Now 0-5 under Roy Williams when the Duke game is in Chapel Hill first.
I really don’t know what to say. For 38 minutes the game unfolded about like you would expect. Duke was hot early but UNC pushed back, took control of the game at the end of the first half and played really well throughout the second half with the only problem being the inability to push the lead out beyond the 8-13 point range. Tyler Zeller was stating a case for ACC player of the year in the first half with 19 points and 8 rebounds while Harrison Barnes struggled a bit on both ends. In the second half Kendall Marshall and Harrison Barnes took turns taking it to Duke and the Heels extended out to double digits where it would stay most of the second half. At one point we got the Harrison Barnes vs Austin Rivers back-and-forth you wanted to see. UNC was ahead but every time the Heels tried to push it past that point where maybe Duke could not effectively rallied, they couldn’t.
Unfortunately that didn’t happen. With two minutes to go and a ten point lead UNC decided to relive the 2007 NCAA regional final versus Georgetown. The sequence went something like this:
Thornton hits a three.
Marshall turns the ball over leading to a Seth Curry three(nevermind he took four steps before the shot and it wasn’t called)
With the lead down to four, UNC calls timeout, gets Zeller in the game but Barnes goes isolation drives the lane and gets called for a charge despite having Zeller on the left block wide open.
Ryan Kelly then misses a three but follows up and grabs the offensive rebound then hits the jumper to make it a two point game.
Zeller is fouled and makes one of two leading to the most bizarre play I have ever seen. Kelly shoots a three that comes up short and Zeller, who looked like he was being pushed in the back by Mason Plumlee actually tips the ball into the basket making it a one point game.
Zeller is fouled on the inbounds and makes one, misses the second setting up the final play.
Rivers comes down gets a screen which Zeller switches on but instead of stepping out when the clock wound down he gave Rivers enough space to hoist a three and win the game.
That is just a bizarre sequence. That is the anti-2005 finish and what makes this rivalry great. It hurts like heck right now and with FSU having lost at Boston College, UNC was in a position to assume control of the ACC and its own destiny going forward. All of that disappeared in two minutes of game time when UNC was simply unable to change the outcome of just one play to preserve the win.
This team is an enigma. There is a lot to love about them and the really annoying part is we saw those positives on display for most of this game. At the same time there are things like perimeter defense and a seeming inability to get over the hump at critical moments. Last season this group pulled out their share of tough games. During this season the opposite seems to be true. The Kentucky and Duke games have seen this team simply not be able to make the right play at the right time to secure the win. I am not sure we necessarily cast blame on anyone for that, sometimes the plays get made and sometimes they don’t. In both of those losses it was the opposing team making the right play at the right time.
How does this bode for the “dream and goals,” as Roy likes to call them, this team has? There are questions but everyone has questions, yes even Kentucky. Winning the NCAA tournament is still about the bracket and matchups a team faces. As I said above, there is a lot to love about this team but just enough off to have games like this happen. The full and complete effort has been elusive for this team but that doesn’t mean it won’t show up in March.
As for how Dexter Strickland would have impacted this game, the guarding of Rivers is obvious. However I would argue that is a small part of it. For weeks I listened to UNC fans talking about how much Bullock’s offense would help UNC. Now, I would hope, we all understand why Roy used Strickland and Bullock the way he did. In this game Bullock, hailed as the great offensive booster, was nonexistent on that end of the floor. Why? Because not having Strickland put the full burden of being the team’s perimeter defensive stopper on Bullock which ultimately hurt his offense. When Strickland was a starter he brought great perimeter defense and more offense than people give him credit for. Bullock was then able to come off the bench and focus primarily on his offense even though his defense was also very good. The luxury UNC enjoyed in having both was P.J. Hairston was not being asked to play big minutes on defense like he did versus Duke leading to multiple made threes.
It will be interesting to see where UNC goes from here. Not holding serve at home versus Duke puts the Heels facing a tough stretch of games where they cannot afford to lose again.
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marcus, your “the end is near” and “the past is destine to be repeated” take is a little sad to keep harping on.
Yes, it would be nice for them to learn it after last season’s Elite 8 loss or the UNLV or FSU games from this season, but for someone who keeps bitching about the past, maybe you should revisit recent history where the 2005 team learned it after a mid-season loss to Duke in similar heart breaking fashion as last night or that it took 3 years of lessons for the 2009 team to get it after a similar Maryland debacle in 2009 (after multiple debacles in 2007 and 2008).
The whole, if it’s not instinctive by now it never will be, is a little played at this point. We know you are not a believer you don’t have to try to convince the rest of us. We get it, you’re officially off the bandwagon.
