UNC Game Thread- 5:30 Tip Off

[Katmendo]

Leaf is a special player. Coach's son. Fundamentally gifted probably as much as anybody in college basketball.

Willis isn't on that level but he can still be a vital player. He and Gabriel have to shore up this thing where they can't keep guys in front of them off the dribble. Neither can guard straight line drives at all, and teams are starting to pick on both of them.

Willis has difficulty moving his feet without using his arms. You hit the nail on the head about the straight line drives. If a guy even hints at putting it on the floor, Derek puts his both his arms down, as if to generate as much effort to move himself, or his feet and hips.

I may not be perfectly describing this, but if you watch him on defense, it's obvious. He's a representative of the "hand down, man down" philosophy.

It also "seems" like he moves a lot off of flat feet, when on defense. Like he has terribly weak ankles, and constantly has to have his entire foot, rather than his toes and balls of his feet, on the floor, to be able to confidently move.

[DA#23]

How does Bam's role evolve throughout the rest of the season? Are we seeing the extent of his role here or do we see some added utility after Camp Cal?

[Lighthouse]

Briscoe couldn't drive on UNC. He tried a few times but came up empty. Bam is improving and when he tried to dunk, and almost missed it, it shows he's listening to Cal. The two a days should help our rebounding and defense. I bet the practices will be intense.

[Joneslab]

How does Bam's role evolve throughout the rest of the season? Are we seeing the extent of his role here or do we see some added utility after Camp Cal?

I don't think so because I don't think Cal will want to slow us down too much. One weird catch-22 about the Wall team was that Cousins slowed that team down because you had to kind of revolve the offense around him. I believe Bam will continue kind of being a rim-runner, lob-catcher, and occasional post-up guy. He's an unusual player because the more you try and build on his post game the more you run the risk of exposing him (and hurting the team) to NBA teams. He's not going to be Karl Towns.

He can be though a tremendous player because of the way he can guard every position and how he gets in there and grabs brutal rebounds.

[teamchemistry15]

At this point, especially with yesterday but also the last few games, if Willis would just give us zero we would be better. Yesterday he acted like he was a freshman thrown into a varsity game with no experience. There was one time he literally threw it right to a UNC player who was no more than five feet away. A number of times he pretty much set a pick on us because he was just standing there instead of moving his feet and playing defense against a screen. He's taken a giant leap in the wrong direction in my opinion.

[Owllycat]

They are doing a re-showing of the match on CBS Sports Network at 11am then again at 1pm today.

[J.Jennings]

Briscoe couldn't drive on UNC. He tried a few times but came up empty. Bam is improving and when he tried to dunk, and almost missed it, it shows he's listening to Cal. The two a days should help our rebounding and defense. I bet the practices will be intense.

Briscoe showed why he will have a hard time earning a good role on a NBA team. He's a great defender and good at getting to the rim but he's a offensive liability in a big game. The NBA floor is spread out more for one and one and that will help but he still has a long ways to go. This isn't his team, it's Monk and Fox's team....

[Wonderstruck]

Had to watch it a day late but stayed up till 2:00 AM this morning catching the replay. No doubt, one of the most fun games I've seen and this Kentucky team has the looks of a championship ready squad. I can't wait to see how they improve. It's only December, wow.

[Blue Heaven]

Had to watch it a day late but stayed up till 2:00 AM this morning catching the replay. No doubt, one of the most fun games I've seen and this Kentucky team has the looks of a championship ready squad. I can't wait to see how they improve. It's only December, wow.

Same boat here. I have watched Monks highlights as well multiple times on youtube. Great game. Great player.

[CATHYnKY]

Same boat here. I have watched Monks highlights as well multiple times on youtube. Great game. Great player.

Wonder if he can almost do as well in The Bucket. Wouldn't that be nice. What are the chances he gets on fire again against the birds? Maybe this should be on a Bird talk thread