UPDATE: ACC Now’s J.P. Gilgio was there and had high praise for Reggie Bullock:
None of the freshmen, on either side, disappointed but Bullock, who pumped in 30 points, stole the show.
The book on Bullock, a 6-6 wing from Kinston, is that he can shoot, sort of a newer version of Wayne Ellington, the shooting guard on UNC’s 2009 national title team.
Based on Tuesday’s performance, Bullock’s got more game than that, more like a senior-year Danny Green than just a spot-up shooter like Ellington. He can handle the ball and create his own shot off the dribble.
–
It was billed as UNC vs NC State and by all account it did not disappoint. On Tuesday at the NC Pro Am, Team Stackhouse with Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock, John Henson, Justin Watts and commit P.J. Hairston defeated Team McGladrey which included NCSU players Tracy Smith, C.J. Leslie, Ryan Harrow, Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Williams. The final was 82-72. Bullock had 30 points and Barnes had 25. Henson posted eight points and nine rebounds.
The game had been hyped for a couple of weeks as a preview of UNC-NCSU games during the upcoming season. John Henson originally planned on not playing seeing that his index finger is in a splint having been broken by Sean May during pick-up games. However, Henson said he got so many text messages and phone calls than he decided to get on his scrilla and represent the Heels. THF reader badbadleroybrown managed to get into the gym at NCCU(capacity 3100) before they ended up turning over 600 people away. His report after the jump.
I was fortunate enough to attend the S.J.G. Greater NC Pro-AM at McLendon-McDougald Gymnasium tonight at NCCU. While it is extremely difficult to make heads or tails of anything in summer league games given the lack of defensive effort the main event between Team Stackhouse (UNC) and Team McGladrey (NCSU) lived up to expectations. While it was close early on the level of talent and number of UNC players on Stackhouse overwhelmed Leslie and Harrow. In the first two periods the scoring was primarily the work of Barnes, Bullock, Harrow and Leslie. The man to man play between Leslie and Bullock, Harrow and Barnes was the highlight of the evening. Barnes is everything I had hoped for, he makes great decisions, has a smooth fluid motion and shot that makes the hoop look huge. He’s just too smooth. Bullock was the surprise of the night, he took over the game and pretty much took the challenges from Harrow and Leslie to heart and let it be know that he’s the man. He was all over the court and there were at least two plays he drove past the defenders and following his shot cleaned up the rebound for a basket. If you make him take a tough shot, he will rebound and get the put back. Barnes was as impressive with the ball as you would expect. Henson threw down a few dunks and in the 4th period had three devastating blocks that cannot be unseen if you are a State fan. PJ Hairston was also impressive but overshadowed by Bullock and Barnes.
On the State side of the ball, CJ Leslie is the real deal. He loves the crowd and may well be the next Greivis Vasquez. He has the skill to back it up though and with Harrow, Brown, Wood and the rest of the Wolfpack cast they will be trouble this season. Leslie is a very good player and though Barnes and Bullock both took him down at times, he had his moments on offense and defense as did Harrow. While the final score is a bit lopsided the first and second periods were close with the third and fourth characterized by UNC leading by 10 or more points. The State faithful may not be able to point to win tonight but what they saw on the court was better than anything over the last three years.
In addition to the Bullock show Duke had a nice showing tonight with Kyrie Irving definitely showing that he can handle the ball and shoot. He is going to be trouble but he doesn’t make great decisions all the time like Barnes and isn’t as physical as Bullock. Still he can shoot and I would assume he’ll only get better with time at Duke. Miles Plumlee was a force to be reckoned with while he was on the court, he has a great touch and was dunking with excessive power tonight. He didn’t really have anyone near his size on the court to defend but it was impressive nonetheless. Seth Curry also looked good and as you would expect he worked well, too well, with Plumlee.
I’m sure there will be plenty of analysis regarding the strengths and weaknesses of ACC basketball in the coming months but having watched the games tonight I think the NC teams look to be in good shape. It’s hard to say what will ultimately happen with State but Leslie looks like the player and leader they need to make some serious progress. While Duke lost some players, Irving is twice the player of anyone they lost and Plumlee seems to have something to prove. I went to the UNC players and was not disappointed, I’m less guarded about the season having watched Barnes make the right decision nine out of ten times and deliver on all the hype. The heart and passion that Bullock showed was well over my expectations and I’ve seen him play twice previously. He’s very fast, follows his shots, gets his own rebounds and played with a passion and intensity that we would have killed for last year. The intensity he showed tonight should make him a starter day one.