Looking back I guess the 2009 team did have a similar collapse in the final minutes at Maryland. But that game was on the road. To fall apart at home feels a lot worse.
This team has two clear weaknesses it has to work on:
It’s perimeter D is awful. I don’t know if that’s the coaches fault of if its a product of bad fundamentals by the players.
We have no bench. Our highly heralded freshmen are almost complete non factors.
Both of these problems have to get fixed but as they keep resurfacing over and over again I grow less and less optimistic that they will be fixed.
Couldn’t agree more, BB, defend the 3 and depend on help. Rivers makes the same move each and every time.
“We have no bench. Our highly heralded freshmen are almost complete non factors.”
I thought JMM was pretty damn good last night, and hopefully it is a launching point for the rest of the season for him. But yes PJ’s game has disappeared and I don’t know if we’ll see it return this season. Anyone have the name of the psychologist that Doh tried to send McCant’s too, maybe that is an option
Brian and gregrustin,
Super explanation. love the extremely detailed history that all you guys bring to the board.
Now I’m a little more informed and the Sun Tzu reference was classic! +1
Well done and thanks!
They’ll respond – I think this one probably hurts enough to change some habits.
I was an advocate for fouling….not necessarily Rivers, but you could have fouled a Plumlee. Was it Wake earlier in the year that was bringing in kids off the end of the bench to foul Mason and he went like 4-1000 from the line?
If you don’t want to foul, I can live with that; but why no trap at half court? That would have milked some precious seconds off the clock, and with no timeouts, Dook would have been pressured to have someone other than Rivers take the shot.
The other part of this issue is that while Dook has about ten guys that can make three’s WR maybe have one. Bullock was silent last night. Hairston can’t seem to throw a ball in a lake from a rowboat. You can have good bigs, but guard play wins titles. Without someone from the backcourt making outside shots, you’re going to lose games.
For all of this talent and experience UNC has, it sure isn’t amounting to a hill of beans anymore. Piss poor coaching and allowing a lack of focus is killing UNC. Zeller screwed up on the last shot, but I think this underwhelming season falls on Roy more than anything so far.
I’ll repeat (please bear with me, I really don’t think saying something twice constitutes harping) that beyond some execution issues, there wasn’t that much wrong with this game, nor all that much to be learned in terms of a light-bulb-coming-on sort of way. And I think the killer-instinct thing has been exaggerated. I think they’re a reasonably aggressive team, with good instincts (see Kendall Marshall), but this whole thing really is a process.
Geez, it hasn’t been that long since Strickland went out, and they’ve still got a couple of players that need to get more healthy (Barnes and Hairston), so I’d hold off on that last chapter for a while.
I also say that though I’ve commented on the marginal productivity of the current bench, I aree with the previous comment that JMM played well last night.. Hopr to see more of it.
850inExile aka UNC RAJ
A lot of bench play excellence comes about when those players bring a new, strong dimension to team play. Earlier this season it was outside shooting.
Williams has commented repeatedly that Hairston is “pretty banged up”. Hairston has lost multiple family members recently as well. JMM has become a foul magnet, and he has a hard time playing inside against bigger, taller opponents. He continues to rush his shots.
Bench play can improve. A player like Danny Green came from no where as a freshman. We will just have to see what happens.
And BTW, I don’t think anyone should be talki g smack about what’s going to happen in the rematch. I’m sure UVa is all sorts of excited to play us on Saturday.
“scl11″ – U r absolutely right..JMM had his best game of the season last night!! I didn’t chk the box score, but he might have had 6pts 4rebs…Not much, but he finally look fluent doing it!! I don’t know about u guys, however, I am tired of seeing everybody else’s Freshman phenoms come in and be immediate impacts and our Freshman phenonms struggle. JMM had a decent game last night, but let’s be honest…JMM was a 5star recruit that won the MVP at the top 2 all american games n thus far this season outside of last night he has looked like a 2star recruit…He’s been uncomfortable on offense, he’s been a liability on defense, n he hasn’t been able to knock down FTs…I mean…I know the transition from high school to college is major and especially when ur apart of an elite program such as unc. however, i’m just feel that he should be making much more of an impact then he has been. Not 2 jump to far ahead, but if Henson and Barnes join Zeller in the nba draft i’m not sold on our frontcourt lineup next year..
And just one last thing – will Harrison Barnes EVER learn how to make a big impact in BOTH halves? Austin Rivers did. Why can’t he? The day UNC gets 35+ strong minutes from him is they day UNC will become unbeatable… if such a day ever comes.
