Your North Carolina A.c.c. Tournament basketball preview is, up!

#45 R.P.I. Virginia Tech vs. #38 R.P.I. North Carolina: 

Virginia Tech men’s basketball looks like it may, might; will— finally play mighty North Carolina in mens hoops! Maybe…

The Hokies now post-season vettè vs. the ultimate “Winter is Coming” oxymoron of hoarfrost itself… U.n.c. The T.Heels check-in at a surprisingly lowercase (for them) 17 up and 9 down. Or at a modest-looking by James Worthy vs. Fred Brown standards…  (.647), 11-6, or 6th-place in the Atlantic Coast Conference. (while going o-o-4 vs. all things 2020-2021 as cancellations and postponements go respectively). That’s un-good for a team that was not picked any lower than 17th way back in September by all my pre-season mag’s. Nonetheless, and that all rightfully stated, what you really wanna is who is gonna win and by how much, right? So, read on to finds… out!

North Carolina Head CoachRoy Allen Williams: age=69, 901–262 (.775) overall,
and 483–161 (.750) at North Carolina.
$800,000.oo base
INCLUDING:
($60,000 expense account, $1,937,000 Learfield contract, $2,150,000 supplemental compensation, $340,000 Nike, +incentives, +a 2027 extension!)

free bowl of soup…

Baller Williams lettered in basketball and baseball at T. C. Roberson High School in Asheville, NC all four years. In basketball, playing for Coach Buddy Baldwin, he was named all-county and all-conference for two years (1967 and 1968), all-western North Carolina in 1968, and served as the captain in the North Carolina Blue-White All-Star Game. Williams has stated that Coach Baldwin was one of the biggest influences in his life. Williams went on to play on the freshman team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and study the game under legendary coach Dean Smith. When Williams was a sophomore at Carolina, he asked Smith if he could attend his practices and would sit in the bleachers taking notes on Smith’s coaching. Williams also volunteered to keep statistics for Smith at home games and worked in Smith’s summer camps.

After coaching golf and hoops in high school for five years; in 1978, Williams came back to the University of North Carolina and served as an assistant to Coach Dean Smith until 1988. During his tenure as an assistant coach, North Carolina won the NCAA national championship in 1982, the first for Smith (and Roy); and the second for North Carolina. One of Williams’ more notable events came as an assistant coach when he became instrumental in recruiting a nobody who was already cut from his H.S. team, some kid named… Jordan. After that, taking over at Kansas, his Jayhawk career was riddled with wins (28 per year on average!); conference titles (9); and more a few recruiting foibles as well. Since getting home to U.n.c. coach Williams has notched two national championships (2oo5) and (2008). Coach Williams is the only basketball coach in NCAA history to have 35o or more victories at two NCAA D-1 schools {sic: Kansas and North Carolina}. Coach Williams is the only coach in NCAA history to have led two different programs to at least four Final Fours each; wow. In 2oo7, Coach Williams was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Coach Williams’ teams have made the post-season 29 outta 30 times. He was won a stunning 15 different coach of the year awards nationally or in-conference combined. He has won 23 total regular season or tournament conference titles and put 39 kids into the Association.

Coach Williams chairs a $10 million-dollar U.n.c. basketball endowment and Roy had surgery on September 19, 2012, to remove a tumor from his right kidney; St.Elmo’ Bless.

Daddy Williams is married to Wanda Williams. They have a son, Scott (ex-UNC Pt.Guard), a daughter, Kimberly (dance school owner), and three grandsons

North Carolina at a glance:

  • #1 in all the land in Rebounding Margin!!! (+1o.7 rpg)!
    (also: #1 on the o-Glass!!!)
  • 21st most FTA’s!! (they get the ‘cat-call’ “whistle” L & R)
  • 41st in assistance.
  • 41st in S.W.A.T. team work.
  • 290th in 3-point percentage!
  • 3o8th worst in Turnovers!
  • 320th fewest 3-point attempts/game!! (inside-team 1o1…)
  • MEMO: strange team statistically, some of which is their pet or preferred inside-out style of play; to be sure… tho’ extremely great at several things and very good at some others and then just bad here-n-there… uneven team in a word.
  • 2 injuries (at least… tho’ one is unlisted). Coach God twice bless!

