UNC Still Best Team in the Country

By far guys.  Now are we the best team in the country right this second? No we are not.  We have the most potential to be the best team in the country.  We just have to get somethings worked out.  I don't know what is going on, but there are reasons why our boys did not come out to play last night.  I don't know what it is, but I want to know.  They are too good to get beat like they did yesterday.  Maybe they have forgotten the name on the front of their jeresy.  Maybe they haven't bought fully in to Roy's system.  If that is the case they need to look beyond that and see the ones before them who play under Roy and what they were able to accomplish.  Still this team is the best in the country.  At any given time they will put see a spark and it will all work from there.  Yesterday was an embarrassment for us all.  I am glad that I live and go to school at UNC because if I was back at home I am sure I would be hounded the whole week.  Yesterday was beyond difficult.  We looked dead.  Barnes was not even trying.  Why?  There nothing I hate more is a player sitting on the bench sulking.  Tomorrow's practice, whew I don't even want to know.  Maybe the Blue Steel needs to start against VT this week.  Heck whatever it takes to wake up this team...we are TOO GOOD.

Maybe Sean May, Felton, or Lawson need to come give the guys a pep talk.  I don't know, but I do know and still believe we are still the best in the country.   

You are completely delusional.

My goodness. Please tell me what it's like to be SO far removed from reality that you actually believe we have the best team. I'd love to know. Is it a drug induced state? Or are you just a typical myopic homer?

The Heels are not a good team this year. Sorry to break it to you. We were actually better last year, which is odd since we have everyone back. But I think there are a couple reasons for that. First of all, everyone else is better this year. It's a very strong college basketball season with a lot of good teams. Second, last year we were hungry and played with a chip on our shoulder. It was exciting. This year the players believed all the hype coming into the year and we have played complacent. There is no hunger or drive. There lacks heart and motivation. I think the entire starting unit regrets returning to school and are already looking ahead to the NBA.

Personally, I can't wait for this horrid season to be over with. I'm looking forward to a whole new crop of kids. I'd much rather root for less talented players that at least give forth effort than this pathetic team.

There is zero passion. There is zero defense. There is zero offensive rhythm or effeciency. There is zero focus or discipline. We can't hold on to the ball. We can't hit an outside jumper. We don't know how to play as a TEAM!!!

we are still the best in the country

I don't want to be mean. But that's laughable. I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty. That won't be the only 33-point loss this season. Wait until we actually play a good team.

Face it. This bunch is DREADFUL.

And it has been my experience that no matter how good (or bad) a team is, when your opponents goes from the worst 3-pnt shooting team in the conference to hitting 12 3's (i think it was 12-8 by 1 guy) against you, odds are you are not going to win. I think he was talking about potential. Now, wether or not that potential is ever realized is another story, but by "potential", I think he's right. UNC is the best team in the country. Playing UK in Rupp and losing by 1 on a stupid mistake-take away the dumb play, and make the basket, OR hit 2 more free throws in that game, and UNC knocks off the #1 team in historic Rupp and the gang are heros. Saturday's loss to FSU was the result of the perfect storm. FSU played the game of their lives, and UNC was horrible-more horrible than I've ever seen. Nothing would fall for us, nothing went our way, FSU was hot, feed off the crowd and we got hammered. But to say this bunch is "DREADFUL" I think is delusional. Were they dreadful on Saturday? Yes. Will that happen again? I say NO. I mean come on, what does everyone want? A undefeated year where we beat everyone by 70 points/game? I think that is the only way some people will ever be happy. I for one, Love the Heels no matter what.

Tarheel Bred...

 We have the most potential to be the best team in the country. 

Read the post dumbTart. 

Thanks Tarheel.  It is just the way I feel.  The way we performed Saturday, sure it was far from it, but I have also seen this bunch in sparks where they are incredibly good.  Now they have been rare of late, but I know they are they.  They have to figure out how to play like that more.  The thing is I believe.  If you see on my favorite teams, one is a Chicago Cubs symbol and the other is a Redskins symbol.  Believe.  The world is too negative.  Most Tarheels on this board has seen what I am talking about, we know we can, we just have to do it.  Like I said, when they remember the name on the front it will come back to them.  