UVa is going to remember coming to Chapel Hill Saturday.
Count on it!
scl11…I don’t really care much for your armchair psychology. Although I do find it amusing that you consider me a “non-believer” because I offer opinions and constructive criticism, kinda like 98% of the posters on here.
And, for the record, bandwagons don’t interest me much. What I see with my own eyes, I believe to be true…and if I have an opinion about what I see, well, that’s all it is. You’re allowed to disagree with me, but don’t pretend to speak for the whole room when you post things like “…WE know you are not a believer…”
He’s playing on a hurt ankle though. I know it’s somewhat of a trend, but last night it definitely looked like it took him a while to warm it up.
Sorry marcus, I didn’t mean to speak for everyone, I guess there must have been some readers or posters that got your optimistic outlook to the future during your negative Nancy tirade of they’ll “never get it”.
That’s ok, my friend. I’ve got a firm grip on your reality.
For me, revenge in Durham will be what shows me that this team can be a champion. With all of this being said, I could have easily seen Carolina have a let down game at Virginia if they won last night.
We played well for most of the game yesterday, just not at the end. We couldn’t answer the run and it did feel as though we took the foot off the pedal on scoring, not sure if that was by design through Roy or just Duke stepping it up quiet a bit. Still we showed that we can get it done. I think Duke is a good team, we lost to a good team. I would feel better about that than losing to Miami but that’s not my problem so I don’t care.
We seemed a little disjointed at times on offense and while we played with passion and intensity we fell apart at the end of the night. You can’t put all of this on Zeller though he was in the midst of every key play over the last few minutes of the game. He played hard as did everyone and it just hurt.
A factor though not THE factor was the officiating under the basket which changed mid-way through the second half. The standard was raised for whatever reason. It hurt us more than it hurt Duke but I think they seemed to take advantage of it by driving the baseline or heading to the basket. We got hurt here to be sure. It wasn’t the game but it kept Duke close when we were out by 10 or 12 and looking to extend the lead.
Losing Dexter and Leslie is a real killer given that they were both seasoned players and they both play the same spot. Nobody has that kind of depth, they don’t.
JMM, had moments but he had some of his usual missed shots from point blank as well. He was improved over past games though. I though Hubert did well but he wasn’t in for long and perhaps Roy was looking for more offense.
One thing I did notice prior to the game in viewing old videos online: we had lots of close games in 2009. We pulled them out by small margins and amazingly enough they were some of the same teams we are struggling with today. My memory of 2008 and 2009 is not pristine and it was ugly. This year can be the same. In fact those memories made this loss easier to accept.
I just want our team to respond. Play strong against UVA, take Duke down in Cameron, get it done. I hope we don’t stay injured or lose anyone else.
A big “thank you” to BoyWilliams! — your poems are helping to ease the pain
I second that emotion, boy.
Roy needs to find some way to get Butta’s minutes down to about 32-35. He was gassed last night. That’s on Roy. Play White another minute or two early in the second half and/or let Barnes run point a few minutes.
“I though Hubert did well but he wasn’t in for long and perhaps Roy was looking for more offense.”
Glad you mentioned that. I turned to my wife last night and commented on nice end-to-end plays by Hubert – providing a nice assist to Henson on one end, and trapping Plumlee against the baseline underneath the basket on the other. Good post defender. Baby steps but still encouraging.
And I thought White did OK too. He stayed in front of his man pretty well on D. Quick feet.
^^BBLB agree about the officiating changing in the 2d half. The game slowed down which helped Duke keep it close. Someone tweeted about Collins pulling one of the officials over at the 12 minute media TO so K could rant at him.
In the end, it was the 3s that killed us. Duke is badly flawed – no one has mentioned that their guards couldn’t stop anyone from penetrating. We are the better team, but did not execute when it counted.
To the people saying that we can’t close out games, which games are you talking about? FSU and UNLV were not close. Kentucky is the only close game we lost (and they would’ve been the ones who didn’t close it out if we had won). We made mistakes last night. I just think many of the people complaining on here would be ecstatic if the last shot hadn’t gone it. My analysis would’ve been the exact same. That shot doesn’t change anything either way. If you’re upset with the game last night (not merely the outcome), please point me to one game this year where we played at a higher level. We stayed in the Kentucky game by shooting unusually well from the outside. Our performance last night up until the last 2.5 minutes was extremely low variance (the lower the variance, the higher the level of consistency).
mrn10sdave…
You make a good point regarding our high level of play last night. That was really entertaining basketball, very little sloppy play.
