North Carolina State 91, UNC-Chapel Hill 83

[moonpie23]

state bringing the same intensity they did when we went over there......WHY doesn't roy call time outs during big runs by the opponent?

[pamtar]

Good game so far. Nice behind-the-back crossover and no-look pass in tranny from Brown. Nice defense by the rim on the tokoto? dunk! The wheels are falling off as I type.

[diveonthefloor]

No coach in the ACC who does a worse job lighting a fire under his troops when they need it. And there is no leader on the floor for the Heels who can do it either.

[pamtar]

UNC looks much worse than we did Wed night. We had open looks, we just missed. UNC can barely set up their offense.

[FerryFor50]

Unc looks completely outmatched. Bwahaha!

They also look worse against state then we did. Wonder if Carolina fans will finally start taking the pack seriously now?

[rsvman]

Just try not to jinx it, OK?

[pamtar]

state bringing the same intensity they did when we went over there......WHY doesn't roy call time outs during big runs by the opponent?

To his credit he did call a time out after State scored about 8pts in 20 seconds. By then they were down 20.

[slower]

Just try not to jinx it, OK?

Seriously. I think we all know that State can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in a matter of minutes.

Still, it's a beautiful thing, so far.

[slower]

Purvis tweaks his ankle as Strickland moved under him on the jumper. Do I recall that Dean used to teach them to do this?

[bedeviled]

With the play and crowd, this thread may as well be titled "Welcome to NC State, Julius Randle."
Zagsblog (http://zagsblog.com/articles/randle-to-headline-weekend-visitors-to-n-c-state/) has reported that State's visitors for the UNC game are:
Julius Randle (2013 PF)
Cat Barber (2013, already committed)
Cody Martin (2014, already committed)
Caleb Martin (2014, already committed)
PJ Dozier (2015 PG)
Brandon Ingram (2015 SF)
Harry Giles (2016 PF)

and possibly:
Sidy Mohamed Djitte (2013 C)
Theo Pinson (2014 SF)
Grayson Allen (2014 SG)
Isaac Copeland (2014 PF)

[duketaylor]

Pack up 26, no way they blow that lead. GO WOLFIES!!

[moonpie23]

don't jinx it...

[miramar]

UNC is shooting 37% and 20% on threes.

[bedeviled]

State has made a couple plays that look like football timing plays - quickly sending a ball to a specific space before the passer even sees the recipient.

[dukelifer]

State doing their best to let UNC back in the game

[slower]

Is there anybody who DIDN'T see this coming?

[uh_no]

don't jinx it...

he jinxed it....

[dukelifer]

Is there anybody who DIDN'T see this coming?

Down to 11 with a ton of time. This NC state team lacks focus. They started celebrating 10 minutes ago. This could be crushing if they lose this

[pamtar]

Wow, leave it to State to show you just how fragile a 20pt lead can be.

[jipops]

State about to choke this one away. Not a well managed game at all.

[slower]

Down to 11 with a ton of time. This NC state team lacks focus. They started celebrating 10 minutes ago. This could be crushing if they lose this

If they blow this, they DESERVE to be crushed.

[dukelifer]

Wow, leave it to State to show you just how fragile a 20pt lead can be.

28 pts

[rsvman]

Maybe State should play some defense about now.
I don't know, maybe I'm wrong.

[davekay1971]

Looks like they finally woke up.

[jipops]

Maybe State should play some defense about now.
I don't know, maybe I'm wrong.

Instead they choose to run. Yea, increase the # of possessions, that's always a good idea.

[bedeviled]

Let's see if PJ Hairston can channel his inner The Real Jay Williams for a miracle minute
EDIT: or Tokoto :)

[diveonthefloor]

How can a team with 6 4-star recruits and 3 5-star recruits be this bad?

[slower]

I can't believe how stupid these guys are.

[bedeviled]

Haha. Roy calls the timeout to kill the momentum. ;)

[jipops]

To all of those that despise stall ball, take note. This is a poorly managed game by Gottfried.

[pamtar]

Roy is out of time outs. If State doesn't choke then hell hath frozen over.

[rsvman]

This is unbelievable!

[pamtar]

Is that really the first time they've beaten UNC in seven years?

[FerryFor50]

No court rushing? Man, UNC gets no respect, I tell ya. No respect at all!

[rsvman]

Sweet. Against all odds they hung on and won.

[moonpie23]

unc is gonna give us trouble when we go to chapel hill.......they faced the kind of blowout we faced at miami, yet they clawed their way back in and made state pucker up...


those guys aren't as bad as they seem.....with the crowd behind them and revved up against us, we'd better dang well bring the fight....

