Overall a better played game by the Heels with the exception of 2nd half turnovers and more missed free throws in one game than Tyler Hansbrough had all last season. Outside of that UNC used their significant size advantage to dominate the boards and take all but four shots inside the three point arc. Deon Thompson had a huge night with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Tyler Zeller posted 16 points and Ed Davis had another double-double with 15 and 13. Once again Roy Williams was extremely liberal with his substitution pattern playing 10 Tar Heels at least 10 minutes each. During his postgame remarks, Roy indicated the rotation would tighten up implying he would moving towards more minutes for players who produce. Roy also made use of some different combination such as Dexter Strickland at the two alongside Larry Drew. Chances are we will see more experiments link this.
While it is easy to dismiss this game as only being Gardner-Webb it is important to remember that this team very much needs to crawl before it can walk. The offensive execution was much better which is a product of the opposition to some extent. On the flip side a young team needs to have games where they are successful within the framework of the offense they are learning. It will be nice for them to see game film broken down and some of the right things they did be a focal point. In short, if you cannot execute against the Gardner-Webbs of the work then chances are slim you can do the same against elite teams. The Heels took a few steps in the right direction by playing well on the offensive end. That and four straight days of practice hopefully will aid this team’s development as they host a very good Nevada team on Sunday.
And this business with GWU’s Grayson Flittner going Drew Barry insane? Yeah, for some reason all of these low major teams have that one kid who can end up hitting a bushel of three pointers from anywhere on the court despite being guarded. Granted it makes the defense look like crap for one player to score 32 points on 9-16 from three point range. However the overall effort in terms of what the team did was very good. GWU only shot 37% from the field, committed 22 turnovers and had an offensive rating of 87.0. UNC has three blocks and 11 steals in the process. Setting aside one player, it was a solid effort on defense for a team that is skilled on that end of the floor.
With the six day break, part of that without classes, the team gets some serious time to focus on basketball. Combine that with Roy’s inclination to tighten the rotation, the match-up with Nevada will likely be a noticeable shift towards what UNC will look like heading into the middle of the season.
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“Granted it makes the defense look like crap for one player to score 32 points on 9-16 from three point range. However the overall effort in terms of what the team did was very good.”
I agree. So often, when a guy starts going nuts it usually ends up leading a breakdown of the entire defense and a closer game (or even an upset). We all remember (or can’t forget) the Weber St game, and a more current example is Sam Houston St.’s Corey Almond hitting 11 3’s against UK in a close loss. For UNC to wine by 20 with Flittner going nuts is a testament to their overall defense.
I think the FT’s last night can probably be chalked up to a fluke. In the first 5 games, they shot 84%, 74%, 62%, 72%, and 73%, and 72% for the season, which is acceptable.
Pretty happy with the game overall other than (once again) second half turnovers. Not sure exactly what it is that makes the team lose focus in the second half and become sloppy with the ball. Maybe it’s having a big lead and trying to make great plays instead of the smart play. Of course that doesn’t apply to the ‘Cuse meltdown since we never really had a lead after halftime.
Strickland continues to impress. His confidence seems to be growing game by game. I really liked him at the 2 spot when he and LDII are in the game together.
Zeller had the quietest 16 points I’ve ever seen.
And we’re seeing flashes of how good this team can be. The chemistry is slowly coming around. Case in point; Henson’s block and save between his legs. Don’t remember who took the ball down but he missed the shot. Strickland had ran hard on the play and got the tip in off the miss. Another play where the ball is tapped away from GW by one of our guys and is heading out of bounds. Ginyard goes flying after it and flips it back into a waiting T. Wear’s hands. You can see they are starting to gel.
And yeah, they’re still gonna make us crazy with some of the bone headed things they do too. Isn’t that part of being a Tar Heel though?
i too love strickland at the 2, i think it’s his best chance at really getting some quality minutes in tight games and being able to make an impact. adjusting to college PG isn’t easy, and it’s even less easy if you always played the SG previously.
the wears seem a bit clumsy still on the court but you can just tell they are winners and you can’t teach that, which is awesome.
Zeller looks to be our go to guy in the post, when he’s in rhythm he’s unstoppable. Deon is Deon and isn’t Tyler, so as long as he just focuses on running the court and picking his spots, he should continue to be our leader offensively and drop 18 on turnarounds, put backs and fast breaks…he just isn’t the guy to bang inside and draw a foul or outmuscle somebody for a dunk.
Larry is going to be a very capable PG, even though he still throws passes that reflect just bad decisions AND bad execution, i could probably live w/ one or the other for now.
Ed if we take anything from last year will hopefully get more and more comfortable w/ a leading man type of role, just as he got more in tune w/ the team and offense last year off the bench (albeit not a featured offensive player)…
i’m looking forward to our next stretch, which will be chalk full of learning experiences. can ed be a guy that can get us a needed basket in a time of disarray? can larry not only cut down turnovers but continue to show flashes of offense of his own? can’t wait!
Marcus Ginyard: 6 ast, 2 to, 3 stl. He was aggressive on the offensive end. In his 4th year on the floor he’s showing positive development. (Same for Deon).
You almost have to wonder if UNC’s best lineup (at this moment) is LDII, Strickland, Ginyard, and 2 of Deon/Ed/Zeller. Dex might be the best (only) player on the team at creating his on shot, and, it’s early, but Marcus and Drew are shooting 47% and 43% from 3, respectively.
As I agree that Strickland will be an asset to this team; I have seen nothing to indicate he should be anywhere near a starter at this point.
Also, congrats to Deon for becoming the 63rd (and 3rd from his class) member of UNC’s 1000-point club!
Marcus Ginyard is next on UNC’s active scoring list with 690. At his current pace (11.7 ppg) he will need 27 games to become the 64th member of the the club.
UNC has 25 games remaining on the schedule, plus at least one in the ACCT and one would have to assume 1 in the NCAAT, so it looks like that may happen.
i am not in agreement that low 70%s is acceptable for FTs.
“i am not in agreement that low 70%s is acceptable for FTs.”
Really? Here are the FT% of the last 7 National Champions:
Syracuse: 69%
UConn: 62%
UNC: 72%
Florida: 74%
Florida: 69%
Kansas: 70%
UNC: 75%
In nearly all circles, above 70% is considered decent for an entire team. The NCAA average last year was 68%.
i didnt say its wasnt enough to win games or even championships. it just isnt/wouldnt be acceptable to me.
i can make 7 out of 10 after about 5 minutes of practice, and i havent played in years.
But can you make them in front of 10,000-20,000 screaming fans???
“Dex might be the best (only) player on the team at creating his on shot”
Preaching to the choir. Like I said, he does at times show flashes of that. To me, that is really what we need right now, one person having and displaying the ability to penetrate the lane and finish. What I can’t understand is why he drives, gets into the lane, and backs out. You can just tell that he could finish that with a bucket with his quickness, body control, and athleticism. Henson & Strickland just need to be more confident in themselves and shake off the nervousness.
Does anyone here get the feeling that the start to John Henson’s career at Carolina is similar to that of Vince Carter.
Vince came in with all the hype and it took him until the middle of his sophomore year to play like everyone thought he would coming in.
If you remember, of the three that came in, Carter, Jamison and Okulaja, Jamison and Okulaja were the ones that really shined out of the gate.
So far, and I know it’s early, but Strickland and Travis Wear seem to be playing the best out of the freshmen so far.
I hope Henson can gain some confidence and really allow his game to blossom in the next few games. You can see the potential is there, but the results so far are not matching the potential.