Ouch! Man that was just painful to watch. We couldn't throw the ball in the ocean from the beach. FSU shot lights out and we didn't respond. Stupid passes, bad shots, poor D, and they just gave up in the second half. FSU played the game of their lives, and we let them. I'm still not worried. This is a good team. Saturday was a fluke if I've EVER seen one.
Figured I'd give it a couple days after the fallout before commenting. Interesting reads, a lot of you spot on.
This game pretty much sums up to a perfect storm of most of our weaknesses exposed and FSU putting on a clinic for their city.
No determination, no hustle...just another game. It looked like we were moving in slow motion and FSU just so happened to have their foot on the throttle. I have no reason to believe we wont bounce back...it was a bad game and we are much better.
Don't know that this is entirely true. But, I heard from a reliable source this morning that Roy walked straight through the locker room and out the back door without one word to anyone. Got on a plane and came home.
Its pretty obvious to me this is not the team we were all ooohing and ahhhing over before/when the season started. We're 18 games into the season, 3 in ACC play and we just got embarrassed at FSU. There's no leadership, they only play hard in stretches, no arc d, FT % is abyssmal and w/Roy's system its not going to get any better. I think we still have the '09 team hangover and how enjoyable it was to watch them, I just don't feel the same w/this squad. I'll say this until I'm "blue" in the face - Helen Keller could have coached the '05 & '09 teams and won it all! Roy is a better recruiter than coach. Look back at his tenure at Lawrence, how many chances did he have w/some of the best teams ever and what does he have to show for it? A big 'ol goosegg. Jot this down right now - This team is 2nd round and done.
RealBluefan1.....I don't know about 2nd round and done. I think we are at least a sweet 16 team....at that point, with all the parity in college B-Ball, it's anyone's championship at that point.
I do However agree with you on Roy. I have always said from day one. That OLE ROY is a great recruiter but average technical and motivational coach. Don't get me wrong, his record is Hall of Fame material.....but he is an average coach..... I'll give you all an example:
Bum Pnillips once said this about the great Don Shula....."He could take his-in and beat your-in and then take your-in and beat his-in"......We all know, and Roy knows it himself which is why he plays the "all-shucks, i'm not that bright" role. He knows his limitations and sometimes, players know it as well. The 05 and 09 teams had an inner motor that didn't need prompting....This team better find theirs if they really want to win it all because OLE ROY just aint that dag-gum smart enough to figure it out.....
One thing 'Ol Roy doesn't have that the great Deano had was late game motivational presence and how he could calm his players. I remember watching numerous times how he rallied his troops if they were down and facing defeat, he had a calm demeanor that settled and got them focused. Some coaches have it, some don't.
I have a few things to say about basketball and Roy Williams. Most of the time in sports the team with the most talent wins so if you have the best players your chances of winning are really good. Roy is top 3 in recruiting so we have a chance almost every year to win the ACC and make a run in the NCAA tournament and that is all you can really ask for. Now we all know that Roy is not the coach that coach Smith was but they do have the same amount of National Championships so this proves my point about talent winning.
If you could combine coach Smith and Roy we would probably win the National Championship every year but we can't so I'm fine with Roy. I do have a queation though if Roy is such a bad coach what does that make coach Calipari? It seems like he brings in the most talented players in every year and still doesn't have anything to show for it. So is he the worst coach in college basketabll right now or what? Anyway I think the main reason we are hard on Roy for his x's and o's is because we had the greatest in game coach of all time in coach Smith and we always compare Roy to him. So yes Roy isn't the greatest in game coach but he has brought us two National Championships so he must be doing something right besides just recruiting. Go Heels !!!!!!!!
Now that a few days have passed, I think it's OK to comment. First off, the complete overreaction to this game is laughable. It was a horrible day for the Heels, and FSU finally played up to potential. Days like this do happen in basketball, and they do happen to championship-level teams. Most of UNC's championship seasons have featured a "bad" loss -- unpleasant, to say the least, but certainly not indicative of what happens in February and March. Good thing it's only January, because there ARE things to work on, and they will be addressed.
