Just in time for a last ditch attempt to pull this plane out of a nosedive, right?[/livinginafantasyworld]
Roy Williams confirmed that Tyler Zeller will play on Saturday versus Boston College. How much or effectively Zeller will play considering the three inches of rust that is presently covering his game, is anyone’s guess. There is also a matter of his conditioning which probably took a bit of a hit though Zeller was one of the leaders in the pre-season conditioning work. Still, this is at least a move in the right direction and hopefully Zeller can provide some productive minutes for a team struggling to do anything productive on the offensive end.
Travis Wear is not yet available and no word on when he might be back on the court.
Other tidbits from the press conference:
- Roy said the Ed Davis/Agent flap was ultimately harmless and that he had spoken to Davis, Davis’ father Terry and the agent. He also said he is not really high on most agents’ lists which should give some idea how the phone conversation with this particular agent probably went. Roy also told the team that when you are basketball player at the University of North Carolina there is nothing small or harmless.
- Despite the disappointing effort at Georgia Tech, Roy does not think his team has resigned to simply “play out” the rest of the season.
- Roy’s interest in the ACC Tournament is now at an all-time high. He also believes they can still make a run for the NCAA Tournament though it is “cloudy”
- On top of everything else, Roy apparently has a cold and is losing his voice.
- Roy lamented the fact that the team does not seem to be playing as hard as they could.
- If you were playing Roy Press Conference Bingo put chips on: confidence, golf, dadgum, big-time, compete and some form of playing better/doing better.
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I’m not sure Z should be playing unless he’s 100%. I really don’t want him to injure himself further. The question is, is he 100%?
RPC-Bingo!!!!!!! :0
I’m with uncgirl – why toss Zeller into the crucible that this season has become? I mean, if he wants to play, then by all means let him, but use him sparingly. Let him work on his conditioning, don’t risk any further injury to him and let the freshmen play some more minutes to get ready for next year.
^^I actually like the idea of Roy’s PC as a drinking game instead of Bingo
^^ The Dude needs to play and develop, he is basically a freshman with 2 years of eligibility left and no one knows really what he can do, especially in ACC play.
You people are driving me crazy being angry, I don’t need you drunk and angry.
I’m a happy drunk THF, maybe I should drink more when watching the games
…….
Who’s angry?
Who’s hungry?
I drink all the time when watching games, probably too much (especially when we are playing poorly). It helps a little, but eventually the buzz wears off and I realize we are still playing like crap. Then my wife complains that I’m being too rowdy, which is a whole new set of problems.
And that’s when the fight started……..
“And that’s when the fight started……..”
ROFL
Women, if they weren’t built funny we probably wouldn’t even talk to them………
Edit: sorry Uncgirl, jk
My buddy and I play a game where we take a shot every time the Heels make a 3 pointer. Needless to say, it’s not as fun this season…
Welcome back,
KotterZeller!“My buddy and I play a game where we take a shot every time the Heels make a 3 pointer. Needless to say, it’s not as fun this season…”
Bet you were trashed after the Miami game in Chapel Hill last year and pretty much all season long.
Last season was a doozy… There were a few games we had to stop. Depends on what the drink of choice is…
My wife gets extremely nervous when UNC is in a tight game, or behind, and has to leave the room. Needless to say I’ve had the room pretty much to myself this year, as well as indulged in fewer cold ones. For some reason I find I’m much more apt to enjoy a drink when UNC is on a roll.
I don’t see Zeller getting more than maybe 10 minutes at BC mostly because of getting winded. Any offense he can bring, though, will be a great help. Who knows, if it comes down to a 3 or 4 point game he could make a difference.
It’s not a good idea to drink and watch this season. Too tempting to toss the bottle through the HD TV!
L8N, you can always take a shot after every turnover! Make sure you have a backup bottle, though.
“It’s not a good idea to drink and watch this season. Too tempting to toss the bottle through the HD TV!”
That’s how I got an HD TV!
Zeller has about 60 minutes of ACC playing time in 2 years.
play.
he has all offseason to heal from another injury. like a broken nose.
or a turf toe.
speaking of injuries…did anyone else who was at the alumni game kinda want Scott Williams to throw his shoulder out, just for all time’s sake?
Charleston, you could always have a retractable net to put in front of your HD TV, kind of like they use on field goals. You could hook it up to a breathalyzer so the net automatically raises when your BAC reaches a certain level. In fact, I may just start working on one of those! I could use all of my free time that will be created when I don’t watch the UNC-less NCAA tourney this year! Yeah!
A retractable net..I think a swedish-born wife of a certain golf professional, er, uber-golf professional might sign up for that on the front porch, back porch…etc
I kid, of course
Yes, the Zeller Chronicles have not been the best of times. It’s too bad, he’s a really nice kid and he is well conditioned to be sure. He’s never had a chance to get serious play preseason or ACC. He could be a real contributor but it’s hard to say what his real game looks like given the amount of time he’s out and the limited time he has played.
I like football with a beverage but not basketball, not sure why that is but that’s how we roll over here. I was tempted to go watch Wake against State tonight but decided there was really no positives in that senario since we have yet to play Wake again.
scl11 is right. Saving Zeller for next year is about the craziest idea I have ever heard of. The guy has hardly ever played to begin with. For all we know, he might not even be any good but, hey, let’s keep him on the bench just to avoid finding out that he actually isn’t as good as Ed Davis. The horror!
At least if he doesn’t play, we can tell ourselves that we have someone coming back next year who is better than Ed Davis, even though he has never played.
Maybe Zeller is like one of those racehorses that you hardly ever run but everyone keeps talking about how great they look. They end up getting an injury and going out to stud. Unfortunately, there is no stud fee for UNC to receive here….