I abhor how we continue to guard the perimeter, but offensively, we counter-punched well and made it an exciting game.
But, up 10 with 2 to go, at home, against Duke…to me, it’s inexcusable to fail.
Dave,
If you only look at only losses, what you say make sense. Unfortunately, in wins Carolina has lost focus at the end of games. This time they were severely burned.
“I just think many of the people complaining on here would be ecstatic if the last shot hadn’t gone it. My analysis would’ve been the exact same.”
not me Brother–my main concern (I repeat Larry
) was, and is, that they don’t know how to maintain & thwart momentum (which is made up of lots of little things like boxing out, closing out, ball protection, good shot selection, spacing, etc, etc). End of game hand-wringing over FT’s, switch-out/blah/blah/blah–merely symptoms, not the cause.
Play smart/good & lose = acceptable.
Play s***** and win = visions of grandeur.
mrn10sdave,
Last night’s game was definitely entertaining and pretty well-played for the most part. I also understand what you mean when you say the last shot doesn’t change how you critique the game. I agree on some level.
But, the object is to WIN. Our “almost” win against KY last year in the Elite 8 didn’t really make me feel good. In the end, play great or like crap, but winning is all that matters.
nice angle on the Zeller launching himself across the lane and accidentally tipping the ball in play.
he probably just catches the ball if he isnt pushed. ref is right there, but it looks like he’s raising his head to look at the ball, which as the baseline official is not really his concern.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpYYD_VnaBs
Great teams even relax with a 30 point lead. This team seems to relax when they get a 2-3 possession lead.
And I do not think the “killer instinct” aspect (or lack thereof) for this team is exaggerated. Go back and look at the schedule and scores of 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009. We hammered many, many teams. This year we go up by 20 something and win in the teens. They seem comfortable with just doing enough, which gets them into trouble.
HTTE,
If Marshall is a Jedi, Coach K is a Sith Lord because he clearly told the refs, “These are not the fouls you were looking for……”
There were three questionable calls during the collapse. Nice to see all parties involved in the game did their part to make it happen.
^^^Maybe so. I suppose there is a difference between being aggressive and running someone into the ground.
Those Felton and Hansbrough-led teams, though, did set a pretty high hammer-lowering standard. (In many of their games)
As an aside,
I was at the game last night. That last shot went in, the place went dead silent, and everybody was looking around like we wanted to hit the rewind button and have the play happen again. It all seemed very surreal at the time, like we were in some alternate reality from whence we would return to read that the scoreboard said 84-82.
^^You have to be thinking “let’s run them into the ground” all the time, or else you may lose. Play every play…because it may in fact take EVERY play to win.
Plus, we rarely jump on any team from the out-set. How many past UNC wins happened because we took the life and confidence out of a team in the first half? UNC teams often make the other team give up. This year we fire them up by letting them get a lead or stay in the game.
BB,
You saw how it played out, so why would fouling not have worked again? They tried the non-foul route and that didn’t work. We can second guess all we want to, but to me the play is to foul. Why? Rivers is shooting the eyes out making them from the edge of the NC decal all night. Why? Because you lose on a 3, the best they can do is tie with 2 FT’s. Had NC been playing great d all night and rivers not on fire, maybe, but still why wasn’t Tyler closer to him? The whole ending was just crap.
jumpman,
Really. Foul in a 2 point game? How about force a contested three (or a TWO) by getting in Rivers grill, forcing a bad shot or drive? But no matter the strategy, the last play could have still turned out bad for UNC.
What’s worse is the missed FTs and general loss of intensity as if we had the game wrapped up.
This is laughable lol. i just love that some people still say the same excuses and same things after the game. I’m not making excuses for this team. Everybody keep sayin maybe this will get it together, devolope this and that blah blah. Man its 20+ games in. this is the same core (minus Dex now) that made the elite 8 and there is still nothing better with this team! Same defense issues bite em in the butt, same no time out rule, same not being pushed to play 40 mins and close teams out, same results! if they haven’t deleveloped a “killer instinct” by now then honestly at this point they may just never get it. U have a chance to put the foot on duke of all teams neck and send them into a 2 game slide and at home and u let up? and my God what coach doesn’t continue to go thru a guy that had 19 in one half (Zell) until duke stopped him? He and barnes combined woulda equalled a blowout! Period. Aft every loss we hear the same ol speech. Either change or shut up
Go look at the scores of games this season…even Ga Tech managed to hang around. smh
Fouling Rivers when it is a two point game wouldn’t have been smart. My only concern was why Henson wasn’t defending Rivers. He only had two fouls and he has Manute Bol reach.