The Heels are the best team in the country... on paper, but on the court they're underperforming. On paper doesn't win games.

They need to get their butts in gear.

Anybody that believes we are the best team in the country is an idiot.  Period.


The best team in the country doesn't play this bad of perimeter defense on a regular basis.  Roy thinks he can outscore everybody.  You can most of the time with our schedule, but when we play a good shooting team, they are equal with us because of our lack of defense and desire to play defense.


We are also lacking some serious leadership.  If you are as talented as some people would like to think we are (we are not) you don't roll over and let an unranked team beat you by 33.


NO real contender loses like that.


We will NOT win the NC this year.  You can count on that.
 

I agree with shoktart.  I am done with this group of complacent soft wimps.


I'm ready for a new crop of players that play with desire and intensity to win.  Hopefully said crop will also include a leader becasue we DON'T have one right now.  Not one single leader on the floor.


 

We have seen "sparks of incredibly good" because of the soft schedule we played at home.


We lost the same way to UNLV.  That was an early season game and NOTHING has been done to fix our problems from that game.  We still REFUSE to play any perimeter defense.  Our guys don't want to.


You can't just turn it on on defense when you feel like it.  The problems haven't been addressed yet and there is no reason to expect them to be fixed now.  That's not Roy's style.  He wants to outscore you.  He doesn't care about defense.


Good shooting teams love to play us.  Nothing will be fixed this year.  Outside of Duke and Virginia our schedule is filled with garbage teams the rest of the way and our guys won't have to fix anything.  They will act like they are great because they are beating garbage teams.  They will become complacent and content again, then get a rude awakening in March.


This team is done.  They don't have the fire and I don't think they really care that much.  They are already looking towards the NBA.


On another note, are Hairston and McAdoo 2 of the most overrated freshmen ever?  Are they going to do anything this year? 

Shoktart Jigga long time no see I wonder where you guys have been. Seems like I haven't seen you guys since the last time we lost but I'm sure it's just a coinsidence. Any way I actually do agree with you guys on a few things like this teams heart and passion is lacking. To me times we come out sleep walking and only play hard for stretches and it bit us big time against FSU. I unlike you guys think we will eventually work it out and win the ACC and make it to the final four.

 I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty. That won't be the only 33-point loss this season.

I'm not trying to be mean either but this is crazy talk. If we lose another game this year by more then 30 points I will ignore all the other crazy things you have said that were way off and say you are smarter then me. Also we are not a better team last year then this year and we proved that at Kentucky playing a much better Kentucky team right down to the wire. If we play our best game, this years team compared to last years team this years team wins by atleast 15 in my opinion.    

Personally, I can't wait for this horrid season to be over with. I'm looking forward to a whole new crop of kids.

I don't think the season has been horrid (hahaha) we are in the top 10 and are 15-3 but I see why you are always mad if you think this season has been horrid.   

If you are as talented as some people would like to think we are (we are not) you don't roll over and let an unranked team beat you by 33. NO real contender loses like that. We will NOT win the NC this year.  You can count on that.

Well only one team wins it all so chances are you are right we might not win it all but one game don't mean anything come March. In 1993 when we won it all and I'm pretty sure we lost by 20 something to I believe it was Wake so it can be done. Also last year I don't think anyone thought Uconn would win it all and they did so to give up on a team now is crazy. We have alot of basketball left to be played and we have the talent to make a run come March and that is all you can as for each year. Go Heels !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    
      

The Heels are the best team in the country... on paper, but on the court they're underperforming. On paper doesn't win games.

They need to get their butts in gear.

This for the most part.

I'll go ahead and say it now to get it out of the way - We are not the best team in the country.

