2014 McDonald's All-American Game Rosters Announced

Yesterday the rosters for the annual McDonald's All-American game were announced for this years game. The results were very positive for North Carolina fans in that all 3 incoming recruits will be playing in it. PG Joel Berry II, SF Justin Jackson, and SG Theo Pinson all were honored with selections and it will give us as fans a chance to see them play on national tv.

Jackson and Pinson will be on the same team playing against Joel Berry II. If you don't know much about the next class of UNC freshmen check out my take and highlights on them here. Class of '14
The article is dated to a point, for example, our class is no longer ranked #1 and I believe some of the individual rankings have moved around. However, a lot of times those rankings are not important and it definitely doesn't' take away from the importance of this class to next years team and the next 4 years really.

Here is are the full rosters for the McD AA Game. Rosters

Not surprisingly Kentucky and Dook's full incoming classes were named to the game as well.

The game is scheduled for April 2 in Chicago  with the girls game on ESPNU with the boys game following on ESPN.

Go Heels!

UNC Basketball Preview- Georgia Tech

Preview: Tar Heels head into the Yellow Jackets’ Nest
     Article by: Lance Dunlap
                    @LanceLovesHeels

            Coming off a solid win over the Clemson Tigers, North Carolina (12-7, 2-4 ACC) will head to Atlanta Wednesday night to play ACC foe Georgia Tech (11-9, 2-5 ACC). The Yellow Jackets are recovering from a stinging overtime loss to NC State in Raleigh this past Sunday. Both UNC & GT currently only have 2 wins in ACC play and a win for either will put them solidly in the middle of the packed ACC standings. This year, Georgia Tech doesn’t appear to get a great advantage from playing at home in McCamish Pavilion. So far this season, GT has defeated Illinois and Norte Dame in the Pavilion while losing to Dayton and Miami in the same arena. On the other side of the coin, the Tar Heels have most certainly struggled on the road, losing all of their ACC road games thus far this season (at Wake Forest, Syracuse, and Virginia).

            Carolina fans not as familiar with this year’s Georgia Tech squad can expect to see Trae Golden (6’2” senior transfer from Tennessee) as the prime scoring option for the Yellow Jackets’ offense. Golden currently leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game, having some better games recently with 18 points against NC State and 22 points vs Pitt. On the defensive end of the court, the Jackets are anchored by their mammoth center, Daniel Miller (6’11” 275 lbs senior center). Miller is currently averaging 8 rebounds per game and 2.1 blocks per contest, including a 14 rebound performance vs NC State and 5 blocks against Pitt. While Miller doesn’t have the offensive skillset of many NBA-hopeful big men in college basketball, he is efficient and is shooting 60% from the field on the year. To play well against GT, North Carolina will need to focus on these players, keeping the ball out of Golden’s hands and letting UNC’s post offense go against the post defender opposite Miller.

            Tar Heel fans should expect James Michael McAdoo to continue his strong play against Georgia Tech as McAdoo has made 20 of 33 field goal attempts in UNC’s last three games. McAdoo was also named the defensive player of the game against Clemson by Roy Williams, showing that his entire game is warming up here in ACC play. The play of Marcus Paige has been a little up and down recently, but overall he continues to make good decisions for UNC and is clearly an overall positive for the team. Paige went 4-14 from the field for 9 points in a loss to UVA, but had 15 points vs Clemson and 21 points against Boston College. The biggest X-factor may be the newest member of Carolina’s starting line-up, Kennedy Meeks. If he continues his good play (very polished for a freshman) and is able to keep his stamina up for stretches, his size and talent will prove trouble for GT.

A win on the road in Atlanta could provide some away-from-home confidence for a Carolina team that hasn’t won outside the Dean Dome since their December 4^th victory in East Lansing over Michigan State (almost two months ago). A loss could be devastating for this young group of Tar Heels that need to string together consistent victories if they hope to find themselves seeded for the NCAA tourney. If Roy Williams’ track record mid-season at North Carolina is any indicator, Tar Heel fans should expect good things from this team. Don’t forget, it was around this time last year that Roy Williams inserted PJ Hairston into the starting line-up and UNC went on a 6-game win streak in the ACC. 

Go Heels!

UNC Basketball post BC interviews, highlights and box score

I am running late, but here is Coach Williams postgame interview along with one from Kennedy Meeks. I also included the highlight video and box score from the most recent victory.

