WRAL SportsFan’s Tim Hall blogged today that, according to John Henson, chemistry may have been at the heart of UNC’s struggles this year.
According to Hall:
The reasons for all the losing in the last two months have been debated. Effort, injuries, and inexperience have all been brought up as issues that helped to the Heels downfall. But one freshmen (sic) had a different reaction (1:30 in) as to what the Heels have done differently in the past two wins.
“Just as a team we’ve come together. Like coach said, we liked each other but we didn’t care about each other,” John Henson said after the Tar Heels 69-62 win over Miami. “We’re starting to care about each other and care about our performances and it’s starting to show in the games.”
Head coach Roy Williams has been grilled with question (sic) about chemistry all season long. He’s been asked if certain players are forming their own “clicks” (sic) with each other, and Williams never seemed to have a definitive answer.
This is interesting, but not surprising to hear. Given the team’s struggles and fandom’s constant monitoring of every tweet and facial expression, it is still difficult to predict exactly what is going on in the locker room. There did not appear to be any outward signs that people on the team weren’t getting along, but actually giving a flip about each other is something else entirely.
Personally, I don’t think caring about each other causes defensive lapses or throwing the ball into the stands, but it does figure into how hard the team plays and how they respond to adversity. And for the past two games, Carolina has shown an ability to hold it together that was not there throughout most of the ACC season. Plus, it is refreshing to hear Henson say that Roy had recognized it and had addressed the team about it. At this point, anything that helps bring this team home in a positive manner is very much appreciated.
(Sidebar: Mr. Hall, a single first-year player is a freshman, Williams has been grilled with questions (plural), and exclusive groups are called cliques. This has been a Grammar Police warning.)
Update[THF]: The first thing I thought when I read this was: “Holy crap, John Henson is Danny Green.” Seriously. This sounds like the sort of thing Roy said he would tell the team and then Green would tell the media. Then it dawned on me. The smile. The personality. The willingness to talk to the media. Game changing freak plays. John Henson is the 2nd coming of Danny Green. It only took one year.
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If UNC puts on a good showing on Saturday, maybe there is something to this, but I am not sure how much holding together I saw last night as we frittered away 16 points of our lead down the stretch. Still, if John says it, it probably is somewhat true given his credibility as a person and a player.
I think this is an example of taking something simple, like a motivational phrase or inspirational quote given by a coach, translating it through player comments to the media, putting it under a microscope, and attaching too much literal and significant meaning to it.
More likely Roy spoke to the team and told them something to the effect that to truly bond as a team or work together as a unit, in addition to liking each other they must learn to care about each other. Taking it to another level. Being committed to each other. (I’ve heard this expression before.)
That’s all I think it means.
Well the comment has been made about a good show giving weight to this comment. Does a good show include hanging with Duke but not be able to pull out the win? Or does it have to be defined by a W?
We stayed in the last game with them most of the way. We were even up by 4 at the 8 minute mark. So we put on a good show and fought them even for 32 minutes last time but just couldn’t seal the deal.
Look I want the win but I will take a loss that includes hustle and effort. I want UNC to play good looking basketball as much as the next guy, but right now against Duke I don’t care if they have to take granny shots to get the ball in the basket. My attitude for Tarheel basketball is as same as it ever has been.
Play hard, play clean, and play to win!
“fought them even for 32 minutes last time but just couldn’t seal the deal.”
fighting for 40 minutes would be a start
Really this Duke team is a #1 seed? If true they will be the biggest paper Tiger #1 seed since Purdue in 1996. Man the ACC is awful this year.
Ugatarheel, you have got alot to say.
The play hard, play clean, and play to win quote, I agree w/1/3rd of that, the play clean is not possible against Duke. They are as dirty as they come.
I hope Duke goes down tonight a blow out would be awesome.
^ I love seeing Duke lose, I’m just not sure I want it to happen the game before we play them.
“…and fandom’s constant monitoring of every tweet and facial expression…”
Stop, hold up mirror, observe self. Just as painful as making statements about play following one game or three, not enough information. The tweeting though should probably made private. It’s just a little more info than anyone really needs.
Duke’s inside threat, Z…I have to agree with scl11 and that’s not easy. The comment about Purdue reminds me of the famous rant recording of a certain Indiana coach. “I’ll run you so hard…”
Henson is fun to watch and always so pleased with himself after a big play. He’s got a bigger smile than Marcus, though after a dunk he tries to hide it but he ends up just making a weird face.
I would have to agree with waiting for the ACC tournament to play out before I think too much about the NIT. Sadly this year is the fist in 8 years that I won’t attend round1&2 of the tournament. At least it’s back in Charlotte next year, I keep reminding my wife – look see, no tournament this year, pay attention. She pointed out that UNC didn’t have post season football so I’m still -4 but she’s okay with that so far.