[NashvilleDevil]

unc is gonna give us trouble when we go to chapel hill.......they faced the kind of blowout we faced at miami, yet they clawed their way back in and made state pucker up...


those guys aren't as bad as they seem.....with the crowd behind them and revved up against us, we'd better dang well bring the fight....

What if Kelly is back by that game?

[gofurman]

unc is gonna give us trouble when we go to chapel hill.......they faced the kind of blowout we faced at miami, yet they clawed their way back in and made state pucker up...

those guys aren't as bad as they seem.....with the crowd behind them and revved up against us, we'd better dang well bring the fight....

I thought about this same thing. Where was our fight against Miami? As Jay Williams said "if I ever got down 20 Ill be durn sure the next guy down the lane took a hard foul - nothing dirty - but something he would remember" (I paraphrase)

UNC got punched hard and got back up - at least they leave knowing they can mount a comeback. Proud of Duke today but that Miami debacle is still bothersome - not to lose (I think Miami may well win the league), but to lose wtih so little fight.

OTOH, maybe part of it was State - we have seen how they are so up and down... beat Duke, lose to Maryland lose to Wake, completely dominate UNC for 30 minutes... maybe State lost focus

[UrinalCake]

Well the completely optimistic way to look at this from our standpoint would be that UNC was completely physically overmatched, while NC State lacks the mental focus to protect a lead.

Of course, they showed plenty of mental focus against us, so maybe not :)

[FerryFor50]

I thought about this same thing. Where was our fight against Miami? As Jay Williams said "if I ever got down 20 Ill be durn sure the next guy down the lane took a hard foul - nothing dirty - but something he would remember" (I paraphrase)

UNC got punched hard and got back up - at least they leave knowing they can mount a comeback. Proud of Duke today but that Miami debacle is still bothersome - not to lose (I think Miami may well win the league), but to lose wtih so little fight.

OTOH, maybe part of it was State - we have seen how they are so up and down... beat Duke, lose to Maryland lose to Wake, completely dominate UNC for 30 minutes... maybe State lost focus

A lot of Carolina's comeback had to do with State's choke-i-ness.

Miami didn't come close to choking.

[Duvall]

unc is gonna give us trouble when we go to chapel hill.......they faced the kind of blowout we faced at miami, yet they clawed their way back in and made state pucker up..

They weren't playing Miami.

[pamtar]

State stopped playing intense D around the 10 minute mark. Miami played the whole 40 minutes. I don't think we can predict how we'll do at the dump based off of either team's performance this week. I chalk UNC's comeback up to State being State and celebrating too early. Based on the first 30 minutes it was clear that State could do whatever they wanted to do whenever they wanted to do it. I guess Gottfried just sucks at managing a blowout in his favor.

Five bucks to anyone who can get me a .gif of that Dexter Strickland blown layup.

[devildeac]

"It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMUGJZrR9Jg

[throatybeard]

I don't know what to think about anything.

[moonpie23]

very cool of them to NOT rush the court....

[oldnavy]

A lot of Carolina's comeback had to do with State's choke-i-ness.

Miami didn't come close to choking.

I got the feeling State knew that they were not going to lose and lost intensity. To UNC's credit, they fought to the end which says something.

UNC has it's moments when they look pretty good. The problem is that it is not their normal or natural offense, meaning the traditional inside out or fast breaking style. It is when they are hitting 3's is when they look their best. They have a couple of good shooters PJ Hairston is getting his shot to fall now and Bullock has always been a pretty good shot. But the problem they have with this outside in style is that they do not always run it effeciently. They sometimes (often) take shots way early in the shot clock when if they were to work the ball around they could possibly get better shots. When these shot drop like they did in the second half, no worries, when they don't it's a problem. They also hit the boards well.

State seemed to go away from the pressure defense about the same time UNC heated up, hard to tell which was the cause and which was the effect, but UNC scored something insane like 50 points in 13 minutes or something? The shot over 60% in the second half, which is impressive against any team, much less a top 20 team like NCSU.

MOST of those points were either open 3 balls or easy layups or short jumpers that were hardly contested. But, that is not to take away what UNC did, they played well during that stretch.

UNC is not going to be as easy of a win as it looked earlier this year. If we pressure Paige and turn them over like we did Md, we "should" win, but it will be a tough game or rather games.

[Newton_14]

very cool of them to NOT rush the court....