I realize a lot of time has passed, but I can’t help thinking of Wooden’s teams (AND Smith’s),and their methodical precision of taking opponents apart, sans the emotion. That type of perfection comes not from emotion, but from dedication to execution of all the little things consistently. Still amazing that you could get college kids to play with such maturity.
1993–smart overachievers
2011/12–??
^^I wonder if there would be complaints here if we did foul Rivers, he makes both, and dook wins in OT?
gso tarheel,
If we could have forced a contested three, we would never have been in that situation. They shot wide open 3′s all night long. How could it have turned out bad? At worst you’re tied with 5+ seconds and a chance to win or go to OT? I would’ve sure rather watched that than watched AR drain another open 3. I’ts called strategy.
A couple of issues come to mind: (1) Should Roy have had them foul Rivers? (2) Do we lack end-of-game focus? (3) Would Strickland have helped defensively on Rivers? (4) Should Barnes & Z have hit more FT’s down the stretch? (5) Do we still have a chance to go undefeated in the ACC?
Discuss amongst yourselves.
^^okay, or dook could have missed and we win. There are multiple strategies that could be effective. I just believe other strategies (like I mentioned above) beyond fouling in that situation give a better probability of winning. The execution is what was missed.
Got an IM at work from a Dook/Cornhole bandwagoner…..
“wow…..even in your house, we get Dook calls. Such is the benefit of having the greatest college coach in the history of the game.”
I have yet to respond….we have pretty tight IS security so what I want to say would get me unemployed. Me seeing him face to face would have he same outcome.
Yes. This was about execution. You guys are hung up on the fouling when UNC produced a grand total of two points on their final five offensive possessions. I was under the impression that Reggie Bullock was going to make UNC an offensive powerhouse again and the defense didn’t matter. Now we have people arguing the defense does matter or we should employ an end of game fouling strategy which is only used when you are tailing all while ignoring the crapfest that went on at the offensive end of the floor. If UNC hits free throws or even runs 20-25 seconds of clock on that possession which led to the Curry walking three UNC probably wins the game. The lack of basic execution on the offensive end is why the collapse happened as much as anything else.
I don’t care if a guy is OH for the season from the foul line, you never purposely foul when you’re up only two, with 5 seconds left.
Oh yeah, you also never give somebody like Rivers a 5 foot space to get his shot off either, but we did.
The fouling, if indeed that was going to be a chosen strategy, should have started when Plumlee stole the ball from Marshall at the 1:52 mark. Instead, four seconds later, Curry drains a 45 footer and all of a sudden it’s a 4 point game. As opposed to a 7 point game with a terrible free throw shooter going to the line. Which scenario sounds better to you?
I personally would have had no problem losing in overtime had they fouled, Dook makes 2 and we have the ball with 5 seconds or whatever. At least we have the ball in our hands with a chance to win. You take the ball out of their hands. We gave them everything they wanted-no pressure, time, no d-a wide open look to win it. They couldn’t stop ar all night what makes you think someone locks him down at the end of the game. Situational strategy
Actually, I still would have been mad as crap to lose in OT, but maybe the remote would have survived anyway.
“…The lack of basic execution on the offensive end is why the collapse happened as much as anything else…”
Totally agree.
Sorry guys, but I am new to this blog. I am not sure if my comments are showing to the wide audience. Could some1 do me a favor and respond back if you see this or not? Thx
^^No, our “strategy” to give away a 10 point lead in the final 2.5 killed us….
We lost this game because we did not EXECUTE at the end. We got comfortable.
I finally got the stomach up to look at the box score and it still blows my mind….
UNC won in the following:
FG% – .492/.435
FT% – 70% / 65%
OFF – 14/10
REB – 41/31
AST – 14/8
TO – 9/10
BLK – 3/2
PF – 22/25
Duke won the following:
3pt% – .389 (14-36) / .167 (1-6)
STL – 5/3
That tells the story. I still can’t get my head around the fact they won every statistical category but 2. One of those 2 was HUGE. Foul or not, a barrage of 3′s is the ONLY way Duke wins the game. Period. When they meet in Cameron Indoor, the story will be the same. Make them, they win, miss them they lose. These statistics show the strength/weakness of both teams and that won’t change.