Here is the Box Score.

Hope you enjoy and pass along!

Go Heels!

UNC Basketball vs. UNCW Interviews and Highlight Videos

In case you missed it on New Year's Eve or just want to relive it. Here are the postgame interviews with Roy Williams and Isaiah Hicks along with the highlights video.

Full recap coming up on the next podcast.
Here is the full Box Score.

Enjoy and Happy Blue Year!


Go Heels!

College Basketball Community Hangout- High School Recruiting and Social Media

The Google+ College Basketball Community hosted a great Hangout today.

+Jesse Wojdylo, +John Martin, and myself (+Dan DeWitt) welcomed an All-Star guest in +Khadija Head who provided some great information. Khadija who played college basketball at Murray State and has also been an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for several division 1 schools provided some phenomenal information on high school recruiting.

She gave some great personal stories, talked about how it has changed, and we spent some time discussing how social media has affected recruiting as well.

If you are a high school student, have a high school student, or know a high school student that is currently being recruited or possibly will be recruited I highly recommend watching this, paying attention, and following the tips given in it.

Feel free to share with anyone you think it can help!

College Basketball Google Plus Community Hangout

It is the third week of the College Basketball Google Plus Community Hangout. This week +Josh Schott joins +Jesse Wojdylo, +John Martin and myself +Dan DeWitt and we hit on the obvious, The Champions Classic.  We recap all the happenings of #1 Kentucky vs. #2 Michigan State and #4 Duke vs. #5 Kansas.

However, we don't stop there. We also discuss the top freshmen involved in these game, Julius Randle of Kentucky, Andrew Wiggins of Kansas, and Jabari Parker of dook.

We finish off with a few other sports talk.  You don't want to miss it, keep up, catch up, or let us know how you disagree with us.

Feel free to find us and connect with any or all of us in the College Basketball Community on Google+.

Go Heels!

September Podcast- Practice starts tomorrow!

In this episode I go over number changes for a few returning guys and give the numbers of the incoming freshmen.

Most of the time we take discussing non-conference schedules and compare ours to that of dook. (Sorry about the mini-rant)

Finish it off by inviting everyone to #ACChat Thursday twitter chats and discuss possibility of a live Q&A during future podcasts.  Is it something you would like to see and participate in?

Enjoy and as always, Go Heels!

More in-depth look at schedule coming in next podcast so be looking for that in October!

August Podcast (a little hoops talk on a football day)

On the day college football starts and a big one for UNC football, I take a little time out to talk North Carolina Hoops.

In the August Podcast I hit on:
-football
-PJ's ongoing "stuff", how much will he miss?
-Freshmen expectations
-Schedule is out, Early Predictions
-Is the ACC the SEC of basketball?
-Google+

Please enjoy and leave feedback, it always helps!

Go Heels!

UNC Class of '14 at Elite 24!

Elite 24 rosters!

The Elite 24 rosters have been announced and the entire 2014 recruiting class for UNC has been selected.  Click on the link above to see the full rosters.  Joel Berry and Theo Pinson are one team and will be playing against Justin Jackson.  

This takes place in New York on an outdoor court. The 3-point and dunk contests are on Friday and the game is on Saturday all on ESPNU.

Support them and tune in even if this game is nothing like what it will be like at UNC.

Go Heels!

Freshmen Expectations

Here is my take on what is reasonable to expect from the incoming freshmen this year!

Nate Britt @NateBritt0

Nate will mostly be in a back-up role behind Marcus Paige obviously.  Even in a back-up role he plays a very important part.  As we have seen in past years how important the back-up PG can be!  He will come in and give Paige some much needed rest and sometimes even push Paige over to SG giving us two guys on the court that can really handle the ball well.

If Nate catches on to the offense and the entire scheme of how Roy wants things run, I see him really surprising people this year.  He slipped in the ranking (that don't really matter) and we didn't hear much about him his senior year because he battled a couple injuries, but he is definitely a much needed part of the upcoming season.

Realistically, we will see Nate get anywhere from 8-15 minutes per game (MPG) depending on the opponent, foul trouble and just how people are playing.  I do think Nate will be affected the most out of the freshmen on what happens with the PJ Hairston situation.  If (and no I don't wish this to happen) PJ is off the team it will open up more time for Paige at SG and then more time for Nate.  If PJ is still with us he will get a lot of minutes obviously and it will take a few from Nate.

