with the effort, with our offense(if you can even call it that) and very much so with the refs. i'm not a person who likes to place blame on the refs, but the officiating in this game was so erratic, it was ridiculous!! :mad:

I'm not as disappointed as I thought I'd be. I didn't expect a win -- I didn't expect much from this team at all. I knew Texas was deep and it would give us problems. They kept throwing guys at May, and picked up a ton of cheap fouls against him.

I was disappointed with the lapses we had at times. The second half drought that had Roy in a frenzy had me the exact same way. I can't fathom a team of guys being so stupid -- so selfish. But, we turned that around. We kept fighting, and we didn't go under when we so easily could have.

I guess I choose to see the good things that happen, but I'm proud of that effort.

We'll gather the horses (and maybe add few more) and then give it a try next year.

-JD

This team finished about the way I thought it would at the beginning of the year. The lack of an inside game was a concern, but who could have thought Jawad would experience what he did. They had great games where we saw their potential, and games where we saw their lack of unity. Roy told us not to get our hopes to high, and I did not. I can say that last nights game put an end, in my mind, to the Doh era. Next year will start the beginning of high expectations from Roy, in my book. Melvin(aka the next coming of Max Owens) will see quite a bit of the bench. JR is a STUD with the attitude we need. Jawad will need to step his game up a couple of notches (which he is more than capable of) to keep Marvin on the bench.
A line up of Ray and JR in the back court and Rashad, Marvin and Sean in the front court is very potent. Ray will have back up in Q and Miller(IIRC that is his name). Rashad can move to the two, or Mel can spell JR. Jawad, David, Jackie, etc. will be able to give us huge depth in the front court. The gray clouds are parting and the sun will shine on UNC hoops again.

I think a few guys -- mainly the seniors -- will need to step up their game next year to get significant PT:

1. Melvin Scott -- Where was he down the stretch this year? He hasn't shot particularly well in... forever. The last time I remember him shooting well was at Wake, which is really the last time we had a big win other than the game at State. And, when Melvin isn't shooting the ball well, he offers nothing to us out of the floor. He's not a penetrator, not a dribbler, not a passer, and not a great defender. He's a shooter... who hasn't shot well lately. That has killed us.

2. Jawad Williams -- Rick alluded to the fact that his injuries have made him more tentative underneath. I loved that dunk he had last night -- we need to see more of that aggressiveness out of him. Jawad needs to bulk up over the summer and get enough strength to bang down low. It's the only way he's going to be able to contribute -- because his outside shot was erratic this entire year.

3. Jackie Manuel -- He'll get significant PT no matter what, so don't think I'm saying he'll be relegated to the bench. But, Jackie needs a jumper. He need enough of a jumper to pull his guy out to the perimeter and open it up down low for the bigger guys. Without that, he'll still be seen as a one-dimensional offensive player (a slasher) and will be guarded as such by opponents.

4. David Noel -- I don't know why, but it seems like he regressed a bit this year. I remember watching him in the Air Force game take bad shots and get stupid fouls. Roy had to pull him away at one point and sit him on the bench because he almost got a technical. Then, we went on a huge run while he was out of the game. I'm not saying Noel doesn't help the team -- because he does, and I still love his attitude -- but he needs to accept his role like Manuel has this year. He's not an outside shooter, and he shouldn't try to be one.

5. Reshawn Terry -- I think he may get lost in the shuffle next year. Reshawn did some nice things this year, but he needs to work on his fundamentals to get some significant PT. I think he has the tools to be a solid defensive player. He'll need to work on finding his niche on this team next year.

6. Byron Sanders -- He'll play because we'll need his size down low. But, he has to settle down out there and start making plays. We can't afford to put someone in who just takes up space out there... and sometimes that's all Sanders does.

7. Damion Grant -- This is pretty self-explanatory. We need him on the floor.

Bohlander and Holley are pretty much in the same position as Terry. They'll be role players trying to find a niche on this team and etch out some PT wherever they can.

McCants, Felton, and May will get significant PT no matter what next year... mainly because we need them that much. But, they all have a lot to work on as well.

I like our chances to have a talented and deep team next year if Marvin Williams, JR Smith, and Quentin Thomas all don North Carolina uniforms. Assuming nobody goes pro, that would make the depth chart something like:

PG - Raymond Felton
SG - Rashad McCants
C - Sean May
PF - Marvin Williams
SF - Jawad Williams

PG - Quentin Thomas
SG - JR Smith
C - Byron Sanders
PF - David Noel
SF - Jackie Manuel

PG - Wes Miller
SG - Melvin Scott
C - Damion Grant?
PF - Justin Bohlander
SF - Reshawn Terry

Jawad will obviously play a lot of 4 and Marvin Williams may even play some center. I could see us doing some three-guard lineups too.

But, that team is a good 11 deep (counting Melvin Scott)... and that, folks, is scary.

-JD