Returning Starters=3

North Carolina Strengths:

  • Garrison Brooks goes as a 6′10″, 240 lb. as a final-year frontcourter from Auburn Alabama who prolly broke some S.E.C. hearts down south when he went north to Carolina. Garrison was a scoring and rebounding machine in high school who was (barely) the Alabama State player of the Year runner-up. Brooks has a first-school Big-E (Elvin Hayes) face-up and shoot game and he will block shots; (plural). As Brooksy leads U.n.c. in board-work at 6.9 rpg and his 10.6 ppg is second-best. As 48% from the floor was expected although his 50% long has been a bonus. As this is a probable overseas caliber Four and a solid interior player who has rebounding acumen. As the only real issue is foul-trouble from the lone returning starter for the Heels here. The oddball part is, for having found 1″ in height and about old-school concrete 6.6 lb. plate in weight, Brooks’ overall game not named 3-point shooting has really shrunk so far this year. Like he ate both sides of the Caterpillar’s magic-mushroom in Alice in Wonderland terms. As everything is really recalcitrant sans that pretty dang sharpshooting when dialing long-distance this year vis-à-vis last. (UPDATE: “QUESTIONABLE” for game#2 vs. VeeTee; ankle; St.Phillip bless!) (UPDATE2: this is the same Maui ankle he rolled vs. Texas back in December and has been taping/nursing ever since… and there were a couple of vibes that he would not start tho’ might play vs. N.Dame)
  • One #5, and Sophomoric year Armando Bacot is a 6′10″, lengthy/rangy-looking P/F Commonwealth refugee (Richmond, Va.) at 24o lbs. Bacot led IMG Academy to a prep national championship in 2019 and he was also a member of the U18 USA Basketball national team with Cole Anthony and Coby White, winning a gold medal with the same. Before that, he won the 2017 VISAA Division-I state champion at Trinity Episcopal School. Bacot is said to be a true internal player and nobodies stretch-Euro-F. Bacot has excellent hands and excels on the defensive glass (nearly a tricentennial or almost 3oo d-reb’s already). Armando found about 15 lbs. of sinew this off-season and this helps him drop you a now team-pacing 11.7 points per nite with 7.6 rpg and he leads the way in SWAT team work with .8 swats on a sparkling team-besting 62.2% overall. This kid’s prolly a Pro’, although it does look like he could add another 5 lb. plate or more and fill in a bit more upstairs to me. Tho’ he has a right-elbow-ding (St.Julia) bless history and maybe that is messin’ with that, here? (and oh-yes, did Eye mention the Dimetrodon or Jurassic Park hairstyle, yet?)

    (punk)-rocker? (prolly not…)
  • 6′5″, 195 lb. nugget or entry-year Caleb Love is only the 2020 Gatorade High School Player of the Year in Missouri; and yes he will meet you in St.Louie as that’s his home-crib, yo’. Love gave the scholastic box-score a lotta 3rd-base loving. Tho’ he never won the home-run state title-wise as a high 20-something pure outburst type of H.S. scorer. Go fig’ on that for your #1 alpha kid state-wide? He is also whispered to be a crack mini-golfer (no bleep), and yet some scouting-services list him as mo’ parts One and less parts lead-G. He has a very odd habit of dunking with his right-middle finger wrapping the rim, he is said to have tight-handles, and he has real live depth to his J (in theory). As he’s 23% from deep is pretty green-slate chalkboard theoretically collegiately thus far. This along with a third-best 10.4 ppg, on 2.6 rpg with 3.8 apg… and it kinda makes you one’der what home-position this kid really is or best is best suited two? That… and his 31% overall and an exceptionally streaky game-log this season tell you just how hawt-n-cold this kid can run. That all squarely struck, the hot-hot-hot or Buster Poindexter version of c.Love is your Agent Mulder X-factor here. (and frankly, Caleb has been warming to the task in March of late).
  • Day’Ron Sharpe is a 6′11″, 265 lb. t-Fresh. big ole big. As this is a strong -not powerful- a strong kid for his size. And the queer thing is… it looks like he could stand to add a bit more, size. As this is a very FIT or Sizzlean B.M.I. here. Don’t see this from bigs, as they very atypically look all-kinda S/G or “2” tight for painting and keying work down-low. Anywho… Sharpe only tabs one AAAA N.C. H.S. championship bling and only one National Championship bling— albeit from two different schools in subsequent Junior then Seniorific seasons. That’s climbing-the-ladder and truly getting rung-up gents. 9.7 ppg married to 7.8 rpg and 1.3 apg and a send-back is no bad rookie A.c.c. season in my book. The book here says that Day’Ron has quite the gym-rat day job that moonlights as a: ‘sturdy defender’ who rebounds very well and packs a few legit back-to-the-basket yesteryear post-moves to boot. Eye like that already… not many legit individuals Post lockdown Rodman/Sally type defenders’ patrol anything near the ring of late. 51% from the floor is fine; 52% from the FT-line is fined. As that second-one needs love… tho’ if he gets his 15′ set-shots together, the export market can always use another overseas defending/rebounding post-Pro’.
  • Leaky Black -grate grate grate name- is a 6′8″, 195 lb., Junior-season, bean-pole baller who has a history of left-ankle rolls (may St.Phillip make that alright). Leaky did pocket a title leading Cox Mill to the 2018 3-A state championship (Nc.) And he sure seems the highlight tape part. As a strong off-the-dribble guy who seems capable of more than 5.6 ppg and 5.2 rpg to me in pure athletic/kinetic terms alone. As he was a towering H.S. Qb1 who got a few eye-catching long-looks Pivotally speaking here. As this is a diverse, defending, and distributing Wing whose taking is not (really) his problem. Although his 37.4% overall and 21.6% from 3-point land tell you that his {sic: lack of} making is his true ill.

