no info on Ez but I'd be surprised if he doesn't play barring a setback given the way he was talked about last week
good read on the state of the round ball squad as practice approaches: Spoiler The Backcourt Cole Anthony is off to the NBA. Christian Keeling and Brandon Robinson's eligibility expired. Jeremiah Francis is now at New Mexico. Only senior Andrew Platek and redshirt freshman Anthony Harris return from last season, opening the door for as much playing time for Carolina's newcomers as they can handle. Freshmen Caleb Love and R.J. Davis arrive at UNC with designs on not merely just playing college basketball, but helping one of the country's most historic programs recover from only its second losing season since 1962. While it's too early to form any ironclad conclusions on rotations or starting roles, a source said the UNC staff has quickly grown fond of the duo for their personalities, approach to the game, and toughness. "Caleb - no question he's a scorer," the source said. "They love Caleb, and he's really talented on both ends. He's very athletic, explosive, which makes him a great fit, just keep in mind it's going to take some time for him to learn to be a point guard. R.J. has to get stronger, but that kid is fearless. He has a scoring mentality that's staggering. They love him because he's not afraid to go in the lane, not afraid to take big shots. They're both going to be playing a lot, and they're going to be playing together." Harris, who suffered a torn ACL for the second consecutive year this past January, has been "ahead of schedule," the source said. Though UNC typically errs on the side of caution with injuries, and has put limitations on him throughout the offseason, the team is hopeful Harris will be "full-go" when practice begins. This is a big development for UNC, as Harris's impact on last year's team - while made during a small sample size - was noticeable. (see Insider Offseason Profile: Anthony Harris). His aggressive approach and defensive ability pairs well with Love and/or Davis. The Wings How Williams and his staff deploy their guards will have a big impact on their wing rotation. If Harris, Davis, Platek, and Love get the majority of the minutes at the '1' or '2,' that leaves 40 minutes per game likely to be divvied up among three long wings - junior Leaky Black and freshmen Kerwin Walton and Puff Johnson. Black has been plagued by injuries his first two college seasons and sources confirm that trend continued this offseason. He is the frontrunner at the '3' to enter the season and is expected to be "full-go" when practice starts. Walton and Johnson come to UNC known as knock-down shooters, but will that translate considering they'll now be facing ACC competition while learning a system different than to what they're accustomed? "Walton... (that) kid is a bucket maker," the source said of the freshman's perimeter shooting, but added that it was clear from watching Walton in recent weeks that quickness is his biggest area for improvement. The Bigs There won't be many teams capable of matching North Carolina's size next season. Three of UNC's bigs - freshmen Walker Kessler and Day'Ron Sharpe and sophomore Armando Bacot - were McDonald's All-Americans, while senior Garrison Brooks was a 2nd team All-ACC selection and picked as the league's most improved player. While not an exact replica, the potential frontcourt rotation seems similar to the 2016-17 squad, which started Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks, before bringing Tony Bradley and Luke Maye off the bench. Regardless of how Williams rotates his bigs, he'll have a unique set of skills with which to operate. Brooks has expanded his shooting range this offseason and has shown a new level of determination as a scorer and leader. "He's aggressive as hell and shooting the ball well," a source said. "He's going to be their offensive go-to guy." A source called Day'Ron Sharpe - who is one of the best offensive rebounders we've seen - "a monster on the boards." "He has great hands and is a great passer," they said. "He doesn’t have a big array of moves inside, but he plays hard and is an anchor for the defense. He'll play a lot because of motor and effort." Sharpe's motor will likely either push Armando Bacot into more often resembling the player who dominated Oregon last November or to a reserve role. "(Bacot) can be pretty good defensively, blocking shots, (but) I think for him it comes down to if his offensive skills have improved enough." Outside of how the rotation shakes out, the biggest question about UNC's bigs is who plays the '4' when Brooks is on the bench. One source believes the answer is Kessler. "I think (they) expected (Kessler) to be more of a liability on defense," explained the source. "There have been times during scrimmages where (Brooks and Kessler) played together a lot. It seems like they're getting (Kessler) ready to be the '5' in some lineups and the '4' in other ones. "They had a break for a couple weeks and everyone else went home except (Kessler). He worked out with the strength and conditioning staff and just lived in the Smith Center. He's put on about 15 pounds of muscle and his running times in their conditioning