If you go be sure to avoid trying to park near the gym, the student union has a large lot at the intersection of Fayetteville and Nelson. It’s a walk across campus to get there but the hassle factor is much lower and the parking lot is safe and well lit. Overall the gym is pretty decent at NCCU, all the seats are good though few in number. If you are going be sure to get there no later than the middle of the first game. Nice old school wooden seats, good leg room and a nice AC system. The signage and generally use of red throughout the campus had me comparing NCSU to NCCU but it was cleaner and nicer than State just to be fair to the Eagles.
I think the most important thing to take away from this is how competitive players from both teams were. According to the Twitter traffic, players on each side were taking this game seriously which will hopefully result in some epic games when UNC and NCSU meet up during the basketball season. From a UNC perspective, it sounds like Barnes, Bullock and Henson showed up to take care of business bringing an urgency to the floor that was not seen last season by the Heels. If that is the case in a summer league game, you can only hope it will be magnified along with the stage.
One more thing. How about the passion for basketball fans have around here? Filling up a 3000 seat arena and having people turned away on a summer night? It is good to be a basketball fan in the Triangle.
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What we needed last year has arrived. More heart and drive.
There’s video of the game here: http://www.wralsportsfan.com/ncsu/video/7957249/ Team Stackhouse in dark uniforms.
Packpride is starting to realize how good these kids are…..
Barnes step back on Lesile was the beginning
Anybody know why none of our point guards were there?
After seeing team stackhouse twice, those 3 are going to be the core of the 10 heels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIxr0vGd4XQ
I think we are going to be in good shape this season. Bullock was playing with so much heart and attention to the ball. He was really following his shots and collecting the rebounds and generally getting the put back. Barnes was so calm and collected, he has all the talent you can imagine and the smarts to take advantage of his skill. I was really impressed with how smooth he was and his shot selection. I think we have the right group of players and if they stay with the next class we are going to be even better in 2011.
barnes is already the best player on the unc team, no doubt. but don’t rule out these state recruits, they look pretty good too. and yeah, it would be nice if our point guards were playing with their future teammates.
Wilf: Heart and drive my foot. This is a whole different ballpark. This is SCRILLA.
“Bullock’s got more game than that, more like a senior-year Danny Green”
That’s high praise. Can’t wait to see another Danny Freaking Green in the making.
I see Bullock as more of a McCants clone than Green, but either would be awesome.
My favorite part is when Barnes hits the step back on Lesile, and turns to the fans on the way down to court. Basically saying, this is my team and we about to do some work. I am so JACKED to see this kid play for the heels.
Harrison “too Easy” Barnes says it all, his game is just too easy
****side note**** we get 60+ response on the “weed” thread, but barely getting 10 on the future of the heels thread.
*hands up*
I come in peace, I promise, to ask this question of Bullock: From all accounts I’ve heard, Bullock out-played his prior summer league efforts and looked the best he ever has–is this type of performance to expected of Bullock once ACC play starts? As a State fan, CJ Williams has earned the unfortunate moniker of “Summer League Superstar.” He was destroying folks during the ProAms before his last two years and, well, he’s been a relative non-factor at the ACC level.
So is Bullock for real, given this seems like an over-performance of his norm? I didn’t care for his yelling at State’s players, but you have to love his passion and I realize I would likely turn a blind eye to it were it Leslie barking at y’all’s folks.
^
Who is CJ Williams, and no he is not in ‘lil McCants league…
I dont understand why you considered this to be outside his norm, the kid is a stud, 5 star player, won his state championship, and played in all the High School All Star games.
Comparing CJ “who” to Bullock, would be like Carolina fans comparing Lesile to D/T Wear. Seems ridiculous right???
My favorite part is how much state fans are HOPING that bullocks is terrible, bc if hes not watch out…
The yelling at the State fans is exactly what last years team missed
“So is Bullock for real, given this seems like an over-performance of his norm?”
What gives you that idea? Bullock was a 5 star recruit considered by all recruiting services to be one of the top 3 if not the best SG in his recruiting class.