North Carolina Weaknesses:

  • Puff Johnson (6′8″, 190 lb.), Shooting-G by way of my home state Moon Township, Pa., is: QUESTIONABLE (Toe, St.Eustace the Cobbler Bless). So are his 1.1 ppg, his 1 board, and his 43.3%. Cool Modine name though! (UPDATE: is now: ‘out-indefinitely’… Godspeed!)
  • Big ole burly (6′11″, 255 lb.), thumping Sterling Manley is: OUT INDEFINITELY (knee, St.Nikon help). So, are his 5.6 ppg, his 3.8 rpg, a swat all on 68% from the floor.
  • This is a pretty dang youthful team folks… very in some key spots and honestly it, shows!

Heel Bench: (depth=deeeeep! Like 6-8 deep most nites)

Kerwin Walton G (no relation… he be keepin’ a medium-complected tan); Kerwin is a 6′5″, 2o5 lb., shooting-G. He is a 2019 ‘Sota State Champ’ and a rook-card badminton player on the side (no joke). On the hardwood he has a rep’ for marksmanship; as his really shiny substitute metric of 43.1% long accurately attests. Kerwin also nets you 8.3 ppg, with 1.5 rpg and 1.9 apg. The vibe here is that he can also pass pretty well and defend (1 spg) very well and the 94% FT-shooting only leads the A.c.c. Did Eye mention the gold-medal free-throwing yet? As this kid is a pure sniper and if he continues to matriculate as a stopper and facilitator? There will be a foreign gym home for him.

Anthony Harris, a 6′4″, 190 lb. Woodridge, Va. in-state escapee was also said to be out for the year (left-knee meniscus, St.Nikhon help here too). Well, until he came, back. Back are his sniper-like marksmanship shooting that generated 7 ppg on 43% long and 88% from the charity stripe last year. Now down to 2.5 ppg on 18.2% deep and 67% from the free-throw-line makes you wonder if he came back too soon in linear terms? (as: he had apparently used what looked like a wrap-around gray-shirt season to me… tho’ that does not count this campaign, right?)

6′5″, 2oo lb. Ryan McAdoo -yes, he is related- is an unusual r-Jr. season Florida Gulf Coast University to U.n.c. transfer basketballer. As Ry’ (same as Leaky) has that *it* or vertical look-n-feel to his game as a pure Three or S/F. His poppa-bear {sic: Bob} was merely the No. 2 pick in the N.b.a. Draft, was only the N.b.a. Rookie of the Year in 1973, the Associations’ MVP in 1975 and a five-time All-Star. Senior McAdoo -who was instant offense and rebounding off the Showtime pine- won N.b.a. titles with the Lakers as a player in 1983 and again in 1985. Accordingly, a lot is legacy expected here. (more than his careerist: .2 ppg and .2 rpg (no typo’s) I mean).

Walker Miller is a 6′11″, 235 lb. fourth-season P/F by way of New Hampshire H.S. ball where he put up okay tho’ not necessarily @U.n.c. scholastic numbers. Walker is an honor roll student (UHC.edu props); he basically provides match-up length in relief (.5 ppg, .4 rpg) while not being listed in my preseason preview mags until this very season. (tho’ older bro’ (Wes) did win the 2005 national championship at U.n.c. and you have to wonder if this was a nepotistic take?)

