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2009/10 NCAA basketball Thread


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Tar Heels: The Great Unknown

By Greg Barnes

Inside Carolina

Posted Oct 15, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Roy Williams and his assistant coaches spent 18 hours dissecting the intricacies of their 2009-10 basketball squad during a three-day retreat earlier this week, and the end result was not as enlightening as a Tar Heel fan might expect. According to Roy, the final conclusion was simply, “We don’t know.”

North Carolina will return to the court next month as a shell of its ‘08-‘09 NCAA Championship self, boasting just one starter from the Final Four run in Detroit – senior forward Deon Thompson. Gone are the only two players to start a game at point guard last season in Ty Lawson and Bobby Frasor. Also gone is 93.9 percent (248 of 264) of the title team’s three-point shooting.

Williams confirmed on Thursday what observers have known since Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson and Danny Green swapped their North Carolina jerseys for professional apparel in June – that guard play and 3-point shooting are life-sized question marks floating above this program’s hopes to return to the Final Four.

“We don’t know what John Henson is going to be able to do on the perimeter,” Williams told a packed crowd in the Dean E. Smith Center media room. “We don’t know if Ed Davis has improved his inside scoring or not. We don’t know if Dexter [strickland] and Leslie [McDonald], or Marcus [Ginyard] for example, are going to be able to shoot the 3-point shoot as well as we need to shoot it.”

Ginyard’s value has always been measured in defense and leadership as opposed to scoring (6.9 points per game in ’07-‘08), while Larry Drew assumes the frontrunner position at point guard after earning less than 10 minutes per contest last season and connecting on just 35.1 percent (20-of-57) of his field goal attempts.

Will Graves is back after a suspension-shortened sophomore campaign, but the small forward only managed a 27.8 shooting percentage (10-of-36) from 3-point territory in 11.2 minutes per game in '08-'09. Add in the freshmen duo of Strickland and McDonald, and you begin to see why Williams is willing to consider his three 6-foot-10 freshmen forwards – Henson, David Wear and Travis Wear – as options at the 3-spot.

It also helps that those three rookies are not necessarily needed early on down low, as the frontcourt is already secured by the likes of Deon Thompson, Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller.

“The depth up front this year has to be a strong point for us,” Williams said. “… It’s my job to try to get the guys that are playing the best the most minutes and to get everybody else to challenge for that. I do like the depth. I do like the versatility. I do like the fact that one, two or three of them are going to be able to play some at the 3-spot.”

Thompson, a Torrance, Calif. product, readily admits that while the post potential is rock solid, the backcourt is a little less firm.

“We’re definitely tough inside,” Thompson said. “I think we have the best frontcourt in America with myself and Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller, throw the twins and John Henson in there. I think we’re definitely going to get the bulk of our scoring inside. Outside of that, I really don’t even know. It’s up in the air. That’s the fun part about this – we just don’t know what we’re going to get.”

With five freshmen expected to factor into the rotation against Belmont Abbey in UNC’s lone exhibition on Nov. 6, the challenge over the next 21 days will be to educate while not overloading. It doesn’t help that North Carolina only has 15 or 16 practices prior to the first game this season after enjoying 23 or 24 last preseason.

“You still have to go slower and you can’t expect someone to do something well if they don’t know how to do it,” Williams said. “… So we’re going to have to go slower, but at the same time, we’ve got to get several things in at a quicker pace. So it’s a little bit of a catch-22. You don’t know how fast you can go, but you’ve got to have some things in so that things don’t surprise you during the course of the game.”

Despite the concern surrounding the Tar Heels’ perimeter production, media outlets apparently refuse to be duped again as they were back during the 2005-06 season, when UNC was picked sixth in the ACC but ultimately earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s unbelievable to me,” Williams said. “It really is. We lose four starters and six of our top-eight, or whatever it was. I’ve picked up three magazines and we’re No. 4, No. 4 and No. 5. I would have expected that’s where we would be picked in our league and that’s where we’re picked in the nation.”

As it turns out, that answer is fairly easy to answer. While this squad may have some unknown quantities on the roster, Ol' Roy has proven to be the surest thing going in college basketball.

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Healthy Blue Devils are eager to begin

BY KEN TYSIAC - STAFF WRITER

DURHAM -- For the most part, Duke's basketball players didn't need the school's highly regarded medical facilities during the offseason.

Reserve guard Jordan Davidson had back surgery, but none of the Blue Devils players who were recruited with scholarships has needed surgery since the end of last season.

With Duke opening practice with its "Countdown to Craziness" event at Cameron Indoor Stadium tonight, coach Mike Krzyzewski said the team's good health led to significant player improvement in the offseason.

"They haven't been rehabilitating," Krzyzewski said Thursday during his preseason media conference. "They've been working on their games. That's a huge thing."

Krzyzewski said Duke's starting lineup entering camp consists of veterans Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler in the backcourt, with brothers Mason and Miles Plumlee in the frontcourt.

Mason Plumlee is a freshman, and Miles is a sophomore who played sparingly last season. Miles has added close to 20 pounds of muscle and now carries 240 pounds on his 6-foot-10 frame.

