 2-3 minutes of the run-away wins are going to be fun. Those three guys can flat-out play, and there are two other guys who are pretty good too. I’d say that this is the best group of walk-ons I’ve ever seen at UNC in all my years of going to this clinic.

Time to sum up. This year’s team thinks it can be good. In fact, Roy was all over them during the two days. He wouldn’t be that way if he wasn’t convinced that they could be good too. The Heels must find a way to create offense from defense. The good news is that this shouldn’t be a problem. The perimeter defenders are awfully good. More importantly, with Zeller, Henson, and Davis protecting the basket, the opposition will have a hard time getting easy baskets in the half-court. Some teams may think this is the year to run with the Carolina . That would be a mistake.

Ultimately, UNC is going to see a bunch of zone. Both practices included zone offense segments, which is early for Roy . The Heels don’t need to knock down a bunch of 3’s, but they need one or two a half to go down. Otherwise, the lane will be full of defenders. “Open” will help, but not as much as a timely 3 here and there.

The schedule is not kind to UNC early. There are a ton of tough games right out of the gate. If the Heels can survive and get to January, they’ll be very difficult to beat. As long as Larry Drew is not exposed, and assuming they figure out how to make a jump shot, it’s not far-fetched to believe the Tar Heels could wind up in Indy. Again, the post players will carry this team. If that group will rebound and defend, things will be fine. Best case, 27-4 in the regular season. Worst case, 23-8. Somewhere in between is likely. If you really want to be an optimist, if the Heels manage to make four or five 3’s a game (they averaged just under 7 a game last year, Kenny I had this one wrong), they’ll lose very rarely.

Settle in quick. The season starts two weeks from Monday. Hallelujah.



Yeah, like I said a lot of information. First thought is why is Graves starting over Henson? When I come across situations where I think Roy does not know what he is doing, I remind myself that the guy has won nearly 600 games and has two championship rings. I have won ZERO games and ZERO championships. I really would like Henson to start, but what I like and what Roy likes are obviously different things and I know Williams has his reason for doing so. One fact to keep in mind is that this was early on in the practice schedule, so maybe Williams wanted experience (be it little). Another thought is that Graves would do better over starting rather than coming off the bench. I feel this is just an excuse for players. I know Rashad McCants used it before when playing for North Carolina, but that's my opinion. Even one more thought is the fact that Graves could theoretically stretch the defense farther out and open up more space for the bigs down low, but with the new offense that seems to be in place, I'm not sure if that matters as much.

Secondly, the offense may struggle finding shooters, but isn't one of the traits of a Roy Williams-coached team is the fast break? Plus, if the defense is better, they should be able to force more turnovers, thus leading to easy buckets, right?

Thirdly, if the rookies have as smart of an IQ as the writer stated they did, then hopefully the learning curve throughout the season will be slimmer. I am especially impressed with the Wear twins because I didn't think they would see a lot of minutes - not to say that they are going to get 15 minutes per game, but I really didn't think they would see the floor much at all, and figured one of them could possibly red-shirt because of the plethera of bigs, but it seems they can contribute, so please, let the contributions come forth.

Fourthly, hallelujiah, the season starts Monday and we will see what happens.

John Henson Better Be as Good as Advertised

Because he just sounds scary with the way everyone is talking about him. At the ACC Operations over the past weekend, Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard were asked about the freshman and both gave great reviews for the freshman, but here's what Ginyard said about Henson:

“It’s impossible to watch John Henson play for more than five minutes and not say, ‘Whoa. Wow. Look at that,’ just with his size and athleticism. I continue to say that there are just a number of things that he will do out there on the court that I really don’t know that any other player on the court can do.”

I just can't wait to see this guy on the court. Come on Florida International game-day! But I just hope he is as good as people are talking him up to be.

Also, Scout ran an article about Ginyard, and something I didn't know about him last year was that he was up to 230 in the old weight department. This year, he is down to 205 and has the explosiveness back in his step that was lacking last year. From the article, it sounds like he is progressing into the leadership role nicely and Roy Williams said he is more pleased with Ginyard than anyone else on this year's team.

Duke and UNC Tie?