I think the "non-court rush" (it was planned to happen) was due to the crowd being disgusted and embarrassed at State allowing UNC to cut a 28 point deficit with 13 minutes to go, to a 5 point deficit with 40 seconds to go. There was no excuse for the way State played during that stretch. They got very sloppy with the ball, stopped attacking the basket, stopped playing defense, and started jacking up pickup game type shops.

State should have won that game by 20+.

It did not help them that PJ Hairston is something like a 90% 3 point shooter when the score is out of hand and it doesn't really matter if he makes or misses in terms of winning the game. Bizarre.

[_Gary]

After composing myself from laughing so hard, I've got one question: Where's Wheat? I'm disappointed that he hasn't shown up in either this thread, or the Duke/Maryland thread. After all, he teleported in after Wednesday night's game. Just sayin'... :rolleyes:

[CDu]

They weren't playing Miami.

They were playing State on the road in a hostile environment, which was the point of moonpie's post.

That said, I agree with FerryFor50 and oldnavy that a lot of the "clawing back" had more to do with State than with UNC. State let their foot off the gas offensively and got really sloppy with the ball down the stretch. They also let up defensively which allowed several open 3s for UNC (who hit almost all of their 3s down the stretch).

I don't think we'll lose our intensity/focus, so I expect us to win comfortably against UNC.

[oldnavy]

I think the "non-court rush" (it was planned to happen) was due to the crowd being disgusted and embarrassed at State allowing UNC to cut a 28 point deficit with 13 minutes to go, to a 5 point deficit with 40 seconds to go. There was no excuse for the way State played during that stretch. They got very sloppy with the ball, stopped attacking the basket, stopped playing defense, and started jacking up pickup game type shops.

State should have won that game by 20+.

It did not help them that PJ Hairston is something like a 90% 3 point shooter when the score is out of hand and it doesn't really matter if he makes or misses in terms of winning the game. Bizarre.

I thought I heard one of the commentators mention that they were planning NOT to rush the court today regardless... I am not sure that I heard it, but it seems that it was during that little piece they did on the kid in the wheelchair.

Anyway, you are correct, in that the blown lead and last 15 minutes of the game really belonged to UNC put a damper on the celebration.

I just had to browse IC to see what the buzz is, and there are several threads over there about Roy's rotation, mostly centered around NOT starting PJ Hairston. I have not paid close attention to when he makes his shots, only that he has been very incosistent early in the year, and seems to have found his stroke of late.... again, no data just an old man's memory (take that for what it is).

NCSU made it easy for them to shoot 60% in the second half, several of those were layups on very lazy defensive pressure.

I think NCSU should have won by 30 or more myself, had they kept up the initial intensity, but easily it should have been a 20 point game...

[Duvall]

They were playing State on the road in a hostile environment, which was the point of moonpie's post.

moonpie's point, as far as I could tell, was that UNc should be given some degree of credit for coming back from a large deficit to a small one. Given that a terrible Wake Forest team came back from a large deficit to defeat this same NC State team just this week, I'm not sure UNC's rally tells us much beyond the fact that State is a horrible defensive squad.

[Saratoga2]

To all of those that despise stall ball, take note. This is a poorly managed game by Gottfried.

I have no idea why they rushed it up court and shot within seconds. Almost blew a huge lead.

[uh_no]

very cool of them to NOT rush the court....

I had a dream last night that carolina came back to win the game 111 to 110.....it was miserable.....especially after dexter strickland's quote they had on sports center about them always winning

[mgtr]

Maybe I missed it, but McAdoo seemed to spend time wondering what he should be doing. I didn't see the whole game (I did see his quick two fouls), so maybe there were parts where he played well and I missed them.

[uh_no]

Maybe I missed it, but McAdoo seemed to spend time wondering what he should be doing. I didn't see the whole game (I did see his quick two fouls), so maybe there were parts where he played well and I missed them.

i think for the most part, the entire team was wondering what they should be doing...hence a 28 point deficit

[JBDuke]

After composing myself from laughing so hard, I've got one question: Where's Wheat? I'm disappointed that he hasn't shown up in either this thread, or the Duke/Maryland thread. After all, he teleported in after Wednesday night's game. Just sayin'... :rolleyes:

For Gary and others that seem overly concerned about Wheat's whereabouts at certain times, he PM'd well before the games this weekend in anticipation of this very post and asked me to pass along the following:


I'll be traveling tonight, off to a fishing tournament and will miss the UNC/state game tomorrow and likely all games next week. My Internet is probably not going to be available for at least the next two days. If UNC loses tomorrow, or wins for that matter, and I somehow become the focus of a thread saying what a fair weather fan I am because I'm not around except when Duke loses, let them know I will be back to answer anything directed my way, eventually.
Thanks, Wheat\"\"\"

[davekay1971]

You can't really compare our game against State (ie: State's lack of a letup) to their game against UNC, nor can you compare the Duke-Miami game to the UNC-State game.

