What are you going to do?
By now, it’s a broken record. Opponent shoots lights out, opposing point guard has a career night, missed free throws, crucial turnovers, blown defensive assignments, poor shooting night, long scoring drought during a big opponent’s run, yada yada yada.
Let’s give Maryland credit – they are playing really well. When they are firing on all cylinders, they have a legit shot to win the ACC. Plus, when you make your first five threes – and seven of your first nine, you’re setting the tone for the game. Maryland shot over 50 percent from three and overall, and clearly has Carolina’s number, winning three of the last four against the Heels. And to top it off, nearly 18,000 hearty souls braved Snowmageddon to cheer on the Terps.
As for Carolina, Marcus Ginyard was finally able to crack the scoreboard with a team-high 17 points but it took 13 shots to get there. Deon Thompson added 16 points but only 4 rebounds. Ed Davis had maybe the quietest double-double in recent memory with 10 points and 16 rebounds, but was a complete non-factor in the game despite the numbers.
Poor Larry Drew had maybe his worst game as a Tar Heel, going 0-6 from the floor and 0-2 from the line. He was credited with five assists but four turnovers, and three of those were in the backcourt. The freshmen also performed weakly for the most part, adding to the Heels’ woes. Drew and the five freshmen went a combined 6-25 from the floor and had 10 of Carolina’s 14 turnovers.
And yet, despite Maryland’s stellar play, the Heels looked to be in good shape at the 12:59 mark, having weathered the Terps’ half-opening run and shaving the margin from 13 down to just four points. Of course, Carolina would go over 4 minutes without a field goal and make only two field goals in a nearly nine-minute span. By the time the funk was over, UNC was down 20.
Roy Williams looks like a man who has just done all he can do. The look of resignation/frustration/anger on his face when Ginyard and Graves blew the 2-0n-1 break in the first half says it all. He did call two time-outs during the game but to no avail. You can criticize Roy all you want for Xs and Os and substitutions, but Roy is not the one making bad passes in transition and missing point-blank putbacks.
The Maryland crowd taunted the Heels with chants of “NIT” but at this point, I’m not sure “CBI” would be appropriate. UNC is clearly shell-shocked and even the simplest things seem to take maximum effort at this point. Give Woody Durham credit for the best Carolina play of the night, however – when the “NIT” chant started, Woody said, “well, they should know”.
Still, let’s not make this anything more than it is – UNC continued to show the things that have earned them 10 losses on the season, but this would have been a tough game for any team to win (last year’s team lost at Maryland, too, when the Terps were not as good as they are this year). At this point, all anyone can do go back to work and get ready for the Evil Empire on Wednesday night.
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Till now I have refrained form criticizing Coach Williams, but this game had a Kansas-UNC game like quality to it. The same intransigent coach unwilling to call a time-outs to break a run of the opposing team, especially since his PG was clearly flustered and made back to back turnovers. I mean NBA coaches do it, most NCAA coaches do it and some of them have more trophies and championships than Roy. I still don’t understand his stubbornness but he can only blame himself for the loss.
Moreover this team still had a number of fouls to give, yet the Terps were making uncontested lay-ups and dunks without a single hard foul. Amazing!! When you have a deep bench you have that many fouls to give, and when your team is playing badly there is all the more reason to use those fouls. It was just very bad coaching today. It looks like Roy has given up on this season and right now just going through the motion, playing his seniors and making the same trite and inane comments after every game.
What’s worse is that after the game he found time to criticize his freshmen for mistakes they made in the final 2 minutes of the game when the outcome was already decided, freshmen who were not on the court during the UMD run that ballooned the game 4 points to 20. He does not say one word about the TOs committed by his PG, or his seniors, essentially destroying the morale of his young recruits. If losing was not bad enough they are getting called out for not performing miracles. Very disappointing!!
Doc…through all the comments I read on the game thread, I’m not sure I read more than one or two that gave Maryland much credit for playing a very solid game. I failed to do so, along with most everybody else. Thanks for making that point. They were very good. Obviously, our pathetic defense had alot to do with their success, but they may have beaten a few top-10 teams today with that performance.
A loss yes, but it looks like Marcus is out of his slump. Hopefully with a little inspiration, we can handle dook. Even if we don’t we still have the Celebration of a Century to look forward to. This hasn’t been nor will it ever be one of our best seasons, but this is a monumental year. We have so much to be thankful for. Go Heels!
@uncgirl50…your optimism is compelling. I just wish it was a little more contagious.
A loss yes, but….
Yeah, because I am so worried about Marcus’s slump. I care about winning. I predicted that as soon as Marcus got close to 40 percent shooting we would start hearing these comments. 5-13 from the floor, and 66% from the line is cause for celebration? How about all the times the Maryland guys went sailing past him on defense? How about the 52% three point shooting for the Terps?
One Tar Heel fan told me that this year’s team is just snakebit. Virtually every single team we play in the ACC this season has its best 3 point shooting game of the year. What are the odds? That is some bad luck….
from tarheelblue:
They came in a flood–layups and dunks and three-point plays and runners. What was more troubling was that they came with very little resistance…until one particular basket caused Williams to slam his fist on the scorer’s table and call timeout.
“We have to make it a priority to sprint back,” said Deon Thompson. “We can’t leave our point guard 3-on-1 or 2-on-1. Also, scoring the ball helps you get back.”
The disturbing thing about giving up a bucketload of fast break points is that it’s preventable.
“It’s more of an effort thing,” Will Graves said. “Actually, it’s a little bit of both. It’s also being together on offense and not being surprised by a shot or a turnover. So it’s both effort and togetherness.”
“We had all five guys looking at the ball,” Ginyard said. “It wasn’t a priority for us to get back on defense. That’s the way we played. It wasn’t a big deal for anybody to sprint back on defense and they killed us.”
***********
it wasnt a big deal. hm. well, ok. good to know.
close down the site, THF.
hustling is not a big deal to the team, so we’ll meet back here once baseball starts.
There are no consolation prizes and there are no moral victories. However people would have been more inclined to be forgiving if this team actually fought or showed some fighting spirit. For example, even though Kansas State is definitely an inferior team they forced the mighty Kansas to an overtime game and even defeated Texas at their home court. Contrast that with this team, full of talent yet gets defeated by huge margins game after game after game. One sentence that Adam Lucas wrote today encapsulates everything that is wrong with this team and why the fans are so angry:
“Over the last 120 minutes of basketball, which stretches over three games, Carolina has led for exactly four minutes and 30 seconds. Yes, you read that right. Over the last three games, the Tar Heels have had the lead for exactly 3.75% of the time.”
