dailysportsread

Teaching, coaching, mentoring, and leading don’t always require new and innovative ideas.  Sometimes, when things ARE as bad as it seems, looking to the past for guidance and speaking the truth about where you are today may help.  Dennis Green left an endearing mark on football in quotes that often revealed his frustration but sometimes told the story behind his sports philosophy.  At his introductory press conference as coach of the Minnesota Vikings, Green declared “There’s a new sheriff in town.”  Similarly, Bill Belichick needs to own the start to his tenure at UNC and declare that he is in charge!  No one should be happy with much that happened after the first drive of the game in Belichick’s primetime debut as the face of North Carolina football.  How could a team lead by a future Hall of Fame coach look so out of place and be outplayed at every position?

Maybe Belichick needs to refine his messaging.  Green has already provided a way forward that may provide a bit of motivation for the assistant coaches that can point directly to player improvement with “Plan your work and work your plan.”  Play-calling and personnel positioning in game one were issues.  The staff has to be more methodical and detail-oriented to get off to a better start.  Scrap the plan for game one and get a plan that will work for this team going forward. 

Many fans left Kenan Stadium long before the game was over.  When things were bad near the end of his time in Minnesota, Green said “I’m always going to take the high road.”  Even with the bad loss to TCU, fans have to realize that some teams take time to develop.  Even with the hopes of instant success through the transfer portal, patience might be required this year.  Don’t make excuses. Stay optimistic.  Don’t panic!  Take the high road when expressing frustrations as you go through the season. 

Playing sports is hard at every level.  Monday night football in Chapel Hill had all the glitz and glamor, promotional spotlights and eyeballs that a university could wish for.  Unfortunately, the play on the field was a bad look for UNC.  Very bad!  But understand that the goal is to build a program to support a team that can sustain success.  That won’t happen if supporters are stepping over the ledge after every loss or play that doesn’t go as expected. Stay with your team!  Looking to Green again we find that he said, “We won together, we dreamed together, we hoped together, and we lost together.”  Be patient for now and build the program – together.

Seth Trimble’s improved offensive play has been the biggest surprise this season. Elliot Cadeau’s offensive play has also surprised many watching North Carolina. RJ Davis, a 2024 First-team All-American, is off to a slow start. Still, the team has a talented mix of scorers at every position. UNC’s 3-point shooting has not been as consistent as expected so far. However, it has shown signs of developing into a dangerous offense as the season progresses.

Maintaining a good work-life balance can also be scary! But the only way to do this correctly for someone who enjoys commenting on sports is to completely get away and make no comments.

Taking a month away after the first weekend in April is a usual break that helps ensure that I stay balanced. I never planned to stay away for almost 8 months, but during my time away, I attended two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Greensboro and did not comment. The games were good, but there were no teams from North Carolina or surrounding states, and only Pittsburgh from the ACC played at “home.” Other teams in the region included Xavier, Kennesaw State, Iowa State, Providence, Kentucky, Kansas State, and Montana State. The NCAA Tournament delivered as usual with a surprising Final Four and the University of Connecticut taking the championship. No comments were posted.

Spring closed with a great Women’s NCAA Tournament with LSU as Champions and the continued dominance of the SEC in Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Baseball. Oklahoma was impressive in winning the Softball Championship. North Carolina won the Women’s Tennis Championship over NC State. Northwestern took the Women’s Lacrosse Championship. No comments were posted.

#1 draft picks in the professional leagues included Brice Young, Alabama in the NFL draft, Victor Wembanyama, France, NBA, Paul Skenes, LSU, MLB, and Aliyah Boston, South Carolina, WNBA. The Diamond League provided a record-breaking year of professional track and field events that concluded with the US dominating the World Championships in Eugene, OR. Summer was not without disappointment as the US Women’s National Team flamed out in a 5-4 loss to Sweden on penalty kicks after making the round of 16 on just one win and two draws.

Tennis grand slams at the French Open in May and Wimbledon in July couldn’t top the season-ending US Open Championship singles wins by Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauf. Meanwhile, the top five regular season MLB teams all lost in the first round of the playoffs with a combined 1-13 record. The Atalanta Braves with 104 regular season wins was the only team that did not get swept. Baltimore Orioles (101), Los Angeles Dodgers (100), Tampa Bay Rays (99), and Milwaukee Brewers (92) had no answers in the postseason. No comments were posted.

North Carolina, Duke, and NC Central (minus a loss to UCLA) had a successful start to their football seasons with top 20 rankings and undefeated seasons until October, while NC State, Appalachian State, Wake Forest, Charlotte, and East Carolina mostly struggled. Some more than others. No comments were posted.

I often say the best thing about football season is basketball is not far away! Finally…basketball is here again! It’s scary getting back in. Independent reporters and commentators cannot compete with the networks, AI bots, and bloggers with inside sources. That was never part of my plan. Writing from the point of view of a fan in the stands provides a more unique angle. There is no pressure to meet a midnight deadline, just to be fair, honest, and accurate. Now, the work starts again! I love all sports, and enjoy covering UNC, but appreciate the opportunity to occasionally evaluate other local teams. As I update the website over the next few months, be on the lookout for an occasional column in a new blog section tentatively titled “The Ridiculous” and a “Kids on Sports” section where the young ones get to talk about sports. Plus, I take a lot of pictures and will continue to occasionally include a completely unrelated photo with some posts. It adds a little fun, and helps me stay balanced!

