UNLV-North Carolina Thread

[Fishy]

They won the game and lost the storming. Looked like a mall walkers club getting on the court.

Tough break for UNLV - Alex's Twitter account is gonna knock their upset win off of the front pages.

 

[tuvent08]

Looked like a mall walkers club getting on the court.

That was brutal. Looked like the Tiger/Stevie "high-five" after he chipped in on 16 at Augusta.

 

[superjohn]

I think UNC fans are good overall but some of the posters on their board have been ridiculous this year, saw several guys posting that they have a good chance of going undefeated this year. Sure they have a ton of talent and so do we but anyone saying their team is going undefeated knows absolutely nothing about basketball. I like what we have going forward more than Carolina, I think they would have a lot of trouble with our 3 guard lineup, they are still just as soft down low as they were last year as well. They have great length but Henson and Zeller hate mixing it up in the paint.

 

[Clockshop]

Kentucky is the team to watch for in my opinion.

 

[Robertelamin]

Kentucky is the team to watch for in my opinion.

Kentucky? Tell me more, I've never heard of them.

 

[uconNYC]

Some quality March/April video for Calhoun.

One thing UNLV did that JC would never do is keep pushing the tempo at the end of the game despite a 7-12 point lead. I thought that was ballsy.

 

[DogMania]

I've only watched a handful of games, but I'm not very impressed with the field. I felt the same last year and in hind sight, am not surprised (was at the time) that a young team w/ a big time star (Kemba) was able to cut down the nets. Reminded me of the year Danny Manning carried KU.

This season is very similar. UNC has a lot of talented pieces, but I'm not sure if they all work together as well as people think they will. They are very good, despite the tough loss yesterday, but IMO lack the defensive stopper(s) that are needed to win in March. Maybe I'm wrong and a player or two will step up defensively and help this team win those games when the offense struggles, which happens to even the best of teams.

OSU, returns a few nice pieces, but I don't see them as a dominating team. Cuse is talented and plays that tough to adjust to 2-3 zone. Just not convinced by them.

I think UK has the most talented pieces but I think their youth at key positions, especially the point, will again be their downfall. Maybe this is the year that they can overcome their youth, but Cal is again reluctant to go deep into his bench, a flaw that has IMO cost him in the past. It's hard to complete that 6 game run to win the NC with just 6 to 7 players. You need solid contributions from players 8 & 9, to win all 6. Plus young PGs love to shoot you right out of a one-and-done game, like Knight, Paul and a whole host of other young PGs have done in the past.

As for UConn, I like our team and think we have all the right pieces, but must get most of them going by the end of the season. Right now, as a few have already pointed out, Oriakhi and Smith have not come close to their NC form we witnessed last March. Roscoe has had some good stretches, but has been real shaky with the ball and TO prone, while Alex looks absolutely lost. I hope someone can get through to him. I'm guessing that he's letting the emergence of AD get to him. He simply needs to focus on playing his own game and contributing in ways he's capable. If he can just focus on playing tough physical D, fundamental boxing out & rebounding, catching the ball in the post and taking well balanced shots (still gets his body at bad angles to the basket and tends to chuck the ball up instead of squaring and shooting it. He needs to realize that JC wants to give him more minutes, but that he himself is the one who's responsible for the reduced PT. If he plays better, JC will give him more minutes. His coach wants to play him more, but he's simply not earning it or deserving it by his play. "Look in the mirror, Alex! That's the one who's responsible, not your coach."

In addition to the above two needing to get on track, Daniels needs to learn how to produce against good teams. It's not that he's not talented enough. It's getting over that fear of failure during games where many of his shots or potential shots are critical to winning. It's a lot easier to score when missing is not that critical. I think he'll mature in this area once he has a game or two where he knocks down a few during a game where the outcome is in the balance.

Boatright's make-up and game seem well suited (KEA & Bazz like) to help this team go on a deep NCAA run.

