P.J. Hairston

P.J. Hairston went in the First Round of last night's NBA Draft going #26 to the Miami Heat. He was then traded to the Charlotte Hornets for their #24 pick, Connecticutt Point Guard Shabazz Napier, and the Hornets also received the Heat's pick at #55 and a future second round pick. It was believed by most of the draft experts that Hairston would go in the first round based largely on his individual workouts for teams before the draft and how he performed in last season's NBA Developmental League. He averaged 21.8 points a game for the Texas Legends after he was decalred ineligible by the NCAA. He is expected to challenge current Hornets Shooting Guard and ex-Duke Blue Devil Gerald Henderson for playing time this season. Hairston has more size, he is listed at 6'5" and 228 pounds, and is a more physical player than Henderson. He can finish at the basket and can withstand the contact. I am excited to see what Hairston can do at the NBA level.

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.

The Sophomores Step Up

Friday nights game against Holy Cross was a much tighter game than it really should have been. The score was tied at 25 at halftime after Holy Cross went on a 13-2 run to close out the first half. A lackluster performance by the 'Heels in the first 4 minutes of the second half saw them fall behind 30-27. That was when Sophomores Marcus Paige (22 points) and Brice Johnson (12 points) brought some highly needed energy and enthusiasm to the court and allowed the 'Heels to pull out a hard fought 62-54 win. The 'Heels had a poor shooting game, were outrebounded by the smaller Holy Cross team 39-38, and the 'Heels did not take care of the ball. One of the announcer desribed the Tarheels as a very mediocre team without P.J. Hairston and by the end of the game, they were in the process of proving him right. James Michael McAdoo only had 11 points and had a hard time fitting into the flow of the game. The 'Heels had no inside game to speak of and the crisp passing among the interior players from the first game was missing in this game. The 'Heels will be a work in progress until they start getting some of their major players back. James Michael McAdoo and Marcus paige are the only two players on this team that logged major minutes last season.

Getting It

After watching UNC's 84-61 win over Oakland University last night, I came away thinking "This team gets it." They get making the extra pass to someone with a better shot, they get playing better perimeter defense and getting a hand in the shooter's face, and they get crashing the boards. At some point and time in the very near future and until the situation between the NCAA and P.J. Hairston and Leslie McDonald comes to a resolution, they will miss the outside shooting of those two players. Last night that void was filled admirably by J.P. Tokoto and Marcus Paige. Tokoto had 13 points (all in the first half) and Paige had 14, including 4 of 7 three pointers, and Tokoto tied for the team lead with 5 Assists and led the team with 4 steals. It took James Michael McAdoo all of 7 seconds into the game to score on a driving layup and hit the "and one" for a three point play. He led the team with 21 points and 9 rebounds and 5 Tarheels scored in double figures. Oakland University was a dangerous team. They play fast and can hit the three point shot. The 'Heels neutralized that by playing good perimeter defense (Oakland was 8 for 25 from the three point line) and getting into the passing lanes. There were no easy shots. It was a good first win for the Tarheels and I came away impressed, especially with the first half.

Men's Basketball Home Opener Versus Oakland

The opening of the Men's Basketball season used to be such a rush for me. The 'Heels were usually a Top Ten team (usually top five) and the only thing a Tarheel fan had to worry about was who was going to go pro at the end of the season. Until then, and it was usually after a deep run into the NCAA's, you got to watch a veteran team with a few McDonald's All-American Freshmen sprinkled in to the lineup. This season has a different feel to it. The 'Heels are opening up their season without all of their starting pieces. P.J. Hairston and Leslie McDonald are going to miss at least the home opener against Oakland due to problems with the NCAA. Hairston's saga has gone on for at least four months and should have a definitive resolution to it by now. The NCAA was able to resolve the Johnny Manziel situation at Texas A & M in about two weeks. That suspension was for half a game. He has acted like a jerk ever since then. The NCAA couldn't have the reigning Heisman Trophy winner being suspended for any length of time. Leslie McDonald's problems have been going on for a lot less time but the effects are just the same. Hairston and McDonald's situation greatly alters the 'Heels starting lineup. Marcus Paige moves into the starting Shooting Guard position (he is a natural Point Guard) and Freshman Nate Britt moves into the starting Point Guard position. The only other two "guaranteed" starting positions are J.P. Tokoto and James Michael McAdoo. It looks like the 'Heels will open with a three-headed monster at Center with Desmond Hubert, Joel James, and Kennedy Meeks all getting playing time until one separates themselves. That is also 15 fouls to give from the Center position. Desmond Hubert is the best defensive player of the bunch, Joel James has a lot of upside, and Kennedy Meeks has the most polished offensive game to this poing. All three have the size that the Tarheels lacked last year so hopefully, Coach Roy Williams three guard experiment is over except for maybe small stretches during games.