I care about them playing hard and playing to win. The game will be decided by our rebounding and perimeter defense.
Maryland beats Duke!
Maybe this is the start of Duke’s losing streak!
^^^and jay bilas also…..
look out dukee, 2 loses in a row coming uppppp….
I like this…..
Man, the descrepancy between how the ACC allows Duke to play defense vs other teams is rediculous. I really have no clue why they allow it. Every time Maryland would drive the ball in to score they’d get bumped off their position. Should have been a LOT more And-1 opportunities for Maryland than they received. Then, Duke goes to the NCAA tournament and wonders why minute fouls are called.
Not to mention multiple moving screens by Zoubek. But hats off to Vasquez, the guy is a baller.
Duke actually got screwed on two calls I saw which was refreshing to see and I enjoyed it immensely.
Well that was funny!! But then really look at ridiculous calls they get at Cameron including the now infamous phantom technical against Greg Monroe. So I guess it was comeuppance.
“they cant call everything”
and ACC officials have been worn down. they are exhausted thinking how K is going to yell at them at every opportunity.
i liked Maryland pressing Dook a lot. make those 40-minute players work like dogs.
espn can quit (erases first verb choice) bowing down to Scheyerface. his ACC assist numbers are quite average. 2 tonight.
LD2 has 22 more assists.
Dook had 8 as a team. thats what happens to them every year. its about jacking 3s or 1 on 1 moves.
Scheyer, Singler, and Smith for 38, 40, and 38 min. w/ combined avg. FG% of 36% in a fairly high-possession game. Hmm…..doesn’t sound like a model for success.
how bout Aminu with 0 points on 2 shot attempts. how is that even possible?
so I am debating with my friend about ACC POY, my pick is Vasquez after tonight performances, but when I was gather statistical data to proved my point, I discovered that Larry legend leads the ACC in total assist.
Vazquez seems to be more refined than his father. His father sure seems like a wild card. I call that progress. See, if each generation is just a little less screwed up than their parents, society can really achieve something….
If UNC can’t do something this year, maybe Maryland or GMU can.
I am going to check the Wake boards, but I think something is going on with that team. Aminu was glowering over on the sidelines. How about Ish with the backboard brick three in the last minute? I remember those commentators during our first Wake game saying Ish was a sure NBA player. I say he is a sure Balkan player….
william before you make sweeping statements about someone I think you should read about their background a little.
makeitWayne,
not sure what source youre using but LD2 does not lead in assists. Vasquez does. 102 ACC assists. Ish Smith with 94. LD2 with 88.
I don’t know what you mean, but that is my hometown paper that gets left on my porch everyday and we get ten times more Vasquez and Terp coverage here in DC/MD where I live.
Vasquez is the POY. i think he was before today.
you DO have to wonder what is going on. what goes on every year with a couple of these teams. is it my imagination, or has Wake and GT struggled mightily down the stretch for a couple years? they may both lose out.
how does Wake have only 40 FG attempts and 15 FT attempts. wow, thats…bad.
Well, I am not interested enough to spend too much time here, but the Wake people are about just as unhappy as UNC people are, and they have an 8-7 record in conference. I see a couple of threads about who they should hire as their new coach:
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=192&f=1118
You guys need to look at the conference-only stats. Even those are a bit suspect since teams no longer play the same schedule, but you are really looking at apples and oranges if you look at unadjusted season-long stats.
i only look at the ACC stats once we get 6 games in or so.
it was 2 seasons ago that Wake finished losing 5 of 6. they will likely match or exceed that this year.
and State lost again. poor State. they MAY end the year 16-16.
I love the smell of a Blue Devil’s burning carcass…even if it’s at the hand of a lesser yet still despised enemy Terrapins.
Are those legs getting weak just in time for Henson’s long arms to swat everything away and garner the blocked shot title?
How is that for being positive?
I wonder how those FSU guys did in blocked shots tonight? Obviously, per minute down low, nobody is close to Henson at blocking shots….
I do love that Duke cheer when Maryland goes to Cameron and the fans yell:
“Not our rival.” “Not our rival.” “Not our rival.”
Maryland so desperately wanted to replace us as Duke’s chief rival and they almost did at one point.
Any updates on ed davis?
FSU had 3, Alabi 2. so John is 2 behind him.
we’re 7 behind FSU as a team.
***
oh, and william… Coach K just said yesterday or today that dook has NO conference rivals.
Is Ed going to play? Maybe we could start Zeller, Davis and Henson, down low.
This is the kind of game that Dean Smith used to find an angle in to win. Seriously, if they win Saturday and get 3 wins in the tourney, they have a chance.
