So would most of the fans. There's no way Roy starts three freshman this early in the season.
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I wonder, though, how soon that lineup might play a majority of minutes and be in the game to finish it. Well, excepting maybe Henson at the end of games. That kid is a terrible free throw shooter.
One additional problem would be Drew. Very fragile psyche it seems to me. I wouldn't be surprised if Williams didn't start him, but with Marshall actually getting more minutes before ACC play begins.
First game of a long season. This team has a lot of time to gel and they have the talent. The issues with Drew however are a concern. UNC needs its point guard to be playing well. Chemistry will make or break this team. If they start winning- then it will come together but a few tough losses - coupled with folks looking over their shoulder- and who knows. It is all about confidence.
I wasn't impressed with UNC at all. Zeller will be a good scorer down low and will average double figures this season. Henson is a beast when it come to blocked shots and rebounds but is one of the worst offensive players Ive seen in a UNC uniform. Drew II is the exact same as last year. Barnes didn't impress at all! Average player IMO (but it is just one game)
The 2 surprises for me is Bullock, much better than i would have thought. He can rebound and has a nice feel for the game and Marshall looked really good in the offense. I wouldn't be surprised if he started over Drew. just my 2 cents.
I am surprised everyone is so down on Drew. I think he still has the potential to be quite a good player, and I like him alot more than Marshall. The thing I am getting sick of (already) is the praise for HB. He is a very good, well rounded, player with a game much more mature than his years. But when I hear words like "explosive" and "lightening quick" to describe him, I'm just not seeing it with my eyes. To me, I see him having a year very similar to Kyle's freshman year...which is obviously very good for a freshman but at the same time not living up to the incredible amount of hype surrounding him.
I saw where Roy was ranting about door locks during the post game press conference. I can't stop laughing about that one. I can't decide if he was trying to divert the attention away from his team's unimpressive performance or if he was really worried about people taking him seriously without his jacket. Maybe if he hadn't dressed like a magician, and put HB in a pumpkin costume, his seriousness wouldn't be in question.
One thing is for certain though... Coach K will now have to replace all of the door locks with crappier ones to prevent Duke from having an unfair recruiting advantage. :cool:
I don't think anyone could live up to this hype. No one has in the past, because no other freshman in the history of pre-season AA teams has been named to the 1st team. I'm telling anyone who will listen, that this is an ENORMOUS amount of pressure to put on a kid. He will have to be very special to not have problems with it this year, because the media has built him up, and they love to tear down what they build up!! To be honest, I hate to see it, because I think (Skype withstanding) that he is probably a good kid who just happened to pick the wrong school.
As far as LDII, I agree. He is not as bad as he is made out to be, but I do think that he is starting to believe the criticism and begin to have some self doubt. I could see it last night in his facial expressions and body language. He was on a short leash before the season, and last night did nothing to help his case, UNC may be on the verge of losing him (mentally).
I watched the game and those highlights ESPN showed are about all that stood out for Harrison Barnes who had a quiet 16 points, after hitting his first shot.
So if he does start to show that flash, Barnes could rack up some impressive stats.
When I try to factor in all the stats including shooting %'s,
Rating UNC Player
54 John Henson
46 Tyler Zeller
46 Harrison Barnes
34 Reggie Bullock
32 Larry Drew II
29 Kendall Marshall
26 Dexter Strickland
22 Leslie McDonald
20 Justin Knox
16 Justin Watts
I have to say is wow. At one point in the game lipscomb was shooting below 30 percent from the floor, but only down by 6. On paper you say that's good d from unc, but fact was that lipscomb just stunk more last night then unc. Barns did not show me anything but his jumping and running. His Defence was laughable (can't wait till he has to put up with Kyle) at best. I know its the first game and all but come on, your the number two player out of high school. When the heels had the ball he was defended by a 6'3 gaurd. There where countless times he got the ball one on one and couldn't get by his man and had to pass it.
This team could be really good if Roy didn't coach them, he needs to just recruit for them and let someone else coach.
Roy couldn't help it. His influence as a coach was hurt last night by the fact that the locks kept him from getting his suit jacket. You can't be taken seriously as a businessman without a suit and tie! He was helpless out there! Once he gets rid of the childproor locks, he will be back to good Ol' Roy out there (still incompetent, but, at least, confident).
The suitcoat was just a ruse, ol' roy was using a clever ploy to prove that there was a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox ...
They laughed at him and made jokes but he proved beyond the shadow of a doubt and with... geometric logic... that a duplicate key to the wardroom icebox DID exist, and he'd have produced that key if they hadn't sounded the horn for the second half. He knows now they were only trying to protect some fellow unc employees ...
http://www.edbatista.com/images/2009...tain_Queeg.jpg
http://www.chathamjournal.com/weekly...ix/b1_3485.jpg
I have yet to be impressed with harrison barnes' play but he surely will have his moments this season. If Ol Roy knows whats good for him He'll be going with
Marshall
Henson
Bullock
Barnes
Zeller
as it stands right now Henson may be their most valuable player IMO.
I saw their game against D3 Libscomb and I can truthfully say, THEY SUCK!
Their freshmen looked good though, however I don't see why Barnes gets so much hype.
Harrison Barnes is not very explosive at all. Very good yes, but nowhere near the John Wall type of talent he was hyped to be.
QUIET dammit!
Just let that unc hype machine keep churning out harrison sausage and telling us its Prime Beef. If hb is exposed as being a smart, talented player with limited athleticsm (you know - like a Dukie ;) ) he might stick around for a couple of years. I'd rather the press convince some NBA GM that hb is lottery material - it only takes one. And you know that there are enough GMs that will ignore their own scouts and listen to the talking heads to make this feasible.
So, shhhhhhh!
14 points. ESPN reported 16 by mistake in their first report. The second, and the stat line, says 14. It isn't that, it is the last exhibition thrown in with this. This is coupled by the fact that even during the All-American games down to right now, I have yet to see a single play that showed raw athleticism. He is great at trailing for a light dunk, but he is not ever one to bring down the house. The games, thus far, show him to be a pretty good shooter, and a smart 6'8 player. He reminds me more of a taller Scheyer than he reminds me of a John Wall. Nolan, Andre, and a couple others on our team seem to have more athleticism. His ceiling seems to be where Kyle is now IMO. I could be wrong, but this is who he seems to be after all of the footage available to me is watched.
I would love to see him go to the NBA and continue to do his Michael Jordan impression in interviews. It is funny when average players do that. It would also be nice for UNC's "next Jordan" fall on his face in the NBA. The reason that this is true is that it would hurt your recruiting pitch. When you have a guy who you hype up this much, and he fails, it is gold for a coach who objectively looks at NBA performance of stars, "look what they did with Harrison Barnes." It will be a chance for our recruits to mentally take note of, "where is that guy?" I have a lot more confidence in Kyrie's athleticism, and coaching, taking him to success in the next level. He is at a tough position, but he has moves, will learn discipline, and he has that quality of athleticism that is so important at the highest level.