UNC ONLY BASKETBALL 2024-25 SEASON

[Rock]

I googled Blue Steel and, as I assume he's not talking about the Zoolander joke, there's a John Wayne movie and a Kathryn Bigelow-Jamie Lee Curtis movie. Do you guys get the reference in relation to Coach Frederick who is bald?

I'm just curious.

 

[SnoopRob]

I googled Blue Steel and, as I assume he's not talking about the Zoolander joke, there's a John Wayne movie and a Kathryn Bigelow-Jamie Lee Curtis movie. Do you guys get the reference in relation to Coach Frederick who is bald?

I'm just curious.

Blue Steel was the nickname for a group of walk-ons in 2010-2011.

Wilson: Talking hoops with Blue Steel

Group's self-deprecating Twitter feed has more than 6,000 followers

www.espn.com

I'm guessing that he's referencing that Frederick was an end of bench player rather than a starter during his playing days at Carolina.

 

[Icky Mettle]

Blue Steel was the nickname for a group of walk-ons in 2010-2011.

Wilson: Talking hoops with Blue Steel

Group's self-deprecating Twitter feed has more than 6,000 followers

www.espn.com

I'm guessing that he's referencing that Frederick was an end of bench player rather than a starter during his playing days at Carolina.

Yep, Blue Steel is what we used to call the “the blue team,” which is what we called the walk-ons and other players who would typically come in at the end of blowouts.

 

[Heelsandeers]

guys, just exactly how good we were for how long in 2022 really isn't relevant.

HD's tenure so far is simply not up to standard, regardless. i've really been in his corner in the past but he's lost me over the last couple of months.

Right, so much back and forth on this (3 years now) and it does not matter. The same issues have been present in years 2, 3, 4

Never expected perfection from the start, but at the very least thought by now we'd see a willingness to adapt and change things that aren't working

 

[Heelsandeers]

Haven't thought about this season/team since Saturday night

They really came out with Trimble on Flagg throwing wild doubles at him on the perimeter...

Will be an extra hungry Pitt team tomorrow, coming off a terrible home loss to Virginia

 

[CFordUNC]

Updated Bracketology this morning is sobering. t has UNC in the "Next Four Out" (so essentially team #74 in the 68-team field). Pitt, our opponent tomorrow, is #73. We've put ourselves into a position where we can probably only afford 1 more loss to feel like we've got a solid chance of an at-large bid on Selection Sunday (assuming, of course, we win some ACCT games). We are 6-5 in the ACC and it feels to me like 14-6 in the league is probably the line of demarcation at which point anything below (like 13-7) would be sweating bullets on Selection Sunday. The grim reality is not only that we're going to have to win one of the @Clemson/vs. Duke games (IMO) but we're going to have to run the table against the Pitt/Syracuse/NC State/Virginia/Miami/FSU/VT crew. Like, we probably cannot afford a single loss amongst that group now unless it's inexplicably offset by something like beating both Duke and Clemson.

 

[CRHeel94]

I googled Blue Steel and, as I assume he's not talking about the Zoolander joke, there's a John Wayne movie and a Kathryn Bigelow-Jamie Lee Curtis movie. Do you guys get the reference in relation to Coach Frederick who is bald?

I'm just curious.

IIRC, Pat got a lot of input with the playbook when he first joined the staff.

 

[SnoopRob]

Updated Bracketology this morning is sobering. t has UNC in the "Next Four Out" (so essentially team #74 in the 68-team field). Pitt, our opponent tomorrow, is #73. We've put ourselves into a position where we can probably only afford 1 more loss to feel like we've got a solid chance of an at-large bid on Selection Sunday (assuming, of course, we win some ACCT games). We are 6-5 in the ACC and it feels to me like 14-6 in the league is probably the line of demarcation at which point anything below (like 13-7) would be sweating bullets on Selection Sunday. The grim reality is not only that we're going to have to win one of the @Clemson/vs. Duke games (IMO) but we're going to have to run the table against the Pitt/Syracuse/NC State/Virginia/Miami/FSU/VT crew. Like, we probably cannot afford a single loss amongst that group now unless it's inexplicably offset by something like beating both Duke and Clemson.

Using Bart Torvik's teamcast, it looks like we can make it if we go 7-2 to close out the year, but we'd be right on the edge and we'd need there to be minimal bid thieves and we'd almost certainly have to win our first ACCT game.