stuff is right there with the guards." "He's going to play because he's smart and skilled," another source said of Kessler. Big Picture Though they've been overused, the words "atypical" and "unprecedented" really are the best descriptors for the coming season. On the court, however, it was going to be that for UNC even without a global pandemic. Losing isn't fun. And Williams, his staff, and everyone associated with the Carolina program wants to make amends. That means dogma - to some degree - might be out the door. Winning is what matters, and that means nothing is out of bounds. Starting four freshmen? Could happen. Playing lineups without traditional wings? Why not. Zone defense? There's a chance. Sitting a player we all thought was guaranteed a certain amount of minutes? It's possible. "They've got some great pieces," a source said of the roster that is headlined by two scoring-minded guards and four talented big men, with unproven wings. "But it may necessitate some unconventional lineups at times since there isn't the traditional positional fit. Don't rule out them trying three guards and two bigs, and even two guards and three bigs." As anyone who's followed UNC under Williams knows, he believes coaching effort is something he shouldn't have to do. Without fans and the energy they typically generate for players, self-starters and motivators will be more valuable this season than normal. Fortunately for UNC, this year's highly-decorated freshman class is all business, according to one source. "It's the perfect storm," the source said. "For these kids specifically, they all have chips on their shoulders - four McDonald's All-Americans all with chips. That doesn't happen often. Caleb didn't get the national love until he was almost done with high school. Davis has been told his whole life that he's too short and can't compete. Walker was a top 10 or 15 player his entire high school career, until the very end when he didn't get seen at the skills academies and other events. Day'Ron has been committed to Carolina forever, and it's like he was a bit underappreciated too. I think they'll lose a couple early, but as they start to ramp up they're going to be a problem. (I think) this Carolina team, even with only playing like 27 games, will go on a long winning-streak at some point as those freshmen mature and realize what they can do."
Imagine watching all of our film and still deciding that single coverage on Dyami Brown is a good idea.
it's wild how much getting Ez back and actually playing two weeks in a row has done for this OL, best game I've seen from this unit at least since '15 big 4 of Michael, Javonte, Dyami, Dazz are having a field day, pretty sure they've all got 2 td's each
or maybe just the best OL performance I've ever seen from us I can't get over emphatically answering twice after getting punched in the face, that's not the UNC football I've known my whole life
lmao he also celebrated the rangers trading chris martin (has given up 2 runs all year) for kolby allard (7+ career era) he’s an aggressively stupid person
gonna need a stress free view to verify but I think this will go down as my favorite offensive performance ever
there was the Quise Duke game where we just hit bomb after bomb, and Miami was fun that year too, but I can't ever remember a game where we just exerted our will over a defense like we did today, the fact it came against a team that's owned us for years makes it even sweeter
Hood could have looked like Williams in 2015 but as my dad said that year "Their best runner isn't running and their best passer isn't passing"
i went to 4 of the last 5 unc/vt games. beamer’s last home game, the hurricane game, 59-7 and mike fumbling at the goal line just used to vt chokes
Elijah had a great year as the primary back in '15 Javonte's balance and agility, plus the receiving abilities, put him on a completely different level though imo
2010-Tyrod Taylor owned us and we played defense like pussies. L 2011-Freezing cold close loss in bleaksburg-L 2012- Your probation Coastal division champs-W 2013- Crappy game at bleakburg. Jack Tabb clocked some guy in the jaw and got thrown out-L 2014- Ugh. Mitch throws pick 6 right before halftime.L 2015- Buh-bye Beamer. Your Coastal division champs-W 2016- Hurricane. Fedora calls plays like it's sunny and 70 degrees-L 2017- We sucked. L 2018- See 2017. L 2019- 8 trillion overtimes. L 2020- How does my ass taste- signed Carter and Williams. W Was at 7 of these 11 games.
I agree to a point but felt that Fedora wouldn't let a running game develop. The second we would get a no gain he would just go to Quise making something happen, We had a good OL that year and could have shifted gears a lot better than we did. I'm nitpicking as it was a good season but I thought he was overrated as an offensive mind while he was here.
ahhhhh I misinterpreted your post as saying we didn't give Hood enough runs relative to the other backs, yeah I agree we got away from the run too much that year
2018 was incredibly painful. that last drive killed me met some guy in the concession line and he gave me a bunch of #FedUp stickers he had made up and i just put them all around campus as i drunkenly staggered to franklin