Game 29 Preview: Tigers look to even series at Reds on Saturday
Tigers look to even series against Reds on Saturday
UNC basketball center Henri Veesaar has opted to stay in the NBA Draft, raising questions about the impact on the team. While his departure is significant, it may not be detrimental to the program's future.
Given the nature of the rivalry Duke fans naturally keep an eye on the other end of 15-501, and of course, thatās true for UNC as well.
There was a big development in Chapel Hill Saturday, as center Henri Veesaar decided to remain in the NBA Draft rather than return to Chapel Hill.
Is it a blow? Well, obviously. He was productive in his one year in Chapel Hill. Is it fatal?
Not necessarily.
First, Veesaar was far more effective when defenses had to contend with Caleb Wilson. If you had to pick one of them to guard, youād have to be an idiot to take Veesaar over Wilson, and that got Veesaar a lot of opportunities he wouldnāt have after Wilson was injured.
He had his moments, to be sure, but irreplaceable? Probably not.
Weāre not sure, but our guess is that Malone is sifting through other European prospects, and there are probably a few big guys who could at least approximate what Veesaar gave the Tar Heels.
However, they might have already solved that problem.
Jarid Stevenson is a useful big man. He filled in fairly well for Wilson when the freshman phenom went down. Heās not a center, but heās useful.
Neoklis Avdalis, a 6-9 transfer from Virginia Tech, may be a point forward, but heās going to be a handy player too. He dealt with some injuries last year, and had to adjust to college basketball, coming from Greece, but he has the chance to improve dramatically. And we expect he will.
And then thereās Maxim Logue.
A 6-9 transfer from FAU, Logue has been derided by some UNC fans online for not being Wilson or, at least, Veesaar.
They should look at what his FAU coach, John Jakus, says about him. Hereās what he told on3.com:
āIām going to say this not flippantly ā Maxim is as physically gifted as almost anybody Iāve been around. Obviously based on my time at Baylor and Gonzaga, Iāve been around some pretty physically gifted guys.
āThereās some language barrier, thereās three injuries this year, thereās some growing pains, but at the tail end, thereās going to come a moment when somebody gets him where he fully knows English, fully has made the adjustment from France to America, and takes off. The year he gets healthy and all those things fall into place is probably going to be a special thing.ā
Assuming he stays healthy this year, thatās one thing checked off the list. Hopefully, his English has improved.
The rest is just time. New coach Michael Malone is trying to sell himself as an elite developer of talent. If he can get Logue up to speed, thatās going to be huge for the Tar Heels.
Henri Veesaar's decision to remain in the NBA Draft signifies a loss of talent for UNC, but the team may still be able to recover.
Henri Veesaar had a productive year at UNC, contributing significantly to the team's performance.
The potential consequences include a gap in the center position and the need for other players to step up, but it may not be fatal for the program.
Yes, UNC has other players who may step up to fill the gap left by Veesaar, though their effectiveness remains to be seen.
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We expect UNC will get at least one or two more big men before all is said and done, and thatāll help, too. And of course, no one says Malone has to do things conventionally. In 1986, Duke didnāt have a big man. That team did okay.
One of our all-time favorite teams in college basketball was the 1988-89 Illinois squad. With 6-4 Kendall Gill, 6-5 Nick Anderson, 6-6 Kenny Battle, 6-6 Stephen Bardo, 6-7 Lowell Hamilton, and 6-8 Marcus Liberty, the Illini were really the first positionless basketball team.
Weāll see what Malone does, but heās got some good players to work with.
Speaking of keeping up with the neighbors, have you seen this story?
Turns out that behind the scenes, the power structure at UNC had already decided to replace the Dean Dome, and had a well-developed, sophisticated plan to sell the decision to the various factions.
Only the PR/propaganda plans got derailed by people like Roy Williams, and many former players, among others, who made clear that they viewed leaving the Dean E. Smith Center as a betrayal of sorts.
Well, look: UNC has played there since 1986, and it didnāt take long for opponents to find the great weakness: as big as the place is ā it seats 21,750 ā it was nowhere near as raucous as Carmichael Auditorium, which it replaced.
Florida Stateās Sam Cassell called the crowd a ācheese and wineā crowd, and that stuck. This was largely because the donors bought the courtside seats, and the students were scattered throughout the cavernous building.
They fixed that to some extent, but the problem now is that the building lacks luxury boxes and modern amenities.
Thereās no way to know how or when the controversy will be resolved, but whatever happens will tell you a lot about where UNC is heading.
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