NOTE: the U.n.c. bench does not super contribute all dat… as they have 6 to 8 guys in between 1 and 5 ppg and only one guy north of 3o% from behind the arc off the pine.

Upsetting sky-blue-chip loaded U.n.c. is all about, what(s)?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Illationconclusion(s) and OPT digits:

Number of Heels who could strappy @Tech=9.

the takeaway:
The takeaway here is…

…well, Vegas and a lotta peeps that I know seem pretty taken with U.n.c. after the hatchet-job they just put upside a pretty offensively gifted N.Dame’s head.

…and they did this san their leading-scorer in the All Coaching Conference tournament!


Not too many have the chops to say ^that^’; at least not most post-seasons anywho…

…which leaves you wondering what we will all be saying come midnight Thursday as same as Mars Blackman… “no, no, no, no, nooooooooo-body” that I know of is saying that this is a good match-up for a frontcourt challenged team. A team such as Mike Young’s most likable however well-accepted as overachieving 2020-2021 men’s hoops squad currently 3 through 5 courts.

 ***

Our handy-dandy friend the so-called Forum Guide of Graham Houston fame is calling for a bizarro-looking 43-point blue-ball VomiT of an outcome here. When taken pr0-rata this (somewhat) normalizes to a more reasonable 3.58 t.Heel winning tally. That being said… it must also be mentioned that this Forum Guide swung and it swung wildly! What with a mind-boggling six, that’s (6) different games that marginalized to a staggering 27-point swing-vote individually in either direction. As these two teams scatter-diagramed and charted all over the place; literally!

~9 PM (likely later) kick-off!

The annualized year-to-date vitals say that… V.Tech is up +2% in shooting percentage margin for the season (+1% both on O & D); V.Tech is also up a decent +6% in 3-point percentage margin (about 2/3rds of which was per O), and yet Nor.Carolina is up +8 in rebounding margin on caroms for the duration. (V.Tech was +4 off the backboard year-to-date; tho’ U.n.c. is truly epic here).

The most recent 5-game metrics say that… nobody is up much of anything in shooting percentage margin of late (as U.n.c. has really improved on D recently); The Gobblers are up 3% in 3-point percentage margin (with Mike and Co. shooting well; tho’ U.n.c. has significantly tightened stop-unit screws here as well) and with the t.Heels now up +9 in rebounding margin in the last fortnight of Windex Wipes (nothing much moved here; the Hokies are still pretty good, and yet the ‘Heels are not less than 1st-best).

Recall this happened last month: “North Carolina forwards Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe were spotted in videos celebrating with other students without wearing masks. As a result, just a few hours before Monday night’s scheduled tip-off between Miami and North Carolina, the game in Chapel Hill was called off.

That spawned a series of announcements and statements regarding the top. From North Carolina players and managers, a statement read in part: “A number of players and managers — not just the ones shown on the video that was seen — got together to celebrate our win at Duke. Our intention was to celebrate privately within our group. Unfortunately, we allowed several friends who are not members of the team to join the gathering. We were inside and not wearing masks, which were mistakes.”

Or in other words, this is indeed a youthful team in mo’ ways than, sum!
  • The t.Heels haven’t won two consecutive A.c.c. games since January!
  • Associatively, the ‘whispers say that Roy is bemoaning his team’s lack of: ‘urgency’ behind the power-puff-blue, scenes.
  • Wednesday night’s 101-59 thumping of Notre Dame was the second-largest final margin in the history of the A.c.c. tournament!
  •  Garrison Brooks fill-in: Walker Kessler just set the North Carolina freshman record for blocked shots in an A.c.c. tournament game with eight.
  • Further…  North Carolina players have missed 124 games to injury in the last two campaigns!
  • We had done quite a bit of work for North Carolina.” —Big Whistle Mike Young on his team’s recent downtime anticipation agenda.
  • (possibly mo’ UPDATED here Thursday… source finding willing…)

4-1 U.n.c. is a nifty .8oo as a neutral; whereas 2-o VeeTee is 1.oo as a Swiss.
VeeTee is up +3% at the charity stripe for the year.
VeeTee is up a nutty +12 in R&R of late.

 The Call

No.39 Net Ranking North Carolina vs. no.42 Net Ranking Virginia Tech:

Granted, this may be a middleocore team by Carolina menz hoops club long-view or historic sky-blue standards.