In our game against State, they never had the game in hand, so there was no temptation to let up and start celebrating. Watch the game last night at about the 15 minute mark in the 2nd half. State is smiling, celebrating, partying, and their intensity is gone, entirely. They got their intensity back when Carolina got within 10 at about 60-50, pushed the lead out to 17, thought they had the game in hand, and their intensity vanished, again. State wasn't choking...they were on cruise control, and Carolina took advantage.

State never put it on cruise control against Duke because they were never comfortably ahead of us.

Miami never put it on cruise control against us because they're a senior laden team coached by Jim Larranaga.

I have faith that if Miami had opened the door for us the way State did for UNC, we would have jumped on it.

UNC has talent, and State forgot that. Paige is not there yet, but he's got abilities. JMM can score if you forget to guard him. Hairston and Bullock are both able scorers if given looks.

But Duke can shut down UNC. They have 3 players you have to take out of their comfort zone, and we have the tools to do it. Assuming Kelly isn't back, Jefferson has the toughest task against JMM, but he has the length and athletics to bother him. Duke, historically is good at defending the 3, and that's what we need to do against Hairston and Bullock. Neither of those guys are great scorers off the dribble, so Sulaimon, Curry, Thornton need to stick to them on the arc and make them put it on the ground. Cook has become a good enough defender to prevent Paige from creating great looks for those guys. I think Duke has a great cocktail for making life tough on UNC's best 3 scorers. If you make UNC depend on anyone else for point production, they're in trouble.

[_Gary]

Good to know Wheat anticipated the "concerns" and made provision for it. I humbly apologize for this particular "call out" - although I do think after knowing him for 15 or so years here at DBR there's still some truth to the general perception I and others hold. But no hard feelings to him or his fans here.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I missed the Duke/Md game yesterday, and no cell or internet service, but I did have ESPN last night for the UNC/State game at this river camp I was at.

UNC has freshmen at the two spots where you really can't afford to have a freshman if you want to beat people. PG and Center. Especially if they play like freshman. Add in a good, highly motivatated rival and its a challenge.
Paige in particular had a tough game in his first real hostile environment. He was rattled all night.

He's going to be a really good player, but he's got some growing up to do. Mentally and physically. He stepped it up some during the comeback run, so maybe he learned something last night.

James played OK, but his play is not at the level where teams have to adjust for him. He's improving, but has a long way to go.

This is just a young UNC team overall and they are playing like it. The turnovers are really the main problem. Everybody is guilty. This is a pretty good defensive team, when they are not turning it over and playing defense from their heels. (I know.)

To me, it seems they have poor chemistry. The chemistry problem doesn't seem to be personalities, it's how each players skill set meshes.

Lack of a "breakdown" scorer is a big problem. Nobody can break down a half court defense and be a threat to score. Teams are realizing that the only players that can break down from the dribble, Strickland and Paige aren't a real threat to score so they're sticking to the spot up shooters,making it tougher on them. Then they try to dribble drive when it's not their strength, and we see TO's..

And the PF's, MacAdoo and Johnson have their own issues. JMM is still learning a back to the basket game, and Johnson is just plain phisically immature.

I do like this teams heart. They don't quit. I just wish they didn't get so shell shocked so easily and get so far behind in the first place.

If they can settle down and take care of the ball, they can still beat some pretty good teams.

[gumbomoop]

Paige in particular had a tough game in his first real hostile environment. He was rattled all night.... He's going to be a really good player, but he's got some growing up to do.

I do like this team's heart. They don't quit. I just wish they didn't get so shell shocked so easily and get so far behind in the first place.

If they can settle down and take care of the ball, they can still beat some pretty good teams.

I mostly agree with Wheat's take on the Heels. They can and might win against good teams, for they do have talent, or perhaps potential talent in the younger guys. It will take a good coaching job to get the chemistry to work.