Late Night With Roy Version 2013

UNC's problems with the NCAA continue to collect more players. Late Night With Roy is supposed to be a celebration of Tarheel basketball and a preview of what is to come this season. It allows the team to show off its Freshmen players and show the improvement that the upperclassmen have made during the off season. P.J. Hairston's problems with everybody are well documented but evidently those problems are contagious. It has now managed to collect Senior Leslie McDonald and Sophomore J.P. Tokoto, wing players that UNC cannot afford to do without for any length of time. UNC is once again waiting on the NCAA to hand down decisions that I am sure will be a lot tougher than the ones that were handed down to Johnny Manziel of Texas A & M and the University of Miami. "Johnny Football" was suspended for the first half of the first game of the season and Miami got a slap on the wrist for years of "lack of institutional control" and yet UNC is still paying for their football sins from three years ago. Penn State has already asked for, and received, a reduction in their penalties from their football mess. The NCAA can claim their is no bias in any of their decisions but I am hard pressed to believe that. P.J. Hairston was allowed to participate in Late Night With Roy and in the Blue-White Scrimmage that was played later on in the evening, looked like the 'Heels only perimeter option, hitting four three's and scoring 20 points. Freshman big man Kennedy Meeks from Charlotte, and I do mean big at 6'9" and 284 pounds, had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Maybe he will be the Center that steps up this year and takes charge of the position.

The Saga Of P.J. Hairston

North Carolina basketball has usually been able to avoid the types of scandals that hit other big time programs because I believe that they make an effort to follow the NCAA's 5000 page rulebook to the last sub-article. This is a new day in college athletics. The players want their piece of the pie and they want it now. Former college players just won a settlement against EA Sports over the use of their likenesses in a college football game. Players from several colleges, including Vad Lee of Georgia Tech while they were playing UNC, wore an emblem in support of the players on their uniforms in last Saturday's football games. I have always held the belief that players do get paid with a college education. That is the reason they are supposedly in college- to get an education. At most colleges these days, a four year education is equal to well over a $100,000 and probably a whole lot more. That little factoid has been lost in the money grab by those who do not get paid in dollars and cents and by those that make the 5000 page rule book. P.J. Hairston decided to come back for another year of college basketball at UNC and almost all fans that would be the 'Heels saving grace this season. He is a legitimate scorer from anywhere on the court if he can harness his slightly undisciplined game. Hairston is alleged to have received a benefit of a rental car for several months and the NCAA is hot on the trail of that. Hairston was suspended by head coach Roy Williams for the summer and is finally being allowed to practice with the team starting today. They have not decided how many games he will be suspended for but I believe that the 'Heels should take a page out of Texas A & M's book. They suspendedreturning Heisman winner Quarterback Johnny Manziel for the first half of the first game. Another player from another school got suspended for one quarter. I may be biased but I believe the NCAA has come down rather harshly on UNC in the past two or three years. They have still not ruled on the University of Miami's violations that happened well over a year. They dropped the hammer on UNC almost immediately. UNC also had enough integrity (or feared the forfeiture of games due to the use of ineligible players) to sit these players out until the NCAA made their ruling. The NCAA is a big business and those that believe it is just a "ruling body" is kidding themselves.

Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad

To borrow from the lyrics of rock musician Meat Loaf, two out of three ain't bad. The two out of the three would be James Michael McAdoo and P.J. Hairston returning to the Tarheel basketball team for their Junior seasons and the one would be Reggie Bullock leaving to go to the NBA. I believed that it would be the other way around. There are a lot of factors that go into making this decision and projected draft position in usually #1. McAdoo was projected towards the end of the first round, Bullock was projected early in the second round, and Hairston was projected not to be drafted at all. Only first round draft picks are guaranteed contracts. I do not be3lieve that Reggie Bullock had the full endorsement of Coach Roy Williams when he announced his decision. I believe he should have come back for his Senior year to work on his game and improve his draft position.

