Game Thread - @ UNC, 1/4/2020

YlJacket

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One change in strategery for this game was we dumped the semi princeton set and never (that I recall) gave Banks the ball at the high post. We either ran Banks with a single high screen for Jose or ran a horn set double screen for Jose. All Banks did was roll and look for lobs or offensive rebounds. It worked as UNC switched the screen every time and left Jose able to drive a big and Banks able to post a guard. Hope we have put the princeton set to bed for the rest of this year - except maybe with Moses at the 5 and Banks on the bench.
 

nothinghuang

Georgia Tech Fan
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One change in strategery for this game was we dumped the semi princeton set and never (that I recall) gave Banks the ball at the high post. We either ran Banks with a single high screen for Jose or ran a horn set double screen for Jose. All Banks did was roll and look for lobs or offensive rebounds. It worked as UNC switched the screen every time and left Jose able to drive a big and Banks able to post a guard. Hope we have put the princeton set to bed for the rest of this year - except maybe with Moses at the 5 and Banks on the bench.

If I remember correctly, we did have Moses operating out of high post a little bit. He's a way more dynamic scorer, passer, threat in the high post.
I think he found Evan Cole on one of the back door dunks.
 

YlJacket

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I have no problem at all with Moses at the high post in the sort of Princeton set. He can at least hit a 15-18 foot jumper to keep the cutting lanes open. And he has the ability to drive or make a play from there. Really good place for him.
 

MiracleWhips

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It was really nice to see Alvarado get his confidence back! Hell James had a good game too. We have some momentum rolling into Wednesday! Thrillerdome better be jumping!
 

gte447f

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Nice win, but holding back my excitement to see what happens tomorrow night ... sorry, but like Pavlov's dog I have been conditioned.

It's Wednesday night, not tomorrow, and they are the #2 team in country, so not a must win or anything, but we better not see another stinker like our last 2 30 point home losses this season. Let's hope it's competitive, hope for a win, and hope for a home crowd. A win is probably more likely than a home crowd. We need fans in seats people!
 

GTJake

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It's Wednesday night, not tomorrow, and they are the #2 team in country, so not a must win or anything, but we better not see another stinker like our last 2 30 point home losses this season. Let's hope it's competitive, hope for a win, and hope for a home crowd. A win is probably more likely than a home crowd. We need fans in seats people!

I remember the days when Duke would be coming in and the students would be camping out all week hoping to get tickets ...
 

RamblinCharger

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Great win. Fun to see the offense move around a little more. Not going to say anything else that could be negative about shoulda coulda woulda games from earlier in the season. Hope the team continues to improve.
 

Gold1

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I remember the days when Duke would be coming in and the students would be camping out all week hoping to get tickets ...
Yep early to mid 2000s the thrillerdome was rocking and it actually looked like a real student section
 

gte447f

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Yep early to mid 2000s the thrillerdome was rocking and it actually looked like a real student section

I think student sections will be full Wednesday. It’s the rest of the seats that I’m worried about, including season ticket holders.
 

YlJacket

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I would be floored if we don't see a lot of blue. The win over UNC was great but I doubt it - by itself - will open the floodgates for GT fans to come back. Should see more than normal for sure but if it is close to 50/50 I will be happy
 

orientalnc

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I watched the game again today and have some thoughts to share. Your comments and disagreements are welcome.

UNC not having their starting guards inhibited their defense as much as their offense. We were making entry passes at will and UNC had almost no one really able to deny the entry. I am assuming their starting guards would have been an improvement. That said Francis was, depending on the service, a high 3* or low 4* recruit. This was just his 6th game as a college freshman. Black was a 4* recruit in 2018 and is supposedly a good defender. Brandon Robinson is Carolina's only senior and he was also a 4* recruit. Any one of these three guards would have been our highest rated guard recruit in years (except for Devoe). The two guys they replaced were higher rated. It makes you wonder what happens to talent in Chapel Hill.

Carolina prides themselves in defending the backdoor and we went to that bank more in this game than I have seen in a while. It appeared that Brooks and Bacot and Pierce were having to pay too much attention to our guards and simply lost their man on the baseline. When they recovered it was too late and at least six times we made the basket and got a free throw.

We played about as well as we can play in the first half. We had very few turnovers and made our shots. In the second half we found the turnover bug again. Fortunately, UNC was not much better. Considering UNC is one of the best rebounding teams in the country and we are at the other end of those rankings, we hit boards pretty well against them. They are happier playing the style game this evolved into and we got sloppy at times in the 2nd half.

When you give up 83 points you are not doing something right on defense, but UNC hit some fluky shots (including a three rail side pocket three and an oops I wasn't shooting mid-range shot). The pace was also frantic at times and both teams were exhausted at the end.

Individually (for us) I was impressed with the play of all five of our guards. Devoe is smart defender and contributes even when he is not scoring. When Jose plays like he did Saturday, we are going to be a tough out for anyone. Banks is back playing like I expected and Moses has become a force around the basket. His athleticism is too much for a lot of the bigs he faces. UNC let him get ball down low and he is finishing plays easily.

The bottom line is that I think our older guys played smarter than UNC's young team. Especially Alvarado. He is easy to like.
 

Buzzbomb

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Good observations.
I was happy to see that the team was ready to play, and a game plan seemed to be in place.
 
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