Per Jeff Goodman who apparently refrained from saying anything stupid in front of Tyler Hansbrough since he was left alive to post the report. I will say this about Hansbrough, he has high standards. I wouldn’t call him overly critical but he did not shy away from pointing weaknesses along with the strengths of the players discussed.
Here are a few thoughts:
- The player who has impressed him the most? Freshman P.J. Hairston. “I’m really high on him. He’s way more athletic than I thought. He can really shoot it and he’s exactly what we need. If he can play defense … I’m a little worried about his defense.”
- On Harrison Barnes: “When he first came in last year, he forced some shots and you could tell that he felt as if he had to do things himself. Now he’s more relaxed, he’s smooth instead of forcing things to go his way. He’s letting the game come to him. … He’s just not one of those guys who is going to blow you away, though, and take over a game. He’s just smooth in how he does it.”
- On Kendall Marshall: “He’s not the most athletic guy, but he’s really good at what he does - passing the ball and getting the ball to people in the right spots to score. He’s just very smart about the game and can really find people … and he never seems to get rattled.”
- On who are the leaders of this team: “I’d say Kendall. He’s a vocal guy and tells his teammates what they need to do. I think (Tyler) Zeller leads by example, kind of like I did when I was there, but he isn’t as vocal.”
- on John Henson: “He can really rebound and block shots. He’s still improving his offensive game - and it’s still a little raw. He’s definitely put time in the weight room, but John’s never going to be a physical guy. That’s just not his game.”
- On freshman James McAdoo: “I really like him, I think he’s got a chance to be really good. I want to see him develop a few moves. He needs to get a feel for the system. I don’t think he’s ever played in an up-and-down pace like what Coach Williams runs. I think he’ll be a big-time player, but it may take until the middle of the season for him to break out.”
Hansbrough has been hanging out in Chapel Hill while the NBA lockout resolves itself. He and Bobby Frasor are renting a house together and Hansbrough says Frasor is very close to moving into coaching. If that is the case I think many UNC fans would like to see one of the younger assistants on Roy Williams staff such as Jarod Haase or C.B McGrath move on to a head coaching job elsewhere to open up a spot for Frasor on the staff at UNC. Haase was considered for mid-major job or two a year ago and his name will likely come up again this spring.
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my man! everything was spot on with his critique. and to Mr Goodman, I havent forgotten your diggs at Tywon during our 09 run…
McAdoo is the best freshman no one is talking about…
As a demonstration of strength, T should have stuffed Goodman upside down into a trash can! If Hairston can shoot we’ll let him work on his defense.
“He’s just not one of those guys who is going to blow you away, though, and take over a game.”
I disagree, signed Brad Brownell
That statement was odd to me. If I had one complaint about Barnes it was he didn’t play a consistent game but take over a game? He absolutely did that a few times.
He and Bobby Frasor are renting a house together?
Having seen the way these guys play ping pong, can you imagine the deposit they had to put down?
Or the bruises they’ll have week in and week out?
Amenities of the Hansbrough-Frasor estate: balcony, above-ground pool, honorary Marcus Ginyard guest room, Jonas Sahratian-designed weight room, soundproof Rock Band gameroom, Erin Andrews bonus room (with separate entrance), kitchen w/full-time sushi chef, pedicure chairs, and a big freakin’ 2009 NCAA Championship trophy case.
Tyler clearly knows that HB can take over a game (that’s obvious based on last year’s results). My view on Tyler’s comment is that HB is so smooth and steady that he can take over a game almost without it being noticed. You might say that HB quietly takes over games because he blends in so well with the rest of the game. He doesn’t stand out on every play, but he is definitely impacting every game.
“You might say that HB quietly takes over games because he blends in so well with the rest of the game. He doesn’t stand out on every play, but he is definitely impacting every game.”
great point… Harrison can drop 20 without evening trying
It just hit me that this year, the team starts with the worries of “Some other Kid” it like the tale of 2 teams last year…
Tyler Hansbrough in Chapel Hill is as a Bear is to the Woods.
True or False
It would be great to see Frasor as a coach. I think he’d do well. Don’t forget about Wes Miller as well.
Nice work by PRGuy, above.
Thanks great read. Living in CH..true HEELS.
For most part Hans right on IMO
I’m already pumped for basketball season. But, hey, what else is new? I guess the official tip-off will come on Veterans Day (11/11/11). I’m a Tar Heel & a veteran.
Have any of you guys read this article?
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/092711aaa.html
What was Blake Griffin doing in Chapel Hill?
The NBA is locked out. You are an NBA player wanting to get some pickup games versus other quality NBA players where else you going to go? I think he had also been over at Duke and was rumored to be thinking about playing in the NC Pro-Am but I don’t think he did.
What was the date when we started believing in Harrison Barnes? It was pretty late, somewhere about the time that Larry Drewll left. It does show that you can’t always jump all over a kid for not performing up to expectations immediately.
