Did you notice it?

Or was it just me?

I think I saw the Tar Heels playing basketball with confidence against NC State. I think they for the most part knew what they wanted to do and where they were supposed to be. ( Roy knows better as he already said that often guys weren’t executing the right defensive sets,etc ).

They passed the ball to each other. And not to the guy in the 3rd row.

Maybe, just maybe they are starting to play the game without having to think about how to play the game.

We will know more this weekend as the Heels take on Virginia. No question that the Wolfpack played poorly against Carolina…that helped a lot. But hopefully a lot of the little things are starting to become second nature to the Heels.

I have been wondering when players would start doing what they are good at. John Henson is one long and lean guy. Did you see him blocking shots against the Pack? Yes! That’s what he should be looking to do. Ed Davis, Deon Thompson…did you see them getting rebounds? Yes! That’s what they should be doing. Will Graves…can he shoot? Yes! When he is open he is great. He took his time for the most part against State and waited until he was open to take a 3 pt shot.

We possibly could see the Heels win a few here over the next 2 weeks. The Heels can compete well against teams like Virginia, Va Tech, and NC State. Hopefully they can get at least 1 win against Duke, Maryland, or Ga Tech in the next few weeks.

I have no doubt that the Heels will get blown out again soon…that’s the way it goes with freshmen.

They will also have their share of good wins against ACC teams. ( Hopefully they can get one against the Blue Devils!)

And I will continue to pay attention to how “natural” the Heels look as they play. They have been “lost” but I believe they might now be “found”.

Go Heels!

MrTarHeel
http://www.mrtarheel.com

Coming into the 2009-2010 season, the banners were in the rafters, but the writing was on the wall. Most of us Tar Heel fans, still drunk on the fumes of last season’s spectacular national championship journey, saw just the banners, the glory, the lofty preseason rankings. We may not have expected another championship team, but we certainly imagined that this year’s younger squad would play their way into the top 10.  After all, how could they not?

Junior Olympian Deon Thompson and projected top 5 pick Ed Davis would dominate the post. Senior Marcus Ginyard would bring defense and leadership to the table. Larry Drew II would escape the shadow of Ty Lawson and calmly direct a swath of high flying McDonald’s All-Americans in John Henson, Dexter Strickland, and Leslie McDonald. Another year, another fast break through ACC play. Bring on another tournament run…Or so we thought.

Hindsight is more than 20-20. Like Ray Felton on a fast break or Ed Cota in traffic, it has a way of slowing down its surroundings and revealing the little things we may not notice the first time around. At this point, I’d like to take a hindsight glance at a few unseen hints that this team would struggle in 2010.

1) No one on this team had ever been a primary scoring option at the college level. Deon Thompson was the team’s 5th scoring option last year, and Ed Davis was probably the 6th. Being the go-to-guy is not just a responsibility; it’s a mentality. Hansbrough had it. Thompson and Davis don’t (yet?). Case in point—late in the 2nd half against Georgia Tech, the ball was on the right wing, and the entire lane was open. Ed Davis hadn’t touched the ball in a while, but the Tar Heels were creeping back into contention. With any level of effort, Davis could have seized post position and earned himself a high percentage look. Instead, he floated around the top of the key, as if waiting for Hansbrough to work his way into the open spot and take the team on his back. At that point in the game, a go-to scorer wants the ball. From my vantage point, it just doesn’t look like Ed really does sometimes.

2) Playing with new players means learning your teammates’ tendencies, preferences, dislikes, and quirks. For example, a point guard who’s played with a teammate for a few years would know exactly where that teammate likes to catch the ball in order to get up a quick shot. This year’s squad, while it certainly doesn’t lack talent, lacks experience playing together, and that’s a huge factor in the Tar Heels’ turnover terrors. Think this doesn’t matter? In 2004, the US Olympic Men’s Basketball Team, cobbled together at the last second, lost to squads of unheralded Argentinian players who played beautifully together thanks to ample experience. Sure, some of this year’s Tar Heel passes into the bleachers come from a lack of composure, but a lot of them come from not having played together much. (More proof of this theory comes from the Kentucky Wildcats, whose unmatched talent has struggled with teamwork turnovers all year long as well.)