I am curious about Paige's future, with the arrival in '13 of Britt and in '14 of Berry. I've sort of joked about it on the UNC PG thread, but wonder if Wheat might comment. None of those 3 guys is very tall, so none is really a 2. I know the generic coach-speak: "We have no trouble playing 2 PGs together." I know, too, that Duke has had situations that look, but are not exactly, similar. [1] JWill and Duhon, except that JWill was definitely a lot closer to a combo guard than any of the UNC-3. [Free one of the UNC-3?] [2] Cook, Curry, Sulaimon/Thornton, except that all but Cook are either fairly described as combo guards or not fairly described as PGs.

So, back to the future, Paige's in particular, UNC's PG story [Paige, Britt, Berry, plus Davis, White] over the next 2-3 years more generally. Wheat, when you have time, seriously, help, seriously, or as seriously as you can muster to a question that is not intended to be, but may be interpreted as, chain-pulling.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I mostly agree with Wheat's take on the Heels. They can and might win against good teams, for they do have talent, or perhaps potential talent in the younger guys. It will take a good coaching job to get the chemistry to work.

I am curious about Paige's future, with the arrival in '13 of Britt and in '14 of Berry. I've sort of joked about it on the UNC PG thread, but wonder if Wheat might comment. None of those 3 guys is very tall, so none is really a 2. I know the generic coach-speak: "We have no trouble playing 2 PGs together." I know, too, that Duke has had situations that look, but are not exactly, similar. [1] JWill and Duhon, except that JWill was definitely a lot closer to a combo guard than any of the UNC-3. [Free one of the UNC-3?] [2] Cook, Curry, Sulaimon/Thornton, except that all but Cook are either fairly described as combo guards or not fairly described as PGs.

So, back to the future, Paige's in particular, UNC's PG story [Paige, Britt, Berry, plus Davis, White] over the next 2-3 years more generally. Wheat, when you have time, seriously, help, seriously, or as seriously as you can muster to a question that is not intended to be, but may be interpreted as, chain-pulling.


It's pretty simple, I think. Roy will roll out the ball at practice and the best players will play.

It looks to me Paige is the PG of the future. He's going to be good. He's just got to settle down and gain confidence, and get stronger. He seems to have leadership ability.

Britt will have to come in an compete. And we'll see about Berry...I have a hard time believing recruiting hype. If he's as good as they say and can't be kept off the floor, I have no doubts that Roy would start both.

[CarmenWallaceWade]

I didn't watch much of this game - my wife and I were out celebrating our anniversary. We stayed at the Renaissance hotel at North Hills and had breakfast there the next morning. As I'm sitting down, my wife comments on how the table of State fans next to us must be pretty happy. I turn to look and quickly realize it's not just a couple of State fans but Mark Gottfried and one of his assistants. Shortly after I notice a huge guy wearing a State hoodie walking towards their table and immediately recognize it's Julius Randle. He was looking like he just woke up (this was around 10:30). That guy is freakishly big! Anyway, I hadn't been following his recruitment since he dropped us from his list, but it looks like State is still in the running for him. Obviously he would be a great get and it would be fun to watch him in our conference next year.

[Bob Green]

It's pretty simple, I think. Roy will roll out the ball at practice and the best players will play.

I'm interested in your thoughts on this year's rotation. Do you believe Strickland deserves all the minutes he is playing or should Hairston see more court time? Coach Williams' actions and your "the best players will play" statement seem incongruous to me.

[jv001]

It's pretty simple, I think. Roy will roll out the ball at practice and the best players will play.

It looks to me Paige is the PG of the future. He's going to be good. He's just got to settle down and gain confidence, and get stronger. He seems to have leadership ability.

Britt will have to come in an compete. And we'll see about Berry...I have a hard time believing recruiting hype. If he's as good as they say and can't be kept off the floor, I have no doubts that Roy would start both.

The times I've seen Berry play, it looks like Roy got a very good one. I know it's against high school players, but he seems to be the best of the group unc has now and is getting in the near future. GoDuke!

[oldnavy]

I'm interested in your thoughts on this year's rotation. Do you believe Strickland deserves all the minutes he is playing or should Hairston see more court time? Coach Williams' actions and your "the best players will play" statement seem incongruous to me.

I agree, Roy's rotation rarely seems to make sense to a casual observer (me). I cannot say much about practice effort, etc... but it took him 1/2 of a season or more to figure out that Marshall was 'better' on point than LDII. Really???

I think Roy gives PT in ways to accomplish other goals (keep players motivated, interested, etc...) more so than to keep the best 5 on the court. I just have seen too many times when he would pull a hot player out as if it were a predestined move verses how the player was playing in the moment.

I can tell you that IC is full of threads debating this very subject, so a sizable portion of the UNC nation is at odds with Strickland vs Hairston PT question.