For a division I team, defending champions, NCAA powerhouse, that to me is pathetic, no matter how young this team might be.
It is shocking to think that we are not even close to being ranked in the top 25. How could Roy let the program so quickly fall into chaos and disarray? We have become the laughing stock of college hoops, especially among ACC schools. This is a team that lacks leadership, and leadership begins at the top.
When you look closely at the pie chart of blame, dividing it up fairly is next to impossible. THAT is the definition of inconsistency. And THAT is exactly how lost this team is.
UNCGIRL: Yes, I can’t wait until the Celebration of a Century. We are coming into town for that and the State game. Much to be thankful for over the many years.
In fact, we are planning on making it to the women’s game. Anyone know how to get lower level tix to the UNC/BC game Thursday? We are just going to see what we get outside, but if anyone can meet up earlier to sell me 2 that would be great.
Bad recruiting.
Look at the guys Roy has brought in. Marvin Williams and Brandan Wright. Duh. Everyone knew they were great.
Tyler Hansbrough was way better than anyone expected. Give Roy a lot of credit here. Danny Green was way better than anyone expected. Give Roy some credit here, although he never seemed to realize how good Green was.
Bobby Frasor was not as good as expected, even before he got hurt. Sorry, it is true. Marcus Ginyard was not as good as expected. Quentin Thomas was not as good as expcted.
Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington were neutrals. Ty ended up slightly better than expected. Wayne was projected to be a Walter Davis type talent and ended up merely being All ACC caliber.
Then we get to the current guys. Zeller? Who knows? Roy never played him anyway but for the time being, not as good as expected.
Drew? He was horrible last year. He was horrible today. Overall, he has been better than I expected after last season, but far worse than expected when recruited.
Davis? He is one of those guys who somehow manage to rack up the stats without ever doing anything significant in a game, in the same way that Drew seems to get turnovers, not assists, when it matters. I’ll give Davis a neutral and falling.
The freshmen are all terrible in production with only two of them, Henson and Strickland even showing any athleticism.
If John Wall was not a good fit for UNC, the Wear brothers certainly were not either from all indications, and I don’t say that to be rude. They seem like nice guys who are simply in over their heads. They really should have gone somewhere like Davidson if they wanted to be a package deal. One of them would be okay, but we have two scholarships that they are taking up here and the talent is not commensurate with that, from what I have seen so far. McDonald wasn’t very highly recruited and it shows.
Roy’s grade is a D-. Maybe he should have taken this year off to deal with his injury. It is too late now because leaving now would look cowardly. If I had to choose between Matt Doherty’s 2003 team and this team, I would choose Matt’s last team every single time.
Either Roy made horrible recruiting choices in terms of talent, or Roy recruited talented guys who are lazy and won’t listen, or Roy is doing a terrible coaching job, you choose, but it still adds up to a D-.
Kansas State is an inferior team? They’d be the second best team in the ACC; I think they’d beat us right now by 15-20 on a neutral court.
The problem is not that we need to play with heart to be elite; with our current talent we need to play with heart to be respectable.
@william…I seriously doubt we will ever know anything that was “real” about the recruiting of John Wall. I’ve heard lots of fishy stories, but the one I put most stock in came from inside and, suffice it to say, considerable dollars were involved. I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to see Calipari find more NCAA trouble with Wall somewhere down the line.
That doesn’t mean we couldn’t have tried to recruit him fairly.
I am far from in love with John Wall. The “not a good fit” quote was really something that rankled me because it sounded arrogant, as though UNC picks and chooses among the elite….
Well, ….
@Nick, when I say Kansas State is an inferior team I say it in comparison to Kansas and Texas. But even aside from that, look at their roster, they have one five star player and one four star player and the rest below that, yet they play hard and bring everything to the game every time. Yet I agree with you, they would beat this team at the Dean dome by that margin, forget neutral court.
The good fit story was so transparent that it was embarrassing. Who in their right mind would hear that and go “….uh, yeah, uh, that sounds about right.” That sounds like an athletic dept. script that Roy wasn’t smart enough to ignore. As I know it, we had no chance at getting him once the money issue was brought into the mix. I love the guy but he’s obviously a one and done and I’m not any kind of a fan of that.
Great, we are reduced to discussing how good Kansas State is on here. Just great….
@William, I would agree with most of your earlier post about recruitment except about Ty and Wayne. Ty was an explosive PG and scorer in HS and in Roy’s system he had to become a pass-first PG learning to play at Roy’s speed the first two years which severely curtailed his scoring (compared to say Jonny Flynn who played his natural game). I remember reading somewhere how he was a good 3 point shooter, but he forgot all the mechanics of his outside shot because he was told not to take them his first two years. Which of course in hindsight is weird given that he shot nearly 50% from beyond the arc and he could score at will when he drove to the basket. It is as much a problem of the system, which has led many NBA scouts to believe that PGs coming from Roy Williams coached teams rarely do well in the NBA because they cannot execute half-court sets and pick and roll. Same could be said of Wayne, who was more of a combo-guard capable of playing both at the 3 and 4. Under Roy he was utilized primarily as a perimeter player at the 3 spot for the first two years. When he decided to break out in the NCAA tourney he showed that he was the most complete player.
Think about it…Wall grew up dreaming of playing for Carolina. It’s documented that it was all he wanted to do his whole life. And we have to be fed this “not a good fit” garbage? Something major had to have evolved, so the money thing seems viable. And when a crook like Cal gets involved, who the hell knows how it all went down.
Except we did it with Marvin Williams and Brandan Wright and those two guys were significant in our winning one title and coming pretty close to a second title.
That is the way it is nowadays. Lawson meant to be a two and done. Hansbrough was rich or he would have gone quick like Kevin Love.
Like I said, a wiser response by Roy would have been to say, John is from our state and is a great athlete and we wish him well and to leave it at that. But he decided to get a dig in, just like he did about the kid at Michigan State and the Rush kid who almost went to Kansas–that stuff was just rude and unnecessary to put in his book….
You might be saying that Roy could have gotten more out of Ty and Wayne, and I have to say, that in a sense, they both seemed truly great, right at the end, unfortunately, somewhere after the Maryland loss last year.