Unfortunately, though it is just a preseason poll, it happened at the ACC media conference, where all the coaches from their respective teams, as well as a handful of players attend. During this meeting, the preseason picks are made as far as order of finish, Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and ACC First team.

This year, Duke and UNC were both picked to win the ACC; Duke had more first place votes, but they both had the same number total points. This is the first time in the 41 year history, but it is the fourth year in a row that UNC has been picked to win, so that's a good sign.

When I first read that there was a tie, I couldn't believe. I really still can't believe. I know that UNC has some question marks - the backcourt, the perimeter scoring, and probably defense will be mentioned at time point during the season - but it seems like Duke has many more question marks, but that's why they play the games instead of picking the order.

Kyle Singler was picked as Player of the Year and I know that's the trendy pick among many of the talking heads, but I'm just not 100% sold on him. I do know that Marcus Ginyard will lock him down for 2 games. ROY was nominated to Derrick Favors from Georgia Tech, with John Henson coming in at a distant second.

ACC First-Team consisted of Singler, Trevor Booker from Clemson, Greivis Vasquez from Maryland, Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney, and Ed Davis because somebody from UNC had to be on the list - right?

One more thing. Tar Heel Blue has some pictures from the event. If you look through it, you'll see Deon Thompson in a suit and tie. Marcus Ginyard also went to the event, but is not seen in any photos. The rest of the players there are wearing polos from their respective schools. My point comes down to classiness. UNC has it, others don't.

Late Night Optimism and Concern

Late Night with Roy has come and gone, and now the season is officially under-way! Hooray! I'm pretty pumped about the upcoming season and I'm sure you are too. For some Late Night festivities, go here to ACC Now and it gives some summaries of what went on, as well as Scout. Scout also has an excellent photo gallery and Tar Heel Blue has not one, but two.

From what I gather, the scrimmage between the White and Blue teams was competitive, but still not a scrimmage and might as well be a pick-up game for as often as those players have played against each other since class has started. But it looks like John Henson is as good as advertised. He had 10 points in the scrimmage and here's what Marcus Ginyard said about him:

"That size and athleticism is just one of those things that's tough to describe; he’s a guy who can do some interesting things out there. We’ve got to let it play out and see what he does, but there’s no question he can be a big help to the team."

That's what I like hearing. I can't wait to see this guy throwing down on Duke a few times a game. He's just a freak of athleticism, which is something that will certainly help out this year quite a bit.

Two concerns that Roy Williams has had is the backcourt - with it's lack of experience and depth, and shooting - with every reliable shooter gone now, but with Will Graves scoring 12 points, including three 3's, he may have answered the question of who is the best shooter for this year's team, a question that Tar Heel Blue asked and discussed in their recent article. In that article, Ginyard is asked who the best shooter is and he said that he would put himself up there. Now, knowing Ginyard as a shooter, that's a bit of a red flag for me. With that said, I have no doubt that he has improved on his shooting, just like Larry Drew and Ed Davis. But Graves is the guy who needs to be the best shooter because that's all we as fans have heard about is his shooting and unfortunately, we haven't seen it in the games. I believe we will this year.

Are You Hungy?

For more Tar Heel pre-season? It's hard to believe that Late Night with Roy Williams is on Friday, the 16th. I know I am eagerly waiting for it and I know the players have been working on their new skits for the evening of festivities via their Twitter pages. But we have more pre-season previews. One from Tar Heel Blue and the other from the FayObserver.

The one from Tar Heel Blue is quite lengthy, so I would encourage you to read it for yourself. It talks about the returning upper-classman and some of what Roy expects them to do. He did say that Marcus Ginyard would be starting at shooting guard, but would be expected to play up to four different positions. There is also a little preview about the freshman, with John Henson sticking out in my mind because Williams said he would probably be at the 3 spot and would be expected to block a lot of shots. Williams also said that this team could be one of the best shotblocking teams he has ever had. Scary!

The other piece from the Observer is all about Drew. Larry Drew knows he is under a bit of pressure, but understands his role and knows he doesn't have to be the man, but just play in the system and pick his spots. I have full faith in him, as does Roy Williams or he would have probably pushed more for a point guard in the offseason.

