The Best Blue Battle, UNC Heads to Cameron - IC Daily | College Basketball

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Welcome in to Inside Carolina Daily.

It is Friday.

March the 6th.

That means tomorrow, Carolina and Duke.

In Cameron Indora, I almost said the Smith Center.

We've done that already this year.

Carolina had some success, I think,

in the Smith Center against the Duke Blue Devils.

That was Greg Barnes, sponsored by Johnny T-shirt.

JohnnyT-shirt.com.

Greg, I've seen several different parties.

And several different thought processes.

And I guess this is to Caleb or not to Caleb,

giving Carolina's situation or locked into the 4C to the ACC tournament.

Let's start there, and then we'll break down the game.

What does this game mean for North Carolina?

What does it mean for Hubert Davis, given how in the totality of the season,

how everything's shaken out until now.

Tommy, I think the coaching staff has done a really good job here of late

with the injuries, you know, up to that point.

There's a lot of inconsistency.

Some good, some bad.

But once, once the Miami game happened,

there was potential for this group to really kind of fall off the rails.

And then we're going to have to go back to that point.

And there was potential for this group to really kind of fall off the rails.

And that didn't happen.

I mean, yeah, the NCAA game happened.

You can't, can't forget that one.

But other than the trip to Raleigh,

I think the teams really kind of rallied.

A lot of players have stepped up and have delivered when they they needed to.

I mean, Jared Stevenson and Zayn High, pretty much from day one,

have elevated their play.

We saw Jonathan Powell against Virginia Tech,

Luca against Clemson.

And that's what needs to happen.

And that's what's happened.

And so I think there's a lot of,

a lot of credit for the team and for the coaching staff with how they've handled

the last couple of weeks.

And that's kind of settled things down.

And I think the teams in a good spot coming into this game on Saturday night.

And not that, you know,

I think there can be the idea that hey, you know,

they're playing with house money, blah, blah, blah.

And I get it and I understand that to an extent.

But also I think there's incredible opportunity here.

I mean, it was four years ago that we were talking about Carolina really having a chance.

But one of the things that we talked about four years ago was everybody was expecting Duke to take care of business against Carolina at home.

That time, of course, it was Coach K's retirement party.

And it was just an opportunity.

And there's a lot of pressure on Duke at that time to play well and to win.

And Carolina rolled into the into Cameron and were loose and played well.

And took care of business.

And even last year, you know, Duke was just a superior team at North Carolina.

But a few of those games Carolina came out loose and played really well.

And nearly had a chance to certainly this is the tournament game a chance to win.

And I expect the same setup for tomorrow night.

Not that I expect Carolina to win.

But I know the metrics suggest you know, Duke's playing as well as they are that they're playing fantastic.

But a double digit, you know,

the expectation in terms of the win margin.

I just, I don't see it.

I think it's possible if Carolina doesn't play well.

But I just think the way this Carolina team has been playing that they're going to give it a fight.

And it bodes well moving forward.

If they can put a good performance on the court in Cameron, win or lose.

That really gives them some momentum and kind of secures the idea that they're playing at a high level with or without killer Wilson headed into the postseason.

We're talking about Greg Barnes here on in South Carolina daily.

Of course, Carolina and Duke tomorrow night at 630 or so on ESPN.

It is the game in college basketball.

I believe and I watch way too much.

You know, everybody talks about rivalries and sports.

I'm not sure it gets much better in Carolina.

Duke and to your point, Greg,

we've seen teams be a lot better than each other in games.

Turn out in crazy fashions.

And so anything's possible.

But Carolina's going to have to deal with again, Cameron Booser.

And sort of last time we talked about the approach.

Do you let him go off get his stop everybody else?

And do you try to stop him, which is a tough ask and force everybody else to beat you?

What's your approach here with this Duke game?

Obviously, if both teams play to their highest level,

that's going to be tough for Carolina.

But that rarely happens.

Does everybody across the board do that?

So the approach for Carolina and this one.

Yeah, defensively, I think the approach is the same.

And one thing that we've seen since the Miami game is me.

Carolina is a better defensive team.

Now, we can talk about the overall effect of not having Caleb Wilson.

And I think we all know from the first half of the first Duke game,

the magnitude and the role that he can play.

Because we all Caleb Wilson and Chapel Hill, Carolina,

for I guess blown out about 20 plus.

But he put the team on his shoulders in the first half.

And played at an NBA level.

And kept that game close.

And then his teammates came along and helped him out in the second half.

But even so, I think Jaren Stevenson, especially.

Is the older player.

He understands how he uses length is positioning.

And I think he's really complimented Henry Vassar on the post defensively.

And that's that's really helped.

And yes, I mean, Boozler's going to get his,

but it's not like he played great early in Chapel Hill,

because Carolina did a pretty good job on him.

So yeah, I think it's all pretty much the same.

The one thing you don't want to have happen.

Is to give Duke too many looks from from three.

If we look back, it's not that they've been great.

But since the Carolina game in Chapel Hill, Duke, of course,

a seven or no, I mean, they're shooting 40%,

41% from three in the same seven game sense.