Statistically, they were darn good all three years. The only reason maybe why they weren’t even better the first two was due to injuries to Ty, and Wayne’s being cold in a couple of our traumatic losses to Georgetown and Kansas.
My point above was just to say that they both turned out about as expected, so I wasn’t giving any real credit to the staff for a find, say like Rick Fox, but they didn’t screw them up, either, or have them basically under-perform like Curtis Hunter or Brian Reese did under Dean Smith….
Disagree about Hansbrough. He stayed for four years because he absolutely loved college. I have always thought he would be perfectly happy playing for Carolina the rest of his life. You may be right about Roy simply tripping over himself and saying something stupid about Wall, as opposed to something he was told to say…who knows. He’s saying alot of stupid things this year.
I would like to point out one thing: I remember reading how Roy said that this team’s strength will be defense. In my opinion, that translates into saying we are probably going to struggle on offense. He is simply not a defensive minded coach. Sure, he knows the value of opponent scoring on a per possession basis, after all his championship teams thrived because of it, but if his team struggles to score they are in a lot of trouble.
I know Hansbrough loved college. This is not a knock but it is easy to love college when your father is a physician.
Some of these other kids literally have families to support regardless of whether they want to stay in college or not.
Here are the ratings from that cat on IC who always does this, fwiw, and by the way, compare Ginyard’s B, mostly based on offense, I presume, with the A and A+ by Maryland’s guards.
NORTH CAROLINA REGULARS (10+ minutes played)
Graves .709 B
Davis .683 B
Strickland .673 B
Ginyard .639 B
Thompson .583 B
Henson .429 C
D.Wear -.072 F
Drew II -.132 F
RESERVES
McDonald .322 C
T.Wear -.532 F
OPPONENT TOP 3 (10+ minutes played)
Vasquez 1.226 A+
Hayes .957 A
Mosley .858 A
TEAM GAME RATINGS
UNC .445 C
Opp .783 A
Yeah, but TH just seemed different. I can’t imagine that Marvin or Brandon would have cared much about college ball whether their families had money or not.
Actually Marvin’s father was a huge UNC fan and I think had memorized the names of every player going back to Frank McGuire or something. He was from North Carolina and was a diehard UNC fan. B. Wright was always one and done, you are right about that.
I think with both Sean May and Marvin Williams, they were basically told that if you don’t go now, in the wake of an NCAA title, you are leaving millions of dollars on the table. I am pretty sure that both of them really wanted to return in 2006.
I love Tyler and I keep checking to see how his ear is, but that simply was not his situation. Tyler definitely wanted his degree, but he didn’t have to make the junior year decision the way that others from UNC had to. I think that even at one point, Ty or Wayne said something to that effect, that they were great friends but that Tyler was simply from a different world in terms of his background.
Eric Montross, for example, was another UNC center from a well-to-do family, whose situation was akin to Sean May’s. Unlike May, Montross retured to UNC and had a subpar senior year and cost himself a lot of money. After that, he went on to have about the same kind of career that May has has so far. So staying definitely has risks.
A number of people here saw a month ago that we were cooked this season. Now it is obvious beyond serious argument. Indeed very few if any of us even bother anymore to say that Player X should get more minutes and Player Y fewer. We have seen that in terms of outcome, it makes no difference who’s out there.
One of the problems this year was that we never had a star, someone who could lead us out of adversity. That chicken, among others, has come home to roost.
I have been among the less optimistic people here. Let me now say, in the teeth of dismay, that in my opinion, not all is lost.
It’s lost this season, yes. But there have been signs of hope. Henson is starting to look like he can play. Davis could start for any ACC team and is increasingly likely to be back. Zeller has talent, and the law of averages says he won’t continuously get injured.
Strickland and the Wears looked poor today, but all have shown enough for us reasonably to expect that, with normal improvement one year over next, they’ll be contributors next year. Graves has also improved markedly this year, in productivity, willingness to fight underneath and maturity.
When you add the guys we have coming in, and looking upon Barnes as our leader (albeit a freshman), our team next year should be quite good. The problem with that same expectation this year was (1) we expected too much from our senior role players, (2) we thought our PG play would be more consistent than has turned out to be the case, and (3) we underestimated how much the absence of TH’s spirit and muscle would hurt.
In short, our incoming players will be better than our outgoing ones, and the whole team will be one year improved.
Today it looks bleak indeed. But your resident pessimist, in the face of a 21-point embarrassment, is here to tell you there are better times ahead.
I had to throw this last barb in:
from tarheelblue:
“They came in a flood–layups and dunks and three-point plays and runners. What was more troubling was that they came with very little resistance…until one particular basket caused Williams to slam his fist on the scorer’s table and call timeout.”
And that, in a nutshell, is just about the extent of our resistance. You go, Roy…call that timeout. Cuz once we get that timeout, the Maryland players have to stop playing for a couple of minutes. If they’re not playing, then we have put up the ultimate resistance to their slaughtering our dad-gum rear ends. That’ll show ‘em.
There is one guy on the team that I think should get more minutes, and that is Henson.
Otherwise, I think everyone else on the team should get fewer minutes, in fact, far fewer minutes….
NEWSFLASH…WEDNESDAY, FEB. 10….”ALL FIVE DUKE STARTERS PLUS HEAD COACH K BECOME BEDRIDDEN WITH THE FLU…UNABLE TO PLAY IN THE STORIED RIVALRY….HEELS LOSE BY 2 ON LAST SECOND SHOT BY, UH, BY, UH, WHAT WAS THAT BLONDE HEADED WHITE GUY’S NAME THAT NEVER PLAYS? AHHH…THE HELL WITH IT.”
GOOD NIGHT.
Matt Doherty’s team may end up with a better record this year than UNC. They beat Memphis, so who knows, they may be better than UNC….
I have a question.
What level of play would it take all of you as Tar Heel fans who care enough to come here and post, to be thoroughly upset enough with the coaching staff to deem this season’s results unacceptable?
Sad as it may be, I think that I am already there by a longshot. This team has not had any more significant injuries than is par for the course and has not lost any starters for more than a game at a time due to injuries, so it is not like 2003 when Sean May missed about half the year.
Gminiski kept saying, “well, they lost four first round draft choices,” which is not quite correct, but still they did lose four great players. However, nobody expected any of those guys to be back this year, with the possible exception of Ellington, and really, not even him.
So, in actuality, they lost two seniors and two juniors that they already knew were leaving. This is not exactly like 2005 when Sean May and Marvin Williams were expected to return and then left after winning the title.
