Comments on: UNC 86 Penn 71

By: » North Carolina basketball blogs John Clay’s Sidelines

» North Carolina basketball blogs John Clay’s Sidelines — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:37:35 +0000

[...] Tar Heel Fan: “First games under Roy Williams have always been notoriously bad. There was the loss to Santa Clara in 2005, almost losing to Gardner-Webb in 2006, poor play against Sacred Heart in 2007 and a near miss versus Davidson last year though as it turns out Davidson was almost a Final Four team. This is the same deal with the added burden of key injuries.” [...]

By: JBowling

JBowling — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:37:59 +0000

Our continuity & chemistry seemed to be not there. It will worry me if we don’t have that aspect down pat by start of the ACC. Looked like we had a lot of talented players that really didn’t know what they were doing. I have seen pick up games with more of an organized fashion than this game. But Roy will have them as a cohesive unit before it is all said & done, and UNC will have a terrific year.

By: russfuss

russfuss — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:38:03 +0000

I’m with you, keith. What I saw was continuation of Patented Roy start-the-game-by-spotting-the-opponent-a-leg-up-for-the-first-10-minutes, then scramble to make a comeback, hopefully by the end of the half. Last year repeatedly replayed this modus operandi…all the way to the KU game where the leg-up was too hefty and the comeback never was allowed, snuffed at 4 down. So I can’t indulge the luxury of “chalking it up as first game jitters.” I am, however, amped in the “it’s a W, let’s get on with the season” sentiment. Please, Roy, get your pre-game act together. Un-f-ing-defeated, I say. Zoomba!

By: CCreecher

CCreecher — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:50:03 +0000

Maybe I see that glass half-empty as well, keithunc, but I tend to agree with you! Don’t get me wrong here…I’m MORE than excited about the win and the minuscule 5 turnovers the starting lineup coughed up, but only 14 supporting points from the bench and over half of the rebounds coming from those guys as well??!?!? I understand we’re missing a couple of KEY players, but I, too hope it’s just first-game jittters.

By: JBowling

JBowling — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:34:10 +0000

Those are legitimate concerns Keith. Hopefully, the latter you mentioned is the reality. Maybe we play better against better opponents? Seemed like a lot of 1 on 1 and a lot of personal showcasing in this game. Hopefully team chemistry will emerge over the next few games. I thought we had a lot of that last year, which enabled us to be pretty successful, as did Hansbrough alone. His presence will make a big difference too.

By: keithunc

keithunc — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:12:49 +0000

I’m a worry wart. So here’s my glass half empty findings. Penn got it down to 10 with 3 to 4 min to play. We didn’t seem to run as well as last year, in fact I would say we ran pretty poorly for holding them to 40%. Zeller wasn’t as aggressive on the boards as I like my 7 footers, he even had it his shot blocked by a guy who was probably 6’4. I just read Davis has a partially torn meniscus that can only get worse. I didn’t see Lawson take it to the basket (blow by his guy) once.

Oh well, I’ll chalk it up to first game jitters. It was a W. There were times we had three freshman in there. I am excited the season is under way.

By: C. Michael

C. Michael — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:44:16 +0000

Penn is more than likely a Tourney team. Honestly, this was the best opening game they’ve had under Roy, and minus the NPOY, no less.

By: Wilf

Wilf — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 11:39:16 +0000

I’m not a bit worried either. Penn, despite the final shooting %, played as good as they can (IMO) and the game was never in doubt. The new guys all looked great, and we really struggled early from 3. I am really excited about this team’s potential, especially after seeing Zeller and Davis.