Roy Williams Is A Class Act

When Roy Williams had his press conference immediately following the 'Heels 79-58 win over Florida State, his first thought were of Florida State's coach Leonard Hamilton and the passing of his 96 year old mother. Not many high profile coaches would have done that. The game itself was impressive. P. J. Hairston had an impressive shooting game hitting 4 of 6 three pointers and finishing with 16 points. James Michael McAdoo led the way with 21, 17 of those in the first half, and Reggie Bullock had 20. That may have been the Tarheels most impressive performance of the season, especially the way they closed out the first half scoring on 13 of their final 14 posessions. Marcus Paige had an impressive game running the show with 9 assists and 3 turnovers. That moves the 'Heels to 21-8 with games remaining at Maryland and the season finale at home against Duke. About three weeks ago there were questions about the 'Heels ability to even make the NCAA tournament and now the 'Heels are closing in on a first round bye in the ACC tournament.

Three Point Shooting Contest

At the beginning of the game against Georgia Tech, I thought the Tarheels may have gotten into the spirit of the NBA All-Star weekend and started their own three point shooting contest. The problem was they weren't hitting any of them and they sure didn't hit any "money balls." The offense finally got untracked when James Michael McAdoo got involved just moving to the basket on some screen-and-rolls. He scored several easy baskets on his way to 22 points and 11 rebounds. Leslie McDonald easily had his best game since returning to the lineup with 15 points on 4 of 6 three point shooting. That helped to cover for P.J. Hairston's worst shooting game (4 of 15 and 1 or 7) since becoming a starter in "small ball". All of this added up to a 70-58 win for the 'Heels and they need to win the games they should from here on out until the ACC Tournament. Wins over State and Duke would also be a great help.

Starting To Gel

The smaller lineup, in their second appearance of the season, looks like they might be starting to gel. New starter P.J. Hairston has taken well to his new role, leading the way against Virginia with 29 points hitting 6 of 12 three-pointers. The 'Heels hit 13 of 28 from behind the arc. They also hit 22 of 30 from the free throw line. Putting up 93 points against ACC defensive leader Virginia and their 52.3 PPG was really impressive especially the 53 points in the second half. The odd man out in this new rotation seems to be Joel James but he is the least experienced of all of the Tarheels big men. That moves the Tarheels to 17-8 on the season and still on the far end of the NCAA bubble. They really do not have any quality wins against big time opponents and have not been able to get over that road hump. They have an opportunity to get off that schneid Tuesday night when they travel to Atlanta to play a young Georgia Tech team.

A Valiant Effort

Head Coach Roy Williams decided to change his starting lineup against Duke. He basically went with a four guard lineup with P.J. Hairston playing out of position at Power Forward. He was almost able to pull it off, building a 10 point lead in the first half before fading down the stretch and losing by 5. It is redundant to point out the fact that the 'Heels were only 13-23 from the free throw line. It is bad enough that they get to the line far less frequently than they have in the past several years but then to miss the opportunities that you do have..... As one of my old coaches use to say "it is a free throw. We are not asking you to hit a halfcourt shot to win the game." This smaller lineup may be the way for the 'Heels to go for the rest ofr the year. Hairston replaces Desmond Hubert in the starting lineup and now that Leslie McDonald is getting back to full strength, he becomes the sixth man coming off the bench.

Thoughts On Georgia Tech

North Carolina's 79-63 win over Georgia Tech last night was one of those "blah" wins that I came to expect as a UNC fan. They beat an opponent they should have beat without too many problems and nothing really spectacular happened with the exception of P.J. Hairston's massive dunk in the second half that really punctuated the win. Reggie Bullock had another solid game with 17 points, Hairston had 15, and James Michael McAdoo had 14. Desmond Hubert had a career high 5 blocked shots. He reminds me a lot of ex-Tarheel Warren Martin. When Martin came to UNC in the mid-1980's he was very raw, especially offensively. By the time he graduated, he was a defensive force, a solid rebounder, and he contributed offensively. I see Hubert following the same track if he puts in the work. The 'Heels also got solid contributions off the bench against Georgia Tech. J. P. Tokoto, Jackson Simmons, Brice Johnson, and Joel James all played solid basketball. A huge game against NC State in Raleigh is on Saturday.