This UNC team is still a favorite to reach New Orleans, and while it won't be a cakewalk, UNC still has the potential to be THE best team in late March and early April. One bad game means almost nothing. Baylor lost by 18 to Kansas tonight, but I sure wouldn't write Baylor off based on that. FSU has players that SHOULD produce a very dangerous team, but they only showed that ability for the first time on Saturday. UNC strolled into Tallahassee all fat and happy with a big homestand behind them, and they didn't respond. It was out-of-character and is not likely to be repeated. This is the same squad that was one basket away from taking Kentucky down in Lexington. FSU is not Kentucky (although FSU should be able to hang with them). Saturday was a classic blip, a good wake-up call, and nothing more.
We can agree to disagree. I'm confident in saying that if this current squad put up their best perormance against the '09 NC team, it would be blowout city for the '09 squad. Overmatched from every angle. Lawson would run away from Marshall, Hansbrough would demolish Z and Henson, and Ellington and Green would stick it to Hairston & Bullock. I'm sorry but we're in for a disappointment come tourney time. Maybe the skeptics are right: this team is just not that good. Call me crazy but the beatdown at FSU is call for alarm. A championship caliber team has never gotten that kind of shellacking and cut the nets down. You can all say "it was a fluke" but that was anything but.
Well.....the next 2 weeks will show if this loss was a fluke or not. I never called Roy a bad coach, i called him and average technical and motivational coach who can recruit his tail off. The Bum Phillips quote I gave was to illuminate that fact that Roy aint no Don Shula and he is nowehere near Dean Smith. It's laughable to make that comparison and one I would never personally make. It's just my opinion that Roy is good enough to win it all when he has head and shoulders, the best talent in the country. 05 and 09 prove that. The drubbing to FSU only brings into serious question whether or not THIS team has head and shoulders the best talent in the land. If WE don't then I don't expect Roy to win it all based on his limited technical and motivational approach to the game. GREAT coaches do the most with the least. To answer your question about Calipari....he's average as well. He'll eventaully get one if he keeps the NCAA feds away long enough because superior talent AT TIMES will win no matter what.
Again, my concern is this.....before the year started, i felt like no one would touch us this year....after a 33 pt butt whuppin....you'd have to be blind not to see major issues. I hope Roy is good enough to find the right buttons to push moving forward.
Wins in March and April are far more important than losses in January. It's a long season ... we need to be patient, with the players, and with the coaches. Roy and those players who passed on the NBA draft deserve it.
I still think this team is potentially the best team in the country at tournament time. There is too good a mix of top talent and experience here, along with a good coaching staff, to expect anything less than New Orleans. The Florida State loss was due to getting complacent at home against lesser teams. Defense is the hallmark of this UNC squad, and when they focus there, they can be truly dominating. At FSU, they started complacently, got rocked back on their heels, and assumed Florida State would cool off. Florida State has its own demons to exorcise, and they were intent on doing just that against the conference's top team. Things snowballed on the Heels in Tallahassee, and you can bet it will be a major learning experience for them.
With a half-way normal defensive effort, a more "human" day from Florida State, and a typical day at the offensive end, this bad loss would have been a close game (and potentially, a UNC win). After all, they have been good enough to play mediocre basketball and blow some decent teams off the floor up to this point. They played excellent ball at Kentucky, which is a bit more talented (but less experienced) than FSU. If you believe Roy Williams is going to let this team settle for mediocrity, when greatness is right around the corner, then you don't know Roy Williams and Carolina basketball. They might not win it all -- it does require some luck, after all -- but they will certainly be in the hunt. AGAIN, this game was a blip on the schedule, not an indication of things to come.
I hope you are right. The optomist in me still believes they can win it all. The pessimist says they simply aren't mentally tough enough and the rationalist in me says they will rebound from this but enough to win it all? I can't say that at this moment. We'll have to see how they react the rest of the way.
They're not the odds on favorite anymore and quite frankly, a long shot at best. There's too much talent elsewhere. Its reality, not delusion. I'm sticking w/a second round exit. Until a LEADER steps up and takes the reins, this team is just not what everyone thought they were. Yes, they have talent and experience but it needs floor guidance more than just Marshall passing the ball. Oh, and I smell a VT victory brewing too.
I agree on the leadership issue. This team does need more leadership. BUT....Leadership isn't always just one guy stepping up and taking the team to the promised land. Past UNC teams have had collective ledership based on the Tarheel family model. Can you tell me one definitive leader of the 05 and 09 teams? No one can because there wasn't ONE definitve leader. Those teams had a collection of guys that took personal owenership of team success and the focused goal. This team, RIGHT NOW, lacks that personal ownership. This can change very quickly. Hopefully FSU was the jumpstart needed to bring the change....we'll see.
