Quote Originally Posted by Heelhoopz:
Not sure I agree with you at all regarding the Heels defense. While we're not dominant on the defensive end, I think we play solid enough defense to alter shots. Marshall is certainly a weak on ball defender and it cost us against UNLV. Then again, that's always the recipe to beat the Heels...beat the PG off the dribble, get hot from three....see UNLV and UK last year. Carolina's defensive philosophy has always hinged on getting teams to take bad, quick shots. Usually they're challenged shots. Occasionally the Heels fall into a lull and let up on the defensive end but to say we're bad on defense isn't being honest.
Thanks for your thoughts, but I'm standing pat here. While they have the height on the inside to alter and block shots, they could do a whole heckuva lot more of it if they showed any interest in playing help defense. Watch any of their games, but here's what I want you to look for. Watch the other four guys on the court. In the Kentucky and UNLV games, I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I saw players off the ball just standing there either waiting for the ball to be passed around to the guy they're guarding or waiting for somebody to drive to the lane so at that point they could chase after the ball and try to make a play. Roy Williams help defense is almost always never existent. Ever. Granted, they always have top notch athletes and usually that athleticism can more than make up for the mistakes that I see from a defensive standpoint. And that's the difference. Smaller schools cannot afford that extra step or two out of position, while teams like UNC and Memphis can because of their athleticism.
So in a way, yes, I'm probably being a little harsh on the defense from that standpoint, and yes, against other lesser offenses than UNLV and Kentucky, they can probably get away with it. But you can't tell me having watched this team quite a bit both this year and last, that they are a good fundamentally sound defensive club. No way, no how. No help defense, no ball pressure, no rotating; these are all things that Roy Williams fails to stress year in and year out. He outscores you and is content with that. This is clearly one of the best teams in the nation, I'm not arguing that. What I am trying to point out is that they could be far and away the best if they just did the little things.
Tune in tonight if you can. Watch Evansville throw their entry pass to the wing, then turn your attention to two things:
1) The guy guarding him with his hands in his pockets waiting for the guy to pass the ball
2) The other four guys standing up and down as if they were wearing a pair of stilts.
Like I said before, pure talent pretty much wins out, and will more than likely be the difference in tonight's match-up with Evansville, but at some point if this team wants to be a contender with all the talent they have, they have to buy into good, sound, team defense. Need to help each other out a bit more.
GL