I'm not saying that to disagree with you, because I think 7-2 puts us squarely into "sweating bullets on Selection Sunday" territory...but it does make me feel a little better about our chances.

 

[CFordUNC]

Using Bart Torvik's teamcast, it looks like we can make it if we go 7-2 to close out the year, but we'd be right on the edge and we'd need there to be minimal bid thieves and we'd almost certainly have to win our first ACCT game.

I'm not saying that to disagree with you, because I think 7-2 puts us squarely into "sweating bullets on Selection Sunday" territory...but it does make me feel a little better about our chances.

Oh nice! That actually makes me feel a little better because I was thinking I can't see any way in which we go 8-1 the rest of the way.

 

[Enigma94]

7-2 doesn't seem exactly realistic either.

 

[CFordUNC]

7-2 doesn't seem exactly realistic either.

Yeah, I agree, unfortunately it is probably not. Still nice, though, to at least have a decently-reasonable path on paper. Clemson and Duke are the only two games left in which we'll be solid underdogs. All of the rest, we should be favored.

 

[SnoopRob]

7-2 doesn't seem exactly realistic either.

It's not as unrealistic as you might think. Looking at kenpom and barttorvik, we're favored by each in 7 of our 9 remaining games (although FSU in Tallahassee is probably a toss up).

If we can just win the games we're supposed to, we're at least solidly on the bubble. If we can be just a tiny bit better than we've been over the last month, we can do it.

 

[Enigma94]

It's not as unrealistic as you might think. Looking at kenpom and barttorvik, we're favored by each in 7 of our 9 remaining games (although FSU in Tallahassee is probably a toss up).

If we can just win the games we're supposed to, we're at least solidly on the bubble. If we can be just a tiny bit better than we've been over the last month, we can do it.

Depends on how much we are favored by. If it's something like 60% favorites in those 7 games, I'm guessing our expected outcome would be something like 5-2. I want to believe too, just don't see it happening at this point.

 

[SnoopRob]

Depends on how much we are favored by. If it's something like 60% favorites in those 7 games, I'm guessing our expected outcome would be something like 5-2. I want to believe too, just don't see it happening at this point.

Yeah, both KP and BT have our projected ACC record at 12-8 (meaning 5-3 to close out the year).

But that's not a feel good take, so I'm being hopeful.

 

[Centerpiece]

Game Day. Pitt Panthers in the house. 4pm on ESPNU (if I’m not mistaken). Let’s go Heels!

It won’t be long now. I trust the PTB to have things well in hand to actually get what we want - and need - once the Portal opens in March. Less than a month away.

A word of advice to Hubert for the remainder of the year: Don’t be afraid to pull a Dean or Roy… and that is: jerk the starting 5 outta the game before the first TV timeout and replace them all… if they don’t come out of the gate with all of the holler and hustle you know they have in them. Take them all out en masse and have them sit on the bench and watch for a while. Which is exactly what both Dean and Roy would do, and which you’ve shown reluctance to try. Just do it. It works.

 

[CRHeel94]

You know things are bad when that beatdown by Clemson goes unnoticed. Slim chances at the tourney went out the door with that one.

 

[4thgenheel]

i asked this in the other thread but it's probably more appropriate here. who do y'all want us to hire when HD is done?

 

[Charlotte1204]

You know things are bad when that beatdown by Clemson goes unnoticed. Slim chances at the tourney went out the door with that one.

The crazy thing is Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm STILL have us in the first four out in their respective brackets. Palm has us in the top slot, and Joe has third on his list. I admit, I’m not one that follows Kenpom and the net and all those other metrics closely, so it’s mind-boggling to me.

 

[Carolina Fever]

Is it going to be that much better if they do make the tournament and don't get past the second round, or maybe not even the first? Is one good season and one good tourney run good enough compared to two bad seasons, one bad one until the tourney run, and one good season where they were still beat by a higher seed and sent home from the tourney early?

 

[SnoopRob]

Is it going to be that much better if they do make the tournament and don't get past the second round, or maybe not even the first? Is one good season and one good tourney run good enough compared to two bad seasons, one bad one until the tourney run, and one good season where they were still beat by a higher seed and sent home from the tourney early?

Making the tourney, as a stand-alone issue, is always better than not making the tourney.

Now, if you think that we’ve gotten to a “make the tourney = one more year” vs “miss the tourney = HD fired” situation, that would be a different question.

I don’t think that’s where we are, though, so I’m for us making the tourney however it happens.