Cameron Boozler, without a doubt,

is national player of the year without a doubt ACC player of the year.

I don't think that's even up for a conversation.

But if he's able to have just an average game in Duke shooting

41% from three, given how strong they are defensively,

you're not going to beat him.

So it's not so much, yeah, let him get his.

It's more of, you do what you can to limit his looks,

but you can't, you know, collapse down off the perimeter,

because they do a really good job with their set,

so getting good looks on the wings.

And Carolina has to do a really good job of making sure

with their switches and their man defense

that Duke's not getting too many open looks from the perimeter.

I think that's a key part of this game.

Bank of America champions, everyone who dares to ask,

what would you like the power to do?

As a coach to 16 competitors in Augusta National Women's Amateurs,

I ask myself this question every season.

To help my athletes keep their eye on the ball,

far beyond any course they play.

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of the Augusta National Women's Amateur.

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When you look at boozer, you know, my initial thought is

make him finish over the length.

Make him finish over they saw or make him finish over Stevenson.

You know, Zaden Hyde didn't have the link to be much of a factor

with him without failing.

And that's going to be a key here, Greg.

You know, the end thing these days is the wine

and talk about the officials.

And we've gone back and forth over the years saying

that she can't take it that way.

But there's about a negative zero chance

that Carolina has one foul in the half.

And so foul trouble is going to be an issue.

So defending Duke, staying on the defensive side,

you have to defend without fouling.

And it goes back to what we've talked about before

as you can get a point back or two points back,

which can't get fouls back.

So whether without Caleb Wilson, obviously that makes a difference.

But the defense has got to figure out

and got to assess, I'm important on the floor.

It's okay if they score this basket.

And I think that'll be a key for both Stevenson

but especially Henry Vesar.

For sure.

And one of the reasons that North Carolina was able to come back

and win the game in Chapel Hill is because Patrick Gongba

got foul trouble.

And he was off the floor of their late.

I mean, there's no doubt that was a massive part of that.

So it played in North Carolina's favor in that game.

Because when you look at the numbers,

the booster is drawing 6.2 fouls for 40 minutes.

Gongba is at 5.4 fouls for 40 minutes.

That's significant.

And one thing that we saw earlier this week against Clemson

is Henry Vesar typically is very stout

and how he defends.

He doesn't put himself in bad positions

and really leans on his leaped.

And he avoids foul trouble for the most part.

And Clemson's got some active bigs.

And we've talked all season long about Vesar has linked

and talent.

He's not the most physical

and he's not the strongest.

And because the officials let them play Tuesday night,

God for you especially,

they were able just to kind of back into Vesar.

And then of course, when the late fouls,

he actually got up in the air,

which I can't recall seeing that many times at all.

But that got Henry into foul trouble.

Of course, Henry gets in the foul trouble

and he's out of the game

and then this one's over early anyway.

So yeah, I think you're exactly right.

It's understanding that without putting yourself

in bad positions,

you have the length to be effective defensively.

And Boozler's going to get his points.

But if you can make it challenging for him,

which Carolina did a good job of in the first matchup,

I think that's the approach.

Yeah, and like I said,

for some to make tough twos,

don't give them open threes.

It's easier said than done.

I mean, Isaiah Evans can get hot.

Sari can get hot.

We've seen it.

The issue is you don't want a bunch of other guys

that you don't really hear about doing it as well

in this game,

flipping over to the other side.

I'll never forget Cormac Ryan just going off

and hitting all those shots and do a couple of years ago.

We've seen it throughout the course of the rivalry.

Like I just mentioned for dude,

not a no name,

but somebody you didn't expect.

Who's that guy for Carolina on Saturday night

if they're to win this game?

We saw Luca make six.

And I've said it all year.

I thought he was going to go off in one game.

He's either going to be two for 15

or he's going to be like eight for 15

with seven or eight threes.

Is that possible?

Is that a key?

Is that a necessity for Carolina

and this one for a guy like Luca?

Well, I think for North Carolina,

they've broken the mold this year.

Because if you look at the Kentucky game,

it was this no name freshman,

Derek Dixon,

who hits these two massive shots

in the final minute that nobody expected.

And we've seen,

especially since the Miami game,

more of those situations.

I mean, like look,

the game Tuesday night,

that was trending heavily in Clemson's favor.

And if Luca doesn't catch fire,

Clemson probably wins that game.

But Luca called fire.

And as you said,

we haven't seen it all year.

There was no reason to expect it.

But he went NBA jam in Fuego.

And it's fun to see,

but this is not something you would ever expect.

And you can't lean on that type of performance.

But because we've seen it a number of times,

you mean Jonathan Powell against Virginia Tech, right?

I mean, they Carolina was a little bit sloppy

in the first half of that game.

Powell kept a minute.

And then everybody kind of found the rhythm.

The Duke game, right?

Carolina's down by six with a minute left.

And UNC was flawless in this

because you got Dixon making threes

and Trimble making threes

and Vassar hit a trick three.

So we have this pattern of North Carolina

looking like they're on the ropes.

And then they're getting these

unexpected contributions

from a variety of players.

So I don't think there's one player

that we can point to and say,

all right, well, this is the guy.