I will not say that his rotation patterns are without merit. It is probably easier to woo potential recruits by telling them they 'will' see some court time. If he doesn't come out and tell the players this, they certainly should be able to discern it for themselves by watching UNC play.

Funny, IC argues that Roy goes too deep into the rotation, DBR argues we don't go deep enough!! I guess it is always greener on the other side, eh???

[gumbomoop]

It's pretty simple, I think. Roy will roll out the ball at practice and the best players will play.

It looks to me Paige is the PG of the future. He's going to be good. He's just got to settle down and gain confidence, and get stronger. He seems to have leadership ability.

Britt will have to come in an compete. And we'll see about Berry...I have a hard time believing recruiting hype. If he's as good as they say and can't be kept off the floor, I have no doubts that Roy would start both.

Not sure which both, but I think maybe you mean Paige - probably, IYO, the PG of the future - and Berry, if he lives up to recruiting hype. That still leaves Britt, about whom your comment is noncommittal.

The reason I think it's an interesting situation is that Berry seems the most hyped of the 3. As you rightly say, we'll see. It would be one thing if the most hyped were already here, and potentially heading to the NBA about the time the other 2 arrive or get enough experience. But in this case, the most hyped will come in when there are 2 vets with whom to compete. If Roy can actually juggle 3 very-good-to-excellent PGs in 2014-'15, that would be pretty impressive. I know he substitutes a lot, and lately has caught some flak for it, but maybe juggling 3 PGs, 2 at a time, will work. I would just imagine this abundance of good PGs will garner lots of talk in UNC circles. And, absent any transfer, neither Luke Davis nor Stilman White seems likely to feature much in those conversations.

[Duvall]

It looks to me Paige is the PG of the future. He's going to be good. He's just got to settle down and gain confidence, and get stronger. He seems to have leadership ability..

What does Paige do well that would indicate that he's going to win the PG battle royale? Just leadership, or something else?

[CDu]

What does Paige do well that would indicate that he's going to win the PG battle royale? Just leadership, or something else?

Yeah, I have the same question. I've seen nothing in Paige's game to suggest that he's going to cut it as a PG at UNC. He's not very quick, not very strong, not a very good perimeter shooter, and not that good a passer.

[luvdahops]

Yeah, I have the same question. I've seen nothing in Paige's game to suggest that he's going to cut it as a PG at UNC. He's not very quick, not very strong, not a very good perimeter shooter, and not that good a passer.

Couldn't agree more. I tend to watch PG play pretty closely, and in the 5-6 times I have seen Carolina this year, Paige has not impressed me at all. Why he and Strickland start together is totally baffling to me, too.

[oldnavy]

Couldn't agree more. I tend to watch PG play pretty closely, and in the 5-6 times I have seen Carolina this year, Paige has not impressed me at all. Why he and Strickland start together is totally baffling to me, too.

SSSHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Let's keep it down, Ol Roy may hear us and wake up......

Paige is great, he is like Phil Ford, only better...... say it over and over!!! :D

[Wheat/"/"/"]

I'm interested in your thoughts on this year's rotation. Do you believe Strickland deserves all the minutes he is playing or should Hairston see more court time? Coach Williams' actions and your "the best players will play" statement seem incongruous to me.

I think a little of what we are seeing is Roy showing some loyalty to a senior, but mainly coaching PJ to play to his potential. When PJ does the things Roy is telling him to do, he's going to play more.

We are not at practice, or in the locker room. I've seen time and again quotes from Roy where he is frustrated that PJ's not doing what he's told. Sometimes just not trying very hard. Not that he's disobedient, but that he lacks the ability to focus.
PJ can shoot lights out when he's on, and he's strong around the boards, but he gets beat terribly by quick guards off the dribble. And his ball handling is poor under pressure.

I think he has a future in the NBA if he gets his all around game together a little better. He gets that shot off quick and he has serious range. But the game is more than shooting. He's got to play smarter and harder, all the time.

Roy is coaching this kid. And playing time is how coaches get their points across.

Sitting PJ is not what lost that game at State, it was TO's.

[Wheat/"/"/"]

What does Paige do well that would indicate that he's going to win the PG battle royale? Just leadership, or something else?

Leadership for sure, and he can handle the ball, for another thing. And I like his vision. It's not Kendal Marshall's vision, but who's is?
And I think he can shoot it better than he has shown us so far. He's just a soaking wet 157lb freshman going through the ACC for the first time and he's struggling with stronger players.

I'll give him time.