Not because we cant be...I've seen them play good games on both ends of the court this season. It just feels like there's too much going on. We are a long way from consistency on any level, mentally or physically.

I agree that we do have the most potential in the country, but potential doesn't win championships. I'm a die hard tarheel fan and it hurts to say this but our coach is an awesome recruiter but i often find myself expecting so much more from our team. This is just my opinion but Roy is not an X's and O's coach , he will not draw up the winning play with secs left on the clock and he's definately not aware that Zeller can't defend the pick n roll. Even in the past Roy's championship teams have always been super talented and managed to think about NCAA Championship instead of the NBA, so lets hope that the potential and talent will soon mesh and that the big 3 will remember why they decided to return this season.

On another note, are Hairston and McAdoo 2 of the most overrated freshmen ever?

Well, maybe not ever, but they havent played well. McAdoo, to me, has had trouble adjusting to college ball. Im very disappointed in how he has played so far. I watched him last year in a few H.S All Star games, playing with and against guys like Rivers, Davis, and all the other H.S All Americans..And he stood out, looked like a for sure one and done stud, potential top 5 NBA pick..But he hasnt played well this season. I mean, he hasnt been terrible, averaging 5.6 points and 3.7 boards in only 13 minutes a game..But those numbers were inflated against garbage teams. He just hasnt looked comfortable at all. Maybe thats a good thing..He will definitely be here next year. I still have high hopes for this kid.. He has so much athleticism. PJ has struggled, no doubt. He gave us a great lift in the Kentucky game, thought that would be a springboard for his season, and that dunk against Texas was awesome!..But he is shooting 33% on the season..He came into Chapel Hill with a reputation as a lethal shooter..But he has been cold..0 for 8 against Fl.St. He is a beast physically, just needs to start making his shots. I have faith in PJ.. I will never give up on freshmen, never. These kids arent playing well, but I believe both will warm up soon.

Serioulsy??? Ok, there's a lot of teams that have the POTENTIAL to be the best in the country but UNC is not one of them. Where's the leadership? If it hasn't showed up yet, its not going to - at least not this season. Ok, so they put up up the most most points. BFD! What does that matter? They have a cupcake schedule, they don't play w/pride, where's the size and athleticism and length I keep hearing about??? Dickie V was spot on when he said this team showed no heart and pride after the beatdown at FSU. You never see chest pumping, floor slapping, all-out 40 mins. of end to end play of this squad. At least Dook shows that. I'm sorry but when you put on that jersey you should play your arse off for 40 mins. and know what it means to be able to wear it. The last guy in my eyes to play balls to the wall was Psycho T! We all just got spoiled by the '09 team, never again.

We have some weakness that needs to be address that probably wont . This UNC team soaked up the media love fest for us and needs to wake up and understand the championship hasnt been won. Part of this is on Roy for not calling timeouts or pushing the right buttons. The bottom line is our weakness have been expose and we need to fix em fast.this team need to develop a killers mentality n get physical. Too much finesses get down n dirty and knockout your opponent out. Teamz are playing up to UNC and they are doing their homework. I'm not gonna lie I'm alittle concern fsu took it to UNC and unc showed little fight. Time to play like a final Four team

My overall assessment of the the team is mixed.  Have I been disappointed, yes.  Has this team played to their potential, no.  I'm looking at a couple of things as reasons why these kids haven't completely played up to expectations.  This season started with what looked like a rough schedule.  Several top 20 teams right off the bat.  We go to Lexington and play a pretty good game, but lose in a heartbreaker.  We have an extended time off for exams.  Then we play a couple of cupcakes,  Then we get another extended amount of time off for Christmas.  9 straight home games mostly against bad teams and this team has gotten complacent.

Now the positive.  Zeller seems to have gotten over his funk.  He's rebounding the ball like never before.  P.J. a disappointment?  Not quite in my eyes.  P.J. has shot the ball poor the last few weeks, but has given me hope of what's to come.  He's playing somewhat sparingly which has caused him to force bad shots he won't when not looking over his shoulder.  P.J.'s athleticism has been a huge surprise.  This kid is a mid range shot away from being an All-ACC type performer.  McAdoo has been a disappointment in my eyes.  He's having a very hard time adjusting to playing with his back to the basket.  In all reality he's a 3 without a jumper.  I see Henson part 2 minus the shot blocking.