Duke 62 North Carolina 57

Average. Simply average. There’s no need to do a full analysis of the game and box score. It’s all been said multiple times this season. Average. This is not a highly negative comment on the current North Carolina basketball team. Just the truth.

The only fact that you need to know in understanding why UNC lost to Duke on Saturday is that Duke has improved as a team from November to March. UNC has not. The inconsistency in knowing which players will be “on” and make in-game adjustments has been too much for this group to figure out.

How they did

While Armando Bacot has played most of the season like someone in line for post-season recognition, he has been less consistent in the last quarter of the season. That struggle was evident Saturday as he failed to rebound or score with ease and had trouble when double-teamed. Still, he gave a spirited performance while facing two defenders most of the game when the ball was in his hands.

– RJ Davis was mostly RJ Davis. His box score was stacked all the way across, and his defense and court presence were what they needed to be.

– Leaky Black’s defense was as advertised. His offensive stat line was not pretty but give credit to Duke’s interior defense. Black was also forced into multiple desperation shots as the play clock expired when the offense stalled. Again, credit Duke’s defense, but recognize that this resulted from poor ball movement and too much dribbling.

– Special recognition to Dontrez Styles. He provided valuable minutes defensively as the team struggled with foul trouble in the first half but did not have an opportunity to play later in the game.

– Caleb Love and Pete Nance mostly faded in this contest. If not for the fluorescent green shoes that Love wore, and an occasional rushed shot, we might have forgotten that he was in the game. Just not good enough. And after three games of talking about Lemon Oreos linked to better offensive performance, Nance mostly disappeared when UNC had the ball. Nance’s defense was mostly good enough, but he should be past expectations of getting assistance from officials (in his favor). I understand the frustration, but it’s not going to happen.

Ceiling?

A few years ago, Michael Jordan confused many when he said “The ceiling is the roof!” Has this team already reached its ceiling? North Carolina’s overall record is not substantially different to many of the teams that are projected to be comfortably in the NCAA tournament field. Yes, the NET is a metric that gets a lot of attention, but it too has flaws. As it stands, UNC is the team with the highest NET (47) that is trending towards not receiving a bid to this year’s NCAA tournament. Way too much emphasis has been put on the lofty ranking that the Tar Heels started the season with. Far less is said about UNC’s actual schedule, parity throughout the country, and the better than given credit ACC league season. North Carolina’s goal for the season was to “Run it Back.” Return to the Final Four and finish the season with a championship. No one imagined it would play out this way. The resume is what it is. The opportunity to audition in up to four games to get a chance at running it back is on the table. This team has been very good one game and hardly recognizable the next game. When this team plays good defense, goes in out and moves the ball on offense to take smart shots, and limits turnovers, no one is better. There is no extra credit for last year and sometimes being as good as you can be. Now is the time to show what you are capable of.

Pitt wins again in Chapel Hill

Again? Yes, again! North Carolina left many leaving the Smith Center concerned after witnessing another mostly undisciplined game after a long break and time to PRACTICE! The Tar Heels almost overcame a poor performance. After shooting just 34.8% from the floor, going just 23-66, including 18.5% on 5-27 three-pointers, and missing 9 of 22 free throws UNC was still in the game against a Pittsburgh team that managed to win on 25-55 attempts from the floor, including 7-19 on three-point attempts. North Carolina fans may want to say they did it to themselves again. That would be true. But playing Pitt’s game without playing with the same grittiness proved disastrous again.

Box score

Setting the tone

All of the players are special in this league. All give five-star performances every time they’re on the court. The Durham, NC Parks and Recreation Department’s winter youth basketball league is played in multiple gymnasiums throughout the city, giving participants a feel of travel to different arenas. It is encouraging to see 9-year-olds and 10-year-olds actually getting instruction. Parents and family members, however, often distract from the purpose of the league. Verbal attacks on officials combined with frequent instructions shouted to players from the stands disrupt the games and confuse the young players.

Attendees fail to understand the “rules” of the game as they should be applied in an instructional league. This is not the NBA or ACC. Officials are also tasked with teaching in these games. They are not necessarily missing calls. Walking with the basketball should be expected. More in some games than in others. Officials have to make adjustments based on the developing skills of the players in the game at that time. The same could be said for expectations on calling fouls, and when a player crosses the line on a free throw attempt. Catcalls aimed at the game officials do not help the players in learning the rules and accepting the referee’s call.

Addressing the next point is harder. How could one ask a parent or family member to stop offering encouragement to a child? I am not doing that. I am just asking attendees to not scream out instructions from the stands. Especially since most instructions are usually wrong. Rarely will you hear “Move the ball, get back on defense, or rebound!” but you will often hear “Shoot!” every time a player touches the ball. Even when the player is just crossing halfcourt. When the aim is instruction, we have to restrain and let young players develop, not let emotions and our desires for each child to be a superstar of the game take over. Most players in instructional leagues won’t play on the next level or become pros. Many will not get much better at the game than they are now, but all will be special!

Instructional play