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The good and bad of Tar Heel hoops is on public display.
The truth about Carolina basketball, one of the biggest brands in sports, is somewhere between the 2022 Final Four and not making the NCAA Tournament this year. The Heels weren’t as good as their hot month of last March, and they tumbled quickly from overhyped expectations this season.
We all know what happened last March. Brady Manek and R.J. Davis stayed hot and Caleb Love got hot, and behind Armando Bacot they pulled off some of the most memorable victories in the program’s storied history before losing a 15-point halftime lead to Kansas in the national championship game.
Despite having luck and losing Manek, Carolina had a book written about finishing second and a mock SI cover to mimic the 1982 Tar Heels, one of the most star-studded teams ever in college basketball. They were ranked No. 1 in most preseason polls, and we know what kinds of records they set since then.
The odds of going 0-for-7 with late leads in the second half are almost astronomical, and that itself is enough to call what occurred this season a “one off.” As for making the Last Four Out, winning one or two of those games against future NCAA tourney teams would have put UNC in the 68-team field.
But what has happened since then is almost as incredible. A fan base as rabid as any in America has gone berserk on social media arguing whether the Heels should have turned down the NIT, despite having ample reason to do so.
The chances of losing players in the Transfer Portal grew all season as Hubert Davis played his reserves sparingly. So far, fifth-year senior Justin McKoy and rising sophomore Tyler Nickel have declared, and Nickel seems like an avoidable casualty. The all-time leading scorer in Virginia prep history averaged six minutes a game for a team that shot record-low percentages.
Yet you could see that one coming a mile away. Nickel will likely go to Virginia or Virginia Tech, teams that know how to get their shooters open.
Fans who railed at the NIT decision said “play the subs and give them time.” It’s obvious that would have resulted in an early loss and more noise.
Bacot probably could not have played again so soon with his injured ankle, and how do you keep the four other starters out of a game you are trying to win and not ignite another public outcry as a one-and-done NIT entry?
So whoever’s final decision was to end the season, Coach Davis can focus on keeping other players from leaving while scanning the portal himself to add to a two-man freshman class coming in. It’s a tough position to be in.
Sort of like getting stuck between two months of March.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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Wes Miller wouldn’t have had this problem with this talent. He would be playing two (NCAA Tournament) games near the house, not having to turn down the NIT and losing the number one scorer In Virginia history. But we’ll never know because we’re a nice, liberal university that doesn’t want to do anything that’s not (liberally) politically correct.
Wes is not the coach. A real UNC fan would support the team instead of constant an incessant demeaning statements. Every large well know university is a liberal institution, yet you keep writing those words as though it has some meaning to basketball.
We have a team that fell short of expectations that were elevated by a good run at the end of the year last year. Following great coaches is always difficult. Hubert wasn’t my first choice, but he is a darn good choice and deserves the opportunity to lead this program. So far all he has done is get the team to the championship game in 50% of his seasons as head coach. Let’s see where it goes from here.
I hate it when Mudville and Chapel Hill become synonymous to the outside sporting world.
Oh, thank God it’s over…not the basketball season, Chansky finally chanted, and I never think it’s over til Chansky chants. Thankfully, this chant was not the long slow, wet sluuuurppy kiss he gave to Hubert a couple of days ago. It was not a nice comfortable screw, either. Hubert has a problem that psychologists have identified as doing the same thing over and over and hoping for changed outcomes. He did exactly the same thing against Virginia in three games, and the outcome did not change. Hubert played 4 guys who were playing basketball, and one guy who was playing his version of hero ball. Hubert said at the beginning of the season that he intended to play his bench, but did the same iron five schict. Whatever style of basketball that Hubert is playing, it is not Carolina basketball, and to take issue with his earlier comment that his style is working, but it takes time. Note to Hubert: It’s not working. Take a look at Dookie down the road and try to figure out what they are doing right, and what you are doing wrong. Note to Chansky: Hubert will not leave on his own volition.
Art, as usual you are one of our most ardent Tar Heels and willing to defend our University and our various coaching staffs when nearly no one else will. I have a simple question for you, what do you honestly think Coach Smith would have done…regarding starters who didn’t perform during games, making an effort to develop a solid rotation he could trust in games (not just in practice), and considering an NIT invitation in these days of a 68-team NCAA? The answer is as obvious as your many articles and books about the Carolina family and tradition attest. In all the years I’ve followed you, this is one of the few where I think you may have lost your objectivity and could be seen as blindly supporting our coaches. Please understand, I pray and have complete confidence that Hubert Davis is the right choice for our program and will become a tremendous head coach. However, the simple truth is that this year, for whatever reasons, he and his coaching staff missed the target far too often in many areas…not just wins. He is learning from this experience and will be a better coach for enduring it, but it will take time and a couple of classes of players he has recruited for the style he wants to play and his vision for the future. I would love to share a coffee with him and discuss his thoughts on the year and vision for the next few years, since my specialization and years of experience are in leadership and team training and development. I wish him absolutely nothing but the greatest success and he will always have my support! Go Heels!
The NCAA owns the NIT. I suspect Carolina basketball just made life more difficult going foreword. The real issue is Carolina basketball has ended.
NCAA own the NIT. So do you think the NCAA will forget the snub from Carolina?
Do you think Carolina is the first team to ever decline the NIT?