I will say that at least, we did have pretty much our first big second half lead against Miami, so there, that is something positive again. If they beat Duke, I think they can win their first round game in the tourney and then, who knows?
You figure Alabi is a starter.
Henson’s block stats are really off the charts if you go by per minute when he has played the 4 position.
I find it really exciting. In the long history of UNC basketball, we have never really had a dominant shotblocker, like a Bill Walton or Artis Gilmore or Patrick Ewing or Ralph Sampson.
Most of our 7 footers have been more finesse guys like Brad Daugherty. Montross was big but he didn’t block shots like Henson. Wright did, but I don’t remember him blocking this many and there is something about the way Henson does it that is particularly unnerving to opponents.
I had always liked the ‘sweat gary sweat’ cheer…even for a bunch of ***wipes the Crazies could be crafty (particularly if it’s not a UNC athlete being targeted).
I am still a little jealous of Maryland’s 15-1 season back in 2002. UNC has never done better than 14-2 since the conference went to 16 games. I think Duke is the only team to go undefeated through 16 games.
I remember when Duke fans threw panties at Herman Veal. So risque!
and hostess twinkies at Dennis Scott (I think it were him)…and probably some others.
That 2002 NCAA final was an ugly sight to behold. 2006 NCAA Final came close to matching it.
ed isnt playing anytime soon that i’ve heard.
Alabi has about 150 more ACC minutes than Henson.
the Crazies are nowhere near as clever as they once were.
“…..there is something about the way Henson does it that is particularly unnerving to opponents.”
The thing about a good shot blocker is that once they get in a shooters head then they really can affect his shots even when not blocking them. John can come at you from so many different angles, and his quick jumping ability and lateral mobility just adds to the potency of his blocks. (Man would it be nice to have 2 talented blockers on the team next year.)
Ed Davis had decent block stats too, but his blocks didn’t seem to bother the opponents as much. Any ideas why?
Also the Dookies threw pizza boxes at Lorenzo Charles after he allegedly stole pizza from Dominoes….
Spider Henson’s reach is ridiculous. i wasnt lying last night. he was 5-6 ft from his man, and had a hand in his face.
what is his reach? since networks always like to tell us a dude has the wingspan of 7 feet or whatever…anyone heard his?
I will thoroughly enjoy the mere thought of a 5th straight (at Durham) win at that tinder box of an arena Saturday. And hope against hope, Dookie Vitale gets to see it up close.
^^^ In addition to my comments above, I think because John’s arms extend at least 4 to 5 inches higher than Ed’s. (To me, he has the effect of about 7-1 or 7-2) And I think he might have a slightly higher vertical, though I can’t tell for sure.
Google says 7’4″.
One of the reasons I enjoy reading this blog so much is because of how well written it is. As far as blogs go, you guys do a great job. Grammatical correctness means a lot to me.
It is true that historically sports journalists have focused on height rather than wingspan, which is perhaps unfortunate.
Apparently, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain had identical vertical reaches, even though Chamberlain was three inches or so taller. That helps explain, even though there were no stats then, why blocked shots was one category in which Russell was considered perhaps Chamberlain’s better.
I think that is why Gerald Henderson was drafted before Wayne Ellington, although I am not sure why it matters so much for a wing player.
Thanks, JB, on behalf of THF. I think since he added the edit feature that a lot of us actually do try to go back and fix mistakes when we notice them. There are a lot of UNC grads posting so we don’t want to embarrass ourselves….
Do you think LarryS that Henson’s usual type of block, from far away, is more unnerving than the types that Ed seemed to get more often, which were more of the kind when both guys have their hands on the ball at almost the same moment?
I am a champion speller…2nd place (but only 4 contestants). dang it, small town
^^Absolutely. They both have a quick jump and do a good job of not taking head fakes, but I see Ed as more of a limited-area protector. John can pretty much swoop in from anywhere.
You Texans are knowed for that.
I learned to speak / read well in NC, of course. maybe I’ll edit that one out.
I really thought that Davis had the capacity to do on defense what Henson is doing. I think people are disappointed with Davis because he did not add to his offensive repertoire and he does not dominate the paint the way he seems to have the ability to dominate.
Yeah, I think what you are saying LarryS is that Ed’s blocks do not cause opponents to alter the trajectory of their shots in the paint in the way that Henson’s do.
ed couldve easily led the ACC in blocks if he hadnt been hurt. which, of course, wouldve meant a lot less Henson.
uh oh, i stumbled upon a Dead Horse topic.
please disregard.
Davis’s block numbers were good. It is just that his blocks did not seem exciting or seem to rev up the team, or really to discourage the opponents the way that Henson’s do.