3) Injuries can bring any team to its knees. This year, they haven’t been terribly detrimental to the team, but they certainly haven’t helped either. Coming into the season, we knew that Ginyard might struggle with injuries, given his gimpy, gauze ridden 2009.  Zeller, while his injury last year was a bit of a fluke accident, also has had injury issues in the past. Additionally, it’s easy to see how the freshman class could struggle adjusting physically from the lolly-gagging pace of high school basketball to the uptempo, Roy Williams brand of basketball in Chapel Hill. All of these factors were major warning signs: injuries could play a big role in this team’s success in 2009-2010.

In retrospect, it’s easy to see how the current edition of the Tar Heels would struggle quite a bit this season.

All we can do now is take it in stride, enjoy the ride, and hope Roy’s Boys can break on through to the other side.

Heading into Wednesday night’s  Clemson game, I have a few main concerns for this UNC basketball squad.

First of all, the game is in Clemson’s raucous Littlejohn Coliseum.

(If you don’t remember what happened last time the Tar Heels ventured there:

1) Reevaluate your priorities as a UNC basketball fan.

2) Watch the following video. Ellington Tames Tigers

3) Repeat.

4) Notice Bobby Frasor tipping over at the left end of the bench

5) Repeat again.

Back to Wednesday night’s game…

In road games this season, the Tar Heels have struggled to protect the basketball, coughing up 82 turnovers and dishing out only 72 assists in those games. I’ll be the first one to tell you that those Paulus-esque turnover numbers could very well be the result of playing some of the nation’s top teams in Kentucky, Syracuse, Ohio State, and Texas. However, I would argue that those turnovers also result from inexperience and an overall lack of composure. If playing in College of Charleston’s Carolina First Arena rattles you, Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum will REALLY rattle you. The John, as South Carolina fans may or may not refer to the arena, is no Cameron Indoor Stadium, but it’s certainly enough to send this year’s young Tar Heels into a frenzy of errant passes and off-the-foot dribbles.

My second concern is Clemson’s style of play. The Tigers use a 1-2-1-1 (Diamond) full court trap after made baskets. In effect, the defense seeks to quickly trap the first inbound pass, causing turnovers and a frenetic pace favorable to their athletic squad. In UNC’s last visit to Clemson, they turned the ball over 19 times, including five costly donations from all-everything PG Ty Lawson, who we will all agree is a stronger, more capable ball-handler than Larry Drew II or Dexter Strickland. This Oliver Purnell scheme thrives on creating big runs, something the Tar Heels have struggled with all season (Syracuse had a 22-1 run to start the second half; Kentucky had a 28-2 run in the first half).

In the half court, Clemson plays some 2-3 zone as well, a scheme that has baffled Carolina in previous losses to Texas, Kentucky, and Syracuse. When Clemson shows this look, Ed Davis needs to be very assertive in the high post so we can avoid donating a brick wing to the historic basketball arena (aka shooting a lot of 3’s).

Another common denominator in UNC’s losses (with the exception of Charleston) is a bus-sized opposing big man. Syracuse had Onuaku, Kentucky had Patterson, and Texas had Pittman. All three of those value-sized post predators pushed Ed Davis around like a John Henson in a hurricane. Clemson sports muscle-man Trevor Booker in the post, and he also could cause problems for Davis and Thompson on the low block.

The Good News

Fortunately, the Tiger press is forcing a lot less turnovers this year than last year. In Clemson’s first 6 games against big conference teams last year, they forced an average of 18 turnovers. This year, that figure has dropped to 14. Similarly, Clemson’s been pretty unproductive from downtown this season after the loss of playmakers Terrance Oglesby and KC Rivers.

