SnoopRob
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I’ve never checked out on a season and I’m trying hard not to do so now.
But this team makes it tough.
UNC ONLY BASKETBALL 2024-25 SEASON
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But this team makes it tough.
StoneColdHeel
Exceptional Member
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I don't know how they score as much as they usually do without getting a lot of turnovers and getting a bunch of transition baskets. The halfcourt offense is terrible, yet they still average over 80 a game. Guess it says a lot about the talent of RJ, Trimble, Cadeua, Jackson and Powell. Imagine if they ran an actual offensive scheme instead of just shooting 3s and going one on one all the time.
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Season’s not over yet, but this one very well may be lining up to make the bottom 5 Tar Heel seasons of my years of watching. I can’t imagine any season being worse than 2002, though 2020 came close (I guess it’s something about having two 2s and teo 0s in the year). I have a tough time deciding whether it should be 2023 or 2010 to go in the bottom 3 behind 2002 and 2020, but I think I might go with 2023 considering the preseason expectations and the overall disappointment. So 2010 after that, followed by 2003 (which at least had its moments and reasons to feel good about the future).
Funny to think that before 2002, the bottom 5 probably would have been 1990 (when we reached the Sweet 16 and swept Duke), 1999 (when we finished the season ranked #13, but got swept by Duke in 3 games and ended the season with a first round NCAAT loss), 2000 (when we reached the Final Four, but after a very rough season), 1996 (when we finished the season ranked in the top 25 and swept Duke), and 2001 (when we won 16 games in a row, including a win at Duke, and finished the season ranked #6, but really fizzled out in the end).
Funny to think that before 2002, the bottom 5 probably would have been 1990 (when we reached the Sweet 16 and swept Duke), 1999 (when we finished the season ranked #13, but got swept by Duke in 3 games and ended the season with a first round NCAAT loss), 2000 (when we reached the Final Four, but after a very rough season), 1996 (when we finished the season ranked in the top 25 and swept Duke), and 2001 (when we won 16 games in a row, including a win at Duke, and finished the season ranked #6, but really fizzled out in the end).
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Just a matter of time. The HD experiment will be coming to an end shortly. I have a huge problem with people not earning a position so it cant come quick enough.
circlesky88
Distinguished Member
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2010 at least had the afterglow of the 2009 title to help endure that season.
Heelsandeers
Exceptional Member
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The results are even worse than they seem when you dig into the actual flow of these games
In 320 mins this year (2-6) vs likely/possible NCAAT teams how many mins have they actually led?
4 pt leads over Kansas/Florida might be their biggest/only multiple possession leads of the year vs quality teams
Couldn't build leads even in the games they won
In 320 mins this year (2-6) vs likely/possible NCAAT teams how many mins have they actually led?
4 pt leads over Kansas/Florida might be their biggest/only multiple possession leads of the year vs quality teams
Couldn't build leads even in the games they won
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2020 was rough lol. I still followed the team but stopped watching most of the games halfway through ACC play. Same with 2023 actually. The preseason hype juxtaposed with how flat the team looked on the court all season made me check out sometime in February.
Pretty close to getting to the same place this season too. I switched over to the game once the Rose Bowl had gotten completely out of hand, watched maybe 5 mins, then switched to something else and checked the score on the ESPN app every once and awhile. Team plays scared and looks totally clueless. Same story every game and it’s just not enjoyable to watch.
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I’ve never fully checked out for a season, but there have been a few seasons (2002, 2010, 2020, 2023) where it was no longer must-see TV for me. I think I’m finally there now this season.
StoneColdHeel
Exceptional Member
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This is one of those seasons where it's better to not watch the games live, but record them and only watch if they win.
Centerpiece
Iconic Member
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A couple of others have said this before, but I’ve gotten to the point in my life (old) that I simply don’t watch the game live. With streaming and DVR etc. I simply wait until I know it’s going to be a game worth watching. Then I’ll watch it, with the added enjoyment of being able to fast forward through timeouts, halftime, commercials, etc.
I’ll usually check the score on Bleacher Report, which gives good info, live and up to the minute - good stats, play by play, etc.. When the Heels are playing well and seemingly putting forth good effort, I may tune in the game live… or simply wait until the final whistle has blown. Should the Heels win that game, I’ll rewind and watch. If they lose, I won’t bother running it back.
Call me fairweather. Yesterday I enjoyed watching the Oregon and Ohio State marching bands during their halftime. As milquetoast as that sounds, it was more enjoyable.
ETA: StoneCold just nailed it.
I’ll usually check the score on Bleacher Report, which gives good info, live and up to the minute - good stats, play by play, etc.. When the Heels are playing well and seemingly putting forth good effort, I may tune in the game live… or simply wait until the final whistle has blown. Should the Heels win that game, I’ll rewind and watch. If they lose, I won’t bother running it back.
Call me fairweather. Yesterday I enjoyed watching the Oregon and Ohio State marching bands during their halftime. As milquetoast as that sounds, it was more enjoyable.
ETA: StoneCold just nailed it.
CRHeel94
Distinguished Member
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- 319
RJ and Elliott both really struggle in containing dribble penetration. That forces the help to come which then creates all sorts of problems on the weak side (and our bigs are not great at holding space in the help). RJ is just an undersized guard who can be bullied to the basket...it's a huge problem when he plays next to Cadeau because he has to take on the larger guard.
