I have watched the game and I think many of you worry too much.
Maybe it’s me and maybe it’s me watching it knowing there were some negative reviews so I was perhaps glossed over stuff. However I did not see anything in this game that made me think the season was in jeopardy. I actually thought the Heels executed fairly well, got a lot of good looks on offense but did not hit as many shots as they probably will going forward. I did think they were in love with the three point shot too much. Chalk that up to missing Tyler Hansbrough which hopefully won’t be much longer. What I think gave most fans their rampant levels of apprehension was the fact UNC was up 20, allowed Penn to cut it to ten and before the Heels end up wining by 15. I maintain that even with that, the Heels played a good game for a season opener. Here are some observations.
- This is virtually the same Penn team as UNC saw last season. That team ended up with a losing record but returned most of their starters. The reason this is important lies in the fact Penn scored the same number of points in this game as they did last season: 71. More important than that, Penn shot 47% from the floor last season and this season that was down to 40!%. The real difference in this one was the UNC offense was simply not as good as the 57% they shot versus Penn a year ago. Again, I am more than willing to chalk that up to missing Hansbrough.
- Roy had some odd lineups out there at times. At one point Frasor, Lawson and Ellington were on the court with Zeller and Thompson. There was another point the three freshmen were out there together. I imagine some of the discontinuity of offense could be owed to some of the lineup changes though the offense seemed fine except the Heels missed too many shots. Once again getting the full team back will help to settle the lineup shifts a bit. Also remember that the injuries disrupted what Roy was trying to do in practice getting the team ready. If folks were a bit lost it may be because they are still working some kinks out.
- UNC did have a lapse late in the 2nd half which allowed Penn back to within 10. Up until that point I think the Heels were very good on offense and did some nice things defensively as well. There was a four minute span in which they did not score a FG and Penn did nothing but score. Obviously we have seen this movie before and would very much like to stop seeing it in the future.
- Penn’s zone defense did not permit Lawson to penetrate as well but he was not as aggressive as he could have been. This has been something Roy has had to push him on and he will again. I expect Lawson still step it up for Kentucky.
- Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis are freaking awesome, at least they were in this game. Zeller has great footwork, runs the court well and sports a nice jumper and nearly indefensible hook shot. In my opinion Zeller looks more polished and finesse than Hansbrough which might make them a nice compliment to each other once the senior returns. Ed Davis is just a beast. If he can come in and control the boards and play smarter(I thought he was given to a few mistakes which led to Penn points) then UNC has a frontline that will make opposing coaches cry.
- Deon Thompson looked like the player we all thought he could be.
- With the addition of Zeller and Davis along with Bobby Frasor’s return, I can understand why Roy is focusing on the 8th, 9th, and 10th players in the lineup as affording an advantage over opposing teams. UNC can run a non-stop combination of lineups on the floor without sacrificing much in the way of offensive production. Once the whole team is back, it will be a nightmare for anyone playing the Heels to keep pace if they rest their starters and if they opt to play their starters long minutes, the Heels will wear them down.
Overall, I think there is no reason to panic or even look at the glass half empty. Hansbrough is out and that does effect the team. I mean, he is a NPOY for crying out loud, his presence or absence affects the team. As for the team’s focus, a nationally televised game versus Kentucky will tell us whether these guys can step up when necessary and play quality basketball. Based on the play of Zeller and Davis, the Heels should be able to do just that and help all of the worried folks in Tar Heel nation to relax.
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Let’s back up and punt here…I think we’re all relaxed ok, just a little concerned about what we witnessed. On the glass half-full side of things, I think that all of us agree that Zeller and Davis were fantastic!! I was SUPER impressed watching both of those guys play and can’t wait until they meld a little more with everyone else. BUT…there is still the half-empty deal. We saw some things that we didn’t expect, including the near-breakdown of a strong lead. I feel pretty sure that no one is experiencing any true panic…just some butterflies.
If UNC holds every opponent to 40% or less, they will win every game. That is a near certainty.
Although they did look sloppy at times, the play of the freshmen bodes well for the future. I’m not worried…..yet lol.
There is no need to right now. If we are playing this clumsy come ACC regular season, then we can start the analysis. It was probably a bunch of young kids wanting to showcase their talent, and had a great opportunity to in playing a much weaker school. The kids knew that. When there is a game that is percieved to be difficult, I imagine the kids will tighten down & play great basketball with fewer turnovers.
I’m with you CC and THF, Just concerned is all. All the (my) expectations could have me thinking we should be better than we are right now. I’m in no way jumping off a bridge, I know were going to have a wonderful year.
Off subject did you see DOOK almost lost in Cameron, against Rhode Island. They were down one or two in the final 10 seconds and got a phantom call that got them to the line for the go ahead. I remember in 92 or 93 we wore R.I. out in the first round of the tourny. I remember they had the same color uni’s as us and it was hard for me to tell them apart in the beginning. Well, maybe it had something to do with the beer I was drinking.
I certainly am not in any panic mode, but I just saw a few things that bothered me. I looked at the game from the standpoint that if we’d have played a more talented team we might have been in trouble.
Lawson and Ellington did not try to beat the zone with dribble penetration, and they were both clearly quicker than their counterparts. Also, it didn’t look as if we even wanted to get the ball inside, especially early. That’s probably the biggest problem I saw. We allowed Penn to dictate our offense, not the other way around. When you’re the #1 team in the country and playing a clearly overmatched opponent, you must dictate what happens on both ends of the court.
I’d also argue that Penn’s shooting % also reflects that they missed a fair number of open looks from 3 point range. Thank God they weren’t hot, or things might have been different because they had too many good looks.
It is also obvious how much the rest of the team feeds off of Hansbrough’s and Ginyard’s intensity. The fire didn’t seem to be there with them on the bench, and that’s unfortunate (especially from our upperclassmen).
Now that my rant is over, I will say that A) We won, and you can’t argue with W’s; B) the freshmen look good, especially if Zeller can put on some weight; C) the freshmen played a lot of minutes and we still only had 13 turnovers; D) Danny and Deon had great games, and we’ll need that; E) It was the 1st game of the season, so I’ll cut them some slack; and finally F) once everyone is healthy, we are going to be scary good.
I think for an opening game it was fine. I think had they been playing a more talented team maybe they approach it in a more focused manner. I think there is a tendency to play down to the competition a bit. I also think it hard to know without two principal players in the game.
The UK game will be a good barometer. My bet is they show up to play and make a statement. No word on if Hansbrough is available but given how well the freshmen played I have no problem resting him as long as necessary since the experience will do nothing but help them be better down the road.
How many starters were out?
Exactly. The best defender on the team is out and Hansbrough is only the reigning NPOY.
As I said under another topic, I was excited to see the new guys play and I’m not a bit concerned. Thompson looked good as did Danny Green. We’ll be fine.