The strange thing now for Ed, is that if he had gone pro last year, he would probably be more beloved in Chapel Hill than he will be now after staying an extra year. I would like to see him come back and really play, just for his legacy.
^^^Yes, that coupled with the fact that John is so quick it can cause shooters to hurry their shots.
Of course he’s just now getting his wings. It will really be fun when he gets in his full-confidence, full-flight mode down the road.
If UNC could guard the three, with Davis and Henson underneath, we could be really difficult to score on, which is what everyone expected back in November.
maybe next year.
I gotta think Henson’s wingspan is higher than 6’4. Jarvis Varnado is 6’9 and has a wingspan of 7’6. Varnado’s arms, while freakishly long do not look longer than Henson’s and Henson has 2 inches on him.
^Who knows, as of right now? I’ve seen links from 2008 saying it was 7’4″. I’ve seen 7′ 5″ from the Tar Heel Times. Sometimes a number shows up somewhere, then everything is cross-referenced to that and it becomes etched in stone.
But I know one thing – it’s long.
makeitWayne,
not sure what source youre using but LD2 does not lead in assists. Vasquez does. 102 ACC assists. Ish Smith with 94. LD2 with 88.
According to ESPN, maybe that is total not just ACC, sorry, still nice to see larry up there
^yes it is miW. Gotta agree with HTTE–Vasco is the obvious choice–it’s amazing sometimes to see what that burning ember called willpower can do.
good stuff about blocks–I mention (for the 3rd time) that IF Ed comes back, I think he & Zeller will be serviceable (at the very/very least) down low, which would give Roy the option of putting Henson out top on defense to cover the oh-so-dependable/game-O-the-century-against-us 3 point shooter. I can’t recall another team who has had those specific defensive options, and it’s so compelling, it would be damned foolish imo, not to at least give it a look.
John Henson having a Hakim Warrick type impact, Roy should know very well, how having John on the perimeter can stop key 3 point plays.
so, with VA playing Maryland…lets say VA loses.
IF we beat Dook, we’d slip up into 9th, and deny dook the regular season title.
that would mean facing BC in the 8/9 game and then Maryland.
VT has a decent chance of being the 4 if they can beat a swooning GT.
if we dont beat dook, then they are the 1. if Maryland still wins, we stay at 10, play the 7 then the 2 (Maryland).
same if we beat dook and Maryland loses to VA. i think we lose any tiebreaker with VA except maybe some exotic 4-way tie with State and Miami that might go to the 2nd tiebreaker.
“If UNC could guard the three, with Davis and Henson underneath, we could be really difficult to score on, which is what everyone expected back in November.”
A returning 5th year senior that had been given the reputation of being one of the best perimeter defenders ever in Chapel Hill, along with Henson and Davis in the post blocking shots, man what were we thinking this team had 5-11 in ACC and missing the NCAAT written all over it……..
I would agree strongly with william that Henson causes major trouble when players are thinking about driving into the lane. He has a huge reach and is really active around the basket. I think he gets into their heads and they don’t want to go against him one on one. He gets beat from time to time and he’s doing a better job not fouling on those plays but the number of those events is decreasing.
I think Duke is going to struggle against Henson in this role. Need to review the tape on the last game against Duke with an eye to what has changed at UNC. Very little is different at Duke and that should at least make the preparation a little easier. If we can get the same level of intensity and hold onto the benefits of the current rotation then we have a real shot of taking them down.
As I sometimes feel my own personal bad luck rubs off on the team if I get to excited about them or god forbid talk smack about them before the game I am trying very hard not to get too excited about this game. I will try to list the positives I see going in however.
Thompson always seems to get up for the rivalry games with Duke and State. His strongest performance last year was against Duke, and his strongest performance this year was against State.
Duke like all teams that live and die by the 3 has been known to run hot and cold in their shooting. Maybe we can luck out and catch them in a cold streak.
Henson should be able to have a good game given the weakness of the front court play that has become a hallmark of Duke basketball over the last few years.
Ginyard looked better against Miami then he has since November. Hopefully that carries over to Duke.
Now for some things that frighten me about this game.
If Duke finds there stroke from behind the 3 point line it will likely bury us as it is unlikely we will be able to disrupt a hot shooting streak from them.
Graves has yet to show the ability to shoot on the road the way he has at home. Drew will probably still have those fingers taped together and may not end up shooting well either. And McDonald is simply an unknown quantity at this point.
I’m not even going to talk about turnovers because they are what they are. Even when we spanked Mich State we still had a ton of turnovers. The team will simply have to play hard enough to overcome their expected mistakes.
[...] in a gritty game anyway. They seem to be understanding team effort much better as well. John Henson pointed this out after the Miami [...]