Like he's got to have a good game on Saturday night

outside of your standards.

Being Vassar and Trimble,

and you know, if you get Caleb back Caleb.

But I think it's that collective effort.

I think it's somebody or a couple people

making key plays when North Carolina needs it most.

And that doesn't mean necessarily I've been into the game.

That can be in the first half of Duke goes on a run.

Who can kind of calm the masses?

Who can settle the team down?

And that can be a block shot.

That can be a couple of free throws.

That can be two, three pointers in the corner.

It doesn't matter.

But somebody has to fill that void.

And Carolina has done a really good job of having players

step up to fill those voids all season long.

Yes, they have.

And a great point you make there is it doesn't have to everybody

remembers the last second shot.

Nobody remembers the play with, you know,

532 left in the first half of steel,

a layup, a put back or something that was a key play.

And that you're exactly right.

That's these games here.

Or so different and every shot matters in all games,

but especially in this one.

And it's interesting to me is,

it's one of those games where I have no idea.

Sometimes you have a feeling what's going to happen.

Sometimes when you're,

when you're watching these games,

you're like, well, this is one that there's going to be a

butt kick and or it's going to be close or whatever.

But with this one with the Wilson factor with everything

brought in, I'm not sure what's going to happen.

And the fact that Carolina, when the first time

makes it even more intriguing,

want to close out Greg here on I see daily for Friday preview

and Duke Carolina.

Since the arena talk is such a big deal,

let's talk about the environment in Cameron indoor.

A lot of people, if you've never been to a Carolina Duke game,

it is different.

But I don't think it's an angry loud, right?

We've talked about the environment where it's oppressive.

It's just loud.

Your thoughts on the environment in this one for folks,

the old Jimmy Buffett song,

don't try to describe the concert if you've never seen it,

the kiss concert if you've never seen it.

Describe what it's like to be in Duke,

be in Cameron for Duke, Carolina,

and being on that press road there.

Yeah, to your point about the hostility,

there's nothing quite like going to a game at NC State

or Maryland back when they were in the league.

And it being, you know, two top 25 teams,

a great other half of it than many opportunities

with state being a top 25 team.

But those are pretty incredibly hostile,

angry environments.

Like you're kind of looking around,

making sure that your batteries aren't being thrown

in that type of thing.

That's not Cameron.

Maybe back in the day it was,

and they've got their fun little cheer sheets.

But what makes Cameron so unique is one that camp out forever

and say they're rabid.

They all smell,

but they're on top of you.

And I think that's really what it is.

It's such a confined space.

And the students,

they don't have seats.

I mean, they're just wooden bleachers that they stand on.

But as we sit on press road,

they literally are leaned against you.

You have always not worn nice clothes

because you come home and you've got glitter and paint

and all kinds of stuff on your clothes

because they're right there on the court.

And that creates a very interesting dynamic.

And I think people probably seen all the photos of,

you know, players are trying to throw the ball in on the sideline.

And you've got, you know,

fans hands within inches of their head.

And it's just a claustrophobic type of setting.

And because it's, it's such a small building, I mean,

I don't know what they hold now, maybe 9,000.

But the place is just illiterate.

And it starts before the game, you know, an hour before the game

when players are coming out for shoot around.

It's as loud as a lot of other games throughout the course of the year

during the game itself.

And, but I do think

if fans look at it a little bit differently,

I think once you're in the arena,

you kind of zone all that out.

And so you still hear it,

but you're so focused on what you're doing.

I mean, that goes for coaches, that goes for players,

that goes for us as media,

that it's not as daunting as maybe it looks on TV.

It's a great atmosphere, it's a great place to play a game,

a great place to cover a game.

But it's just a basketball court.

And I think some former players have kind of made that same point.

And it's just a matter of you got to get into the game,

survive the first couple of minutes,

because it will be crazy.

And once you do that, it's just another ballgame.

And I think that's key for Seth Trimble to be able to share that

with the rest of the team.

Like, gas a cool place to play.

Just wait a little bit, get into the game.

Don't panic. We'll be all right.

Yeah, you better learn some nonverbal skills to nonverbal communication skills

in there, because you're not hearing each other.

And to your point though, it kind of just after a few minutes,

the sound just kind of goes away.

White noise, kind of.

Yeah, it's a weird phenomena in there.

But it is awesome.

And I've got somebody signifying to me that it's time to get out of here.

I don't know if the folks watching this can hear,

but that's probably the way.

Anyway, that's great.

It is, there's the alarm.

It is.

I see daily for Friday, March 6th.

I appreciate the neighbors walking by with all their dogs right here when I'm trying to do this.

Shout out to Johnny T-shirt and Johnny T-shirt.com.

And certainly shout out to Greg Barnes.

Go to insightcarolina.com sign up for premium membership.

Make sure you have all that because there's a ton of content.

I mentioned the arena.

There's some discussion about a new arena on insightcarolina.com.

And there's certainly plenty of coverage for the Carolina Duke game.

We'll be on the post game with Rob Harrington following it tomorrow night.

And we'll be covering it front to back as we get there.

Greg, thanks.

Thanks, Tommy.