On the other hand, I think Barnes is somewhat of an exception. Most of the other greats (assuming H.B. achieves that rank) at UNC had first years with far fewer hiccups than Barnes did. It may have been a team hangover from the horrible, horrible, horrible, horrible 2010 season (maybe that year should be banned from Tar Heel conversation), but Barnes shifted pretty quickly from a disappointment, to the highlight reels, right about the time that his teammate left the team and Reggie Bullock got hurt.
The last two years have been two of the strangest years in UNC basketball history going back to the early 70′s. I am looking forward to a more traditional season this year, something akin to 1982.
“What was Blake Griffin doing in Chapel Hill?”
He helped Kenny Smith work his UNC bball camp, goes back to kenny helping him in the dunk contest….
“Most of the other greats (assuming H.B. achieves that rank) at UNC had first years with far fewer hiccups than Barnes did”
In Barnes defense, most of those greats didnt have to play with a PG that loved to throw the ball out of bounds
That is true. Nor did they have to overcome the negativity of following UNC’s worst season since the early Smith years, and perhaps the worst since the arrival of Frank McGuire.
Tyler is the man!! Good commentary.
REQUEST TO THF: As basketball season approaches, can you PLEASE remove the prominent pic of “some other kid” from the all too prominent forum header? How about a pic of the Heels removing the nets after a NCAA Championship? Just a thought.
GO HEELS!!
Enter william - good comments.
THANS is comparing these guys to pro level players. And he has always been quietly demanding.
Short quotes are easy to get out of context too.
Go Heels!
Harrison’s a thinker. He came into UNC an academic sophomore with what, 5 APs under his belt? I am not saying other players aren’t, but his comfort level seems more predicated on it than others. For example, if you compare his freshman year to John Wall, which everyone wanted to do prior to his arrival, I would say Wall played with much more confidence early than Barnes but Barnes learned far more over the course of his first year.
You could see the hesitation and the swivel-head declining about the same time SOK left, and I think the combination of the two explains his late-season exploits.
I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that we won’t see him taking over games early in the season for the simple reason that he won’t need to, but that as the season progresses, he will be the guy who consistently makes the plays - jumper, rebound, steal, whatever - that put his team over the top most nights. I don’t think emotionally that “domination” really matters to him as much as beating his opponent as much with his understanding of the game as his physical attributes. More Tim Duncan than Kobe Bryant. And honestly, given the talent on this team, that’s a really, really good thing, if I’m right.
I believe UNC’s worst record since the arrival of Frank McGuire was the 8-20 2001/2 season.
having a player that is ready and willing to take the lost shot, is going to be a huge plus for UNC.
Hansbrough’s comments about P.J. Hairston were a bit of a surprise, and if Hairston can produce like that in games it would be a great addition and make players like Barnes even more effective.
I think what Hansbrough was trying to say about Barnes was that Barnes may be a go to shooter with all kinds of talent, but he has not shown the dominating offensive displays that some players make.
Barnes had plenty of great games, especially after certain personnel changes, and he played some amazing defense at times. But he also lost focus especially early in some games. Much of this is simply adjusting to the level of talent in college basketball. He had admitted this often in interviews.
I look to Barnes being a great contributor this season, and I expect that he will be more effective with less emphasis on him as a sole threat. Having other back court scoring threats will liberate him to not only shoot 3s. As they play together more I believe things will go better as well.
The 40 point ACC game will lay the foundation of confidence as well. Especially if the team as a whole gets off to a good start, there will be less pressure on Barnes and fewer expectations of Pete Maravich scoring. Barnes is not Maravich, but he can be an amazing player in his own way.
“I am going to go out on a limb here and suggest that we won’t see him taking over games early in the season for the simple reason that he won’t need to”
Carolina’s toughest part of their schedule (outside of March) is November and the 1st week of December, so I hope he decides to at least take over a couple.
I agree with T about Barnes in that I think it’s about athleticism. Barnes is not a Jordan, Carter or Worthy uber-athlete. He is a very good athlete but does not have 40+ inch hops and the quickness that those guys had. That said, I won’t put anything past the young man because he’s willing to work hard to improve and that’s way more than half the battle to succeed. This is not a “knock” against the Black Falcon just my interpretation of Tyler’s comments.
The line that totally cracked me up was this: “I think (Tyler) Zeller leads by example, kind of like I did when I was there, but he isn’t as vocal.”
Not as vocal???!!! You could barely get Hansbrough to talk at all. Whenever he did an interview, you could tell he wanted it to be over in three seconds.
Zeller is a veritable Winston Churchill compared to Psycho T.
PJ got an invaluable first-hand lesson in selfish play from one John Wall this summer. Nothing Roy could ever say or do would make the same impression. He and McAdoo will be the anti-Drew/Wear/Davis frosh-gonna be a great hoops year for the Heels. Last year was re-developing it..this year, the chemistry is back, to match the talent!
oh, and thanks for the life lesson JW!