Senior forward Lance Thomas will be a sixth player who essentially functions as a starter. The 6-8 Thomas is up 16 pounds to 228.

"I'm in probably in the best shape I've been in since I've been here," Thomas said. "... I'm in a good place right now, so I'm ready to take off."

The offseason player development contrasts with recent years, when Brian Zoubek, Greg Paulus and Gerald Henderson were among the players who have endured offseason surgery. Krzyzewski hopes the team's health this season will help the team build after posting a 30-7 record, winning the ACC Tournament and reaching the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

With two 6-10 starters (the Plumlees) and a 6-8 wing (Singler), Krzyzewski's 30th team at Duke will be one of the biggest he has ever coached. But Duke has only three scholarship guards in Scheyer, Smith and freshman Andre Dawkins.

Aside from Smith, none of Duke's players excels at creating shots off the dribble. As a result, Krzyzewski said the Blue Devils will run a lot of motion offense instead of set plays.

"We'll advance the ball quicker than we did last year, but we'll do it with the pass and try to get an early offense going," Krzyzewski said.

Krzyzewski is noted for tinkering with his system based on his players' strengths. With a big, athletic team that's had a productive offseason, the players are eager to see what they can do as practice begins.

"I haven't heard this much excitement about the first day or the Blue-White scrimmage since I've been here," said Scheyer, a senior. "I think people are really excited about it. I know the guys are on the team. I can't wait, personally."

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Man, Really? I mean Ohio State is good, but a little confidence in your team would be nice. I think you can win that game!:Nuts:

:) We'll be facing Cal in the Finals.

whats new?

KU one of College Basketballs 4 or 5 Historically Elite Teams.

If my son was a high school BBall phenom KU is one of 3 or 4 places where I would think of sending him.

I'm not sure w/ all that has gone on around that program.

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Syracuse plays Cal State Los Angeles today (Sunday, Oct 25) in their first exhibition game of the 09-10 season. Apparently its being shown live on SNY...Cant wait...Cuse basketball from 2-4, Jets from 4-715ish, yankee game till it ends. Should be a great day of sports.

Oh, and I cant believe basketball season is actually here!!!!

GO ORANGE

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Basketball can make a true claim to being the only major sport that is an American invention. From high school to the professional level, basketball attracts a large following for live games as well as television coverage of events like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) annual tournament and the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) playoffs. And it has also made American heroes out of its player and coach legends like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Sheryl Swoopes, and other great players.

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Basketball can make a true claim to being the only major sport that is an American invention. From high school to the professional level, basketball attracts a large following for live games as well as television coverage of events like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) annual tournament and the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) playoffs. And it has also made American heroes out of its player and coach legends like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Sheryl Swoopes, and other great players.

I like pizza too!

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whats new?

KU one of College Basketballs 4 or 5 Historically Elite Teams.

If my son was a high school BBall phenom KU is one of 3 or 4 places where I would think of sending him.

The other 2 or 3 would include Villanova, right?

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Holy shiiiit!!!!!!

I saw your bags on head and said whats up? I just went to ESPN and was floored to see:

Division II Le Moyne stunned No. 25 Syracuse 82-79 in an exhibition game Tuesday night at Syracuse.

WTF Happened??????????

Boeheim said it perfectly after the game.

"The thing that disturbs me is that this was in no way a fluke...If we were to play Le Moyne again later this week or next week, and we played man to man, they would play us tough again."

Le Moyne''s quards out hustled and outwited Syracuse's all game long. The back door cuts, the screen and rolls/pops, all were executed and clean. Syracuse didnt get back on defense in transition and didnt run nearly as much as they could have. Truth hurts, but they were the better team last night. And its really really embarrasing.

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Boeheim said it perfectly after the game.

"The thing that disturbs me is that this was in no way a fluke...If we were to play Le Moyne again later this week or next week, and we played man to man, they would play us tough again."

Le Moyne''s quards out hustled and outwited Syracuse's all game long. The back door cuts, the screen and rolls/pops, all were executed and clean. Syracuse didnt get back on defense in transition and didnt run nearly as much as they could have. Truth hurts, but they were the better team last night. And its really really embarrasing.

was Boeheim trying out new schemes in prep for season? Or was this just a sign Cuse isnt that good this year?

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was Boeheim trying out new schemes in prep for season? Or was this just a sign Cuse isnt that good this year?

Boeheim played man to man virtually the entire game. Our team this year is obviously built to play zone... But against LeMoyne, that should hardly matter. I think Boeheim stayed in the man to teach the guys a lesson of sorts and not "bail them out" by switching to zone.

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Will they lose? I mean, I saw they couldn't even handle a DII school. Or was that DIII?

Exhibition game. Just like preseason football. If Detroit beats Indy, it means nothing. Same case here with Le Moyne.

Syracuse bounced back anyway - easy 75-48 win over Albany. 1-0 baby.

:)

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Exhibition game. Just like preseason football. If Detroit beats Indy, it means nothing. Same case here with Le Moyne.

Syracuse bounced back anyway - easy 75-48 win over Albany. 1-0 baby.

:)

You can't lose to leMoyne under any circumstances. Does it kill their season? of course not but it's an embarrassment losing to a team like that and you can spin it any way you want.

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