2012 EDITION of IMHO (In My Humble Opinion)

Welcome to the 2012 edition of In My Humble Opinion - a season long appraisal of the performance of the University of North Carolina Men's Basketball games by me, your host writer - Chadwick E. Pritchard.

I was fortunate enough to be in Chapel Hill at the first two games of the season - vs. Gardner Webb and vs. Florida Atlantic.

In the first contest, against Gardner-Webb, I did not expect much and did not receive much.  The team definitely looked rusty.  I thought rightfully so, after coming off an off-season where you are only playing your own team-mates.  Playing the same players over and over gets old quick.  You get to know their ways and you adapt or should adapt quickly to their style of play.  However, with a team UNC has never seen before, they were making poor decisions on passes and shot selections, relying too much on MacAdoo and not spreading the "Love", and COULD NOT HIT A FREE THROW TO SAVE THEIR SKIN!  Another interesting observation that I made that also found it's way into Coach William's comments was - I thought Reggie Bullock played the part/role of a "parent" on the hardwood.  He would stay in the background and direct traffic, grab rebounds, play defense, and not take wide open shots when they were available.

Some of this bled over to the Florida Atlantic game and some didn't.  They shared the "Rock" among the players (plural) better.  MacAdoo got his, don't you worry, but others gave a healthy contribution also and we will need that a whole lot as the season progresses.  Our FREE THROWING still STUNK!  You would have thought that maybe the team would have been at the line practicing those shots ever since the last game, but if they were it sure did not show in the second match-up.  Reggie Bullock got the message!  He came to life and started being bold and taking the first shots and hitting some threes right off the bat in this game.  The team desperately needs a Floor General.  Of course the fans and coaching staff want that Now, but this takes time to develop, especially at this level.

Players that caught my eye and that I will be looking to make an immediate impact are Bryce Johnson and Joel James.

Next game is vs. Long Beach State at Long Beach State at 11 pm EST (ESPNU).

Until next time.......GO HEELS!!!

Comments