^^^ Nobody can hear you, HeelsBaby. …and besides, you need to make all your posts in poem form
Watching the last three minutes of that horror film/debacle, I mean, game, was like a scene from Final Destination, where the clairvoyant chick has a vision of the gruesome carnage about to unfold (“… and then my eyes beheld a terrible sight, as if in a waking nightmare, a giddy Austin Rivers in a diaper, screaming “Dickie V Says I’m Dandy!” a sweaty dog pile of exuberant Dukies, celebrating like they all just got summer internships at Goldman Sachs, Wojo and the rest of Coach Palpatine’s annoying minions, leaping spasmodically with joy in super slow mo, again and again, and the once semi-raucous Dean Dome falling silent like a mausoleum, except for the pitiful sound of women, children and Phil Ford weeping, and some rending their vintage Dante Calabria jerseys, and then my eyes filled with blood”) — and is powerless to stop it.
From the moment that Thornton the Instigator dropped in a (surprise! wide open) 3 — prior to that bucket, I believe on the season he had made as many trifectas as a dead person — to cut the never-quite-comfortable lead to seven, the ominous string music was playing in the background, I had that familiar sinking feeling in my gut, and the Hindenbergian immolation was underway and inescapable.
Why, oh why, year after year, can Roy’s squads of magnificent, racehorse athletes not defend the 3? Yes, some were ridiculous (the late Curry 5-step and pop from 30 feet was absurd), but this is a maddening, recurring problem that never gets fixed. I know this is sacrilege, but I can’t help feeling that if, in a dark and brutal alternate universe that I do not wish to contemplate, fiendish, whip-cracking, Knight-discipling Coach American Express was commanding the running of the Heels, they would be a manic, floor-pounding, perimeter defending juggernaut. Aw-shucks Roy — a great coach — can’t seem to fully instill the complicated Hands in Faces Makes Shooting Harder defensive philosophy, no matter how many times he screams “Dagnabbit, guard the dang son of gun!” in goggle-eyed apoplexy after another uncontested three rains down on his boys’ heads.
This Duke team, in terms of pure talent, is one of the weakest in recent memory. Austin Rivers is the only guy who could crack Carolina’s top seven. The Plumlee brothers make Eric Montross look fluid and balletic, they have absolutely no reliable inside scoring, their undersized guards couldn’t stop Jack Black (somewhat underrated celebrity baller) from getting to the rim, and they basically rely on 4 guys — Dawkins, Curry, Rivers and Kelly, to indiscriminately launch threes. This should be a disastrous strategy against a skilled, veteran, athletic team with a dominant front line that is murderous in transition. Assuming, that is, that Duke’s gunners aren’t permitted to make 14 threes, and outscore their opponent 42-3 from that range.
This game leaves me with many questions. Has Hairston been replaced by a zombie-like pod person who shoots like Mateen Cleaves? Why does Harrison Barnes, with all his obvious gifts and rare ability to elevate his play during crunch time, continue to disappear for long stretches of games? (I know his ankle was bothering him, but this happens frequently.) Wouldn’t it be more efficient for the refs to assess 1 bogus offensive foul on each opposing starter at the beginning of the game, so we could dispense with the Broadway-worthy Duke flops that take up time for floor wiping? If the fate of the universe rested on one player missing a free throw, would you choose Mason (or is it Miles?) Plumleestein, John Henson, Shaq, Ben Wallace or a blind man with no arms? I’d go with Plumlee.
Finally, will this Carolina team summon the will, the discipline, the intestinal fortitude, the harmonic convergence of chemistry, ability and desire, and harness its prodigious talent in successful pursuit of a national title; or will its legacy be that of a very good, very entertaining, but vexing, inconsistent, weak-minded and, ultimately, underachieving group? Only time will tell.
I feel like I’m in an alternative universe…foul when up by 2? Are you people serious? Had Roy done it, he would have been roasted by every media personality in the country and almost everyone on this board. What happens if you foul a shooter, leading to a three-point play? Dook mmakes one but misses the next one, but gets the offensive rebound? Makes both but steals the in-bound pass? This is just crazy talk that really doesn’t deserve debate. The problem with the final play was not that Carolina did not foul, but that it was defended horribly. There should never have been a switch first of all.
Carolina failed to execute on any level over the last three minutes. End of story. I call it choking away a win, but others may label it differently.
Simply put though, this team lacks the killer instinct required of great teams. It has all the talent required to be great, but lacks something between the ears and in the heart that makes great teams want to stomp on their opponents and win by as many points possible. This team appears to want to cruise by with “just enough” and style points. If they can re-discover the killer instinct, with last night as Exhibit A for what happens when you lack it, then the rest of the season is bright. Another three keys: (a) KM continuing to penetrate; (b) Barnes playing for 40 minutes and not taking long stretches off; and (c) Hairston re-discovering the ability to make a jumper, any jumper.
