KU UNC Wrapup

Quck review....

If the NCAA shortened the games to 30 minutes, we'd have had a heckuva night. Unfortunately, I don't think our guys realized that they still had 10 minutes to go, and UNC got right back in it. Credit this win to AFH and the home court providing just enough additional energy to get the guys over the top.

Still don't know why you don't foul somebody on the last play to take the 3 pointer off the list of options. But it's also the more "gentlemanly" thing to let them play it out, I guess.

Loving Bidunga and Mayo. Bidunga has Adams-like postivity and brings a TON of energy. Kid is out there hustling. He'll make mistakes, but if you're playing that hard, you're going to be on Self's good side. Throw in that the kid is an aggressive dunker and isn't afraid to get physical, and he's making me smile. Hope he sticks around long enough for us to see what he looks like after the trainers velcro another 15-20 pounds of muscle on him in the off seasons.

Mayo is just really good. Love that he's playing in his home town.

As for the veterans, I was surprised to see Harris get into foul trouble. Adams remains my favorite guy out there. Dickensen, however, is going to drive me crazy this season. I think he's just not as althletic as most other guys. Granted, he got 20 points and 10 boards, so how can you criticize a double double? Well, a couple of pointless and ill-advised 3s, getting beat by quicker people on D, and a general lack of aggression...sigh. I don't think we can inject any Azubuke genes in him at this point, and I really think that's why he came back this year. His game won't transfer to the NBA, so he'll probably make more money this year at KU than he would have in the G-League or overseas, so their loss is our gain. I think having a guy like Bidunga able to come off the bench is a huge asset there.

As for the game itself, scheudling a top 10 blue blood for your 2nd game of the year is a ballsy move, but IMHO a very safe one. The fact is, this loss won't hurt UNC at selection time, and if KU had blown it, the damage would have also been minimal. Many guys on BOTH benches had never played in a top 10 matchup in a venue like this before, so getting this kind of experience out of the way early is a good idea. Games like these are great recruiting tools as well. Glad we put this one in the books, and glad that we continue to dominate UNC in the Self area.

Finally, huge congratulations to Self catching that Phog Allen guy on the wins list. I guess we need to start thinking of some kind of basketball related structure honoring the guy. Allen Fieldhouse, Naismith court....hmmm...what else do we have lying around?

Agree with all the above, especially about Hunter. I know he tries, but he just has slow feet. And despite his numbers, there are times when he is a liability out there. Love how the team plays faster with Bidunga, and, obviously, better defense. Much more talent on this year's team, thankfully, but I am still wondering if these guys are quick enough to be elite. Arkansas and now NC seemed much, much faster. Love the win and the way the guys kept their poise when it looked like the game was slipping away.

Hunter may have contributed 20 points but I think he gave up 10 with his "defense". Given Self's priority for defense, I'm beginning to wonder why he was brought in. Hunter just plays soft...I think he could score another 10 points a night if he would just go stronger to the rim and dunk it instead of finessing a layup. He left two "and one" on the court by missing the layup; I'm convinced had he gone strong he would have made both of them.

More positive note: As a fellow Chesty Lion, before the season started I'd defaulted to Zeke Mayo as my favorite player and so far he hasn't let me down. Coit was impressive against Washburn, but against bigger D-I talent he has struggled; Mayo has clearly outperformed him. Wonder when HCBS is gonna move him to the starting lineup in place of Coit or Griffin (who hasn't really impressed either)?

Good assessments. I agree on all counts. I wonder if Moore will help out at all? Overall I feel this team has all the parts to make a deep run in the spring! I think everyone will come together nicely. The defense they played in the first half should be bottled up and played the entire game. It was unbelievable. That's what excites me the most. We have the ability to be a lock down defensive team, outside of Hunters position.

Rock Chalk!

A comment I made to my brother after the game: The first half bb team can run the table. The second half team would be lucky to finish 5th in the Big XIIIIII