The coaching staff had two years to find a decent point guard and a decent wingman and instead, signed 6′ 10″ twins and three number two guards who aren’t wingmen.
Anyway, I think that I am already there. This season has been just as much of a fiasco as 2006 was fantastic. How about the rest of you? What if UNC ends up 2-14 in conference and loses in the first round of the ACC tourney?
Is that acceptable?
What if they beat State again and win one game in the ACC tourney, to go 3-13/4-14 against ACC competition, with a losing record over all?
Given the realities of recruiting inequity, I would define a minimum respectable performance EVERY year for Carolina as 8-8 in conference (and a good enough tournament showing to get a ncaa bid). Even with our resources, you can’t expect dominance every year–but a rebuilding year for us should be 9-7, 8-8.
So, William, I am three losses away from your position. I expect, sadly, to reach it by season’s end….
talent level + guard play = blowout
I normally watch games on tv, mute the sound, and tune in to Woody and Eric via radio. Yesterday I did neither. This team has become just too painful to watch. I have never said that about another Tarheel team, ever! Even Woody and Eric had run out of any good points because there were none to make. This team is a major disaster. They have little talent and even less fight and are being further hampered by the worst coaching moves that I have seen Roy make, ever!
I think we may be jinxed. I suggest as a remedy that we tar and feather John Edwards and deport him to his native South Carolina. His damn smirk grates upon me more than the legions of ABC “fans” now howling in glee to see the Heels self-destruct game after game.
Great 12:35am post,Stephens. If laughter is indeed the best medicine, thanks for the dosage!
Just for the record, I don’t like any of Stephen’s posts and william is rapidly going down hill.
Come on william. We are having a tough year. Trying to go 10 years back to be critical is just silly. There is plenty for you to dump on Coach and the boys just from this year. Let’s see you REALLY unload on the Heels. Stop pussyfooting around! Tell us how bad we stink. Crap all over some 21 year old kids! You da man…….
Punk.
^lmao-glad somebody said it-hats off to Wilf.
Credit the turtles for playing a really good game. Even though the Tar Heels played average at best, the truth of it is that our team would have lost that game 8 out of 10 times with an above average effort.
I have a confession to make: I stopped watching Carolina in the 8-20 year. That fact has always nagged at me a little, but this year it has come back to mind. However, I am compelled to watch the team without fail this season despite all the losing.
The reason I continue to stand by and cheer on the team is due to THF, I think. Having this blog as a resource to engage and reflect our collective Tar Heel psyche makes a huge difference, and all of you have become my sports family. Lately, there may be more sport in watching posters throw barbs at one another than in watching the hoops squad give up another backbreaking run, but even in our discontent, I find some solace.
Whoa, slow down everybody. I’m sure you are all disappointed, angry, frustrated, or all three. You are free to criticize strategy and performance of players and coaches all you like, and you are free to criticize and counter other posters’ arguments all you like. But the line is drawn (and always has been) at personal attacks.
Do not allow yourself to devolve into a Pack Pride poster.
Wilf…what is it that bothers you about any of my posts? Is it the sarcasm or the fact that the truth simply hurts to much to be reminded of it? What would you like to hear from me….”It’s ok guys…all you have to do is listen to what Roy says and try harder. We’ll be just fine.”
@william…not sure where you’re trying to go with that question about “acceptable.” What are we going to do about it other than offer our opinion and/or criticism? None of us are going to like the results of this season, but we have to accept them for what they are. I hope you’re not edging anywhere near a “get rid of Roy” area. I think that would be totally unacceptable.
stephens: I “think” what Wilf doesn’t like is that much of the criticisms are like what doc said: “of the personal attack nature”. IE-at least for me, don’t say anything on here that you wouldn’t say to Roy, or a players face. Or another way: how would you phrase the criticism to a player’s parent’s face? Interesting to see how the posters react when faced with that same “criticism”.
So if you get 100% consensus here finding this years’ performance unacceptable then what? Fire the coaches? Ask players to transfer? Most people on this site are much better at describing problems than solving them. So, say you have maybe even accurately (and redundantly to the point of being boring) characterized everything about this team: Bad recruiting. Horrible play. Stupid coaching decisions. Roy’s limitations finally being exposed. Questionable talent. An embarassment to the program. Again, now what?
I’d just like to know if anyone thinks all of this would make good Tar-Heel-locker-room motivational material. (OK, I know a site like this is meant for frank criticism and players deserve to be told the truth….but most of this stuff would be best kept out of view of the players.) Other than a few lineup changes, likely of little value, I haven’t heard any smart or meaningful suggestions about how to help turn this team around. You know, sort of like if someone let fans take over the team tomorrow what would they do. Now that would be something I’d pay good money to see.
Two things:
1. Regarding recruiting, how can we know if our freshmen are better or worse than expected on a team like this? It’s just so disjointed. Put the Wears in with Ty Lawson as PG and I think you’d have a different story. That’s even more so the case with Henson. I think talent feeds off other talent, and it just seems like these players are working against each other in that regard.
2. I grew up a Minnesota Gophers fan. I’m so used to watching my team lose. It still kills me to watch the Heels lose, especially they way they’ve been losing. But I just don’t think it’s time to give up on the team and the coaches. I realize people come here to complain and come to terms with what the hell is going on, which is great, but what does it mean for a fan to say the season is unacceptable? I assume that means the coaching staff gets the axe? In my opinion, that is what Kentucky does to its coaches, not Carolina.
(Full disclosure, I am still hating on Kentucky after they beat the Gophers in the 1997 Final Four. After the game, they started chanting “Go Home Gophers.” I never fully recovered.)
52bgj…you have got to be kidding me! This is a forum for opinions, criticism, glorification, whatever. Are you telling me that you interpret my posts to be PERSONAL ATTACKS against Roy Williams? WHAT???…don’t say anything on here that you wouldn’t say to Roy? I’ll grant you that sarcasm and cynicism are not handled by some people very well, but that’s how I choose to express myself. NONE of it is intended to be anything other than idle conversation. PERSONAL ATTACKS? I would suggest getting in touch with the lighter side of life. Carolina basketball is not now, nor will it ever be, life or death. Learn to laugh a little.
If somebody can find something positive to post about, I am all ears. I can think of one thing from this whole season and that is Harrison Barnes.
In terms of being critical, I have heard people say highly critical things about Matt Doherty, Adam Boone, Kris Lang, Bobby Frasor and a variety of other past Tar Heels.