As the seven D-1 basketball national championships (1924, 1957, 1982, 1993, 2005, 2009, and 2017) and the third most tourney wins of all-time may just be a clue. (likewise, the staggering fifty-one, that’s (51) regular+tourney A.c.c. titles combined!)

This from the second-most selected Mach Madness franchise team all-time —who most members of the bubblicious bracketologists prognosticenti intriguingly enough… seem to think may (still) be fighting for their spring-broke, hooping; lives.

oOo

So, there is ^that^ to well-fabled Nor.Carolina’s tremendous all-time credit.

Tho’ this year you ask?
This year=not so much…

The caveat being… U.n.c. has been in four different single-shot or Deux-shot games going o-fer or zero-hyphen-four for their A.B.C. (always be closing) troubles. They have been beaten by every Nationally Ranked team they have played less one; (F.s.u. a week ago). The squirrely part …is they have been competitive or at least semi-competitive in all of those ranked opponent games. Nobody has really spanked or woodshedded U.n.c., not all year long!

A.c.c.odringly, this is either the little engine that next-years-champions just this year, can’t. Or, U.n.c. just needed some seasoning and some growth between the ears from such much nubile/precocious youth. It really ‘pends whom you ask…

Tho’ if you ask me -and you did via reading these very words- methinks Roy has them rounding into improving shape. Maybe not world-beaters yet, tho’ I doubt today’s U.n.c. goes .ooo in those four close-games; and they might even sneak a Nationally Ranked scalp when you are not, looking. Just ask the Seminole crew from Tally.

As one would not be the quartermaster of the R.M.S. Titanic if one dared to opine that these two do have at least one or two markings of my classical… two ships passing in the night.

We do have a shot here, and that shot is from downtown.

The outside. Where we’ve got to manufacture enough covering points to mask what looks pretty gnarly inside. Because if we played even this seemingly pinnacling t.Heels an Association best 4 outta 7, Mike is heady enough to take one outright and maybe just knick’ another. (per the attempted punny sponsor of this Tourney if you will).

Tho’ G.boro is typically a mini-me backyard t.Heel Gotham more often than not.
And methinks that (sadly) bat-signals one for the sky-blue crew, here.
All-Championship Conference advanced-placement for U.n.c.

🏀💯🏀

(58% confidence interval)
Virginia Tech
=73, North Carolina=83

please support the VT F.C.A.!

LETS GO!

Hokies!

 bourbonstreet**

 

 

 

set your CLOCKS BACK this weekend!

8 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. ^^^THIS^^^ preview needs Word.doc review… and some further perusal in addition to that.

    OPT digits/closer late Thursday afternoon –Coach God, wiling!

    b.street

  2. Watch for turn overs. We get sloppy and our hope will rest on UNcheat shooters having a cold night. On the other hand my observations these many years unsupported by any hard data has shown me that the winner of a blow out game stumbles the next game. So if we play good ball the UNCheat heads may not be in the game until it is too late.

    1. U.n.c. could be due to ‘bounce‘ (to borrow on horse-racing)?
      Tough to play -if any- better.
      That’s for sure.

      b.street

  3. Street: Sci Fi suggestions as promised
    Ward Wagher’s Alternative Nazi series, S.
    Sterling “the Change series ( an EMP) cuts all power, US goes Feudal). John Schettler’s “Kirov” series ( a Russian missile destroyer goes back and forth in time due to an unusual fuel Rod), Sam Eastland’s “ Eye of the Red Tsar” series
    A Finnish detective who used to work for Czar Nicholas is drafted by Stalin in WW2
    Harry Turtledove’s, World war in the Balance series. ( Aliens attack Earth in all
    Theaters in WW2) lots of plot twists and Felix Savage’s “Lifeboat” series, one of his many. An Alien Artifact is spotted on A moon of Jupiter which leads to first contact.
    Check reviews of these on Amazon Prime. Have passed these to many alternative history and Sci fi fans. Go Hokies!!!

    1. World war in the Balance

      … that sounds/reads very curious.

      far-out!

      thanks too!
      b.street

  4. Alternative Nazi series: Hitler dies in a plane crash and a good dude replaces him and reverses/stops atrocities etc. The alternative history of all theaters of WW2 and the great characters make this series intriguing. Desvedanya Gospodin Street.

Comments are closed.