THF/Brian: I think the assumption we had made with Bullock in the game was that COMPETENT defense, along with improved perimeter offense would outweight our above-average defense with lesser perimeter punch.
Giving up 14 threes, most of them on open, quality looks, does not constitute competence. We gave the game away in the 1st half giving up how ever many threes we gave up. Have a bigger lead and they don’t make the comeback.
To take 36 threes and get to the line as much as they did…is interesting. The officiating did not cost us the game. That is clear. But it hindered our ability to respond and be the aggressor for much of the 2nd half when we were trying to pull away.
And the Curry walk, combined with the Plumlee shove, are unforgivable no-calls by the refs. They should not be allowed to officiate for the season. You can’t miss such obvious calls.
chapelhillfan…It’s called good coaching!! Of course ppl are not saying foul a good shooter. Everybody is referring to fouling Plumlee (who is probably a <50% shooter from the foul line). He misses, then we get the rebound (gameover). Instead we try to defend the perimeter shot that we have not defended all game…I think the majority of this thread would not have minded putting Plumlee on the line for 2 shots.
this team still has a higher ceiling than the rest of the field come tourney time. ceiling = potential which is still what it is, and it’s not yet realized potential. i was more mad than anybody about last nights game and ready to go do bad things, but i’m trying to find a little glimmer of hope and reason to get thru my day at work today.
1) no excuses for last night, that was terrible
2) HB has the potential to be a NPOY candidate. if he plays like that in big games, we are VERY good, he did not do that consistently last night.
3) zeller is who we thought he would be so that’s great, check that box
4) henson was f*ing clueless at times last night. why did he leak out on ryan kelley’s 3 ball that led to his offensive rebound and 2 pointer. he can improve
5) reggie will take time. dexter had 2, almost 2.5 seasons under his belt and was playing well. reggie didn’t really play a full season last year. it will take more games than just a few to get comfortable offensively and defensively. that can happen this year.
6)JMM showed signs of life. that could be great.
7) P.J.> he’s a shooter, he can turn it around.
lots of things to improve, and we still should have won.
atl…
Your post was, simply, worth reading twice, and I’m sure I’ll read it again later. THAT is funny stuff, the best I’ve read this season. You should contribute more often. People in my office were asking me what the hell was so funny.
chapelhillfan
See my 2:32 post regarding fouling.
I’ve been following this blog for a couple of years. I’m a native Tarheel who lives in Oklahoma, so this is my best “Tarheel connection.” I think I’ve only posted once or twice, mainly because most of you guys are clearly very well informed fans – I get info and perspective from this blog that I don’t see ANYWHERE else on the web. But I’m so irritated by this loss that I feel the need to add my “two cents” this time. I don’t see this as a bad coaching job – in my opinion, we have so much more talent/experience/size/speed than Duke that Roy should have been able to watch our guys win this one from the stands. Also, the foul/don’t foul debate at the end of this game – it shouldn’t have come to that for the same reason. Zeller should have come out on Rivers. Why should a coach need to tell a senior, potential ACC POY that? But I don’t put the loss on Zeller – the man carried our boys through the first half. I chalk it up to a lack of killer instinct. Look around. Do you seriously see another team in the country with out talent, size and experience? I don’t. I was totally convinced this team would be playing for a NC this year. After this loss and the FSU loss, I don’t think they have the will to do it. I hope I’m wrong. Go HEELS! In Roy we trust…
I don’t know if Rivers could duplicate his Smith Center effort in Cameron, but I wouldn’t bet against the team getting a similar percentage from 3-pt. distance since that’s right at their avg. The question will be can UNC execute more sharply on D, and maybe reduce some attempts, if not the percentage…..and at the same time maintain their edge in all the same areas as last night.
And I wonder if they can do on the strength of essentially 2-pt. shooting alone, without at least something more than a shot or two from the outside.
This team is wearing me out…every week trying to figure out how this season will shake out.
But, I have to admit it is so hard to predict what a team will do in the NCAAT. They have the talent, some experience and a coach who has won it all twice. So they CAN do it. Will they?
I know this, I was a student at UNC in 1998 and witnessed first-hand one of the most dominating UNC teams ever. I would have bet lots of money (if I had any then) that we would win it all…going away. Then we get hammered by Utah in the FF (we made a comeback, but we were down big). Who knows what will happen this year…
Just once I’d like to see us force a team to do something they aren’t comfortable doing in order to beat us, instead of letting them run their offense exactly the way they want to run it. Is that too much to ask for? Isn’t that what good coaches do?