One commenter on here made an ugly remark about Danny Green and Green’s father recently. A variety of commenters lit into Roy Williams after the meltdown against Georgetown.
And if someone wants to start telling people not to be critical of players, you might start with Coach Williams, who is arguably more critical in a way that matters, than anyone on here, as he apparently criticized some of our players’ last minute efforts yesterday.
Nothing that I see from yesterday involved personal attacks on players, as opposed to whether they are good fits for our team and whether their intensity level is commensurate with what we expect.
I don’t think anyone on here has to apologize for turning off the Tar Heels, whether in 2002 or this year. A lot of diehard Carolina fans feel that this year’s team quit on us.
Unacceptable means unacceptable.
Who said anything about firing anyone? Matt Doherty did not get fired after 8-20 and I certainly never called for him to get fired then, or after going 19-16.
Ironically, when Roy arrived in Chapel Hill, he often mocked the 2002 and 2003 Tar Heels for losing 36 times in two years. He felt such results were clearly unacceptable.
We all want to be optimistic about Harrison Barnes, but after having high expectations of this years team, I will be reserved in my expectations until I see him in a Carolina uniform being a star and not a role player.
If he is the star we all want him to be, then I believe the current role players on the team will be much much better.
Stephens, I think your comments are fine.
A couple of these guys, who have made plenty of negative comments, as well as having said things that they would never say to Danny Green or Matt Doherty or Quentin Thomas’s face, for some reason, have decided to play “holier than thou” today.
The reason we discuss things on here is because we know full well we are not the coaches.
If you have a better topic, then pose a question or talk about it. Apparently your solution is for all of us to stop posting entirely.
Holy crap man I think every one has been drinking their “Hateraid”. I am “Huge” UNC fan from birth and certainly are very frustrated with how bad the Heels are this season but we must remember everything that was lost from last season. I mean if you think about it could be far worse, you could be State fans!
I rememeber someone say in another post and I %100 agree the 2006 team was the worst thing ever to happen to this years team.
Just to add to the John Wall thing I am pretty sure that the famous quote “Not a Good fit” that ever one is screaming about is just a nice way of saying the kid just got arrested for breaking in to a house and we do not need that type of drama surrounding our program.
Plus if you guys would rather have Calipari for a coach I am sure he will be available in 4 years when he is trying to run from yet another scandal that will cost the college reputation.
Yes this season is in the crapper but don’t sweat it the Heels will be winning another championships sooner than you think and everyone will forget this season just like the early 2000′s seasons. No body can be on top forever!
GO HEELS!!!!
I hate the results of our poor play, etc., etc., ad nauseum. If I choose not to accept it, what exactly does that mean I’m supposed to do about it? In my mind, unacceptable means changes must take place, or else. But the question that follows that scenario is “what are the changes that must take place?” We are suffering through a terrible year and EVERYBODY knows that, including the coaches, the athletic dept., the players, on and on. It’s not the end of the world. I, for one, believe that I have no choice but to accept it…that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I think we’re dealing with semantics now more than anything else.
“Unacceptable means unacceptable.”
OK, so we find it unacceptable. And? Is that it?
If I were the overseer of the this blog I’d probably “lock” this thread
It was clear yesterday that Vasquez was an absolutely superior talent on the floor and toyed with UNC, much like Lawson did with Duke last year.
Holding out hope the Heels can rise to the occasion on Wednesday and Saturday. Defeating our rivals will go a long way toward easing our collective pain.
Why does anybody care what we, as fans, find unacceptable? WE can’t make any changes, other than to give up our allegiance to this team, and I will never change my allegiance to this program. The only thing that really matters is whether the coaches and players determine that their performance this year was unacceptable to themselves and to the people that support their program, and if the answer is yes, which it will undoubtedly be, then allow THEM to make the changes to fix it.
Raising the question about acceptable results goes directly to the large losses from last year. Nobody on here expected to go 33-4 again. Once again, though, none of those losses were unexpected, just as the loss of Brandan Wright was not unexpected in 2008. Part of running a big time team is smoothing over recruiting.
Pomeroy currently projects us to go 16-15 and 5-11. It would be nice to at least avoid a losing record over all.
One can ask one’s self what an average college coach might be expected to do with the current crop of players on our squad.
Honestly, 17-14 and 6-10 might be about the record most would get.
Many of us, including writers and analysts, were taken off track by the notion that a line-up including Ginyard, Thompson, Zeller and Davis, would essentially be including four Final Four caliber starters, since Ginyard used to start on a Final Four squad, and Davis should have started last year and since Zeller came off the bench in front of Davis until Zeller got hurt last year.
I think we all know now the fallacy of that type of thinking. In terms of changes for the future, that is up to Roy. He still has plenty of goodwill in the business sense, and as a good manager of himself and his team, he will have to decide if it was all simply bad luck or if something needs to change going forward.
He talks in his book about recruiting mistakes that he almost made in the past. Only he or people more inside than I am, can know right now whether there is some pernicious influence inside the squad or whether this is just kind of a perfect storm of misfortune.
Another thing I find humorous are these “positive” fans who glibly tell everyone not to sweat it because we will be winning plenty of titles in a couple of years.
Really? I mean I hope so.
I remember Patriot fans saying the same thing after their crushing upset by the Giants in the Super Bowl. Alabama has a great football program, one of the top five ever, yet they had gone almost twenty years without a title. Kansas didn’t win a title in basketball between 1952 and 1988. Did Duke fans think they would go 9+ years without another title in basketball after 2001? NC State was tied with UNC in titles back in 1983 and they are still waiting for another one.
I think we will be better, obviously, the next couple of years, but it is no sure thing that we are getting back to the 2005-2009 levels anytime soon.
Stephens,
I agree with you 100%. We find out more about ourselves as fans in times of adverstity than in times of plenty.
I hope what I said wasn’t taken personally by anyone. I’ve said in the past after a game that “we stink”. We did yesterday. We have the players we have. That won’t change this year. We have what I believe to be a top 10 coach. Hopefully that doesn’t change. We’ve won two NC in the past 5-6 years. I’m proud of this program. I think if Coach choose to pass on Wall he had good reason, and I don’t need to second guess him.
What I don’t care for in stephens’ comments are varied, but mostly what I don’t care for is the sarcasm. I’m upset and disappointed in the team so far, but I support them and expect to see better days. I won’t (although I have in the past) stoop to degrading what is already a tough situation for all of us.
