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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
22/48 at the FT line. I'm still having hard time wrapping my head around just how embarrassingly terrible that is. How the f**k has UNC gone from arguably the best program in the nation to a team whose ceiling the last 5 seasons (counting this one) is the Sweet 16. And unless we get PJ and McDonald back, I'm not sure this team can win enough games to make the NIT.
Kentucky, Duke, and Kansas have taken off and left UNC and Roy in their dust. Michigan State and Louisville, too.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
How would Kentucky look without Randle and Young, dook without Parker and Sulaimon, or Kansas without Wiggins and Selden? Because that's essentially what North Carolina is having to deal with right now. Kentucky only lost Noel and their season went to shit last year.
I knew we would be bad without PJ and McDonald. But there SHOULD be enough talent to beat Belmont at home, even without two of our best players. That is what has me worried. We seem to have 3 players on the entire team right now who can put the ball in the basket without being fed a wide open layup. Heck, we have guys who missed wide open layups in the last two games (James, Paige, and Britt). That's troubling and should never be a problem at a program like North Carolina.
Then again, it wasn't long when K went 8 seasons between championships, with only 1 of those 8 getting past the Sweet 16. Those are extremely underachieving statistics for nearly a decade. He "lucks" into 2010, lands the USA job, and suddenly he's back with a vengeance.
What drives me crazy is that Roy's highs are considerably high (2005, 2008, 2009, 2012) and his lows are remarkably low (2010, partly 2013, and probably 2014). Even game-by-game. Our good, bad, and even great teams get run out of the gym. dook, IU, FSU, KU, UNLV, Butler... Losing to Charleston and Belmont. Blowouts happen. I get it. Just don't remember them happening so frequently, regardless of how talented or untalented the UNC team is.
Ugh. I think we will have a favorite in 2016. Just will be two long years with all our competing programs happening to be on top their game in the meantime.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
shabazz napier is flirting with triple doubles on a nightly basis now
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
21/4 with 8 steals for Jordan Adams. 8-12 from the field, 4-5 from three. Love this kid. Anderson with a decent 8/6/8 as well.
CSUN is a measley 1-2, Theus needs to get his first Div 1 victory already.
UC Irvine will pull a first round upset, if they win the BWT.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
Parker was playing well, but in the last couple minutes he's been playing a little soft around the basket. Missed a few lay-ups around the basket on put backs.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
E. Carolina dominating Duke inside. I can't see how Duke is a legit contender if they can't defend in the lane. MSU has had their problems defending the glass, but Duke is letting E. Carolina score on easy on chance opportunities as though it's a non-contact practice.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
Parker with good defense (weak shot attempt tbh), gets the rebound, dribbles down the court showing some nice agility and then finishes with the big dunk. Looked like a video game. lol
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Marcus Smart is putting on a scoring clinic. He has 24 points in just 9 minutes played.
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embiid worst case scenario hibbert
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Smart kid is kind of good. Well on his way to 40 against a very good Memphis backcourt. 5 steals and 2 blocks to boot.
Still my favorite player in college and I think his game translates very well to the NBA.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
LSU has the potential to be realy good team by tournament time. (if we make the dance)
Jarell Martin is injured and we are still absolutely owning the boards. Jordan Mickey is an absolute monster on the boards and on defense, and Johnny Obryant is a double double machine. A Martin-Mickey-JOB frontcourt is going to be amazing.
Our backcourt consists of a very good shooter (Andre Stringer) and a defensive beast in Anthony Hickey. And Tim Quarterman is raw but his defense looks very good and so far he has shown great court vision and passing ability. He needs to learn how to play under control though and I think he will as the season progresses and as he gets more playing team.
