Remember when North Carolina visited the White House and Jack Wooten has yah close to getting a job in the White House? Well, it seems that ship has sailed as Wooten has now been named Director of Basketball Operations for the Elon Phoenix.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Elon Univserity sounds familiar; who went there? What association is there with Elon University. Well, I can tell you because it sounded familiar to me too. Turns out it was where Wes Miller was an assistant coach last year. I said was as in the past tense because Miller is no longer with the Elon Phoenix, but was hired on to be an assistant coach at High Point University. Wes Miller is getting that coaching experience that will one day land him back at North Carolina. At least, that's what this blogger thinks.
Showing posts with label Wes Miller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wes Miller. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
The Information Age
Technology can be a curse for some, but for this Tar Heel fan, it's pretty sweet right now. Facebook, one of the major social networking sights is very popular and especially popular with college students, at least in my experience. It turns out that even Tar Heels use Facebook and some of them, quite a bit. I am "friends" with some of the North Carolina players and I use the term friend loosely, because there is no way that some of these players would be friends with me. Some of my Tar Heel friends include: Surry Wood, JB Tanner Dewey Burke, Quentin Thomas, Tyler Zeller, Marc Campbell, John Henson, Dexter Strickland, and Leslie McDonald. I used to be friends with Danny Green, but he has since figured he was better off without me as his friend. Wes Miller was also one of my buddies, but has since deleted his account. I've sent messages to Marcus Ginyard commending him for his leadership, but he still has not accepted my friend request. Tyler Hansbrough, Deon Thompson, and Alex Stepheson also must not realize who I am, but Cam Sexton has (Carolina QB - gotta give the football team a shoutout once in awhile).
Anyway, I share all this information because this year's current freshman, Henson, Strickland, and McDonald all update their Facebook status quite a bit. Some of it is pretty random, saying their going to movies or their in class, but sometimes they say they are working out and then they curse Jonas for working them too hard in the weight room. But here is Dexter Strickland's last update:
"Leadership is the ability to persuade others to do what you want them to do because they want to do it...i hope to lead my team to another championship this year as a freshmen...sounds hard but its possible!....UNC i love u!..."
That sounds pretty encouraging to me, coming from a freshman, but one could argue that he hasn't even played a game, which he hasn't yet. But I don't think you can argue that the desire isn't there.
Another social network that is quite popular is Twitter. I joined Twitter maybe 2 months ago and don't spend a lot of time there, but you can follow people and don't really have to worry about them rejected you as their friend. There are a lot of current and former Tar Heels on Twitter. I think Rashad McCants lives on Twitter; Sean May also updates a lot about his workouts in the Smith Center. Marcus Ginyard updates when there is pickup games in the Smith Center, when he is in the ice tub, and when he's getting shots in. Ed Davis and John Henson are also on Twitter, but do not update as frequently. Will Graves and Mike Copeland are also common Twitters and even Roy Williams and Tyler Hansbrough are on Twitter.
Technology has some cons, I would be the first to tell you that, but I think this is pretty cool because it brings me closer to the players and to Tar Heel Basketball.
Anyway, I share all this information because this year's current freshman, Henson, Strickland, and McDonald all update their Facebook status quite a bit. Some of it is pretty random, saying their going to movies or their in class, but sometimes they say they are working out and then they curse Jonas for working them too hard in the weight room. But here is Dexter Strickland's last update:
"Leadership is the ability to persuade others to do what you want them to do because they want to do it...i hope to lead my team to another championship this year as a freshmen...sounds hard but its possible!....UNC i love u!..."
That sounds pretty encouraging to me, coming from a freshman, but one could argue that he hasn't even played a game, which he hasn't yet. But I don't think you can argue that the desire isn't there.
Another social network that is quite popular is Twitter. I joined Twitter maybe 2 months ago and don't spend a lot of time there, but you can follow people and don't really have to worry about them rejected you as their friend. There are a lot of current and former Tar Heels on Twitter. I think Rashad McCants lives on Twitter; Sean May also updates a lot about his workouts in the Smith Center. Marcus Ginyard updates when there is pickup games in the Smith Center, when he is in the ice tub, and when he's getting shots in. Ed Davis and John Henson are also on Twitter, but do not update as frequently. Will Graves and Mike Copeland are also common Twitters and even Roy Williams and Tyler Hansbrough are on Twitter.
Technology has some cons, I would be the first to tell you that, but I think this is pretty cool because it brings me closer to the players and to Tar Heel Basketball.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Is that a Pen Name?
Roy Williams is writing an autobiography? Yes, yes he is. It's release is sometime in November, so we'll have to wait until then to read it. I think this would be a great read, especially if he talks about learning under Dean Smith and winning his last two national championships. That would be really special.