As for william, he posts a lot of informative and interesting opinions and information. I think is is beneath him when he goes so negative. Surely he wouldn’t prefer Gary Williams over Roy? Or would he? From recent posts I’m not so sure.
What I do like about this site is 99% of us love Carolina Basketball and want them to play well and uphold their great reputation on and OFF the court. We fans have a stake in the off court part of that. No coach or player is above scrutinization (is that a word?) but ridicule is another matter all together.
Did you guys know that UNC has lost four out of the last five games versus Maryland?
I wouldn’t want Gary Williams over Roy Williams, but I think Gary is a great coach, who beat Williams head to head when both had excellent teams back in 2002. I think Maryland went 15-1 that year in the ACC as it won the NCAA tourney.
Talk about saving a program. Gary Williams truly brought them back from the brink and then won their first title at Maryland. This made two Final Fours in a row for Gary and Maryland and he came pretty darn close to winning back to back titles.
If you think people are being rough on Roy, the Maryland fans are ridiculously rough on Gary Williams, who has a similar personality to Roy, and like Roy, is also a former player and alumnus of Maryland.
Wilf…when you call somebody a punk, it’s a little hard for it not to be taken personally.
As stated earlier, I realize sarcasm strikes some people the wrong way, but if I choose to vent my frustrations with a little light-hearted cynicism, that’s my right. I don’t cross any lines that shouldn’t be crossed, whether you disagree with me or not. I will not engage you in a war of words, because that would be a colossal waste of time. If I could offer any constructive advice it would be to lighten up.
Punk as in “Weak in spirits or health”. I hope the health part doesn’t apply.
You guys have every right to your opinions, as I have mine.
And Gary Williams is one hell of a coach, I just don’t want him to be UNC’s HC.
So I just read the post-game quotes by Graves, Thompson and Ginyard. Anybody ever get the feeling that these guys are like a board of directors trying to explain why their company didn’t reach their goals this quarter? It’s so cold and emotionless. It seems to reflect their mentality on the court. I want to hear a Tim Tebow-esque response from just one of these guys. I’d like to see one break down and vow to every Tarheel fan in America that they’ll never see a player play with the heart and passion that they intend to play with the next game. Or else nothing. Don’t say anything. I’m tired of the talk. Tired of the excuses. It’s like hearing from your slightly overweight friend who keeps telling you he’s gonna lose 10 pounds this month and then he keeps going to the pizza buffet and will call you to complain. Enough! Either do it or stop talking about it. I can’t hear/read anymore “well, we just have to keep going out there and trying. Focus. Make such and such a priority.” It seems all too scripted. In Italy, when soccer teams start to play really bad, they completely stop talking to the press. And if regulations/contract clauses mandate that they talk to the press, then stop with all this ‘what we have to do’ junk. Make press conferences like AA meetings. ‘Hi, I’m (insert name) and I play poor defense.’ At least some accountability might easier to digest, IF something must be said. But at this point I prefer silence.
Wilf,
You post a holier than thou attitude towards other posters and their negativity towards this year’s team then you call one poster a ‘punk’. You stay classy in your world of hypocrisy.
william,
I thought your recruiting post was very insightful and raises some interesting questions, even if some would just like to keep their heads in the sand and just assume that every recruit was a homerun and time will fix all problems with Carolina reaping the benefits as early as next season.
Your point on the Wear twins is a really good one. Why did Roy and his staff recruit two more post players who will most likely be no more than average ACC players when: 1) there were more pressing needs (athletic wing player, outside shooting, point guard, etc.) and 2) Carolina already had a loaded front court. I could understand one, but it appears that tying up two scholarships might have been a mistake, especially when one of the twins has been groomed to play small forward this season (talk about a square peg in a round hole). As much as a like some of the talent in the freshmen class (Henson and Strickland), you don’t get this type of catastrophe at this level of college basketball without there being some major misses on the evaluation of talent along the way. Roy and staff clearly missed on how much the senior and junior class would be able to develop and contribute in major roles, along with the quality of talent that was in both the sophomore and freshmen classes.
Another interesting question is why the coaching staff tried to force so many players into unnatural and uncomfortable positions versus sizing what talent they had and then molding that talent into what was best for the team to be successful. My opinion is that arrogance or overconfidence was an issue here. Roy and staff had been so successful the past 5 years that I think they basically thought they could plug and play with less talent and get similar results. But the experiments with Henson at the 3, Strickland at the 1, Ginyard at the 2, and DWear at the 3 have proven otherwise. It has been mentioned many times that 2006 gave a false sense of security to the fans and media, but I also think it might have done so for the coaching staff too. Remember Roy thought this team was going to be pretty good by the end of the season too, but sometimes you know what they say about assume, it makes an ****** out of u and me.
This team is so flawed at so many positions (doesn’t me lacks talent) that there can be zero off nights from anyone for this team to even be competitive with average competition. This team is so un-cohesive that an off night from anyone is too much for the collective whole to overcome. That explains how this team is so inconsistent and disjointed on offense, but the only explanation that I can come up with for why they are so bad defensively is EFFORT, plus this team appears to be weak minded and gives in too easily. Remember that the reason everyone was so optimistic for this season was because everyone felt (including the Head Coach) that this team was going to be a dynamic defensive force and currently that has been the farthest thing from the truth.
Therefore, what scares me for next season is that although this team’s talent improves from graduation and recruiting, do they have the mental toughness and effort to get back to the levels of the past 5 years? I’m not so sure anymore that this is a one season problem or something that might actually take 2 recruiting classes to fix.
I am a new poster on this site. I’ve been watching the Heels since the early 70s. Clearly, it is a most frustrating season. Deon has been disappointing, the injuries haven’t helped, the lack of leadership is very damaging, and the freshmen have not lived up to the hype. But really people, come on. Given a choice of a national championship, followed by a .500 non-NCAA season,, with an outstanding recruiting class coming in, the fans of virtually every program in the country would take it in a heartbeat. Have a little faith in Roy. Lets hope for a good performance against the dookies, and a MUCH better year next year
Heels_44…..Now THAT is funny. I completely agree. The talking has driven me completely stir-crazy. I realize that Roy is under some obligation to face the press and answer questions, but I think the players should forget about the PR crap and just twitter among themselves. Because if they show up and try to answer questions simply because somebody in the AD thinks it’s smart and helps keep up appearances, then that somebody is wrong. The same inarticulate, scripted, emotionless answers to the same ridiculous questions every week does nothing positive for the program.
scl11
Didn’t call anyone a punk (read previous post) and I never would here.