IMO, we got beat because we had to change the way we played due to our foul troubles. oh and how dook continues to play over their heads against us. We had the better team last night, it’s a dang shame.
Been following this blog for some time, but my first post. I think this game showed how much they miss Dexter, especially his perimeter D. If he is able to take away just 2 or 3 of the open looks they had, Carolina wins easily. And he can bring a spark offensively. Offensive production from the Bullock/Hairston combo just isn’t there right now.
Now the bigger issue I have noticed – leadership. I think Kendall does what he can in this regard, but beyond him it is lacking in the rest of the regulars. Z is a great player, and he had a great game, but he always appears detached on the court. He’s not emotional, that’s his way and I think it helps him keep focused, but it also puts some distance between him and the rest. Henson is on the opposite extreme, too emotional to be an effective leader. Barnes can take over a game, and he’s got some fire, but sometimes it looks like it’s more about him than the team. Overall they just don’t seem like they’ve pulled together. Roy can do his part, but leadership is different when it comes from the guy next to you on the court.
I think this team can still go a long way this year, but only is someone steps up and really asserts on-the-court leadership. My ACC prediction – they finish with 4 ACC losses, losing at Miami and at UVA, but beating Duke at Cameron.
In the rematch at Cameron I would like to see these things happen.
1) Bullock should start the game defending Rivers.
2) Make Rivers play defense. Set up screens for Bullock or whoever to set up good looks.
3) Defend the three better by going over screens, close out better. Outside of Rivers no one is very good putting the ball to the floor.
4) Feed the post, Zeller and Barnes. Duke is surpisingly poor at defending the post. Duke will not double down from the perimeter. Make them pay.
5) Keep calm. Duke will try to inappropriately touch opponents. Accept it. It is part of the gamesmanship of Duke.
Well, for any of you who value or pay any attention to Doug Gottlieb’s analysis, at least he hasn’t given up on the Heels. He has them as #3 (empirically, he explains), behind Kentucky and OSU.
I wish I had faith in Gottlieb but he thought Illinois would play for the National Title last year.
Also did not understand our end of game clock management. WE NEEDED to run some time off the clock. This loss really really hurts.
Say what you want about Rivers — and I say he is more annoying than a failed recombinant DNA experiment that resulted in a creature with a giant Bobby Hurley head, Shane Battier’s advancing hairline (poor Brad Dougherty has the same rare disease, so let’s not cast too many stones), Christian Laetner’s patrician air of smug superiority, and Fran Drescher’s voice — but this much is clear: he plays with an edge, a cocky, self-assured bravado, that while not entirely justified, is palpable. Carolina needs a guy like that. Barnes has the game, and the clutch gene, to be that person, but it runs counter to his natural temperament, which is more smooth, quiet assassin. I’m not talking about acting like a chest pounding punk; I’m talking about a player who makes it very clear that he is the Alpha, that he will do whatever is necessary — including getting in his teammates’ faces when they are playing D like a Mike D’antoni instructional video — to win. As others have noted, that game cried out for a Finisher. Sadly, he was on the team with the navy blue Satan mascot.
I believe the reason we lost was probably more to Roy not resting Kendall more late in the second halve. We know Roy didn’t want to slow the tempo down, thats not in his dna. Had Marshall be fresher at the end then none of this FEASCO would have happened……
After nearly 24 hours, I just had this epiphany…..
The truth (I believe anyway) is that Duke won’t get much better. They are what they are. Their personnel is what it is. The Plumlees won’t suddenly begin to elevate their play unless they make a deal with the devil like Zubek did. They are going to be what we saw last night. They have reached their ceiling. I honestly believe that.
UNC on the other hand, we all KNOW can play better. It’s been maddening to watch this team and keep reading how they will “learn from this”. The question that will make a difference between now and the next meeting with Duke (and the tournament for that matter) is WILL THEY? They have not reached their ceiling. Unlike Duke, I see a chance for significant improvement in PJ and JMM for example. I still think Hubert will give some good minutes before it’s all done. Reggie still has an opportunity to play both ends of the floor and not just focus on defense. Barnes can produce for 40 minutes. Henson can still play smarter. Z really has given all he can since ACC started.
I could be wrong. Maybe I’m just reaching for something today. But I still think Carolina can and will get better before the next meeting. Duke (and their fan base especially) suddenly think they are Gods gift to the ACC. Suddenly they believe Rivers will deliver them to the title. This is the same cat that has been turned on more than once this season. But inefficiency will continue. We will see it over the next 3-4 weeks.
That’s what I’m telling myself anyway….