Getting Warmer...

Roy Williams got a little closer to playing the right guys today, but there are still several changes that need to be made for this team to perform at an optimal level.  UNC was without Leslie McDonald in the game tonight against Clemson, which opened up a few more minutes for other players to show what they could.   Reggie Bullock took full advantage.

Reggie has been so pedestrian the last few games that he almost made me forget about him.  I've been singing his praises all year, but his last three games made me forget how vital I thought he was to this team.  You have to give Reggie a break since he never gets much time on the court, so finding a rhythm has been very hard for him, especially recently.  Roy gave him an extended amount of playing time in the first half, and Bullock responded by scoring 16 of his 18 points.  He's just so smooth, and has every offensive skill in the book.  Reggie is also a force on the boards and in the passing lanes, as he had several steals leading to breakaway layups, and he nearly always pulls down 5 rebounds in his limited minutes.  There's no question he is a starter for UNC, and I think he starts off at the shooting guard position.  Having an extremely long, 6'7" shooting guard will be a huge advantage for the Tar Heels, and the sooner he's playing big minutes the better.  After going 3-16 with only 6 points in an averaging of 13 minutes/game over his last 3 games, Bullock shot 6-10 in route to scoring 18 points against the Tigers.  He's in the mold of Kevin Durant.

Now for the Kendall Marshall debate.  Marshall got his first start tonight, but he only played 22 minutes so really nothing has changed.  In fact, moving Kendall up to play with the first team actually kept him from playing many minutes alongside another of UNC's best players, Reggie Bullock.  I can sense a great chemistry will develop between these two, and I want to see it evolve for as many minutes per game as possible.  Three other major things I noticed tonight slightly changed my minute distribution suggestion.

1)Larry Drew was great off the bench.  He played one of his best games of the season, as he appeared more confident and aggressive.  This might have earned him a few more minutes in my book, but UNC just has too many more talented players, so it's going to be tough for him.

2)John Henson and Tyler Zeller completely distinguished themselves from Justin Knox in my eyes tonight.  I was thinking about using these guys almost interchangeably, but I now lean toward much heavier minutes for Henson and Zeller.  They both just have more versatility, and when it comes right down to it are just more talented basketball players.  Seeing them play more with Marshall made this obvious.

3)Dexter Strickland plays entirely too much.  I get it...he's a good defender.  He plays extremely hard, and he's very fast.  Only problem is he's out of control about 75% of the time on offense, and has almost no chance of making a 3-pointer.  He had two or three good games in a row against sub-par competition, but just as in the case of Larry Drew, there are just more talented guys on the team that should be playing ahead of him.

In basketball, you need to be playing your best players for as much time as possible.  This hasn't been anywhere close to happening all season for the Tar Heels, and Roy Williams still hasn't figured it out.  Here's what he has to do, and here's what he did tonight (minutes in parentheses).  Once these guys start getting to play together consistently, just watch as UNC gets better and better.

Kendall Marshall 35 minutes (22)        
Reggie Bullock 30 (18)
John Henson 30 (23)
Tyler Zeller 30 (28)
Harrison Barnes 25 (30)
Leslie McDonald 25 (0, injury)
Justin Knox 10 (18)
Larry Drew 8 (23)
Dexter Strickland 7 (30)
Justin Watts 0 (8, he got injured tonight)

Justin Watts got injured tonight, and while I don't want him to be hurt, he really shouldn't play much. His role should be limited to a spark off the bench to wake our guys up when they're sluggish, as the rest of the things he provides can be done from the bench or in the locker room.  He's apparently a great leader for these young kids, and he should only play as many minutes as it takes to keep that going.  He's a great athlete, but just not a very good basketball player.

Since I seem to always be criticizing the coach, I feel like I need to say a few nice things about him.  It was nice to see Roy Williams come rushing on to the floor when Watts was injured.  This is one of the greatest things about him.  He truly cares about all of his players, and he's a great ambassador for the UNC program.  The man is a great mentor and a good spokesman, but he can't put the right players on the floor.  I don't want Roy gone, but I don't want him deciding who to play and when to make substitutions either.  Not exactly sure what the solution is there, but paying a guy millions of dollars to coach a team when he can't even do something so essential is a major problem.