I hope people don't judge Nate just by his offense and points per game (PPG).  Not saying he can't score or is poor offensively, he just isn't going to look for his shot as much as Paige does.  He should still be able to contribute 5-9 PPG and with his basketball IQ I see him handing out around 4-5 assists per game(APG) as well.  I believe people will be surprised by his defense as well, he is a smart player and I see him getting a couple steals a game just by being in the right position.

Isaiah Hicks @IDHicks

Hicks, I believe, has the most potential of the three incoming freshmen.  He probably has the ability to contribute the most right away, however that will be hindered by being a PF behind James Michael McAdoo and sophomore Brice Johnson.  He will have to find his place to make his mark for at least a year before he can really blow up next year.  That may be at the SF spot some his freshman year or either at the C position or moving JMM back to the C position, which neither him nor Roy wants to do.

Hick exploded this past year in the State Championship game with 30+ points and rebounds!  That's right over 30 rebounds in a game, thats like all of them in a high school game.  That's when people started to really get excited about him, but he was doing it way before that game.  He has a high motor and that is what will be hard for Roy to keep him off the court.  Hicks won't put up points quite as quick as Brice does, but his is a more rounded player and well to put it blunt, not as thin.  He capped off his high school career being named a McDonald's High School All-American and having a fair showing there.

Hicks is the hardest one to predict as far as minutes goes because your just not sure what position he gets them at and of course that will affect points and rebounds.  Although, not as much as Nate, he will be affected some by what happens with PJ also, especially at the SF position.  It is reasonable to expect Hicks to see around 15-18 MPG and in that time he should average around 8-10 PPG and 6-8 RPG.  With his motor he will be fun to watch and should quickly become a fan favorite.  Also, don't be surprised if he does not absolutely blow up in his sophomore season.

Kennedy Meeks @tarheel_01  

To me Meeks is the most excited of the three to be a Tar Heel and that really excites me about a player when you can just tell they are pumped to put on the Carolina jersey!  That is not to say the other two are not, I think this class is full of that and that is one thing that makes this one special.  

Everyone has been harping on Meeks about his body and how he needs to lose all this weight and I am not arguing that fact, but we have already seen articles and heard reports that it is happening.  Let this guy get to the first practice before we attack him too much.  Personally, I am glad to see a little meat back in the post for us.  Between him and Joel James we can really bruise some people up!  Not that watching John Henson and Brice Johnson wasn't/isn't fun I am sure Roy also likes seeing those big guys back.  If we can manage to run as we always do and get some easy points that way and at the same time have someone who is going to clear the lane, establish and hold position in the paint, catch the ball and finish then we are right back in Roy's wheelhouse.  Meeks does have the body and hands to do it as well, should show flashes at least to remind everyone of Sean May and those hands! We all know how that turned out.  Meeks also ended his high school career in Chicago at the McDonalds All-American game.

Unlike last year we do have some competition for playing time down in the post.  Joel and Brice have the experience from last year and Desmond Hubert can still be a help on the defense end and has been working on his offense.  So a lot will depend on who takes hold or breaks away from the pack to start and get the playing time at the C position.  Meeks could be on the outside get around 5 minutes a game or he could be starting and playing around 20 minutes a game.  Realistically we can expect somewhere in the middle of that around 12 MPG, chipping in around 8-10 PPG and pulling down somewhere around 7 RPG.  

Another one of the great things about this class is I think we will get to see them all play at UNC for at least 3 years and really get to know them.  None of them will be a superstar from day one, but in the end I think everyone will be glad they chose to represent UNC and I see all of them doing it in a way that will make all of Tar Heel Nation proud!

To wrap up these are all my opinions, feel free to disagree and of course it really is all up to the young men working hard, showing what they have, and Roy.  But all in all I am okay with that.

It is building up to be an interesting, but fun year for the Tar Heels and I simply cannot wait for it to get here!

Go Heels!

Theo Pinson is a Tar Heel!

Theo Pinson class of 2014 announced he will be attending UNC to play basketball, here is an interview right after he announced.  Can't wait to see him in the Carolina blue!

And just for good measure here are a couple mixtapes of Pinson's to enjoy as you wait.

In case you have forgotten we also have Joel Berry and Justin Jackson coming in for the class of 2014 which is right now ranked #1 in the early stages!  One more spot open, who will it be?