Holier than tho? How so. I actually admit in the past I have been very negative, and after looking back realize it’s not fruitful for me.
Others have different (and possibly more thoughtful) positions and opinions, I just don’t share them. I guess that is true throughout life.
Tar Heel Trivia:
Since 1953 (the formation of the ACC), how many times as UNC had a losing record in the ACC?
Sorry folks, said I wasn’t gonna go here but this was just too blatant to let him get by with:
Wilf
February 8th, 2010 at 7:19 am
Just for the record, I don’t like any of Stephen’s posts and william is rapidly going down hill.
Come on william. We are having a tough year. Trying to go 10 years back to be critical is just silly. There is plenty for you to dump on Coach and the boys just from this year. Let’s see you REALLY unload on the Heels. Stop pussyfooting around! Tell us how bad we stink. Crap all over some 21 year old kids! You da man…….
Punk.
Do I need to highlight that last bit for you?
William – bingo. A couple days ago, I was thinking exactly the same thing you wrote. After the 2005 season, two guys left completely without warning, and … were somehow replaced by a more complete recruiting class then we got this year. Roy was put on notice at the end of the 2008 season that Wayne and Ty would be joining Hansbrough and Green in the NBA draft at the end of 2009. How do you not immediately try to recruit at least two lights out shooters when you know that? And then there is the whole point guard issue… This recruiting class was totally mismanaged, and the results on the court prove it.
MD game was one of the most painful to watch personally.
We have a chance (slim) but a chance to beat Duke, if Roy just say F’ it, I am playing the best players
PG-dex
2G-Graves
3-John
4-Wear
5-Ed
Let thompson sit the whole game, and realize that effort, not class gets you playing time
That is not a great team I want to start, but atleast that team plays with pride and effort.
Punk as in “Weak in spirits or health”
That’s an attitude. I apologize that it came off wrong.
Trying to justify it with some goofy definition ain’t gonna fly. Here’s some more rope.
Okay. NOW I’m officially done with him.
New YahooSports article:
The crash of Carolina basketball
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=jn-uncwoes020810&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
“scl11
Didn’t call anyone a punk (read previous post) and I never would here.”
“Punk as in “Weak in spirits or health”
That’s an attitude. I apologize that it came off wrong.”
WTF, either you did or didn’t no matter what goofy definition you make up. It was an insult no matter your definition and I don’t know any other way it would have been taken from your original post.
Recruiting is always a juggling act, moreso in the era of players leaving early. Our whole 2009 class was signed in the Fall of ’08, and Lawson and Ellington’s fate was not certain at that time. (especially Ellington) So what “lights out” shooters or top-level PG’s were available, and likely to attend UNC, in the fall of ’08? I didn’t hear a lot of people questioning this recruiting class at the time and I’m not sure we had that many obvious other options. It’s easy to see flaws in both the mix and skill of players now (at least for this year), but that’s because we have the benefit of hindsight.
24 hours ago Stephens wrote…
“…is exposed to the horrendous play that we have seen since mid-December, those fans have every right to step to the edge of the ledge in their criticism.”
Today’s advice, “If I could offer any constructive advice it would be to lighten up.”
I’m glad to see the effect of a good night’s sleep.
Tar Heel Trivia:
Since 1953 (the formation of the ACC), how many times as UNC had a losing record in the ACC?
The first year of the ACC (1953), and the 2001-2002 season. Had to look that one up.
I will accept that explanation, Wilf. Let’s all remember that one of the reasons for the dopey
symbols is because there are no other facial or other clues coming through when people write things online and it is easy to misunderstand or impute our own notions on them. Having said that, it is always perilous when we delve into more “hip” ways of expressing ourselves.
I don’t think the standard of “what you would say to somebody’s face” is a practical standard at all, however. That would mean we could basically do nothing but recite stats.
I don’t care how much some of us might despise Matt Doherty or Kris Lang or whoever; none of us are going to tell them if we go out for a beer with them, “Marcus, you really don’t belong out there on the court.” There is something to the fact that once the guys are here, that it might not be particularly edifying to those guys to question why we recruited them.
I understand that, but this site has generally dealt with the two sides of the coin of athletics, which are fandom and statistical analysis/team building. I find it interesting to see what choices the coaching staff has made to plug holes in the same way that many sports fans play fantasy football or basketball.
I do think we all agree that outright name calling is over the top. I think sarcasm often is called for and if well done, merely suggests things and lets the reader make his own conclusions. We probably should avoid reference to player’s looks, bodily functions, and terms like “wtf” because the underlying word is still provocative.
Ultimately, however, it is not our site and THF will steer things how he wants but I am pretty sure that most of us don’t want to come here if the only thing going on is “rah rah!”
You never heard anyone say they felt punk? Well, doesn’t matter. If I wanted to call you names I would have. And I’m “officially” done with you, steph.
boulderheel…If you’re in the job market, you might want to check into a fact-finding job with the National Enquirer. “Taken out of context” doesn’t even begin to cover your last post.
Other comments toward fellow posters made by Stephens that are taken out of context but retain their meaning:
“Here’s some more rope.”
“Okay. NOW I’m officially done with him.”
“You either deal with reality or you don’t.”
“Your comments lead me to believe that you may be softer than our post players,…”
“If you’re in the job market, you might want to check into a fact-finding job with the National Enquirer. “Taken out of context” doesn’t even begin to cover your last post.”
Enough already, stop with the slights.
“Jocularity, Jocularity!!!”
The article posted by briarcliff is definitely worth reading. There are some frank comments by Roy and Halliday.
I agree, William. It was a good article.
Like I said in the first comment I rarely directly criticize Coach Williams’ coaching. I have expressed my exasperation for persisting with sub-par players who are under-performing. Last game was the only time I questioned his coaching ability, because much like the Kansas game it seemed he had mentally checked out. However unlike the Kansas game where Kansas came out gunning from the start, this game was within our grasps and inexplicably slipped away. He should have called a TO after the first 6 points because they were all due to the fault of one player. Instead we saw a 4 point deficit become 20 points in a hurry. That to me is questionable coaching. These are not seasoned players like the team playing against Kansas, but bunch of freshmen and sophs struggling mightily with a crisis of confidence. His stubbornness cost us this game and I lay this defeat on him alone. He might cry, he might say he is not getting through the players, but much of this is because of his personality and coaching style.