The article from the Observer did bring up a great point that I know I have found myself wrapped up in and maybe you have too. I often compare this upcoming team to the 05-06 team, but we expect this year's team to make a run to the Final Four. Lots of expectations for this team, but the 05-06 team didn't have any expectations. I remember Bracketology on ESPN had that team as a 9 seed in the tournament. UNC was picked 6th in the ACC. I'm not saying they can't make a substantial run towards the Final Four, but as Drew proved this past year and many others, on a team that relies on freshman, there will be some ups and downs all season. The 05-06 team might have been fun to watch, but the time they played Duke at UNC was one of those inexperienced games for the freshmen. That team ended up losing 8 games and the year after was torturous as a fan because, again, a team relied on so many young players, that the season had ups and downs and we ended up choking in the Elite 8, plus had enough close loses to last me for quite awhile. So be forewarned, it could be a bit of a struggle this year for this team. I am in no way saying it will be, but it could be. But my predictions are at least an Elite 8 appearance and #1 in the ACC. Go Heels!

Health Update for Marcus Ginyard

In case you didn't know, Marcus Ginyard has been pain free since April, but Adam Lucas gives us a health update anyway. But it seems in the article that it is more of a shot update for the defensive-minded wingman than anything else.

Now if you follow Marcus Ginyard on Twitter, you might know his health is not the greatest because he just had his wisdom teeth removed last week and now has dry socket. But all signs point that he'll be ok for the start of the season and possibly even Late Night. I have included a picture of him post-operation from his Twitter account below:

Yeah, I remember that feeling. But, back to the article where Ginyard had this quote about his shot (probably before the drugs kicked in).

"My shot feels great right now. I spent a lot of time working on it. In previous summers I've spent time working on it, but there's no question that I've been after it harder this summer than in the past. I've been in the gym every day, and tried to put in enough work that I feel comfortable with it. I don't want to think about it, I just want to let it go. That's what the best shooters do. I want to get confident in it and let it fly."

That sounds good to Heel's fans that have wanted him to improve his outside shot. We all know he was good for layups an putbacks, but an outside shot will certainly take the pressure of Ed Davis, Deon Thompson and Tyler Zeller.

Now considering where Ginyard will play this year, he had this to say:

"I'm just a player. Wing guard, forward, whatever. I just have to play and perform. I know I'm going to guard a tough perimeter player and I'm going to play on the wing. That's my job."

Again, typically the answer we would expect from the new David Noel. He's just going to play and play hard, wherever that is. He's going to be big-time for us this year, I just know it. Go Heels!

Awesome Alumni Awareness

The 2009 banner dropped last night. I really would have liked to gone to this game. Maybe game should be "game" because it wasn't really a game, but a reunion as ACC Now put it. I guess I just didn't realize the significance and for that I apologize.

I wasn't there; wasn't even in the same state, but thanks to technology, I was pretty close to the action. Big thanks go to Marcus Ginyard and Tar Heel Fan Blog for their Twitter updates. Ginyard was even nice enough to include pictures occasionally (like of MJ's Ferrari - Holy Whoa). Adam Lucas was also giving updates, but I couldn't access them until this afternoon. His are the best, but no offense to the others, but this is what he does for a living is talk about North Carolina basketball. And he also has a pretty good seat at the scorers table.

I'm not going to post all the links to individual articles, but just check out Tar Heel Blue and Scout. Both sites include photo galleries and Tar Heel Blue has highlights of the game and will be posting the tribute videos that were shown before the game next week, so be sure to check them back out.

One thought to close. This is what Roy Williams said after the game ended:

"The reason we have this game tonight is that this is the first part of a yearlong celebration of the 100 years of Carolina Basketball. We're going to do several things, we'll have an old-timers game. We did this because when we have the reunion during the season the NBA players and coaches can't attend. We love the fact that you guys came. This is the best place in the world for college basketball because of these guys right here and you guys up there."

Think about it - this season is going to be special. Yes, we probably all say that every year, but this is going to be 100 years of Carolina basketball. Where else can you have an event like this and draw 21,000 people and get so many great players together? This is Carolina basketball.