UNC BB

And that means it’s going to do a lot with the new comers to Chapel Hill and with the two big men remaining from last year: John Henson and Tyler Zeller. In the end I think that this is definitely going to be a bounce back year for the squad and we are all going to be greatly surprised, even more so that a lot of the “high reaching” fans that UNC have. However I am not sure all of that means that this team will be ready for another Elite Eight/Final Four run. But, as the old saying goes, only time will tell and that means we have about two months to wait until the first tip off. What is great, especially for someone like me that lives so far away from Chapel Hill, all the games will be on the tube, and that means I will be able to watch my squad play from early November until the beginning of March when UNC and Duke will face off in the final game of the regular season on CBS.

Always looking for more pieces to his puzzle it seems that head coach Roy Williams has offered a scholarship to 2011 forward Angelo Chol, from San Diego, CA. The big man, known a lot more for his defensive skills than the ones on the offensive side of the ball, has quite a large list of schools looking at him. Two big time Big East teams, UConn and G’Town, are after the young man, Kansas, where Chol will be in attendance for the Late Night in the Phog, and a bunch more are all looking at this well built inside player. Rivals has the 6′8″/205 lbs Chol has their 70th player of the class and as a four star recruit. Scout on the other hand has the Cali kid all the way up to 54th, giving him a four star rating as well. From what I read in the article by FayObserver.com it is going to take a lot for the Heels to be able to get this young man, however the good news is that he has decided to post pone his decision on a school until the spring, giving coach Williams and his staff some more time to get in on the action. Plus, recruiting has to be the number one thing that head coach Roy Williams does, and if anyone can pull this off, I would say he would have to be him!

This move by UNC shows how much the need to be prepared (and stocked) at each position is becoming with this “one and done” mess that the National Basketball Association has come out with a few years back. While Chol does not fit the mold that Roy Williams has brought to Chapel Hill of running anytime the Heels can, a big body in the middle of the game to get physical against the opposition is always needed. I can definitely see how much someone like Chol could help as a counterpart to either James McAdoo (already committed to UNC) or a Cody Zeller (another big man that could easily come to UNC to play his college ball).

UNC Recruiting

And please, for anyone that thinks this scholarship offer is a bad one due to how injury prone Zeller has been while in Chapel Hill, or ever worst, because the now junior might not have lived up to expectations I have one thing to say: stop it! Zeller would work great next to someone like James McAdoo in his first year and then will do even better in the seasons to follow. While on subject, I also expect a great season from Tyler, who is going to get a chance to start (as he did when Hansbrough was hurt) and play big minutes.

James McAdoo

After all the theories and all the “what if’s” that the story about James McAdoo coming to North Carolina a year early brought the high school junior has decided to do what most experts might think is the best thing for him: play his senior year in high school and not in college. Sure as a fan I would have loved to see what could have happened when you put a John Henson, a Harrison Barnes and a McAdoo on the floor together, and if all goes to plan that we might never see, but on the other hand McAdoo isn’t saying “no” to Carolina, he is just saying “yes” to head coach Roy Williams at the right time. If the Heels can stay healthy in the front court they still should be ok for the upcoming season, sure McAdoo would have taken any and all bad tastes from anyone’s mouth about what the Wear twins did, but I still think by the end of the next basketball year those two young men who headed back West won’t be remembered much anymore.

From the ZagsBlog, where Adam Zagoria broke the story, here are a couple of key things that the young man said about his decision:

“I made that decision like a week ago.”

Not sure if this is makes a different or not. Maybe the thing I could worry about is if he was not certain of making the jump I would have not said anything about it at all. Not that it matters, but I guess the ABC’ers and haters will be all of over this in one way or another. In the end the right thing was done and it is time to move on from this (until next year that is). Jeff Borzello, of March Madness All Season, tweeted that he “spoke to an administrator at Norfolk Christian last night…McAdoo has re-enrolled there, so I guess he’s headed back to NCH“. So, we could say the old saying “nothing changes if nothing changes” might just be perfect for this story!

“Basically I was telling myself that I wanted to go to Carolina and wouldn’t really mind missing my senior year and the McDonald’s Game,” he said. “But once I thought about it, it’s something that I really wanted to do.”

I like the way the young many put it. Nothing fancy, no smoke and mirrors, just the plain facts: I am young and want to stay that way for one more year, then I will do my stop in college and off to earn my paycheck in the pro’s. Plain and simple I would say. In the end for me, someone who enjoys watching the future Heels this will be once again a fun season both at Chapel Hill and in the high school ranks.