Since we're talking abut books here, here's a book that I have enjoyed throughly. It's written by Wes Miller and Adam Lucas about Wes Miller's senior year at North Carolina. It's called The Road to Blue Heaven and here's a link if you want to check it out. Great book that gives some good insight into what goes on behind the scenes of a North Carolina team. As a fan, I love this book because it brings me that much closer to the action. I would encourage you to at least read it if you are a fan and buy it if you are a huge fan.
Since we're talking abut books here, here's a book that I have enjoyed throughly. It's written by Wes Miller and Adam Lucas about Wes Miller's senior year at North Carolina. It's called The Road to Blue Heaven and here's a link if you want to check it out. Great book that gives some good insight into what goes on behind the scenes of a North Carolina team. As a fan, I love this book because it brings me that much closer to the action. I would encourage you to at least read it if you are a fan and buy it if you are a huge fan.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Comparing 05 to 09
I have finally done my comparing of the last two title teams. This would be an awesome game. I could throw out a whole bunch of numbers and stuff, but I’m not that motivated right now. So here’s what I’m going to do; I’m going to break down the starters and the bench as a whole and say who has the edge based on my opinion.
Center: Sean May vs. Tyler Hansbrough
Sean May really hit his stride his junior year about half-way through. Tyler Hansbrough hit his stride all the time. May had really good hands and was a good shot-blocker as well. He also had a number of low-post moves in which to fall back on. Those are about the only things he has on Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough didn’t have a ton of post moves, but he was ok at putting the ball in the basketball. Also, the ability to draw fouls, make free throws, take charges, and steal the ball all play into his favor. Then throw in the hustle, determination, and the extended range, it’s not much of a contest. May was good, but Hansbrough is much better.
Edge: Hansbrough
Power Forward: Jawad Williams vs. Deon Thompson
Jawad was an undersized power forward, but he played big in my eyes. A few things that were nice about Williams, was the fact that he could shoot the three and open up the post, which Deon cannot do. Deon defends well with his blocks, but he can be such a head case and be streaky. If it was Deon of the first few games of the regular season, Deon would win, but Williams had that senior leadership quality, experience, and know-how.
Edge: Williams
Small Forward: Jackie Manuel vs. Danny Green
We really have opposites in this area. A defensive-minded stopper against an offensive-minded shooter. Manuel was an excellent defender, but defenses could lay off of him because he couldn’t shoot a lick. Green was the stat-stuffer, filling up the box score on a regular basis. He could shoot, pass, rebound, and block. His on ball defense was suspect, but you always had to be aware of him coming on the help-side defense.
Edge: Green
Shooting Guard: Rashad McCants vs. Wayne Ellington
At the beginning of the year, this would have been no contest to McCants. He has the ability to shoot from anywhere. But he could also drive hard, finish hard, and dunk hard. Ellington is a much better all-around player now. His rebounds were up; assists were good; defense was much-improved. I would have liked to see him take it to the hole more and get fouled because he was a good free throw shooter. Because of that, I think McCants was better. McCants was also a decent shot-blocker as well, which Wayne is not.
Edge: McCants – slightly
Point Guard: Raymond Felton vs. Ty Lawson
This would be a great point guard match-up. One for the ages. Felton was the leader of the 05 team. His three pointer against Illinois when the game was tied at 65 was cold blooded. He also had great court vision, and if he had stayed, would probably be close to Ed Cota’s record for assists. Both of these players underwent severe criticism over their play and both handled it very well. Lawson down the stretch was similar to May’s run in 05. No one could stop him. I believe the only things that could stop Lawson this past year was Lawson, Roy Williams, and Lawson’s toe. Lawson 3% and FG% were amazing and though his assist numbers are not as good as Felton’s, he was the man. This match up would be close and Felton never really got to be the man like Lawson did, so he could have been better, but I’m going with Lawson, barely
Edge: Lawson - slightly
Bench
Marvin Williams, David Noel, Quentin Thomas, Melvin Scott, Reyshawn Terry, Wes Miller, and Byron Sanders vs. Ed Davis, Bobby Frasor, Larry Drew II, Tyler Zeller, Will Graves, and Justin Watts. This is close and it’s a little unfair without Marcus Ginyard in there somewhere, but I will give the edge to the 05 bench. Only slightly. Marvin Williams and Ed Davis have been compared, but Williams was more polished on the offensive end, whereas Davis is a much better defender. Drew and Thomas would be even. Noel would have an edge of Frasor in my mind because he was bigger and could go hard to the hole. Frasor’s defense would be key though. Zeller is better than Byron Sanders ever was. Melvin Scott was just a shooter and not much else and I think Will Graves is better than Terry, but Wes Miller was such a little fireball. The 05 team was deeper, hands down, and more experienced, so they get the slight edge. But if Ginyard played this past year and either he or Green came off the bench, I would tip it to the 09 bench.