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I've been doing this for years.
It's also because of time, it shouldn't take over 120 minutes to watch a 40 minute game.
But with the networks inability to schedule i often miss the first few minutes of a game.
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In a nutshell:
Our front court is bad. They struggle to finish on offense and to protect the rim on defense. They struggle to rebound. Lubin is not tall enough, Washington is not strong enough, and Withers is constantly lost. These are guys who ideally would be the 8th man, getting less than 10 minutes per game.
Several of our guards, including RJ, are struggling to make shots. Without quality bigs, we really need them to hit their outside shots, but at the same time, the lack of quality bigs likely contributes to their shooting woes.
Our guards are small. While small guards can be great players, being small has disadvantages in a game where most people on the court, including some of the shortest people on the court, are tall. Having one small player in the lineup may not be much of a liability, but having 2-3 on the court at the same time often is.
We have poor ball movement, poor movement without the ball, too much dribbling, and a lot of one-on-one play. That type of offense is rarely going to catch a defense off-balance.
We often don’t run an offense until the final seconds of the shot clock. This causes us to force things, limits opportunities, allows the defense to rest, and, again, keeps us from catching the defense off-balance.
Our switching on defense allows the opponent to create and exploit mismatches, particularly when we have several small guards in our lineup.
Other than that, we look great.
Our front court is bad. They struggle to finish on offense and to protect the rim on defense. They struggle to rebound. Lubin is not tall enough, Washington is not strong enough, and Withers is constantly lost. These are guys who ideally would be the 8th man, getting less than 10 minutes per game.
Several of our guards, including RJ, are struggling to make shots. Without quality bigs, we really need them to hit their outside shots, but at the same time, the lack of quality bigs likely contributes to their shooting woes.
Our guards are small. While small guards can be great players, being small has disadvantages in a game where most people on the court, including some of the shortest people on the court, are tall. Having one small player in the lineup may not be much of a liability, but having 2-3 on the court at the same time often is.
We have poor ball movement, poor movement without the ball, too much dribbling, and a lot of one-on-one play. That type of offense is rarely going to catch a defense off-balance.
We often don’t run an offense until the final seconds of the shot clock. This causes us to force things, limits opportunities, allows the defense to rest, and, again, keeps us from catching the defense off-balance.
Our switching on defense allows the opponent to create and exploit mismatches, particularly when we have several small guards in our lineup.
Other than that, we look great.
StoneColdHeel
Exceptional Member
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The bigs are who they are. Can't do anything about that. The defense isn't good enough to get a lot of turnovers and transition baskets. That is really their best offense, though. I don't understand the switching on defense when it isn't working. That's coaching. I don't understand the lack of ball movement, lack of screens, lack of cuts, lack of moving without the ball to create good shots. Everything is either a 3 or 1 on 1 to the basket off the dribble. That's coaching, too.
The ball sticks in RJ's hands and everyone watches him. He does not pass enough and is struggling to make shots this year:
RJ Davis Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN
Complete career NCAAM stats for the North Carolina Tar Heels Guard RJ Davis on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.
Part of that is due to the fact that we do not appear to run offense sets that often but rather seem to be going with the NBA drive and kick offense. As you mentioned we do not have the guard size for this and, given our weak front court, we lose the rebound battle at key moments.
I am disappointed in HD's coaching moves so far this year but he has shown in the past that it sometimes takes him time during the season to figure things out.
If we can't play defense straight up then heck I'd rather press and run all game.
StoneColdHeel
Exceptional Member
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But that seems to have been the same offense and defense since Hubert has been the head coach. I don't see him making any changes and adjustments to the offense and defense.The ball sticks in RJ's hands and everyone watches him. He does not pass enough and is struggling to make shots this year:
RJ Davis Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN
Complete career NCAAM stats for the North Carolina Tar Heels Guard RJ Davis on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.www.espn.com
Part of that is due to the fact that we do not appear to run offense sets that often but rather seem to be going with the NBA drive and kick offense. As you mentioned we do not have the guard size for this and, given our weak front court, we lose the rebound battle at key moments.
I am disappointed in HD's coaching moves so far this year but he has shown in the past that it sometimes takes him time during the season to figure things out.
If we can't play defense straight up then heck I'd rather press and run all game.
rebeltarheel0408
Member
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I honestly feel like Hubert's first team catching fire at the end of the season and almost winning the championship is buying him more time and credibility as a coach than would otherwise be warranted. Same with ending K's reign twice. But that team lost at home to Pitt at the beginning of February, which, if I recall, was Carolina's worst loss in like 14 years.
He's clearly in over his head in terms of roster construction, pregame strategy, and in-game management/adjustments. I wasn't a fan of his hiring then, and nothing that has happened during his tenure will ever change my mind. He is who he is at this point. But, I think he is going to get another year regardless of how the next three months play out, which is incredibly unfortunate.
He's clearly in over his head in terms of roster construction, pregame strategy, and in-game management/adjustments. I wasn't a fan of his hiring then, and nothing that has happened during his tenure will ever change my mind. He is who he is at this point. But, I think he is going to get another year regardless of how the next three months play out, which is incredibly unfortunate.
WaynetheDrain
Esteemed Member
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What makes you think he didn’t earn the position?
I agree that his days are probably numbered, just wondering what rationale you give that he didn’t earn Roy’s endorsement.