Tourney of Champs

Inspired by the great job that was done over at scACCHoops and by the fact I had begun this last year and then due to family issues had to stop it I am going to redo the “UNC Tourney of Champs”. Once again it will be a round robin, but unlike the first time around the teams will meet four times (2 at home and 2 on the road). Another big difference is that I am going to cut it down from eight to six teams, with the four national championship squads (`82, `93, `05 & `09) plus one from the Bill Guthridge seasons (`98) and one from the Matt Doherty years (`01). In all that will give the tournament plenty of talent and lots to talk about when the results come in. I will do one game (which means the best of five game simulations) everyday. Once the games are all played, the top two teams will get the first round off while the other four squads will square off in order to move forward. Oh, do I have a favorite? Of course, the 1981-82 team! In doing this I am going to use the WhatIfSports web site, and will post the play by play of each games, along with the league leaders after each week of play. It should be fun, it should be some work, but most of all it should be a way to make this summer go by just a bit quicker!

When will all of this start? Today of course. Games will be played in the morning and the post will be up by about 2:00 pm EST on the site…

Games for this week:

• Wednesday: 1982 vs. 1998
• Thursday: 2005 vs 1993
• Friday: 2009 vs 2001

(the following weeks games will be played Mon/Wed/Fri ~ yes I am taking the weekends off from this!)

Ed Davis

As I do with all the Tar Heels let me wish all the best to Ed Davis as he approaches this new chapter of his life.

HC Williams & Larry Drew

The more I keep reading about junior point guard Larry Drew II and what he feels about last year and what he is doing about this summer and the more I truly hope that Kendall Marshall can step in and play from day one. Yes, I am saying it, put me off the Larry Drew bandwagon, heck put me “anyone else at the point but him” status. Why? Well, according to an interview the third year player is going to go back home to work out with his father instead of working out with the rest of the team in the second summer session. A team that has many new pieces and not many pieces that gelled over the course of the last season should not be working out without the player that should be its general on the floor. Another thing that annoyed me is that Larry Drew said he does not think about last season anymore. Sorry but all of this in my mind just creates a lot of tension that is unneeded for a team that needs to be a lot better than they were on their 100th year anniversary.

This is what Drew said about going home for the second summer session…

“Yeah, they do (prefer that I stay in Chapel Hill for the second summer session), but they understand at the same time,” Drew said of the Tar Heel coaches. “I am privileged to have a father who has been in the league for as long as he has. He’s going to be right there with me the whole time. He taught me the game and he’s been there with me in basketball since before I can remember.”

This is all fine and dandy, but if you do not have the privilege to have the players to work with how will you ever become a top notch point guard? I believe that in order to be a great player at the position you have to know how each of your team mates react and move depending on how the play is going, being with your father might perfect your skills in passing, but if you do not know where your team mates will be I have to say it’s all for nothing. And please do not give me “I will be working out with other guys” cause that is not the players you have to go into the season with.

“It’s something I want to take advantage of because I don’t get to see him much during the season or during the year,” Drew continued. “I’m just really looking forward to spending some time with him and picking his brain. I’ve still got all my game tapes from last year, too, so one thing we’re going to do a lot this summer is watch all my game films and break them down.”

Again, this is great, it’s awesome, it’s a once in a life time chance, working with someone that has been in the National Basketball Association that long, and is now the head coach of the Hawks, is going to help Larry Drew finesse his game. The problem I have is that it’s not going to finesse the team’s game and in the end basketball is a team game! You are going to break down tape of a team that will be missing 2 out the 4 players that started last season. Again, all good, but not going to help you with the upcoming players that you do not know. What I am trying to say, had last season ended with 28 or more wins, Top 3 in the conference, Top 15 in the nation, Elite Eight (or higher) in the tournament, by all means go work out with dad. But it didn’t!

In the end, the more I read it the more I have to say I have many questions. Is Drew listening more to his father or his coaching staff? Amd furthermore, is he listening to his father over head coach Roy Williams when it comes to how he should be playing? Would he be doing this if he was let’s say in the pro’s, where his father spent so much time in? Is this going to cause problems with the team in general (locker room/practices/games)? Is this going to cause problems with the fan base (I know it’s causing it with me)? And while I might be jumping off a ledge too quickly because of this I am of the belief that this might not hurt the team at all, but there is NO WAY it is going to help it.

Drew is the supposed floor general of a team that lost 17 games last year, will have four (if not five) new players coming into the mix, has only one senior, needs to still learn how to gel/bond, and your best option is to go home watch old tape and work with your father? Sorry, again I might be totally wrong, but this to me puts Drew in a no win situation and the team at jeopardy of losing games they might not have to. And I will finish with this, if this year Drew does not take a step up will he then stay on campus next year to work with the team or will going home be more important once again? If you think I sound upset I am, because in the end Larry Drew took a scholarship knowing fully well what he was committing to, and yet, after a bad season, he chooses what is best for him over what is best for the team! And that is not the “Carolina Way” in my humble opinion.

Will Graves

Graves, who started all but two games last year, is supposed to be out about 4 to 6 weeks according to coach Williams. As I do with all the Tar Heels let me wish the quickest of recovery to the young man and that he may have a great senior year in the `10-`11 season.

