UNC ONLY BASKETBALL 2024-25 SEASON

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I think one big thing I’m bummed to see right now is that it doesn’t look like our team is having fun. Last year, it was really noticeable right away how much genuine joy they got out of playing together, and that made them one of the most fun Carolina teams I have ever watched. I think Harrison Ingram and Cormac Ryan were enormous reasons for that. This year, RJ looks kind of indifferent at times, Cadeau seems very stressed, and nobody else seems to really be enjoying themselves. Hopefully we can get it turned around soon.

I’m really glad we’re playing Alabama in Chapel Hill and not in Tuscaloosa or on a neutral site. The Smith Center crowd gets a lot of grief but there are very few, if any, environments that are better when the Heels are hosting a top 5 type opponent. I think Alabama is probably a good bit better than us overall, and I think they have a lot of strengths that exploit our weaknesses, but I think having the crowd is going to go a long way for UNC.
 
CFordUNC said:
This year, RJ looks kind of indifferent at times, Cadeau seems very stressed, and nobody else seems to really be enjoying themselves. Hopefully we can get it turned around soon.
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The track record of players who come back for one last season isn't great. They are often either unmotivated, unable to replicate previous success (in part, perhaps, because their fantastic season prior was a bit over their head), or just otherwise play with little joy. Montross comes to mind; his senior season was really big disappointment. Hans' senior season was better, and nobody ever accused him of lacking motivation, but statistically it was worse in nearly every way than the prior season, and he went from being the team's best and most important player to being no better than second on both counts (Lawson became #1 for that team).

I was worried about just this from RJ. Like, does he really want to be here? Really? I mean, he's probably getting good $$ from NIL but he's not helping his pro career any. I don't think he has a future in the NBA but he definitely has a future in overseas leagues.
 
Heelsandeers said:
At the point in the season we can see Jwash hasn’t taken a leap and Tyson won’t be a major contributor
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It's still too early to write off Tyson. He's not likely to be Manek, but Manek didn't look like Manek early in the season. And sometimes players play sparingly at first and then get more minutes as the season goes on. For some reason, I remember this with a Maryland player named LaRon Profit, who basically started getting PT in mid-Feb as I recall and became an important part of the tourney team.

Obviously, Tyson isn't going to be Knecht. He's not going to be close. But could he still be a guy who plays 15-20 minutes and knocks down some shots? Yes.
 
Dayton didn’t just beat UCONN, they pummeled them. Sent one of them home early in the concussion protocol. Dayton won by 18. Led by 20. So the 2 time defending champs, ranked #2 in the Nation, loses 3 in a row… Two of their losses were to 2 teams we’ve already beaten this year. Memphis and Dayton.

We lost to higher ranked Auburn who was favored in the game and was supposed to win. No real harm there. The Mich State game was an upset no doubt. We were favored and should have won. That one hurts. But losses at #1 Kansas and soon to be #2 or #3 Auburn on a neutral floor are nothing to be ashamed of.

But for our short, no-real-man-down-low, no-post-presence-team, I’m good with where we stand now. We’ve been road tested with huge games in hostile environments and we’ve played high profile games against ranked opponents in a tournament atmosphere on neutral courts.

Let’s beat a good Bama team on our floor and finish December strong. I think we can. Looking at our empty shopping cart in the off season, shopping for a big, doesn’t help now.
 
superrific said:
It's still too early to write off Tyson. He's not likely to be Manek, but Manek didn't look like Manek early in the season. And sometimes players play sparingly at first and then get more minutes as the season goes on. For some reason, I remember this with a Maryland player named LaRon Profit, who basically started getting PT in mid-Feb as I recall and became an important part of the tourney team.

Obviously, Tyson isn't going to be Knecht. He's not going to be close. But could he still be a guy who plays 15-20 minutes and knocks down some shots? Yes.
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I would not give Tyson minutes over the freshmen.
 
RJ has always looked indifferent, he’s just not that type of vocal or emotional leader. Which sucks, because it’s exactly what’s needed right now. But we know that he’s not indifferent, and he’s beyond battle-tested through ups and downs. He’s a warrior. The difference in his game is no Bacot in the paint, and nobody else stepping up consistently to alleviate all the pressure he’s drawing.

Regarding Tyson, long way to go, but I’ll be pleasantly shocked if he becomes a regular contributor. It’s not just a matter of getting shots to fall. He’s a step behind every play on either side of the ball, and gets bounced around off bigger stronger players, all making him look much closer to a lost frosh than a seasoned junior. I’ll be thrilled with any contribution in any game at this point, but right now I just don’t think HD can trust him with anything other than very situational minutes for foul trouble or maybe zone busting.
 
superrific said:
It's still too early to write off Tyson. He's not likely to be Manek, but Manek didn't look like Manek early in the season. And sometimes players play sparingly at first and then get more minutes as the season goes on. For some reason, I remember this with a Maryland player named LaRon Profit, who basically started getting PT in mid-Feb as I recall and became an important part of the tourney team.

Obviously, Tyson isn't going to be Knecht. He's not going to be close. But could he still be a guy who plays 15-20 minutes and knocks down some shots? Yes.
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15-20 minutes is a massive stretch, imo, given his lack of athleticism and (currently) inability to make shots. Also, Manek, while not looking as good as he did towards the end of the season, still hit shots, made plays, contributed overall, to the point that he played a LOT more early on that Tyson is playing. Manek averaged 25+ minutes / game before Garcia left, with a low of 16 minutes against UK. (I had to look up this stat.) This was all after playing a lot and contributing at OU.
 
RJ, Cadeau, Trimble, Powell and Jackson are really the only players they can depend on to get buckets. But they would get killed inside and on the boards worse than they already do with Washington, Withers, Tyson and Lubin. Still, I think those five need to be playing the most. I would like to see at least four of them on the court all the time, but usually Hubert only plays three of them together. They just don’t have a big good enough to be a threat in the post, and they give up too many offensive rebounds. So they need to get turnovers so they can run and get transition baskets, and they need to hit 3s. I think they have a better chance of doing that if they have at least four of RJ, Cadeau, Trimble, Powell and Jackson on the floor to run and hit 3s to offset the lack of a post game and giving up offensive boards.
 
OGtruthhurts said:
Wash will never be a serviceable 5.....never. Not his position I hate that he is being forced into playing the 5. Huge fail by HD
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lmaoooooo.

washington isn't a forward. not even remotely. you are what you can guard and he can't guard 90% of forwards.

he's a 5. appears to be more of a backup level 5, unfortunately.
 
It’s a weird Carolina team. The lack of defensive focus to start games is absolutely maddening.
 
Down to 20 in the latest AP poll. Heels need to find a way to beat ranked teams and not lose to unranked teams.
 
We've got three more chances to notch a signature non-conference win in the next 3 weeks-Alabama, Florida, and UCLA. We desperately need to win at least one of those at a bare minimum, and it would really behoove us to win two of them. One of them is on our home floor and another is in what should be a home away from home for us in Charlotte. Going 0-3 is not an option if we plan on making the NCAA Tournament without needing to win the ACC.
 
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