So there you have it. I would say that the 09 team would beat the 05 team, but it would be a good game. I think the combination of Hansbrough and Lawson would be too much, but it would be intereting to see Manuel crack down on Lawson or Ellington, which could be the key to an 05 victory. I think the 09 team was better defensively and the 05 team was better offensively, just because almost everyone was a threat. Truth of the matter is that this game could happen since a lot of Tar Heels come back for pick-up games in the summer.
Center: Sean May vs. Tyler Hansbrough
Sean May really hit his stride his junior year about half-way through. Tyler Hansbrough hit his stride all the time. May had really good hands and was a good shot-blocker as well. He also had a number of low-post moves in which to fall back on. Those are about the only things he has on Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough didn’t have a ton of post moves, but he was ok at putting the ball in the basketball. Also, the ability to draw fouls, make free throws, take charges, and steal the ball all play into his favor. Then throw in the hustle, determination, and the extended range, it’s not much of a contest. May was good, but Hansbrough is much better.
Edge: Hansbrough
Power Forward: Jawad Williams vs. Deon Thompson
Jawad was an undersized power forward, but he played big in my eyes. A few things that were nice about Williams, was the fact that he could shoot the three and open up the post, which Deon cannot do. Deon defends well with his blocks, but he can be such a head case and be streaky. If it was Deon of the first few games of the regular season, Deon would win, but Williams had that senior leadership quality, experience, and know-how.
Edge: Williams
Small Forward: Jackie Manuel vs. Danny Green
We really have opposites in this area. A defensive-minded stopper against an offensive-minded shooter. Manuel was an excellent defender, but defenses could lay off of him because he couldn’t shoot a lick. Green was the stat-stuffer, filling up the box score on a regular basis. He could shoot, pass, rebound, and block. His on ball defense was suspect, but you always had to be aware of him coming on the help-side defense.
Edge: Green
Shooting Guard: Rashad McCants vs. Wayne Ellington
At the beginning of the year, this would have been no contest to McCants. He has the ability to shoot from anywhere. But he could also drive hard, finish hard, and dunk hard. Ellington is a much better all-around player now. His rebounds were up; assists were good; defense was much-improved. I would have liked to see him take it to the hole more and get fouled because he was a good free throw shooter. Because of that, I think McCants was better. McCants was also a decent shot-blocker as well, which Wayne is not.
Edge: McCants – slightly
Point Guard: Raymond Felton vs. Ty Lawson
This would be a great point guard match-up. One for the ages. Felton was the leader of the 05 team. His three pointer against Illinois when the game was tied at 65 was cold blooded. He also had great court vision, and if he had stayed, would probably be close to Ed Cota’s record for assists. Both of these players underwent severe criticism over their play and both handled it very well. Lawson down the stretch was similar to May’s run in 05. No one could stop him. I believe the only things that could stop Lawson this past year was Lawson, Roy Williams, and Lawson’s toe. Lawson 3% and FG% were amazing and though his assist numbers are not as good as Felton’s, he was the man. This match up would be close and Felton never really got to be the man like Lawson did, so he could have been better, but I’m going with Lawson, barely
Edge: Lawson - slightly
Bench
Marvin Williams, David Noel, Quentin Thomas, Melvin Scott, Reyshawn Terry, Wes Miller, and Byron Sanders vs. Ed Davis, Bobby Frasor, Larry Drew II, Tyler Zeller, Will Graves, and Justin Watts. This is close and it’s a little unfair without Marcus Ginyard in there somewhere, but I will give the edge to the 05 bench. Only slightly. Marvin Williams and Ed Davis have been compared, but Williams was more polished on the offensive end, whereas Davis is a much better defender. Drew and Thomas would be even. Noel would have an edge of Frasor in my mind because he was bigger and could go hard to the hole. Frasor’s defense would be key though. Zeller is better than Byron Sanders ever was. Melvin Scott was just a shooter and not much else and I think Will Graves is better than Terry, but Wes Miller was such a little fireball. The 05 team was deeper, hands down, and more experienced, so they get the slight edge. But if Ginyard played this past year and either he or Green came off the bench, I would tip it to the 09 bench.
So there you have it. I would say that the 09 team would beat the 05 team, but it would be a good game. I think the combination of Hansbrough and Lawson would be too much, but it would be intereting to see Manuel crack down on Lawson or Ellington, which could be the key to an 05 victory. I think the 09 team was better defensively and the 05 team was better offensively, just because almost everyone was a threat. Truth of the matter is that this game could happen since a lot of Tar Heels come back for pick-up games in the summer.
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