Finding An Identity

In the Tarheels 77-72 win over Florida State this afternoon, the Tarheels may have found their identity. P.J. Hairston took over the leadership role on the court today. He was taking it hard to the basket and hitting his outside shots and when he is doing that, he is the hardest Tarheel to defend. He had two thunderous dunks and was 4-9 from the three point line. He led the way with 23 points. James Michael McAdoo had 14 points and Reggie Bullock had 12. The Tarheels were beasts on the boards, outrebounding FSU by 16 and the opportunity at second chance points is what won the game for the 'Heels. UNC had 14 offensive rebounds to FSU's 5. I was also impressed by the play of Sophomore Jackson Simmons as he had a career high 8 points and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, diving on the floor for loose balls, and playing solid defense. I believe that if North Carolina is going to go with Marcus Paige as their starting Point Guard, then they need to start Hairston at the Shooting Guard and bring Strickland off the bench. With Strickland in his offensive slump the past couple of games and Desmond Hubert being an offensive project, the 'Heels cannot afford to play 3 on 5 on offense. It was a badly needed win and hopefully a mission of discovery for the 2012-13 North Carolina Tarheels and what they need to do as a team to win games.

A Quality Win

Finally the North Carolina Tarheels got their first quality win of the season, 79-73 over #20 UNLV. Since it was played in Chapel Hill I don't know if you could consider it an upset or not but that puts the 'Heels at 10-3 on the season looking at 18 straight ACC games ahead of them. They open up with Virginia on the road January 6. When it comes to injuries this season, it seems that the 'Heels cannot catch a break this season. Starter Reggie Bullock missed this game with a concussion suffered a couple of days ago in practice and in my opinion, Bullock has been the Tarheels best all around player this season. His injury opened the door for P.J. Hairston to get his first career start. P.J. missed the Indiana game earlier in the season with an injury. Despite opening a 21-8 lead early in the game in which 8 different Tarheels scored, they really had to struggle to hang on. I was not happy with the officiating at all and even Dookie alumni Jay Bilas noted several non-calls, missed calls, or bad calls throughout the course of the game. I make note of that because harping on the officiating is something he usually avoids. The 'Heels did have one of their most balanced scoring games of the season putting 5 players in double figures with Dexter Strickland leading the way with 16. Hairston chipped in with 15, McAdoo had 13 points and 9 rebounds, and Paige and Brice Johnson had 12 points a piece.

Where Is The Defense?

The 'Heels 97-63 victory over McNeese State still was not the reaction from the loss at Texas that I was hoping for. Granted they had a 31 point lead at halftime, but McNeese State used the second half as a layup drill. When they weren't driving to the basket for easy shots, they were getting open for 10 foot jumpshots and wide open three-pointers. It seems that Freshman Point Guard Marcus Paige had a sit down with Head Coach Roy Williams yesterday after practice and he responded with 6 points, 9 assists, and 0 turnovers. The 'Heels were on fire from the three point line hitting 13-28, led by P.J. Hairston with 20 points and Reggie Bullock with 17. With the ACC season coming up fast, the 'Heels have problems on defense, their outside shooting is inconsistent, and they still haven't settled on a starter at Center. Desmond Hubert is a liability on offense, Brice Johnson has skills but gets pushed around because of his lack of strength, and Joel James has all of the potential in the world but not much in the way of experience (he has only played for about 4 years). This is going to be one of those seasons where the Tarheels are going to be better at the end of the year than they are at the beginning.