His players especially the bigs are afraid of contact, of committing hard fouls, because the coach does not like it if they end up getting an intentional foul. So other teams play us without any fear. We have a bunch of players starting with Thompson and Ginyard, who are emotionless, they show no enthusiasm or fervor on the court and the team reflects the quality of its leaders. Unless the coach addresses these problems, these things will persist.
I agree with the guys who said they are tired of hearing the players recite platitudes after every game. It is getting to the point of silliness, some of the things they are saying now.
I don’t watch the bench that much but I noticed that some guys at IC are claiming that there are issues with bench demeanor over there. I was surprised when Gminiski stated that Roy pulled Ed Davis for lack of hustle. You never want to believe those sorts of things, but seeing the variable play by Deon Thompson, does seem to imply there he has a problem, if not with effort, at least with inspiration, because he looked so much more involved against NC State.
I guess we will see Wednesday if there is any heart left. Duke took us to hell and back during their wasted year in 1995.
why would you be surprised if you were watching the game–Davis got beat badly on 2 straight breaks.
^because other players don’t get benched for the same reasons
who doesn’t get benched for mistakes?
I think we would rather not say any names. Said person shall remain nameless.
“who doesn’t get benched for mistakes?”
Thompson, Graves, and Ginyard for starters. The older 3 are given much more leeway for their mistakes than the younger players; you would actually think it would be the opposite. Instead of letting the younger players develop, learn, and grow without worrying that every mistake on the court will lead to the bench or even worse the Roy doghouse, Roy yanks the young guys for every single error. In reality, after 23 games we should not be seeing the same mistakes over and over again from any class, but how many times do we need to see Thompson have the ball slapped off his thigh because he is not strong with the ball on the perimeter, or Ginyard throw the ball away on a 2 on 1 break, or Graves jack up a questionable shot with plenty of time on the shot clock before those players are yanked.
I have no issue with Davis being yanked for not getting back on defense, personally I would have liked to see him benched for the rest of the game if he is not giving 100% effort, but let’s not make it seem like he was the only one, the inconsistency of when and who gets the yank is puzzling to me as an observer and may also be just as puzzling to some of the younger players on the team. If the experienced players were performing at a high level and the team was a couple critical mistakes from the younger players away from a winning formula this would be one thing, but to me this is a systemic problem and most of the time it appears to be cherry picking by Roy to prove a point. It is the equivalent of throwing a rock into the Atlantic Ocean and assuming your building a walkway from New York to London.
Don’t take anything away from Maryland in the last game, because they have a very good team. They seem readily able to play better than they did last year, when they beat UNC at home. They do have some mercurial stars, but they played as a TEAM with team effort and hustle.
Watching some of the other ACC teams this year, each has strengths and weaknesses. For example, WFU plays great 3 point defense, often simply by getting in front of a shooter and raising their arms. UNC players this year rarely jump in front of a shooter regardless of their floor spot, especially on the perimeter. Rushing out to a corner when a 3 point shot is already on the way does not cut it. And it puts that player out of position for anything else. It also doesn’t work.
Duke has 3 players that are going to play almost 40 minutes of each game. But they manage (at least until late in the game) to get back on defense. Well they chumped it up against Georgetown, but mostly they have been pretty solid.
That just doesn’t happen. There has to be an effort.
Why can’t this team do these things?
Wake Forest doesn’t have Skip Prosser any more, but they do execute set plays brilliantly. The play they made against Henderson on the baseline to win against Duke at home last year was excellent. They do this routinely. It doesn’t seem that hard.
Recruiting is obviously a complicated business. Recruiting twins has to be really tough, especially when they look exactly alike. I doubt you will see twin recruits at UNC again any time soon. Basically recruiting more than one player per position yearly seems to invite trouble. Because it leads to imbalance.
What about next year?
I don’t see a huge difference with most of the same players returning. Injecting a star inside would make a significant impact, but I don’t see that happening.
Putting players in positions where they can succeed is also important. Singler at Duke has been a frequent POY candidate early in the last few years. But this year he has been forced to play outside, where he is VERY uncomfortable. And not productive. He has had some recent 3 point shooting success, and I bet he will do that Wednesday. But he has been more effective closer to the basket.
So Henson seems to be in the same situation. He is clearly more comfortable going inside. Other players haven’t learned to respect that he can take one step from the free throw line and easily dunk the ball. He made a few wacky shots against Maryland, but clearly he is more comfortable inside. Please let him play there.
Right now the future of UNC basketball is unclear for at least the next two seasons.
Play the freshmen more. Period. If the fans think you stink and you never play, that equals transfer. If, on the other hand, you are getting decent playing time, you stick around even if this year is tough. Right now, I see Henson transferring if he does not get more time. What does Roy have to lose? Henson is what he has to lose.
Does that Yahoo article basically imply that Roy did not get the players he wanted this year?
EXCERPT:
“We’re going to take hits sometimes. In this case we didn’t get a couple of players that we wanted because we had Tyler and Danny Green and Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson. The [recruits] were like, ‘I don’t want to come in and be a backup to those guys for two or three years.’
Now I’m really worried.
Henson won’t transfer…
how about the idea that he doesn’t want that virus spreading to the younger guys? I’ve seen many on here this year make substitution suggestions galore, only to see their preferred players come in and make similar if not identical mistakes, but that rarely gets mention in the preferred narrative. I’ll give william credit in that at least he has been equally critical of Strickland of late when few others are, and he has given Ginyard some credit for the few times he’s deserved it, while many other have trashed the guy wholesale. There are just too many issues with these guys this year to pinpoint any one area, including the HC.
Agree, AZ. I’ve gone from thinking this year being a blip on the radar to maybe being a problem that takes 2 recruiting classes to solve.
Next year’s freshmen will bring a couple things that are BADLY needed by this team such as outside shooting, athletic ability, ball handling, and star potential. But as this year has shown us, until I actually see it on the court I will remain skeptical. I also, think there are some chemistry and leadership issues that graduation will help solve, but that is just my opinion. But the one element still missing is a physical post presence that will not back down from contact and do the dirty work under the boards. I don’t know if someone from the Wear, Zeller, or Davis foursome can develop that type of instinct and play, otherwise, I see this team being much better and ACC contender next season, but maybe still a year away from challenging for a Final Four (when McAdoo arrives on campus in 2011).
UNC needs the Booker family to relocate north of the border!