The Texas Free Throw Massacre

Every one seems to have an answer for the Tsrheels Free Throw shooting woes. 24-47 against Texas in an 86-83 loss to Texas the other night. If they would have hit their season average of slightly over 60% they would have won the game. The fact that the Tarheels got killed on the boards mostly got lost in the shuffle. They were outrebounded 51-42 for the game and 29-15 in the first half. Roy Williams was not happy with the "effort" and scheduled a 5 AM practice the next morning. That should get some players' attention. The Tarheels had 3 players in double figures- Marcus Paige with 23, Leslie McDonald with 15, and James Michael McAdoo with 11. Leslie McDonald got reinstated by the NCAA before the game and came off the bench and hit 4-9 three pointers. The word on the street is that P.J. Hairston will miss the entire season. That is for an entirely different post. The "heels take on an always tough Davidson team on Saturday night.

A Bluegrass Beat Down

I do not like Kentucky. Plain and simple. I was really nervous about the game yesterday because Kentucky keeps bringing size at you from the Guards on up. The 'Heels Guards barely hit six feet tall. Statistically, the 'Tarheels should not have won this game. They got killed on the boards (44-32), they only went 26-45 from the free throw line, and one of the few statistical categories they did win was in Turnovers (9-17). As Jim Bouton once said in his Baseball epic Ball Four "tell my statistics to shut up." The ultimate stat that is the only one that counts is the final score and that one the 'Heels had an advantage of 82-77. That improves their record to 7-2 on the season with three wins over top tier teams. Marcus Paige's Alley Oop to Brice Johnson brought back memories of Ed Cota to Vince Carter, James Michael McAdoo got back on track with 20 points and led the team with 4 assists and more importantly,drove to the basket hard and shot 19 free throws. He did not settle for the jump shot and took a very aggressive offensive approach. Marcus Paige led the way with 23 points and J.P. Tokoto scored a career high 15 points on 7-10 shooting and displayed the athleticism that will only become more prominent as his basketball skill set grows.

Brice Johnson And Kennedy Meeks

Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks may not start for the Tarheels but they are turning into the two most valuable big men the 'Heels have. Johnson provides that offensive punch off the bench as well as providing a few highlight worthy Blocked Shots that go sailing into the third row of the Dean E. Smith Center. Meeks provides points, rebounds, and may be the best passing big man the Tarheels have had since Brad Daugherty. Johnson is second on the team in scoring at 13.6 per game in only 20 minutes per game and Meeks is averaging 8.5 in only 14 minutes per game and he is 4th on the team in Assists. They are both leading the team in Field Goal Percentage by a wide margin, both well over 60%, and and they provide quality minutes and energy off the bench.

The Twilight Zone

Watching the 2013-14 version of the North Carolina Tarheels basketball team has been like watching an episode of The Twilight Zone. They lose to mid-Major teams Belmont and Alabama-Birmingham, games they easily should have won, and yet they beat #3 Louisville and last night defeated #1 Michigan State on the road in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, 79-65. After the loss to UA-B, they even fell out of one of the Top 25 polls. The 'Heels had five players in double figures led be Freshman Kennedy Meeks 15 points and 7 rebounds in only 18 minutes, Brice Johnson 14, Marcus Paige and Nate Britt 13, andf J.P. Tokoto 12 points and 10 rebounds. If the Tarheels want to go very far into the NCAA's this season, they have some fundamental problems that can be fixed. They have problems at the free throw line (22-48 against Belmont), they have a lack of an outside threat besides Marcus Paige (he has hit 18 out of the 21 Tarheels three-pointers this season), and they have a hard time guarding against dribble penetration. The 'Heels resume this season has the two biggest upsets in college basketball thus far, but two bad losses tempers that and with the ACC super conference this season, it should be a very interesting rest of the season.