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Duke might be in some trouble w/o a defensive post presence this year
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
Jahii Carson 40/7/3 on 16/25 against UNLV:applause:
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
[QUOTE=InspiredLebowski]Duke might be in some trouble w/o a defensive post presence this year[/QUOTE]
Surprised Coach K do have someone coming in. They are asking Jabari to do a lot. He he really locks down on defense in the post he is gonna get in foul trouble.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
[QUOTE=InspiredLebowski]Duke might be in some trouble w/o a defensive post presence this year[/QUOTE]
playing with a lot more pace this season too. obviously baiting teams into quick shots as wel. Marshall Plumlee looks like he could have some potential as a post defender, but doesn't look like much of a rim protector just yet.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
[QUOTE=alenleomessi]embiid worst case scenario hibbert[/QUOTE]
^^^^
wouldn't be at all surprised if he's the best player from the class .
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
[QUOTE=InspiredLebowski]Duke might be in some trouble w/o a defensive post presence this year[/QUOTE]
I'm not worried about them winning a championship. Their best years have a great rebounding squad and this is not a great rebounding team. This roster is built like K's first weekend upset teams in the middle part of last decade. Because Parker and Hood are so good, I'll give them an extra week. I honestly don't see them getting past the Elite 8 (probably Sweet 16), unless they get a 2010 path again.
Next year I'll worry. This year feels like an inevitable letdown.
Check out the minutes in some of these games too? 40 minutes in November against ECU? How long before "emotional fatigue" sets in around March?
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
Winslow joining Okafor and Jones.
This UAB-New Mexico game is entertaining. Half court shot to send it to OT. Then deep 3 in OT to send it to a second OT.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
[QUOTE=Goliath Uterus]^^^^
wouldn't be at all surprised if he's the best player from the class .[/QUOTE]
Agreed. I have been extremely impressed with him. He showed much better passing than I expected in that Duke game.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
Wiggins is driving tonight for the first time. He looks like his sleep walking because of his long strides. Effortless. lol
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Kansas could be the clear cut top team by years end. Soooo many weapons.
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man im enjoying kansas more than any team in the nba right now
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
[quote=Dolphin]Kansas could be the clear cut top team by years end. Soooo many weapons.[/quote]
Yeah they're stacked. Embiid and Ellis will be a problem for anyone that they end up facing in the tournament.
By the way I officially have a man crush on Embiid.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
14 for Wiggins at the half on 6-7 shooting, 1-1 from three. Three nice drives, two transition dunks, a three and a ft. Ellis has been quiet and Wiggins has noticeably decided to be the focal point on offense, but still doesn't force a thing.
From what I've seen of all the guys, I'm starting to feel that even that their best, Kansas' young guys > Kentucky's.
As for Embiid, he's as much of a factor or D as Deng was for Louisville last year, but with a much more advanced offensive game....how has he only played organized bball for a few years? lol
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
[QUOTE=alenleomessi]man im enjoying kansas more than any team in the nba right now[/QUOTE]
link for the game?
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
[QUOTE=Goliath Uterus]link for the game?[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.feed2all.eu/watch/222878/2/watch-towson-vs-2-kansas.html[/url]
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Wiggins is a really good weak side offensive rebounder coming from the wing. Again he shows with his length that he can potentially be a shut down defender as well. It was a blowout at half and he coasted on offense unfortunately in the second 20. Only put up a couple shots I think (one he was fouled on, the other he missed). If Kansas gets first half Wiggins this year, this team is deadly.
Ellis only put up 10 pts. Didn't need to do much. The wing players were good for Kansas tonight (Wiggins, Selden, Tharpe, Mason and White).
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
efortless 16/7 from wiggins with some nice offensive rebounds
8/9/3bl for embiid with some powerful dunks
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
One thing I forgot to add: Kansas' wing players are really good at entry passes. Some teams can't make one if their lives depended on it.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
Yes, Payne IS bringing the Pain! lol
He's looking to dominate this year.
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MSU up 6 with about 3 min to go in the half, but this game reminds me of the early season loss at Miami last year. Seemingly controlling tempo and look stronger, but VTech is hitting a bunch of threes. Just tossing it up there like the basket is 20 ft in diameter. Need to close out on the pass outs better.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
46-33 at the half for MSU. Payne with 20/6.
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I know they've had four years, but I never thought I'd see the day where I expect Appling and Payne's three point shots to go in every time they shoot. lol
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
One game, but Louisville does not look good enough to defend their title this year. lol
Big win for UNC though considering they have to play MSU and Kentucky still...
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
Dolphin I missed the game. How'd Costello do? Valentine? Gauna? Schilling?
Those are the guys im trying to get a read of right now. Foul trouble has killed us in big games, do we really have the depth to do something special?
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
Shocking win, really. Other than the first half against Oakland, we had 7 of the worst halves I have seen in the Roy Williams era all stringed together.
That was a throw back Dean Smith game. Not quite the point zone Coach Smith used to run, but zone defense and Roy Williams almost always does not go well together. I swear he can go seasons without playing zone in an actual game. Well it was probably what changed the game today. Then the ball movement and contributions from deep in the bench. Was that Jackson Simmons or Pat Sullivan out there?
Not going to put too much stock in this game, but it at least shows the potential of the squad. And how good would this team be with a Paige and PJ backcourt? Damn it.
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Re: 2013-2014 Observation Deck
[QUOTE=Burgz V2]Dolphin I missed the game. How'd Costello do? Valentine? Gauna? Schilling?
Those are the guys im trying to get a read of right now. Foul trouble has killed us in big games, do we really have the depth to do something special?[/QUOTE]
I didn't catch the game last night. Only online and well I wanted to go out and mingle. lol
Going by the stats it seems Harris and Payne switched places from the first game.
Overall this is where I'm at right now with MSU: Depth is a concern of mine as well. Right now we have two important pieces coming off of the bench. Trice has been on and off so far. He just doesn't have that offensive oomph off the bench you would hope for. He can make threes and handles the ball well, but when he drives I assume he's going to get blocked lol. Just not very athletic. Valentine just doesn't look like he improved very much in the off season. He puts up his 5 assist/5 rebound games, but going by the eye test, he seems to struggling a bit early on. Missing open jumpers and he isn't finishing near the basket well at times. So ya, it would be nice to have more confidence in the bench, but that's why I am right now as far as how much help the starters are gonna get.
Then you have the three bigs surrounding Payne. Costello is by far the most competent, but I thought he'd be more along at this point as well considering he looked impressive at times last season. Gauna is just a dummie right now. Schilling is too raw. They all get out muscled against strong rebounders, which is the real problem with those guys as they aren't asked to score much (although it would be nice if Costello could start doing so). So ya, when Payne is in foul trouble, the pickings are pretty slim right now.
Now that seems pretty negative, but all of this is ignoring the fact that the four real contributing starters are playing really well at times (with drop off from each in a game here and there). By the end of the year, I will still be confident in Appling/Harris/Payne/Dawson going up against Kansas' and Kentucky's top four (and yes, I put Kansas first for a reason). The depth is the issue. I see Izzo is trying to prep one more wing player for minutes throughout the season in Bailey, but he hasn't shown that he can play any sort of important minutes as of yet.
So what is the most likely to change over the course of the year?:
1. Valentine. I think he shakes off his slow start and give MSU the bench scoring it will need.
2. Costello. I think he can be a 6-8 ppg scorer by years end. He has the touch, maybe not the confidence being a first time starter yet? Him being handled on the defensive side at times may be playing a factor into how he plays on offense right now.
3. Trice. He is better and more important than Costello, but he is what he is.
4. Gauna and Schilling are nothing more than bodies right now and I don't see them trying to be more. lol
To conclude, I'm more worried about the bigs and their rebounding problems than producers off the bench because I think Valentine will do better and become more aggressive and Trice will have his 10-15 point games here and there. You can't teach toughness though.
Oh and btw, as for the VTech game, I can't believe Izzo let Harris try and shoot his way out of a slump like that...never seen that from an Izzo coached team in my life. lol