Lamb is a big time shot maker and Bazz is turning into a much better scorer than I thought. As the pieces around these two improve, so will their overall game and ball security, which has been spotty at times when they've felt they had to do too much and carry the scoring.

Tyler has a chance to be that surprise fill in the Gap performer who drops that 10 or more points in a critical survive and advance game. He has a bad shooting game yesterday and know he's capable of much better.

Drummond, if he can continue to mature and stay on the floor, not to mention improve his horrible FT shooting, has the whole package to be able to dominate a game. I don't think we'll witness that often this season, but hope he goes from showing flashes of greatness, to showing stretches of such, that can put this team over the top.

I think JC can develop this team into an F-4 team and who knows how much further than that.

I think the field is much more wide open than most realize and that -4 could be had by a lot of teams and the one who cuts down the net not named UNC, UK or OSU.

 

[huskyharry]

I haven't been watching long but UNC's defense seems pretty pathetic. UNLV gets a wide open three every single time. They've been shooting 3's with 30 seconds left on the shot clock up 10 because they keep getting so open. And usually when they miss they get the offensive board.

Very true, they have shown indifference towards guarding thE 3 all year. Hence why some inferior teams have stayed close

 

[huskyharry]

I've only watched a handful of games, but I'm not very impressed with the field. I felt the same last year and in hind sight, am not surprised (was at the time) that a young team w/ a big time star (Kemba) was able to cut down the nets. Reminded me of the year Danny Manning carried KU.

This season is very similar. UNC has a lot of talented pieces, but I'm not sure if they all work together as well as people think they will. They are very good, despite the tough loss yesterday, but IMO lack the defensive stopper(s) that are needed to win in March. Maybe I'm wrong and a player or two will step up defensively and help this team win those games when the offense struggles, which happens to even the best of teams.

OSU, returns a few nice pieces, but I don't see them as a dominating team. Cuse is talented and plays that tough to adjust to 2-3 zone. Just not convinced by them.

I think UK has the most talented pieces but I think their youth at key positions, especially the point, will again be their downfall. Maybe this is the year that they can overcome their youth, but Cal is again reluctant to go deep into his bench, a flaw that has IMO cost him in the past. It's hard to complete that 6 game run to win the NC with just 6 to 7 players. You need solid contributions from players 8 & 9, to win all 6. Plus young PGs love to shoot you right out of a one-and-done game, like Knight, Paul and a whole host of other young PGs have done in the past.

As for UConn, I like our team and think we have all the right pieces, but must get most of them going by the end of the season. Right now, as a few have already pointed out, Oriakhi and Smith have not come close to their NC form we witnessed last March. Roscoe has had some good stretches, but has been real shaky with the ball and TO prone, while Alex looks absolutely lost. I hope someone can get through to him. I'm guessing that he's letting the emergence of AD get to him. He simply needs to focus on playing his own game and contributing in ways he's capable. If he can just focus on playing tough physical D, fundamental boxing out & rebounding, catching the ball in the post and taking well balanced shots (still gets his body at bad angles to the basket and tends to chuck the ball up instead of squaring and shooting it. He needs to realize that JC wants to give him more minutes, but that he himself is the one who's responsible for the reduced PT. If he plays better, JC will give him more minutes. His coach wants to play him more, but he's simply not earning it or deserving it by his play. "Look in the mirror, Alex! That's the one who's responsible, not your coach."

In addition to the above two needing to get on track, Daniels needs to learn how to produce against good teams. It's not that he's not talented enough. It's getting over that fear of failure during games where many of his shots or potential shots are critical to winning. It's a lot easier to score when missing is not that critical. I think he'll mature in this area once he has a game or two where he knocks down a few during a game where the outcome is in the balance.

Boatright's make-up and game seem well suited (KEA & Bazz like) to help this team go on a deep NCAA run.

