I agree that this is a make or break year for Hubert which is *unfortunate because he’s 2 years removed from a National Championship game. Yes, last year fell apart on them and I actually DON’T blame them for not accepting the NIT bid. There was ZERO upside on them doing it because that team did not fit together and if they didn’t WIN the NIT then the hate and negative press would have been unbearable.
This is different from when we accepted the NIT bid 2 years ago because we were beginning to gel, and we wanted to get some more experience and games in for Armaan and Jayden etc. In addition there wasn’t any drama on our team and TB saw it as a good opportunity to continue to work together and gain experience for the upcoming season (last year)
Lastly, I feel bad for Caleb Love. He probably went against his own desire and stayed at UNC due to outside pressure and the fans wanting him to return. He was a first round draft pick after his Final 4 run yet he stayed just to be run out of town and is likely late 2nd or undrafted- depending on this season. Now I know there were things going on behind closed doors that are atleast partially his fault, but he could have avoided everything if he just went to the league. This is to say that IF someone is a first rounder they really should go! It’s tough to feel like you’re being held back by outside forces when you’re ready to go and be a professional.
With that said I early hope that Flop-owski, their 2nd year point guard and their 3/4 man who has no offense fail miserably this season at dook…
Hubert’s just got to deal with the outsized expectations that come with being UNC’s coach. Even if he climbs back to a good but not great year, the 6-seed kind of season I mentioned earlier, that’s not good enough for them.
To me, the biggest red flag for Hubert thus far has been a total unwillingness or inability over two years to get anything out of young 4-star recruits. 2022’s Seth Trimble, Jalen Washington, and Tyler Nickel. 2021’s Dontrez Styles and D’Marco Dunn (and 3-star Will Shaver). All minimal impact if at all so far. Add Puff Johnson and Kerwin Walton as inherited underclass 2020 4-star recruits who also didn’t pan out, and you basically have a giant red flag on internal development.
Cadeau will probably work out because he’s coming as a one-and-done finished product. Ditto all the fully-developed upperclassman transfers. But at what point do the none-OAD high schoolers look at Carolina and realize it’s a risky program to go into?
That’s essentially why I think it’s a high stakes year for him - he’s really gambled on Bacot/Davis and upperclass transfers. And hasn’t been developing his bench / younger guys. If it works, talent will come again. But if he doesn’t make it work this year, there’s not something waiting in the wings.
You’ve made some good points. I hadn’t realized it had been that many…However even though we are different programs- UVA also doesn’t play alot of players until their 2-3 years since we are a “development” program. With that said we definitely get SOMETHING out of them or they atleast show flashes within their 1st or 2nd years.
I don’t want to pull out my chart again, but will just note, this generally is not true. We play guards a lot as true freshmen. Most guards who did anything of note at UVA under Bennett played a lot their first year. Bigs are a very different story, but it just isn’t true that we don’t play guys until they’re older.
Not at all trying to be combative - I’ve just seen it said a lot on UVA forums over the years and always try and point that out. If you’re good, Tony generally will find time for you early (again, except for true bigs).
Almost every meaningful player UVA has had under Bennett was at least a key rotation guy by his 2nd year. Devon Hall may be the lone exception as a guy who didn’t fully establish himself in the rotation until his 3rd year.
Obviously guys like Trimble, Dunn and Washington absolutely can break out this year and prove me wrong. The sample size is admittedly small and Hubie is learning. I can absolutely see Hubie going with the impulse to stay vet-heavy with minutes given what he inherited and was able to get out of the Portal. Just needs to start working in the young guys before too long to stay sustainable.
On the court, definitely. Off the court some pretty big red flags, too. Drama and tension within the team getting aired out publicly. Overall, it doesn’t give the impression he’s running a tight ship over there, which is playing out in all kinds of ways - veteran players getting their way regardless of what’s good for the team, drama being a distraction and players willing to air it out. To me it seems like a more root issue of how the team dynamics are being managed. But time will tell.
I have a super simple comment regarding UNC this coming season. I do not believe Hubert is a good coach, and that – unlike CTB who almost always overachieves relative to talent – he has clearly underachieved.
If he pulls the team together and has an excellent season, I will be surprised, but I will absolutely own my borderline slander of him.
There was zero chance Caleb Love was a 1st round pick in the 2022 draft. What’s his NBA position and skill, an undersized 2 guard who can’t shoot or a point guard who can’t generate good shots for himself or his teammates?