James McAdoo

First off, let me say that I been away due to real life issues that could not be avoided, but now I should be back to stay (not sure if that is good or bad for all of you, but it is what it is!).

The major thing that has really been on my mind regarding UNC is whether James McAdoo coming a year early to Chapel Hill is good or is it just going to excel/raise expectations that do not need to be right now. Do not get me wrong, as a Tar Heel fan this story has brought a lot of positives, especially after the bad taste in my mouth left by the disappearing act that the Wear twins did on Carolina. It’s no secret that the young man is look for more than the competition he is getting in high school, and from what I have read/heard he does not want to transfer to those power houses private schools that many top players go to. In other words, it’s either coming to North Carolina, which seems almost a sure thing from this article by NBE, or going back to what he is not liking (playing high school ball).

However is McAdoo, a 6′8″/205 lbs “hybrid” power forward, going to be able to step into the college game and be able to compete? Some say yes, some say no, me I say this…

James McAdoo is a five star recruit anywhere you look and for the most part he is said to be one of the top players for the 2011 class. He comes to a North Carolina team that needs to rebound from a pretty weak season, but for the most part does not have great expectations. In other words coming in the same class as Harrison Barnes would put a lot less pressure on this young man that coming in the year after (especially if both Barnes and John Henson were to leave after the `10-`11 season). McAdoo could be the third/fourth player off the bench (at least at the beginning of the year) and that would mean he does not have to get a double double in order to have a good game, all he has to do is contribute. Heck, after the Wear twins left, which seems the time that the young man from Virginia began to consider going to college a year early, head coach Roy Williams was left with just two big men. Now coach Williams could be looking at having four of them, which would be more than he would have had next season. So, I say this: if he truly wants to be in Chapel Hill let him come!

I talked about James McAdoo coming to North Carolina with R.L. Bynum (of the Running Tar Heel) and Jim Young (of ACC Sports) and you can see what they said by checking out my podcast right here on BlogTalkRadio.

But before we begin to make those banners that say “Final Four or bust” let’s remember that this is a player that should still be in high school, and making the step is not easy for true freshmen imagine for someone who is doing it one year earlier. In short, one or two classes divide McAdoo from going to college this fall, and that might be the easiest thing he needs to do at Chapel Hill!

Ed Davis

As the NBA Draft approaches and the mock drafts begin to sprout all over the place I found this nice article/interview about ex UNC power forward Ed Davis. From the sounds of it the young man, who spent two season under the tuteledge of head coach Roy Williams, is almost at 100% after his season ending wrist injury and can not wait to work out at full force for all the National Basketball Association teams in the near future. Very interesting tid bit from this SN article is that the 6′9″ power forward said to have talked to both coach Williams and his parents before making the decision, and while his father was also a pro (10 year vet) the final word on what he wanted to do was left up to him, with money having no factor in the final decision.

As far as me, a blogger that has been watching the college game for over three decades and thinks he knows just a bit about the players he sees, this is how it boils down for the young man, who might have gone to the next level one year too late (since he would have been a Top 5 last draft and might fall out of the Top 10 in this one). Like it or not us at North Carolina got to see some of what Davis is capable of, but I believe we didn’t get to see the majority of his skills, and that means his potential for growth at the next level is huge. Between being left handed, having good hands, a soft touch and (again potentially) being able to bulk up and build out the 6′9″ forward could be one of the players that would cause problem to the opposing defenders. On the defensive side I think that the newest Heel in the NBA will leave his mark from day one in the NBA. There is no way you can make me believe that the talent the young man has to block shots and get defensive rebounds won’t be (for the most part) the same at the next level.

On the other side most of what I have said is all about “what he could be”, what Davis is right now is more of a mystery than anything. Will he be the man in the middle at the next level or will he be playing the four? Can he bang with the big boys down low with his talent and athleticism or will that not be enough to be a dominant player in the Pro’s. One thing is for sure, as of right now, the twenty year old from Richmond, Virginia does not have that killer instict that would make him a lot more appealing to the GMs/scouts. Again, that is something that can be worked on and developed, but it is also something that might never come.

In the end Ed Davis is going to be the poster boy for the National Basketball Association’s favorite word: potential. I am sure that if he had not gotten hurt last season the would be a lot less question marks regarding him. But as I said many times over, even if before the Wear twins decided to leave UNC, I think that this is definitely the right move for Davis, since he might be getting more playing time with a lottery pick team that he would at Chapel Hill. Could Davis come out as a bust? Sure, I do not doubt that, but if I was a betting man I think that he will be a good player that will be in the NBA for just as long as his father was (if not longer).

Ed Davis Career Stats

Come back today in the afternoon as I try to check on all the major mock drafts to see where Ed Davis would land and make sure to check out my special podcast on BlogTalkRadio to hear how four college bloggers forecast this year’s NBA Draft.

Check out this video from Draft Xpress: