Simply put, it was not a perfect game but it was plenty good. There were some finer points to be addressed such as free throw shooting and focus but overall, this team looks like it is right on schedule to enter ACC play hitting most if not all cylinders.
John Henson and Harrison Barnes both had outstanding games. The Texas game has served as this season’s version of the NC State game in Chapel Hill last year for Barnes where he really locked in. Barnes had back-to-back nine point games prior to the Texas game sparking all sorts of questions about his game. Since then Barnes is 24-41 from the floor, 3-6 from three and 13-14 from the line. He has also done so scoring in a variety of ways, most of it heading towards the basket. The 3-6 from three is telling not for the 50% shooting but the limited number of attempts meaning Barnes is not settling for jumpers as much as he is looking for offense in a more aggressive fashion. Barnes ended up with 20 in this one. It was 18 but the official box score was changed postgame to credit Barnes with a putback that was given to James Michael McAdoo.
Henson led the team with 21 points, 8 rebounds and three blocks. Kendall Marshall posted another double figure assist game with 11 versus 3 turnovers. Zeller only had eight but collected 11 rebounds. It was nice to see P.J. Hairston get back into a scoring groove with 16 points following a recent stretch of 3-20 from three. Hairston went 4-9 from three plus a couple of highlight dunks, good for 16 points.
There was only one major complaint I saw in this one. The iffy free throw shooting rear its ugly head again. UNC went 20-33 from the line for 60%. The two culprits for that in this game are Zeller and Henson. In the case of the latter, Henson was 3-6 which is actually a good day for him in relative terms. Zeller’s 0-4 has to be some kind of aberration. Since the two games in Las Vegas where Zeller went a combined 7-11 from the line, the senior hit 36 of his next 39 free throws before a goose egg in four attempts today. On the flip side, James Michael McAdoo was 4-4 on free throws which is a move in the right direction for him. In short, Zeller has proven he can hit free throws at an acceptable rate and had he done so today, the free throw shooting looks like less of an issue than it is. Still, this is something that will continue to be on the radar. Outside of that, I suppose the 11-27 Monmouth hit from three might unsettle some folks but given the Hawks were 14-40 on two point shots it is a tradeoff you can live with. Plus, UNC has been really good in recent games closing out on three point shooters. UNC has some lapses in focus(such as Reggie Bullock stepping on the sideline on two straight possessions) which is not unusual given the game was never in doubt.
This was UNC’s 26th win in a row at home which is a new school record. It is hard to believe, given UNC’s level of success, that the record for a home win streak would be much higher. Looking at the ACC this season, there is a good chance UNC can make it 34 by the end of the season.
Thus concludes the non-conference slate for this season. UNC heads into ACC play 13-2 which is was about where you figured this team might be at this point in the season. The two losses were not “bad losses” meaning they came against very good teams in UNLV and Kentucky, both on the road. Considering Ohio St. had lost two as well to opponents of similar caliber, UNC is pretty much right there is the other Final Four contenders. In fact, only the second half versus UNLV serves as the only truly bad half of basketball by this team in 15 games. UNC appears to be right where they should be both in terms of record and on the path to peaking for March. Entering ACC play versus an obviously weakened league, finishing the regular season at 27-4 is a real possibility. UNC would be in perfect position for a #1 seed and a run to New Orleans.
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27-4 is very possible but I honestly think 29-2 can easily happen. A win at duke and at virginia is about all we need for it.
“In short, Zeller has proven he can hit free throws at an acceptable rate and had he done so today, the free throw shooting looks like less of an issue than it is.”
That’s the thing with small numbers; if Zeller goes 3-4, then UNC is just a shade under 70.0%, which is not that big of a deal; and 4-4 puts UNC at 72.7%, which is fine.
If I was going to point to one thing with FTs that is troubling, it is Kendall Marshall’s 59.3%. Having a PG who can make FTs can cover up a lot of a team’s FT-issues late in close games. That being said, KM has only taken 27 FTA, so that number can go up pretty quickly. Just look at JMM, who started the season 15-31 from the line (43.8%), but has gone 14-17 from the line over the last four (82.3%) to raise his season average more than 16 percentage points.
UNC should also get a boost to their FT numbers once ACC play starts and the blowouts become uncommon, as the team’s deep bench (White, Hubert, Simmons, Crouch, Cooper, Dupont) is just 14-40 (35.0%) from the line. May not sound like a lot, but it is enough to knock the team’s season total down by 3 percentage points.
“UNC should also get a boost to their FT numbers once ACC play starts and the blowouts become uncommon, as the team’s deep bench (White, Hubert, Simmons, Crouch, Cooper, Dupont) is just 14-40 (35.0%) from the line. May not sound like a lot, but it is enough to knock the team’s season total down by 3 percentage point”
This is a good point, certainly in relation to how the media dwells (like the toughness issue, probably more than is really deserved) on this aspect of UNC’s game….I mean 67% FT, while not good, is better than 64%. Beyond this, I think that when games are more important, and when the deep bench is not playing, the team seems to focus a bit more and do better at the line. (FT’s for 4 of our toughest opponents: Wisconsin 79% - Kentucky 78% - Texas 74% - LBSU 80%) )
The thing that encourages me about FT shooting is that Bulloch and Hairston seem to be very solid, and McAdoo has been much better of late, so it looks like the bench will be dependable.
Another thing is that once you get past Henson, in the starting lineup, those four players are shooting right at 71%, which is ok. (With Henson included, the starters are shooting 66% FT’s.)
It appears that Henson’s improved outside shooting, and going to it more often, has kept him off the line a bit more this year (probably not a bad thing). While his shot percentage is up some from last year, his FT rate is down. One would certainly like to see him have more 2 and 1 opportunities, but, all in all, it seems to be working out well.
Speaking of Henson’s style, it has been very interesting to see his progression as a player, and finding what works best for his body type and skills. (And remember, he was always seen as a project….meaning that he had terrific potential but that it would take some time)
From the awkwardness of how he started out offensively, on the perimeter, to banging, and getting banged around in the paint, to finding more of a middle ground this year and developing the shooting skills that were initially deemed to be very promising. Very cool……and hats off to his improvement.
There were four worrisome things in this game. First was the free throws, as everyone knows. There’s a different excuse every game, but the fact is we need to make a higher percentage and if we don’t, it’s going to cost us. There are just not that many road games in the conference where you can leave points on the table.
Second, freakin’ Monmouth played us roughly even in the second half, and this was true even before blue steel showed up. How can a team that aspires to the national championship play even with the # 300 team (or whatever it is) for a full half?
Third, JMM, while very likely to be good in the long term, needs a whole bunch of work. The tools are there, but I think he’s having more trouble than I’d like to see adjusting to college level competition.
Fourth, with the exception of Barnes and Henson dunking the ball, this team seems to have an inordinate amount of trouble finishing at the rim. It seems to me that we’ve had 100 layups this year roll around and fall off or bounce off. Zeller is the main culprit, but far from the only one.
Don’t get me wrong. We have a terrific team. I’ve said before that we should win it all, and I still think so. But there are some things that need fixing. The good news is that all of them can be fixed.
“Fourth, with the exception of Barnes and Henson dunking the ball, this team seems to have an inordinate amount of trouble finishing at the rim. It seems to me that we’ve had 100 layups this year roll around and fall off or bounce off. Zeller is the main culprit, but far from the only one.”
________________________________
i thought i had implemented the “NO LAYUP RULE” for JMM and Zeller for the remainder of this season. you either dunk or sit beside the coach. no reason for a 7footer or a young player trying to find his legs to be finessing layups that roll off the rim within five feet of the basket. this is the “toughness” that all sports writers are talking about when asked “what is the one thing Carolina needs to improve”? git er done
meh-a couple of upsets in Conference play wouldn’t surprise me a bit. We’ll see the REAL Heels in the Dook games, and hopefully in March. And by REAL, I mean the “shut-down defense & glass-cleaning 1st” Heels.
26 straight wins at home isn’t actually a school record. It’s a Dean Dome record. I think the actual school record is around 32.
“There were four worrisome things in this game.”
Only four?
That’s pretty low for you Rath.
Pj coming out of his slump at the right time. Watch out Austin
I don’t see it mentioned more than once here, but my concern is the large number of open looks UNC allowed for 3-pointers. 3-pters were a main component of what UNLV used to beat us, it’s what UK used last year in the NCAA’s, and it will be what dook will certainly be looking forward to using. And when they’re shooting many open 3 pointers, they’ll be hitting enough of them to exasperate our defense, open the middle, and make us try to play quick catch-up with our own 3′s, which could lead to rushed and ill-advised shots. I thought Roy might use this game to focus on 3-pt defense but…I was wrong.
I wouldn’t read too much into this game. It was a practice game, or at least coached like one with the line-ups and intensity. The starters looked solid as ever. Unfortunately it did point out JMM needs a lot of work to succesfully contribute for a duration of time. Several times JMM had a lack of hustle down the court, and that drives me nuts because this team thrives on the fast pace. But I’m happy where we’re at going into the ACC…still room for improvement, but improving game-to-game. The most aggrevating thing for me is missing the first 10 minutes watching a Villanova/Marquette suck-fest thanks to ESPN.
“I thought Roy might use this game to focus on 3-pt defense but…I was wrong.”
As long as Roy Williams is the coach for North Carolina, we will always guard the rim/paint first, and 3pt line 2nd. I don’t agree with this policy, but it’s the way it’s always been since he got here.
I thought we all agreed that it was pointless to complain about three-point defense? Roy’s never going to change on that subject.
I screamed at the TV when JMM decided to lay the ball up — instead of dunking it — when KM gave him a great pass in the second half…and then JMM almost missed the uncontested lay-up.
I thought we were close to seeing Roy put the blue team in during the stretch in the second half when Monmouth was out-playing Carolina. For much of the second half, they out-executed Carolina.
jtchill84 has been reading my journal again.
but no, itll never change.
well, lookie there. Butta passed that other kid in career assists yesterday.
he’ll be around 13th by the end of the month.
12th career double-digit assist game. record is 32, Cota.
6th of the year, record is 12, Cota.
LarryS -
Even we worrywarts have trouble finding more than four complaints when the game is over by the ten minute mark and we have (probably) three future NBA players SITTING ON THE BENCH.
Rath, I view fewer complaints as nothing but a good sign for the 2011-12 Heels.