Some Quick Thoughts On North Carolina vs. Texas

Did you watch Myck last night?

I worry about UNC’s length inside … quite frankly it’s preposterous. Henson has a 7’4 wingspan and Zeller is a true seven footer … Gary Johnson I’m really not sure what he’s going to be able to do tomorrow.

At any point will UNC bench Larry Drew? This is reaching Justin Mason levels of idiocy over there.

Really really cool match-ups for our best two players: Jordan Hamilton / Harrison Barnes … two 6’7+ shooters with good handles but not incredible lateral quickness.

Tristan Thompson / John Henson — the biggest question about Thompson going forward on the next level is his ability to handle elite length from a forward. Henson is like the perfect test case … he looks like a 6’4 dude who just copy and pasted a few times into a 6’10 body. Will Thomspon be able to use his strength to attack Henson’s core and create separation? Will he able to shoot over the top of Henson and Zeller? Can he dominate the backboards against them?

If Thompson blows up tomorrow, we’re taking millions upon millions of dollars he’s making.

Playing UNC in basketball is a lot like playing us in football, even when it’s a mess, it’s a very talented blue-chip ridden mess. This should be a lot of fun.

The defeat of UNC last season was the zenith. I do not think that we will repeat that scenario this season. Unfortunately, I have to look at baby pictures and finish up Christmas shopping, so I’ll be using my BetaMax to tape the game and will be watching in delay…enjoy the live thread!

I am reading that Henson has a bad thumb. What that means in terms of playing time, I have no idea. But for being well into his second season, he still seems unsure of himself on the floor. He shoots 34 percent from the line.

I agree with tjarks that it looks bad for Johnson today… but UNC had the edge on the front line last year and got killed on the boards. If effort matters, you know that Johnson will do something. Plus, he now hits the midrange consistently. One of these days they’ll come out on him and he’ll fake it and drive.

I do agree with Trips in that RW can’t help himself. He learned under Smith and they both think like Wooden… we’ll do what we do and that is it. That’s why they got hammered last year.

I still think the home court will matter today, but it’s interesting to look at this squad versus the last couple of championship teams that RW had… he doesn’t have the talent of those squads, or hasn’t developed it. It’s something along the lines of how we look at the UT front court, where Hill/Wangmene/Chapman haven’t progressed much at all, but they have to play.

The closer we get to tipoff, the more optimistic I get. Of course, I really think they need a split in these next two games, and this one sure looks better to me in that regard.

My biggest concern……can we play uptempo if we are getting pounded on the boards?

Nice to see you writing again, Trips. Good blog.

Very tempting line at -3 for UNC … basically a home game for them and our front-line is way to small … Zeller will do work on whatever non-Tristan Thompson big man we put on him.

tjarks, the line tells me Vegas thinks Texas is a better team on a neutral floor. Throw in the fact they’re probably getting a ton of money on UNC because the Heels are a public team. I’d tread lightly.

lowden, good point. That’s why Balbay’s key this game. I think he can create tempo by turning over Drew and Strickland.

torre, thanks man. I appreciate that.

Texas killed NC on the boards last season, 56-36. James and Dex each had 15 rebounds. It is not likely that UT will dominate NC on the boards today. James scored 25 points, Dex had 23, Bradley had 20, and Brown had 21. Johnson will have a tough time today defending, scoring inside, and rebounding. It will be interesting to see how well Hill and Wangmene defend and bound.

My guess is NC wins by about 5 to 10 points in a high scoring game (last season there were nearly 200 total points scored by the two teams).

Have not seen enough of Kendall Marshall to get a good feel for his game. Could he take over Larry Drew? I have to imagine a McDonald’s All-American should be able to step in a run an offense just stocked with NBA players.

The Texas bigs got manhandled by the finesse of Vucevic and brute force of Alex Stepheson. The good news is that the UNC bigs are about half the weight of both those guys. The bad news is that they’re also about 4 inches taller.

Conversely, Barnes will need to figure out his guard hydra before Roy does. Balbay should be able to give Drew defensive nightmares, and Brown and CoJo shouldn’t be scared of the NC guards at all. I still have no idea what happened to the Jai Lucas that was good at Florida.

I’ll be most excited to see the Hamilton-Barnes tilt. My guess is whoever wins that battle will give his team the W.

Speaking of USC – just barely lost at KU today, by 2. Had the lead in the final minute before Josh Selby broke their hearts. They may be quite legit.

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