A Work In Progress

This years Tarheels basketball team is going to be a work in progress and a learning process for the majority of the team. It is a rare occasion that you can say the Tarheels are in a rebuilding year but this may be one of those years. Rebuilding for the Tarheels and rebuilding for someone else are two different things. I believe they will still win 20 to 25 games and they will be much better at the end of the year than they are now. It will be exciting to see their development as the season progresses. They have lost to Butler in Maui and got crushed by #1 Indiana (maybe they should stay away from the state of Indiana for the rest of the year) and in the loss to Indiana only shot 10 for 36 in the second half. This is also one of those rare seasons in which the 'Heels are stronger from the outside than they are on the inside. Against UAB they were hot from the outside and it led to a 102-84 victory. Leslie McDonald had a coming out party of sorts with a career high 24 points (5 of 7 from the three point line), Reggie Bullock had 17 (3 of 5 from the three point line), and P. J. Hairston had 16, all in the second half. He hit two three pointers but drove hard to the basket and was able to put himself at the free throw line. Interior players James Michael McAdoo (15 points, 12 rebounds), Brice Johnson (11 points, 9 in the first half), and Joel James (2 points) only went to the line 3 times between the three. They should have wore out UAB on the inside. The 'Heels have some athletes this year. McAdoo is one of the most athletic inside players they have had in quite a while and you have to be excited about the potential of wing player J. P. Tokoto. His athleticism was on display before the game with a backwards shot from halfcourt and a alley oop from Leslie McDonald during the game.

A Different Tarheel Team Than Any Other

This years North Carolina Tarheels basketball team is far different from most any other team they have had in the past several years. Most of that difference lies in the Tarheels inside game. Since the early days of Dean Smith the 'Heels have always worked the inside first and that usually gave the Tarheels a big advantage in free throws attempted and made, usually at about a 2 to 1 ratio. Through 8 games the 'Heels have attempted only 10 more free throws than their opponents. This season the 'Heels are shaping up to be an outside shooting team with James Michael McAdoo manning the middle but he is not the classic Tarheels post player. He is leading the team with 3.75 Free Throw attempts per game and as a team, the Tarheels are only averaging 16.75 attempts per game. It doesn't help that they are only making 61.2% of their free throws. Their is a saying and I don't know who to credit it to, "live by the three and die by the three" and the Tarheels are not consistent enough from the outside to live by the three. Reggie Bullock needs to use his size and P.J. Hairston needs to use his thick body to drive to the basket and get to the line more. Bullock has 11 free throws in 8 games.

Going To The Beach

It is hard for me to have respect for a college basketball program that calls itself "The Beach". They have it written on the front of their uniforms, and they have have it plastered on the center of their court, adorned by big palm trees. That being said, they have proven themselves a very tough program over the past three or four years, and I was seriously worried about the Tarheels making a stop over here on their way to the Maui Invitational. Thanks to ESPN2 I only got to see the second half. The 'Heels held a 33-32 lead at halftime and just by looking at the stat sheet, it looked like the same old story. Poor three point shooting (3-13) and giving up several easy baskets. They warmed up from the outside in the second half (7-13), including 5 in a row at one point, and James Michael McAdoo heated up on the inside, finishing with 18 points. Coach Roy Williams is still tinkering with his rotations as Brice Johnson got the start in the second half ahead of Desmond Hubert and Joel James. Brice Johnson has the most developed offensive game of the trio but because of his slight build, he seems to get pushed around on the inside defensively. He still manages to get to the basket for offensive rebounds and easy baskets and he runs the floor well. He finished with 10 points in 13 minutes. Joel James ended up with 3 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. P. J. Hairston had 14 points off the bench on the strength of 3-7 three-point shooting and Marcus Paige was the other double figure scorer with 15 points but his assist to turnover ration is still only about 1 to 1. It was a good victory, an important victory as they played well in their first road game and they needed the road experience.

On To The West Coast

The 'Heels finished off Florida Atlantic yesterday afternoon 80-56 and some roles are already starting to take shape. Joel James will be the starting Center by the time the 'Heels get to Hawaii because his offensive game is already more advanced than current starting Center Desmond Hubert. The Tarheels need to find some outside scoring to go with James Michael McAdoo's inside game. Reggie Bullock was able to provide that against Florida Atlantic with 16 points and 3 of 4 from the three-point line. Dexter Strickland is more of a slasher and Marcus Paige has not demonstrated the ability to hit from the outside in the first two games. P. J. Hairston and Leslie McDonald are the most likely candidates as outside scorers off the bench. Hairston's slump from last season has carried over to the first couple of games this season and McDonald missed the entire season last year with an ACL injury. Brice Johnson has been solid off the bench providing some inside scoring punch and J. P. Tokoto will be important as a swingman and I see his minutes growing as the season progresses. I see the same thing happening with backup Point Guard Luke Davis.