omg omg omg... he who shall not be named spotted in Chicago...

[PenrithPanther]

I can't believe how well we are playing and that we are peaking at just the right time. Just how far can we go? I know final four is a bit of a stretch, but I said a month ago that sweet sixteen is quite likely. I am thrilled with this team. Now if they can beat Virginia at home and take it to Duke Sunday, they will be in position to possibly get as high as a three seed. Who woulda thunk it before the year started???

[nolatiger]

Who woulda thunk it before the year started???

Me.

[PenrithPanther]

Me.

I bow to your foresight. Losing the top seven players on the team and having Noel and Terry, who both played marginal roles in last years team, I must admit that I felt we were going to have a down year and be no better than middle to low in the conference. I think Roy deserves serious consideration for coach of the year.

[nolatiger]

I bow to your foresight. Losing the top seven players on the team and having Noel and Terry, who both played marginal roles in last years team, I must admit that I felt we were going to have a down year and be no better than middle to low in the conference. I think Roy deserves serious consideration for coach of the year.

It's a toss-up between him and Bill Self. I would give the nod to Self, but that isn't taking anything away from Roy Williams.

[amcoolio]

You're right, Hansbrough does benefit from the fact that everyone went pro last year. But, just for the sake of comparisons, lets compare his numbers to those of Sean May last season:

May

17.5ppg

10.7rpg

57% FG

76% FT

2cd and 3rd scorers: McCants at 16.0ppg and Felton at 12.9ppg

Other scorers: Jawad Williams and Marvin Williams right around 10ppg, and Jackie Manuel at around 5ppg (these three are estimates b/c I'm tired of looking it up)

Hansbrough

18.9ppg

7.5rpg

59% FG

75% FT

2cd and 3rd scorers: Terry at 14.3ppg and Noel at 12.7ppg

Other scorers: Danny Green at 7.7ppg, Wes Miller at 7.3ppg, and Bobby Frasor at 5.3ppg

Close, huh? Hansbrough is just as effective of a post scoring threat as a freshman as May was as a junior (though he really only played two college seasons due to the broken foot as a freshman). The biggest difference between the two at this stage is in the rebounding department. May was a beast on the boards, while Tyler is still learning how to rebound consistently at the college level. Both score efficiently from the floor and the FT line.

The argument can be made that some of May's opportunities were limited due to the talent around him. However, the argument can easily be made that Hansbrough draws far more attention from defenses due to him NOT having the talent of 3 first round picks around him. I'm not arguing one is better than the other, it's just fun to compare the two of them at this stage. I'm #### glad they both chose UNC!!!

However, the most important stat in my mind is:

Final Four MVP's

May - 1

Hansbrough - n/a (can't give him a '0' here as he hasn't participated in a post season yet)

[Rello]

I wonder when Tyler will go pro, a good postseason for UNC will get them a lot of hype, and considering how weak the 06 draft is, it might be TH's best chance to go pro. The 07 draft is awesome, especially with so many potentially great big men, like Greg Oden, Brandan Wright, Kevin Durant, and Shawne Williams. If he doesnt go in 06, he should probably stay at least 2-3 more years because he will have too much competition in 07 maybe even on his own team with Brandan Wright.

[ted538]

I guess I was overestimating Hansbrough's current value at the NBA level. According to Chad Ford today, he thinks Hansbrough would go late in the first round. I think he would actually be a lottery pick, regardless of what Ford says, but I was under the assumption that the NBA would have him near the top of the first round.

i guess it depends on whos picking and what they need. he still has a long way to go before hes ready for the NBA in my opinion. a team could pick him because of his potential, but his footwork and recognition of defenders needs some improving before hes ready to make that jump.

[nolatiger]

i guess it depends on whos picking and what they need. he still has a long way to go before hes ready for the NBA in my opinion. a team could pick him because of his potential, but his footwork and recognition of defenders needs some improving before hes ready to make that jump.

I guess I was looking at him like I did Marvin Williams. He may not be ready, but his upside is so huge, he should go really high.

Surprisingly, this guy said that he thought Josh McRoberts had a better chance of going in the lottery than Hansbrough. I don't believe that at all...at least at this point.

[amcoolio]

^^^^

It's true, it's all about potential. Marvin Williams and Josh McRoberts have ideal size and athleticism for the NBA SF position, they just need to hone their skills. The NBA will view Hansbrough as a "tweener." Size wise, he is an NBA SF. Skill wise, he's an NBA PF. He's a much more effective player as a freshman than either McRoberts or Marvin, but the fact is that the NBA drools over high flying athletes moreso than effective basketball players.

[Rello]

Also, you have to consider Tyler's role on the team. At UNC, he is the man, at Duke McRoberts is at best a 3rd option, so stats wise his stats are going to be worse. That said, I still think Tyler is the better player right now, but obviously McRoberts has the upside thing.

[ted538]

McRoberts' game and skill set translates better to the NBA than anyone on Dukes squad right now. If i was an NBA GM and had to pick one player off that team I would take him over Williams and Reddick in a heart beat.

McRoberts is going to be incredibly good when he becomes the focus of dukes offense.

[nolatiger]

McRoberts is going to be incredibly good when he becomes the focus of dukes offense.

I tend to agree. I wasn't tremendously impressed with him early in the year (not that I was really expecting a ton from a freshman), but as the year has progressed, he has shown me what he is capable of. When he needs to step up, he does.

My biggest problem with him is that he fouls...a lot. The great thing about Sheldon Williams is that he is physical, but he knows how to avoid fouling if he gets into trouble. Shavlik Randolph and now Josh McRoberts don't seem to have that ability.

Hopefully this is something that the staff will work on in the future.

[Jase]

per PFT

[Jase]

false alarm, per PFT:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/08/12/vick-not-in-chicago-to-meet-with-bears/

What a shock!