UNC basketball what ifs

[Icky Mettle]

What if I was taller and faster? I might have been able to play for Carolina.

When I was a kid, I always held out hope that one day Dean Smith would be driving down my street while on a recruiting visit to see some player from Charlotte and see me shooting hoops in my driveway (never mind that the hoop is behind the house and you cannot really see it from the street out front; you can only see a portion the of part of the driveway that made up the “basketball court”), and he would stop his car because he was so impressed and wanted to offer me a scholarship based on what he just saw.

 

[CeruleanBlueHeel]

What if Coach Smith had substituted O'koren for Buckley prior to Buckley getting shutdown at the rim. He had said he didn't want to call a TO to substitute as it would make Buckley look bad.

 

[heelinhell]

My EX Father In Law, RIP, had this thought every day for decades

My other criticism of Coach Smith was taking our pedal off the metal when we stormed back in the 2nd half taking a significant lead after erasing a 12 point halftime deficit. We had Marquette reeling. I recall a later a tv interview with Al Maguire where he said that UNC going into a more deliberate pace allowed his team to regain their composure and begin a comeback.

If I had been our coach in the 70s we would have 10 NCAA championships and I would have well over 1000 career victories

 

[Centerpiece]

If Stackhouse and Sheed would have stayed with Carter and Jamison it would have been the greatest UNC team ever. Imagine if they stayed four years and it could have been Cota, Stackhouse, Carter, Jamison and Sheed as the starting five.

That's my kind of "what if" .
When dreaming, go big!

 

[StoneColdHeel]

But seriously, the game has evolved from the days of the motion offense. There's a reason why it's rarely used in the NBA and used much less in college than it used to.

I also liked the motion offense. What I object to is the idea that if coaches aren't using the same system from 30-40 years ago then they are doing something wrong.

For one thing, Dean's motion offense was often designed to get the ball into the post. Post play was efficient back then. Now, it is not, as a general matter. Sometimes it can be, but the corner 3 is almost always a better risk reward bet.

The problem with the motion offense is that it doesn't care that much where shots come from, as long as they are good shots. But in today's game, it absolutely does matter. You do not want to be taking 17 footers. If you look back at classic Dean games like 82 championship, you'll see that virtually all the perimeter players' shots were, by today's standard, bad shots. Of course, they weren't bad back then.

Not a bad shot if you can make it.

 

[uncsig]

If Stackhouse and Sheed would have stayed with Carter and Jamison it would have been the greatest UNC team ever. Imagine if they stayed four years and it could have been Cota, Stackhouse, Carter, Jamison and Sheed as the starting five.

I have seen this view expressed many times over the years. Here's the thing I think most folks forget...freshman year Vince was a MUCH different player than the one he became. Heck, take a look at the stats below:
McInnis 16.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 5.5 apg
Jamison 15.1 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 1.0 apg
Calabria 12.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.2 apg
Zwikker 9.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 0.7 apg
S Williams 8.3 ppg, 2.6 ppg, 2.0 apg
Carter 7.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 apg
Okulaja 6.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg

He started only 19 of the 32 games we played, did not play in one, and averaged 17.9 minutes per game.

I'm sorry, but if Stack and Sheed return that season, then Vince is going to be even more of a non-factor that season.

 

[superrific]

Not a bad shot if you can make it.

Yes, it is. Jumpers just inside the 3 point line are the worst shot in basketball. NBA teams design whole offenses to avoid taking those shots whenever possible.

 

[Calheel]

If you look back at classic Dean games like 82 championship, you'll see that virtually all the perimeter players' shots were, by today's standard, bad shots. Of course, they weren't bad back then.

I watched the entire 82 championship game on YouTube a few years ago. It was amazing how different the game was -- way more different than 82 college football (when we ran the ball 70% of the time). The lack of a three-point line completely changed the way the game was defended. The game was played almost exclusively within 17 feet of the basket. The paint was so clogged.

 

[superrific]

I watched the entire 82 championship game on YouTube a few years ago. It was amazing how different the game was -- way more different than 82 college football (when we ran the ball 70% of the time). The lack of a three-point line completely changed the way the game was defended. The game was played almost exclusively within 17 feet of the basket. The paint was so clogged.

Yep.

 

[unc879]

Here’s one for you: One Missed Free Throw

In 1986, UNC is 25-1 and playing Maryland at home. Kenny Smith, a career 82% FT shooter, is on the line with 10 seconds to play with UNC up 2 (keep in mind there was no 3 pt shot at this time). He misses, and Jeff Baxter makes a shot to send it to OT. In the OT, Steve Hale breaks his rib and collapses a lung diving for a ball. Len Bias goes crazy and UNC loses. That team went 3-5 from that point and lost to Pervis and UL in tourney.

What if Kenny makes the FT?

 

[finesse]

The 71 ACC Championship game where 6'3' Kevin Joyce outjumped 6'10" Lee Dedmon leading to a 52-51 USC victory hurt some as well.