Comments on: UNC 107 Belmont-Abbey 59

By: Charles

Charles — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:58:42 +0000

No, the Dookness was confined to the fans – organized yelling and gesturing and arrogant insulting of the other team. UCLA didn’t even pretend to play defense.

By: AZACCFan

AZACCFan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:12:05 +0000

If Thompson can have those front court numbers against real opposition and the defense is a real anchor, who knows what will happen. There is clear new talent, and they will learn and be coached to play offense together better. To me the defensive early signs will help to make up for other shortcomings. Remember how hard it was for last year’s championship team when they let perimeter opposition score huge numbers. Inside players for UNC opponents are going to have a tough time scoring, and with Ginyard looking really healthy perimeter guard scoring should be easier to control than last year.

It is a different base than last year. But clearly there is huge potential. The question always is: what happens as they get into the thick of the season. This year’s non-conference schedule is a killer; but barring injury it should help mature the whole group.

By: YouJustGotHeeled

YouJustGotHeeled — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:14:57 +0000

I think there were 3 promising plays I saw last night.

1. When Henson was standing in the paint and his guy was taking a comfortable jumper about ten feet away and Henson reached out and still blocked his shot. Just a freak (in a good way).
2. When Strickland was on the wing and he took 3 quick steps, blew by his defender and got to the rim. He’s not fast like Lawson from end to end but he’s got some quick moves.
3. I don’t remember which, I think it was Travis Wear, but he basically took the ball behind his back twice while a guard was trying to steal the ball from him. He’s got some serious handles and you don’t usually see that from a legit power forward.

By: Tar Heel Fan

Tar Heel Fan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:58:58 +0000

“I see in the box score that the twins had the same minutes, did Roy sub them in together?”

No. They went in separately at points.

By: keithunc

keithunc — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:47:30 +0000

Charles-”and the Dook-like activities” are you saying they were flopping all over the place or did they try to break someone the other teams nose?

By: keithunc

keithunc — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:44:00 +0000

I see in the box score that the twins had the same minutes, did Roy sub them in together?

By: keithunc

keithunc — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:41:31 +0000

This is going to be a rebuilding year. Get ready for it. In two and three years look out.

By: C. Michael

C. Michael — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:41:58 +0000

I think this is why I may have a slightly more optimistic view of this season: a very good defensive team can often cover-up offensive deficiencies better than a very good offensive team can often cover-up defensive deficiencies (e.g. last year versus BC and Wake; Pitt and UConn the last decade).

UNC has a chance to be a special defensive team this year, and while there will be times when they struggle in the half-court, they will always be able to get points out of the break and secondary break, which is an advantage defensive minded teams like UCLA, Pitt, and MSU don’t have.

By: Tar Heel Fan

Tar Heel Fan — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:29:24 +0000

“His defense is definitely more advanced than his offense”

That applies the whole team as well. They forced at least two five second violations and caused BA to make all sorts of mistakes. Like I said, the length is freaky and throws teams off to have guys like Henson and the Wears on the perimeter.

By: C. Michael

C. Michael — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:37:41 +0000

I didn’t watch, so I can only make my observations from the boxscore:

1. I’m convinced that Deon’s and Tyler’s games just did not mesh well. That is no criticism of either, it’s just some players games are complimentary, some are not. I expect Deon to have a monster year this year.

2. From THF’s write-up, it may have been a bit of a mirage, but if LDII can deliver a 2.67 A/TO ratio the entire season than UNC will be fine at the point.

3. I’ve said this before, but don’t be surprised if Zeller is the teams 2nd leading scorer, and he may not be that far behind Deon.

4. I watched Henson play in HS a couple of times (real games, not ASGs) and he is kind of the SF version of Ed Davis. His defense is definitely more advanced than his offense. He will be a capable scorer this year, but I don’t know if he will be an explosive scorer. I think this is why there is some disagreement amongst those who predict the NBA draft as to whether Henson is a 1 or 2 year player.