UNC Postmortem

[CLMintz]

I agree about the lack of offense, and that the D is improved over the early season.
I do think he has made, and continues to make tough decisions about the rotation.
Benny benched, Judah benched, Copeland turned into a starter, Brown turned into a starter.
I think he just keeps it all in-house and doesn't bad mouth kids in the post-game press conference.

When did Judah get benched?

 

[Bayside44]

I will say this much; Bacot committed 3 fouls in the first 2:30 of the game. There was the one that was called, then the no-call on Judah's drive where there was body contact, and then pushing Maliq Brown from behind to get the early offensive rebound. That chicken-wing pinning of Brown for the first foul was repeated a couple more times by Bacot during the game. Not a fan of dirty play like that.

Otherwise, we had a glass jaw today. We didn't compete. We stood around on offense. Hima with an airball from 4 feet unguarded. I mean, that was a terrible game, all around.

Bacot has Charles Oakley's game. I watched him against a team of much smaller guys and was pushing off all over the place. Its sort of accepted behavior and he rarely gets called. Like anything else the advantage is with the aggressor.

 

[tptcuse]

When did Judah get benched?

He's talking about when he didn't start versus BC.

 

[CLMintz]

He's talking about when he didn't start versus BC.

Oh ok

 

[Ozone!]

Where to begin, obviously we need more size on the inside, improved defense, improved offense and , it would be nice to have truly impartial officials.
Not having McCloud and still not having Chance Westry is hurting us.
I believe the coaches will improve this teams performance, in time.
We are still a very young team.

 

[Sbucketball]

Where to begin, obviously we need more size on the inside, improved defense, improved offense and , it would be nice to have truly impartial officials.
Not having McCloud and still not having Chance Westry is hurting us.
I believe the coaches will improve this teams performance, in time.
We are still a very young team.

Chance was the guy I was most excited about pre-season, but even if healthy he doesn't dramatically change things. He has the same limitations as the others. I think - at this stage in his career - he's like a more polished Copeland. He has NBA upside if he learns to shoot (which hopefully he's been working on while injured). Now, I'm excited to see what he can do next year, but he's a facilitator and defensive stopper who needs to be paired with shooters.

 

[AZOrange]

We still cannot seem to dribble and pass. Pretty basic stuff.

 

[Fly Rodder]

It was almost like March madness last night. 17 top-25 teams played. Almost all were tight to the end and a couple even lost. A ton of great games to flip between - especially since some chuckleheads decided to put a one-off playoff football game on a streaming service.

SU at UNC was not one of those games, the 36 point beating was the largest margin of victory of any of those top-25 games and the two next closest were by half as much: unranked NM State beating #19 San Diego by 18 and #1 Purdue stomping Penn St by 17.

 

[Fly Rodder]

We still cannot seem to dribble and pass. Pretty basic stuff.

They can dribble, no idea where they’re going if they get guarded though. Passing is secondary to getting their shot off.

 

[DoctorBombay]

Teams lose, it happens.
We get curb-stomped by good teams on a regular basis. It's become a trend, and is no longer unexpected.

 

[AZOrange]

They can dribble, no idea where they’re going if they get guarded though. Passing is secondary to getting their shot off.

I don’t know. Our guys get stripped very easily

 

[CuseFaninVT]

So a 6-10 guy outran him by 10 feet in a 40 foot race. Cool.

“Ran”

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Chance was the guy I was most excited about pre-season, but even if healthy he doesn't dramatically change things. He has the same limitations as the others. I think - at this stage in his career - he's like a more polished Copeland. He has NBA upside if he learns to shoot (which hopefully he's been working on while injured). Now, I'm excited to see what he can do next year, but he's a facilitator and defensive stopper who needs to be paired with shooters.

A more polished Copeland would be hugely helpful. Passing to our guys, which cope can do pretty well at times, and not passing to the other team, where Q struggles, would make a big difference on games like yesterday.

 

[CardiacCuse]

A lot of posters have correctly pointed out that we don’t have enough shooters or size and that is a horrific combination. My biggest issue today was the lack of effort that at times was glaring. That is something you can control.
-there were multiple occasions where guys did not run back on defense after turning the ball over.
-there were multiple occasions when we could not get the ball inbounds because guys were not moving to get open.
-a number of posters were killing red today, and it was not his best game. At times we looked surprised that Carolina was allowed to defend inbound plays. The lack of effort I referred to continued throughout the game without holding guys responsible. But at the end of the day this team is 11 and 5 and has not lost to anybody they shouldn’t have. He is doing the best he can with a flawed roster. And a talented, huge, experienced UNC team is our worst possible matchup.
-Red does need to have our guards take care of the ball and distribute. Our guards didn’t get anybody good looks today.
-we take way too many off balance, contested shots which exacerbates our shooting issues
-this was clearly Taylor‘s worst game of the year. On the play where neither Judah nor JJ moved to get open he inexplicably just chucked it up instead of calling a time out. He looked deflated playing out there late with the scrubs. But to give up on this kid as a sophomore is insane. He looks like he has a crisis of confidence shooting the ball. But this is the same kid who went off against Bryant and Boston College last year and we do not get that win against Colgate without him. He always plays hard. Sophomores improve, especially ones with good attitudes who always play hard. He can still be a significant piece.
-unfortunately Carey still doesn’t look 100% but he’s already better than mounir
-like I said unc is our worst possible matchup. Sophomores will continue to improve. How we react at Pittsburgh will be telling.