Additionally, Clemson is in a major funk against UNC, having lost over 50 straight games in Chapel Hill and the last few at Clemson. Even if Clemson gets a big lead, that’s no guarantee of anything. Unfortunately for Clemson Head Coach Oliver Purnell, the Tigers have developed a reputation for letting their prey escape from seeming death grips—-Clemson has blown big leads at least a few times in the last two seasons, including this season against Illionis (up 20 at half) and 2 years ago at UNC (up 18 in the first half).

Prediction

#13 UNC 76 #19 Clemson 74

If there is one thing I love it is reading about and hearing stories about how the great coaches get the most out of their players. It may be several years before we hear the stories about what Roy and his staff are doing to teach this Tar Heel team how to win. One thing is for sure. Roy is going to find out how “tough” they are.

When you read some of the books that are out right now about Roy Williams and how he has coached his teams in the past you understand that he is doing a lot of work in practice and in games to make these Heels tough. Physically tough? Yes, but also Mentally tough. Part of the reason he pushes players so hard in practice is to see if they will push themselves a little more. He is trying to see if they will compete when they are physically exhausted.

Sure, Roy likes to smile and have fun playing basketball( after winning the game ). But he also knows that players need to be pushed to reach their potential. When these players are pushed to the limit do they keep going and try harder? Or do they complain? Make excuses? I don’t know but I do wonder who on this squad is taking the lead to push other players and keep everyone going in the same direction. If someone is doing that then this Tar Heel team will be OK.

It may take most of the ACC season for the “toughness” to show. We will know they are tough when they start getting the clutch rebounds. When they start making the free throws in the last minute of the game. When they hit shots with a hand in their face. When three players hit the floor to get a loose ball. When no one gets their shot blocked because they take it strong to the basket ( and I mean take it “Hansbrough Strong” to the basket ).

While I think this is a odd mix of players on this team ( meaning lots of tall guys and some guards…but not a lot of fast,  jump shooting forwards ) I like the potential they have if they learn to play with purpose and toughness. If the guards start hitting 3’s just think how that will open up things for the big guys inside. If a couple of players become “go to” guys….maybe Deon can learn to take guys one on one in clutch situations to get a basket. Maybe Larry Drew will develop a move that always gets him an open shot and will start to hit that shot under stress.

One thing is for sure.

Roy has already been hard at work teaching these guys how to become winners. And to become tough.

MrTarHeel
www.mrtarheel.com

Just weeks ago, it looked like NFL dreams (dancing like sugar plums or cheerleaders, perhaps) would prematurely end the careers of standout UNC defenders Marvin Austin, Kendric Burney, Bruce Carter, Quan Sturdivant, and Deunta Williams—all of whom were projected draft picks in this spring’s NFL draft.

Now, in a display of team unity rare in this prima donna era, all five players have decided to return to Chapel Hill for their senior seasons, vastly improving UNC’s ACC championship hopes for the coming season.

So what does that mean for the Heels’ 2010 season?

As of today, the Heels will return 8 starters on offense, not including Shaun Draughn (a full time starter at running back before a broken shoulder blade) and 3 offensive linemen with a few injury-related starts this past fall.

Defensively, the Heels will return 9 starters including first team All-ACC selections Deunta Williams, Kendric Burney, Quan Sturdivant, and Robert Quinn—as well as 2^nd team selections Bruce Carter and Marvin Austin.

The two starters lost—-DE EJ Wilson and DT Cam Thomas—-will be replaced by extremely experienced performers in DEs Michael  McAdoo or Quentin Coples and DT Tydreke Powell, respectively. In other words, there shouldn’t be a lot of drop off there.

All in all, it looks like this unit will have an excellent shot to repeat as the ACC’s best defense and make a run at the nation’s best defense. The Tar Heels sported the nation’s 6^th best stop unit in 2009.

New Year’s is a time of tough, and often unfulfilled resolutions (whether we’re swearing off of late night Chinese food or pledging to work out a few times per week). We Tar Heel fans should be thrilled that this New Years, some of the best defensive players in the ACC resolved to make 2010 a special college football season in Chapel Hill.