Difference between Bullock’s summer league performance and the past performances of CJ Williams is that Bullock is a 5 start recruit and surefire NBA prospect with just the question of when not if. I am looking forward to watching the evolution of the mouth from state fans that have been beating their chests trying to downplay the talent of Bullock and Marshall as compared to Brown and Harrow, and in the same breath calling Bullock and Marshall overrated.
Also, I was not there, but from what I’ve heard Bullock was not the only one “yelling” considering Brown and Lesile did their fair share of woofing too.
The answer from me is: “I have no idea.”
What I know is Bullock was highly rated by the recruiting gurus. The newly released final RSCI rankings has Bullock 15th overall and 2nd among “wing guards” as they call it. He played in all the major all star games which says a lot. Getting the Burger Game is one thing, being named to Hoops Summit and Jordan Brand on top of that speaks volumes. Bullock did not do much in those games since he was a little timid vs more aggressive players. I think his performance on Tuesday is probably higher than what his “normal” will be in ACC competition but still I think he is the best option to start for UNC at SG and might be better as a freshman that Ellington or Green was. I also think Joe Giglio’s praise lends credibility to the idea that Bullock is indeed all that.
All that being said, I am putting less stock in the actual basketball and more in the attitudes Barnes, Bullock and Henson displayed. They came to play. The played the game with urgency and if Bullock was woofing at the NCSU players, I am not surprised. He showed during the Burger Game run-up he was willing to talk trash about Coach K. Was that out of bounds? Probably but quite frankly, if he does it on the court and in moderation, UNC could use a guy like him. Giglio compared him to Danny Green and that might be apt both in terms of play and attitude. Bullock brings the noise, Barnes talks via his game. I am hoping the combination of that will bring the kind of edge on the court UNC missed last season.
Hi all,
I’ve been reading this blog for a while and have been impressed by the knowledgeable posts and respectful tone of the discussions.
As my user name connotes, I’m a True Blue Tar Heel, born and reared in Chapel Hill and a UNC grad.
Like all of you, I’m looking forward to seeing the 2010-11 Heels erase the memories of last year (I still can’t decide which was worse — us losing or Duke winning). My biggest concern is that our talent won’t be experienced enuff and our experience won’t be talented enuff to challenge for the national title, and — for UNC — anything less would be a disappointment. The 2011-12 team could be incredible, but I’m afraid our best talent will be gone by then, off to the NBA. Can you tell I’m a bit neurotic about Tar Heel hoops?
I think it’s entirely likely that Bullock will have some games where he’s able to have an explosive scoring performance. He’s around 6’7″ and can flat out shoot the ball. There are going to be a number of teams that are going to try to match up on him with an undersized 2, and with no worry of getting his shot blocked, if he’s feeling it that should equal points in bunches. If the question is whether or not he’ll be a consistent point producer, like THF, I don’t know. I think if he’s willing to take shots and not be tentative he’ll make shots.
That is why so much of the prognostication is errant. Nobody saw Duke and Syracuse, or Butler, for that matter, being nearly as good as they were. UConn and UNC were big disappointments.
I think UNC could just as easily be back in the Final Four next year or out in the first round of the NCAA. But at least, we are hearing very good things, it appears.
“I think UNC could just as easily be back in the Final Four next year or out in the first round of the NCAA.”
IMHOP, LDII will be the variable that will determine which level of success the 2010/11 team achieves.
^Agreed scl11
As good as Barnes is can he handle that Larry “laser” coming at his head, when a nice bounce pass would do.
^^Agreed … good decisions and accurate passes is going to be the key to their success this year… which means that this is a year where we should feel both excited and apprehensive at the same time, and for the same reason, about both the basketball and football season.
^Potential for a 1997-1998 type football and basketball season (fingers crossed)
Never mind what I said earlier… sounds like our football team might have bigger things to worry about…sigh…
Either Larry makes a big step up or he takes a seat down.
not to take anything away from the actual conversation, but i don’t really understand how a senior DG is an upgrade from a junior year wayne? i’m a huge fan of them both, but i always felt like wayne was the one who could go get his shot if he needed to with a dribble drive pull up and run outs. not a big deal at all. i’ve heard reggie is a wayne ellington but more athletic. watch out. DG did struggle from deep early on, although i’m not sure if he was a pure shooter coming out of high school or not, so here’s hoping that reggie can find his range and his confidence early and often.