unc is not the worst possible matchup for this team. Pitt had them close late in the game

UNC is not a good 3pt shooting team. they actually suck at shooting. most of their team numbers on the season as a team are very similar to SU...they are a similar version of SU, just better and able to dominate the paint: pressure defense, poor shooting, like to run...only difference is the size in the middle...

this matchup was the whole reason for getting mcleod. not having him for unc was brutal...he makes a huge dfference in this one, imo.

for whatver reason, SU played so flat in this one with no energy. they just didnt have it.

 

[CardiacCuse]

UNC didn't even shoot the ball particularly well.
Allowing them to get an extra 25 Field Goal Attempts** is insane. Too many offensive boards, too many turnovers.

** Added 3 extra shots as consideration for the 6 additional free throw attempts they had.

they are a poor shooting team, in general

couldnt tell because they were dunking everything...but really need to pack the paint vs UNC to have a chance

 

[MikeSU02]

I don’t know. Our guys get stripped very easily

Got to break out the guys that have a handle vs the two-dribble guys. We have a number of two-dribble guys. Need some work on those that actually have a legit handle.

 

[orangecuse]

A longtime fan of SU basketball/football, but not a fan of college sports
today (for the obvious reasons). Not arguing with those that like the current
scenario. That's their option and they are welcome to it.

My only comment is if the portal and NIL are major factors, you better
know how to evaluate available talent plus know where to spend your
available $$. If Red and staff thought they were getting quality transfers
they were sadly mistaken this year. It looks like the 2 incoming freshmen
have above average credentials, so maybe that will be a start next year.

I still like the relative stability and commitment that existed years ago, but
then again it's a whole new world out there.

I share this exact sentiment. And, it's a large part why I don't allow myself to get, let's just say, worked up anymore, while watching college Minor League football and basketball nowadays. Hoops wise, what JB did to the program, along with the SU powers that be allowing it to happen for as long as it did, preceded it by a few years as well.

I've shifted my emotional commitment, etc. fully to the pro game. At least they don't attempt to insult its fan base, customers, etc., relative to paying players, free agency, etc., etc. Those in charge there simply call it by what it obviously & truly is.

 

[OrangeinDC]

such a huge gap between us and the teams at the top.

^^^
Yup, and catching up ain't gonna happen overnight. In addition to talent, maturity, having no upper classmen, age of those vet teams and playing those team on their court would be tough for any team.

We got some catching up to do to compete with the big dogs.

 

[IthacaMatt]

We don't have any real interior players. I hope the people that were suggesting Brown could go to the NBA after this year can wake up from there dream world now. He can't rebound against real rebounders and he doesn't create scoring for himself, it's almost all dump offs when a perimeter player draws his man. He deserves credit for cutting and making himself available, but that's hardly draft worthy.

Maliq Brown is a terrific PF. The problem is that he's being asked to play out of position on defense.

 

[IthacaMatt]

When did Judah get benched?

At the start of the last game. He didn't come in for the first 9 1/2 minutes.
You think we aren't actually watching these games or something ??

 

[Bball44]

At the start of the last game. He didn't come in for the first 9 1/2 minutes.
You think we aren't actually watching these games or something ??

Maybe benched for breaking team rules and benched for poor performance are two different categories.

 

[Fly Rodder]

I don’t know. Our guys get stripped very easily

They do, but there’s also zero room for them. Every team knows they’re driving. They’re not getting that extra step, step and a half cushion that they would get from help defenders in the paint if there were any real concern they would pass the ball out to an open shooter. And it’s not just having shooters. There’s little ball movement to move the defense around to get open(er) lanes. IMO, that’s why the paint always looks like grand central station with SU on offense.

 

[pfister1]

I think a reasonable expectation for this team is the NIT. Baby steps.

I'd settle for the Carrier Classic at this point.

 

[sufandu]

Maliq Brown is a terrific PF. The problem is that he's being asked to play out of position on defense.

He's ok. He's a role player. If he was terrific we'd post him up and watch him go to work the way Hak did. Or watch him beat bigger guys off the dribble. We don't have anyone that can work down low for their own shot and none of our non-guards are skilled like our good forwards of the past. Since he's out of position on defense he should, in theory, be abusing bigger slower players on offense and he doesn't. When the guards are making secondary defenders leave him, he's good at making himself available. That's his best trait right now. I'm not saying he can't become more, but right now he's average. It's been so long since we've had legitimate top tier forwards, we've forgotten what they look like.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Got to break out the guys that have a handle vs the two-dribble guys. We have a number of two-dribble guys. Need some work on those that actually have a legit handle.

Handle - Judah, JJ, Quadir

Maybe? - Cuffe

2 dribble - Bell, Benny, Taylor, Maliq

Just please no - McLeod

That about right?