Well, it would be a stretch to say Zeller has ever looked great, but his offensive and rebounding efficiency numbers are very good, compared to the rest of his teamates. So it must have been the defense. Like Henson, one of the things that would have benefitted Tyler the most was playing time, more than his 16 MPG.
After a few practices and a couple of games, though, and with the reduced rotation, he should be able to get enough time to validate (or not) his ability to contribute for the rest of the season.
Zeller appeared to be one of the few players who are assertive on offense.
^Another thing about Zeller is, the times that he made shots in his comfort zone ( and hopefully that zone will increase with confidence, practice, and more moves) he made it look effortless and virtually unstoppable. Having good form and being close to 7′ can be a lethal combination. We just need to see a lot more of it.
and he drew a number of charges.
Please tell me I am not the only one that feels we will play our best at Cameron next month. What better way to end such a wierd and surprising season than to beat Duke and finish with the biggest surprise of all.
A few comments on Henson: No player this year has caught my attention more than Henson, not even John Wall. I know that I am not alone in thinking this. There is something about John that is refreshing. Maybe it’s because he tries to have fun when others around him are dragging their lower lips on the floor. I am now (as tonight is my debut comment) one of the oldest, if not the oldest fan, using this blog. I can not remember a player with John’s length, and that goes back to games at Carmichael and maybe as a youngster at the Tin Can. Yep…..been following the Heels for a while now. He epitomizes what “playing long” really implies.
No, I think he could be good, but for two years now, we keep seeing over and over people on here who act as though Zeller is some kind of proven commodity. He had one memorable game against Penn and that was long ago.
Here is something to separate the men from the boys:
Which of the following guys could help our current team the most?:
Coolidge, Reese, Salami, Thorpe, Washington or Goldstein, and explain why….
And if you don’t know what I am talking about, then you are a boy….
from Adam Lucas:
A good example of how an initial viewing of the game doesn’t always correlate with the way the coaches watch it: After the coaching staff graded the tape of the loss at Georgia Tech, Marcus Ginyard earned the team’s defensive award, assists award and award for best ratio of good plays to bad plays.
****
ok, so we dont know how these grades work, but Marcus had one assist to win the assists award? maybe the coaching staff gives assists like the NHL?
one rebound. no points, no steals.
so, i dunno. discuss?
Salami would no doubt be a McGuire fav, and this team could use a little John Roche.
I would second Salami for his toughness.
What about Goldstein for his intelligence?
How about Coolidge down low?
At least we know that Coolidge is smart enough not to go pro early and end up washing dishes for a living….
Second question….
Roy may have failed with this team but that is just one team out of 20 something years. But if something did happen to Roy, who would you hire, Gil Thorp, or Kenny Reaves?
Thorp. Old-school like Roy. Plus, Reeves attended BC. Can’t have that. (Maybe Reeves will be at the game Saturday)
william,
if the washington you are referring to is Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington, then the Heels could use him. ;o)
That was a very different show, faustus, lol.
I think LarryS wins the prize so far, for identifying Kenny Reeves’ alma mater. Am I the only one who bought both Season 1 and Season 2 of the White Shadow when they came out on DVD?
This was the show that made singing in the shower with all your buddies seem normal….
First weekend without snow in … as long as I can remember … noon game … not looking good for seeing basketball.
^yes, thankfully I am playing in a charity golf tournament, but I think the Heels will win……now where did I place that toll free “Cash-Flow System” number?
there was a character named Washington on White Shadow? hmm.
One has to wonder what Zeller will bring to the table in his minutes of play today against BC. One has to wonder if he has learned what this team needs in order to win while warming the pine for so long. One has to wonder.
And it seems that’s all I’ve done this year…… “wonder”. Wondering when they’re going to get some heart. Wondering when I’ll see those few minutes of chemistry extend for longer periods of time.
No……Zeller will not emerge today as that emotional leader we so desperately need. I could not, however, watch the Georgia Tech game, see him suited up, and not wish he could play if only for a few minutes.
The biggest reservation I have is that Henson might lose some minutes today…..and that would be a shame.
Thanks 52bgJ, for at least one vote of confidence.
Aren’t we glad now that the Dookies critized Roy for having a patron dismissed from the Smith Center a while back for a negative remark during a Deon free throw? What on earth was “K” thinking the other night? He must have not wanted Roy to share that stage alone. Please…..someone find a conch shell and send it to K.
We need everyone’s best game time rituals today!!!!! I would love to come back around 230pm and say some positive things about the heels
Go heels, Al Skinner always has are number though with the flex offense
“The biggest reservation I have is that Henson might lose some minutes today…..and that would be a shame.”
I was thinking the same thing, but I think Henson’s minutes will have a lot to do with how he is playing. If Tyler gets 10 min.+, most of them will probably come from D. Wear (17 MPG, last 2 games), maybe even Will. They have to come from somewhere, though, now that there’s a 9-man rotation.
Another comment on Henson if I may. Jordan made a remark once when asked how he came up with those incredible moves that finished at the rim……how it must have taken a lot of prior practice. MJ’s surprising answer was that he never practised those sorts of things, more often than not it was made up in the flow of the moment and he wasn’t sure if he had even repeated a number of them.
I find Henson’s game somewhat like the way Jordan described his own. Henson’s play at times is like watching that inventiveness of Jordan with a little Perkins and Reese thrown in for good measure. I like the flavor that emerges from the mix.
I began my debut comment on this blog with a prediction on the Carolina/Duke outcome in Durham. I’ll make one more. I think we all have a good chance…..a very good chance….of seeing Henson taking it on the dribble for most of the floor’s length and finishing strong at the rim!
Maybe in the Duke game, and maybe before then.
^That’s the difference between a shooter and a scorer, although Jordan excelled at both. I see Henson as more of a scorer so far- that’s when he looks the most comfortable.