THBTHD #013
👋 Hi everyone. Andy and Reed here. Did you catch that even in the offseason, State can’t help but talk trash about Carolina?
New basketball coach Will Wade declared after picking up Ven-Allen Lubin that UNC “was too dumb to play him... I don't know why the hell they didn't play him.”
Weird line of attack. Lubin ended up sixth in minutes played last season.
Let’s get to the other summer happenings…
1. The lead off: The Brooklyn … Tar Heels?
Chapel Hill North is real! The Brooklyn Nets used the 22nd pick in last week’s draft to select Drake Powell, giving them a third former Heel on their roster.
Powell joins Cam Johnson and Day’Ron Sharpe (for now), so if you’ve been searching for an NBA team to root for, you may have just found it.
Powell went slightly earlier than most experts had predicted. Reactions were mixed, to say the least.
Everyone loved Powell’s defense and athleticism. After he demonstrated enormous hops and a monster wingspan at the NBA combine, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion some team was gonna take a chance on him.
But critics questioned Powell’s offensive game — an area he had little opportunity to showcase in Chapel Hill. The NY Times wrote that the guard was such a “significant project” on offense that he might not improve fast enough to get on the floor before his rookie contract runs out.
Fair, but we’re betting otherwise.
Kudos to Drake, who just realized the dream of every kid who ever picked up a basketball — getting drafted by a terrible team in an expensive city with a media that pulls no punches. (We kid!)
One Brooklyn tip: Get the tres leches doughnut at Doughnut Plant next to the Barclays Center.
2. Football tickets are definitely not cheap
The university released specifics on how much a seat will cost you this fall, and let’s just say you’re probably going to have to start dating Belichick to afford it.
Check out the starting price for tickets to some of the home games:
TCU: $160
Clemson: $190
Duke: $200
The thought of someone paying $200 for a UNC-Duke game wouldn’t raise an eyebrow normally. That is, until you told them it was for football.
The Clemson game we can kind of understand, and even the TCU game is going to have all eyes on it just because the sports universe is curious about what Chapel Bill is bringing to the college game.
The bottom line: Whatever you thought about the Belichick hire, the message was clear: UNC was going all in on football. Now it’s time to pay the piper.
3. Summer pick-up intel
The team has been hitting the gym for the usual round of pick-up games with current and former players, and some first impressions have emerged.
Don’t know about you, but we’re especially hungry for information this season, considering that the Heels have so many new faces. And even the returning faces might have slightly different roles.
Here’s a quick rundown, for what it’s worth, courtesy of spies on the Inside Carolina boards.
Seth Trimble: He’s apparently in beast mode, similar to what we saw at the start of last season. In one pick-up game, he reportedly had 26 points, which included 3-5 from deep.
Our take: Last season showed that the team needs a leader, and right now Trimble seems to be the best candidate. We could see him reaching all-conference territory.
Kyan Evans: He did play point guard some, sharing the duty with others, but the rotation suggests that might be his role when the regular season kicks off. His production was up and down: In one game, he reportedly had 11 points and 3 steals, in another 0 points.
Our take: This team needs a floor general. Like, for real. It’s still unclear if it’s gonna be Evans, and if it is, whether his skills can translate to a power conference. Fingers crossed he turns out to be a pleasant surprise.
Henri Veesaar: He is reportedly fond of hanging out around the three-point line and did hit some long shots. In one game, he had just a single rebound.
Our take: One of the big weaknesses from last season was the lack of a true inside presence after Bacot’s departure. We had hoped Veesaar would be the guy to own the paint this year, but his role might be a bit more broad.
Jarin Stevenson: He’s big and strong, but seemed to favor perimeter shots. More of a stretch 4 than a wing.
Our take: Fine, but will he rebound? Hitting the boards is probably gonna be an all-hands-on-deck situation, and Stevenson has the muscle to make a difference inside.
Caleb Wilson: He’s reportedly got a huge motor and is often the most aggressive player on the floor, both on offense and defense. Drove, posted up and dunked.
Our take: We already love this guy as much as it’s possible for a player who hasn’t played a single official minute. And while many highly touted freshmen at Carolina underwhelm for whatever reason, we’re willing to predict that he won’t be one of them.
Zayden High: By all accounts, he will be back with the team next season. His pick-up stats were pretty decent, including 11 and 9 in one game.
Our take: Like the rest of our big men, it remains to be seen if he’s going to play big. He also looks more like a stretch 4 type, who’s willing to roam the perimeter and shoot threes.
Jonathan Powell: Had 11 points, including going 2-3 from deep in one game, and 16 points and 3-6 from deep in another.
Our take: Very much a wildcard. We do have the feeling that someone on the team that we might not expect is going to really step up, in a similar way to Manek. (Not that they’ll be as good as Manek, just that they’ll contribute far more than expected.) Will that person be Powell?
4. This week’s reason why Duke sucks
When we used to do the podcast, we’d end every episode with that week’s reason why Duke sucked. The tradition continues here.
Wondering where you can get dropped calls and sickening hype under one roof? AT&T recently turned its Times Square store into a temp Cooper Flagg exhibit called the “Flaggship Experience.”
Features included a “showcase for his accolades,” a mock draft photo op and a hotline where visitors could leave Coop inspiring voicemail messages, like, “Sorry, what is this? I just came to get the new iPhone.”
The exhibit is part of a long-term pact AT&T has with Flagg, which is apparently only the second most ill-advised deal the phone carrier has made in the last few years.
🎉 One bit of good news before we go. R.J. Davis last week signed an Exhibit-10 contract — basically a non-guaranteed summer league tryout — with the Lakers. He’s officially a professional! A big congrats to him.
And a quick reminder:
It’s summer, and we’re publishing less frequently. We’ll be back to the regular weekly schedule once football ramps up.
In the meantime, if you’ve got thoughts or comments, send them our way at thbthd@gmail.com.
Go Heels!