Lamb is a big time shot maker and Bazz is turning into a much better scorer than I thought. As the pieces around these two improve, so will their overall game and ball security, which has been spotty at times when they've felt they had to do too much and carry the scoring.

Tyler has a chance to be that surprise fill in the Gap performer who drops that 10 or more points in a critical survive and advance game. He has a bad shooting game yesterday and know he's capable of much better.

Drummond, if he can continue to mature and stay on the floor, not to mention improve his horrible FT shooting, has the whole package to be able to dominate a game. I don't think we'll witness that often this season, but hope he goes from showing flashes of greatness, to showing stretches of such, that can put this team over the top.

I think JC can develop this team into an F-4 team and who knows how much further than that.

I think the field is much more wide open than most realize and that -4 could be had by a lot of teams and the one who cuts down the net not named UNC, UK or OSU.

Excellent points DM. Another thing that was apparent from the NC UNLV game was how difficult it is to press effectively when u are 2-3 inches taller at almost every position...the opponent can blow by you when they need to...another reason why the addition of RB is so important

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The game really just confirmed what everyone already knew, that UNC was the worst defensive team in the Top 10 and possibly the Top 25. UNLV was hitting a lot of wild shots, but it is a lot easier to hit those shots after they have just blown by their defender.

There is a lot of talent of talent out there, and a lot of teams that can pull a big upset like UCF or UNLV did. Teams like UConn and UNC need to play hard and sharp every single night.

 

[Husky999]

UNC does not impress me 1 bit.. They do not shoot from the outside well or defend at all. I cant remember the last time we gave up 90 points..... and to a mid-major no less.

 

[mauconnfan]

Kendall Marshall's court vision is second to none-but he's allowing UNLV's PG (who is pretty damn good btw) to absolutely carve up their defense. If I'm Roy, I take him out.

What does Roy care about Marshall's defense? UNC hasn't guarded anyone since he got there, it's all about the O. He's just one of the problems on D....Marcus Williams? Even a better passer though which is scary!

 

[jibsey]

UNC does not impress me 1 bit.. They do not shoot from the outside well or defend at all. I cant remember the last time we gave up 90 points..... and to a mid-major no less.

Talent impresses me and they have quite a bit, but this loss is about as bothersome as ours was to us which to say is not much.

 

[tzznandrew]

What does Roy care about Marshall's defense? UNC hasn't guarded anyone since he got there, it's all about the O. He's just one of the problems on D....Marcus Williams? Even a better passer though which is scary!

They always have had someone who can slow the opposing team's best player (at least on their title teams). Think Danny Green or Jawad Williams/Jackie Manuel.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/point-guard-prospect-boatright-shows-interest-in-unlv-106815298.html

"I could really blow up in this system."

The assassin has spoken!!!!! hahaha

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6Rmu7qPHQs

 

[Scoe]

this loss doesnt mean anything to UNC its a big win for UNLV though

 

[upstater]

A super team in the past would not have lost this game. The super teams from the past only lost away games on the courts of ranked opponents, 2 or 3 losses tops.

I don't think UNC is that type of team.

Even on a bad night, those teams willed themselves to wins.

 

[mauconnfan]

They always have had someone who can slow the opposing team's best player (at least on their title teams). Think Danny Green or Jawad Williams/Jackie Manuel.

Maybe a couple guys over the past years but it's not #1 on Roys mind. He's a "we're going to outscore you" kinda guy as you only need to see the points they give up year in-year out. I agree Marshall can't guard a chair but he knew that last year and it's never gonna change as he's slowfooted.

 

[tzznandrew]

Maybe a couple guys over the past years but it's not #1 on Roys mind. He's a "we're going to outscore you" kinda guy as you only need to see the points they give up year in-year out. I agree Marshall can't guard a chair but he knew that last year and it's never gonna change as he's slowfooted.

Agreed. This is his gameplan. But he's never won a title without one of those guys, because you can't win on offense alone.