Now we are 2 games into the ACC.  We're in the thick of our schedule and now is the time for these kids to put it all together.  Look for Roy to make some big time defensive adjustments.  Perimeter D has to get better.  Halfcourt offense has to get better.  FT shooting has to get better.  All things that improved during ACC play last year.  
  

Yep, you guys are right. Season over. May as well forfeit the rest of our games and sit at home until next year. Jeez, you guys are NOT Tarheel fans-not in the way I consider a fan. Everything is fine until something off the wall like this happens then Bam, here you are again ready to bash the team at every turn. Everyone is entitlted to his/her opinion. but man, it must suck to be so negative all the time.

Go Heels!

Hey grogans since you know everything did you see the butt whooping coming from fsu. Are you guys still the best team in the country?

I've felt strongly since '09 that this would be the next championship year and the way they finished last season fed that belief. After watching a lot of this season, especially the FSU game, I'm somewhat easing off that prediction and pushing it back to next season.

There's just so many things we're lacking and that arent developing as they should at this point that I dont see them breaking past the sweet 16. Of course, there's a lot of ball left and anything can change but there's not a lot of room for error in March and right now we have a lot of holes to fill.

 

And as expected, $duke$ shows up on the boards following a bad loss and adds nothing to the conversation.  Welcome back I guess...

Anyway, everyone needs to calm down, take a deep breath, and realize that the world is not ending (I'm banking on the Mayans being wrong btw).  Saturday sucked - I get it.  I admitted as much in the FSU thread that this game was disturbing because National Championship contenders don't give up and lose by 33.  Until we see how this team responds (either positively or negatively), we need to back off of these irrational stances everyone seems to be making.  UNC is not the best team in the country right now, nor are they returning to mediocrosy (or whatever made up word I saw on another thread).

Enough of this Coach Williams is a bad coach because he can't translate talent into a championship team (Calipari anyone?!).  He's won as many NC's as Coach Smith, so he obviously knows how to do something right.

Enough of the this Harrison Barnes is a bum or John Henson is a liability on offense (or free-throw line, whatever), because they're going to make more money doing what they do than I'm sure any of the rest of us will make at our jobs in our lives. 

Enough of the "our freshmen suck" talk.  How many of us have ever gone from being a leader/go-to person in one situation to being thrust into a reserve slot and going up against more experience/size/talent and making the transition seamlessly? Playing off the bench is a much bigger adjustment than a lot of people give credit for. Give them time to adapt and grow, and cut Hairston some slack - losing two family members in a short period of time can take its toll on a teenager.

Enough of this "we'll probably lose again by 33", are you even a UNC fan or just stupid? Perhaps both?

Enough of these sweeping generalizations like this one game defines a season.  The only game that can possibly define a team's season when they're quite clearly on pace to make the tournament as a high seed is the final one.  If you have an off day at work, does that give your boss justification to fire you, since clearly you don't give a shit****?

I'm all in on this team, this season and this program.  I have no problem with people venting about Saturday, but realize that these things happen in sports.  Too many people are focusing on the negatives and forgetting the highs of this roster and this season.  This team went into Rupp and had Kentucky on the ropes - yes they lost, but we know what they're capable of and what their ceiling is. How can you completely give up on a team with that high of a ceiling?

Looking forward to seeing what response these boys have for Thursday... I'm ignoring these boards until then because I'm sure I'll have 20 people tear me to shreds and it's not worth my time.  Call me a homer all you want... cuz fcuk I am.

How can you completely give up on a team with that high of a ceiling?

Because, Canuck, this team is suppossed to beat everyone by 50 and go undefeated. Anything less than that is a complete failure in some peoples eyes.