That being said I stand by everything I said.

Is North Carolina as deep as everyone thought they’d be at the end of the year? No. But that being said, name me a contender that rotates more bodies with as much talent as North Carolina does.

This time of year, teams traditionally shorten their benches, so it is no surprise to see teams like Pittsburgh and UConn really only go seven or eight deep at this point.

But that being said, you do need capable bodies, and North Carolina has more of those than anyone.

Frasor is a senior experienced guard that has started many games over the course of his career. How many teams bring one of those of the bench?

As for Drew, he’s shown flashes, but you’re right, has yet to do show the McDonalds All-American potential he came to campus with.

That being said, as fourth guard who has a better one? Donnell Beverly at UConn? Not for my money. Same with Ashton Gibbs at Pittsburgh? Cade Davis at Oklahoma is a fantastic 3-point shooter but does little else.

As for the big guys, you’re right Zeller is a little rusty. That being said, you can never have too many capable bigs, especially come the NCAA Tournament. For this team to win a National Championship they’ll need six wins, and its unlikely that Hansbrough and Thompson will play all of them without foul trouble.

Having capable bigs off the bench is one of the most underrated aspects of National Championship caliber play. Remember those Florida teams that won two championships? They had Marresse Speights (a future 1st round pick) and Chris Richard to help out. It was their help defense that helped against Greg Oden and Ivan Harris in their final game, as well as extra fouls to keep Al Horford and Joakim Noal out of foul trouble.

Last year Kansas brought Sausha Kaun and Cole Aldrich in as well.

The bottom line is, big guys get in foul trouble, you NEED guys who can play minutes. Zeller even at 80 percent is more than able to do that along with Davis.

As for North Carolina’s defense, it is inexcusable that they give up as many points as they do. Period.

I respect their “per minute average,” and I think your point is a fair one.

But against the really good teams- the really good ones- they give up too many points.

I saw it happen in 2007 when they gave up 96 to Georgetown in the Elite Eight (and yes I know they went ice cold missing 21 of their last 22 shots).

I saw it last year when Kansas went up by close to 30 in the first of half of their Final Four game. I saw it this year against Wake.

The bottom line is that this team just does not make enough stops. It gets them by when the teams they play don’t have the horses to match-up, but when they do watch out. And even if the opponent isnt up to North Carolina’s capabilities, all it will take is one cold night from the field and UNC is done.

Sorry this was a bit of a long winded response, and if you think it was “preposterous” that is your opinion.

That being said, because this team has essentially been the same for the last three years we also have a larger sample size to see their faults- which are many by the way.

Thanks for reading, and look for more “Contender Reports,” in the future.

Aaron

Don’t know if turning it on and off will suffice this season. Team doesn’t ‘get after it’ all of the time. The switch is sticky or something.

First, this team is not deep. At least not as deep as everyone assumed they would be at the start of the year. Ed Davis provides a reliable rebounding and shot-blocking presence off the bench, but there isn’t a scorer to be found. Bobby Frasor has not shot well, Will Graves is done for the year, Larry Drew has looked shaky handling the ball in ACC play, and Tyler Zeller has only been back for two games.

Carolina’s defense is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. They allow 71 points a game, but they also play at a much faster pace. Per possession, UNC is a top 20 defensive team and they outscore opponents by more than 20 points per game.

However, they have struggled this year and in the past against teams that run a flex offense (see BC and Maryland losses). They can have trouble fighting through screens and their tendency to over pursue in the hopes of creating turnovers can leave shooters wide open behind the arc.

The Tar Heels will win on the strength of their starting five, which is probably the best in the country. If they run into a team that can get them out of position on defense and shoot the three, the can go down in the tournament. But it will take a lot. It’s no surprise that in each of UNC’s three losses this year, at least one opposing player has had a career high in scoring.

Also, Danny Green is 6’5″ (6’6″) at best and I think his career high is 26, making him an unlikely threat to go for 30 on any night.

Love the blog, thanks.