UNC grabbed a loss last night and we have insight from someone who was there firsthand.

CL Brown, who I'm sure has spent many a time in Barcelona and I'm sure is very familiar with the beautiful game, but we're probably not going to talk about it. First, sir, let me congratulate you on being a finalist for the North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year Award. I wish you good luck on that.

Thanks for the time. I appreciate that. I was surprised I didn't know I was being nominated. Well, that's the way it works.

You don't nominate yourself, so other people have to nominate you. So let's talk about last night or maybe the problem isn't just last night, it was exacerbated by how good Indiana is. So let's talk about what we've seen over the first, what is it, eight games now for the Tar Heels.

What do you think their issues have been? Well, I think first and foremost, and Hubert said it last night, at one point during his postgame comments, your big time players have to play, you know, they have to make plays. And during these first eight games, the combination of Caleb Love, RJ Davis and Armando Baycott haven't been what we expected them to be on a consistent basis. And I even look at Armando, you know, his injuries aside from, from last night and from the Alabama game, to me, he just, he just hadn't been, he hadn't been himself. Like he hadn't really established himself. And I, and I don't know if it's a hunger things, you know, because of all the NIL opportunities he has, that'll probably be interesting as, as was that, was he too distracted?

You know, that, that could be a legitimate question that comes up. But he just hasn't, you know, even, even with, with numbers, he still is, you know, able to, to pull a double double and stuff, but he just hasn't looked the same. And, and last night, Trace Jackson Davis, you know, was, he basically couldn't keep up with him, you know, in the middle. And, and that has to change for Carolina to, to reach its potential. CL Brown is joining us here from the NNO. He watched North Carolina lose still in Indiana last night.

This is a bigger picture question for you about, it's not really about them as much as it's about us and the way we process things. For about three and a half months, maybe longer last year, North Carolina was maybe an NCAA tournament team. And then we thought, all right, they finally put it together. And then they become this team that almost won a national championship. So doesn't it stand to reason that there's, there's somewhere in between and maybe not the team that they were at the end of last year?

Well, I mean, they're not the team that they were last year trading mannequins in here. And so that changes the dynamics totally, you know, but just given the pattern, especially how we vote, you know, and preseason holes and everything, when you have a certain amount of guys returning, you know, with the, with the experience that they have, you expect them to be able to finish games. And, you know, they were up seven against Alabama. They were up seven against Iowa state late in the second half of both of those games. And they end up losing, you know, you expect them to be able to respond in road games and they just didn't have it last night.

You know, they, they had the big Hubert Davis called them pick six turnovers, you know, where they basically have a lab ball turnovers and it ends up with, with some kind of run out and layup for Indiana. Just little things like that. I feel like I've added up and it, it, it, it doesn't, it, it doesn't lend to the experience and the veteran leadership that they're supposed to have.

Like some of these things you look at and, and it's like, I probably shouldn't be happening the way it's happening. You know, just it's, it's confusing because I, I didn't feel like, you know, I didn't think they were going to run the table and go undefeated, but I didn't think it'd be playing out the way that it is even, even in the early game. They struggled early, right? Yes, they were not, they were not, it wasn't that they weren't winning by 15. I don't necessarily put a lot into margin of victory, but you could see that they weren't connecting. They weren't clicking.

They weren't playing consistently at a high level. So let's, C.L. Brown is joining us here. Covers Carolina for the news and observer at C.L.

Brown hoops on Twitter. Last year, Hubert Davis called, didn't really call his team out. I mean, he just was really, I think, stating facts as he saw them at the time when they lost that week. And he said, basically, they have got better players than us.

And I know over time it became, well, I was really just talking about that particular game, which, okay, I don't think so, but that's fine. He said last night that there, Indiana is able to run, they can run their offense through the post. They can do this through that guy.

And we can't. So is there a similarity here between what he said last year and what he said this year, speaking to not being able to go through Armando breakout the way they'd like? I mean, that's what it sounds like to me. Like there's a little bit of needling going on there without, you know, without some kind of, you know, some kind of, you know, some kind of without some kind of over the top throwing Armando under the bus, you know, one of the things Armando said maybe after this, I think this was his sophomore year, was that, you know, we're, we're asking him about how Roy Williams would consistently get on him and push him and kind of just, you know, try to nudge him towards greatness essentially. And the thing that always would set Armando off is when Roy would call him soft or tell him he was playing soft or whatever the word soft set him up. And I, I think he probably needs to hear that a few times now, because I just don't think he's, he's not, he's not playing to his potential.

You know what I mean? It's, it's, it's not that he's playing bad. I mean, if you look at his numbers, they're, they're pretty similar. Especially his, his shooting percentage is around the same. He's probably not getting as many defensive rebounds, but overall his average rebounds, you know, was 13 last year and it's 11 this year. So it's not like that's some huge difference, but you just watch him play. And it's like, this isn't, he's not, he's not maxing out here.

It's almost like he's kind of, it almost seems like he's kind of coasting at times. I think the last, I'm sorry. I think the last time we talked, we were talking about depth of this team and you, you were talking about, they have more options to go to. Who are those options that really haven't yet made significant impact? Peloton's best offer of the season is here. Get up to $600 off Peloton bike, bike plus or tread packages.

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See additional terms at one Peloton.com. Well, Jaylin Washington, I thought he might've played last night and he's cause he would say he was going to play them after Portland. And he's basically been rehabbing a knee injury, freshman forward from, from Gary. He's good. And I think he's got the potential to be really good.

But it's just, you know, coming off of an injury like that and what have you, especially, you know, he's had two, two surgeries on that knee and one was correcting the first surgery that didn't, you know, that didn't take the right way or what have you. So, um, you know, that's, that's, he has the potential to make a big impact in the lineup once he is, you know, once he gets acclimated to it. But, um, the, the thing that also confused me about this lineup, I mean, you look, you got four guys who can get you 20 any game with, with RJ Caleb, Pete mats and Armando. And, uh, and you would think having those guys on the floor at the same time, you know, would be a lot tougher for guys to defend. But, uh, again, I get to your big time players have to play RJ and Caleb. They're shooting percentages have gone down and some of it's in shot selection, but, um, some of it, they're just not making right. Got to make shots. Sidney was right.

Something is off. Um, but I think in terms of what we're seeing since puff, Johnson has gotten back in the lineup. Puff is you, you can't help, but like the way that kid goes all out all the time.

You know, I, I even cringe sometimes when he hits the floor, man, like stay up on your feet. But, um, yeah, he he's adding, I think the Marco Dunn is coming along. I, I tweeted last night during the game, he might be their second best defender outside of leaky. He had, he had some, some good plays, some good deflections. Um, he really has to start, uh, consistently hitting, hitting that shot down when he gets an opportunity. Um, which I think he's, uh, you know, he hasn't taken many threes. He's three for eight so far this year, but, uh, he can add something to the lineup because he is, uh, he is a good three-point shooter too. I thought the one he hit right before the end of the first half, I thought was going to be the catalyst for a turnaround last night. And it sort of fizzled out in a little, in a few of those, uh, as Davis picked sixes. Yeah.

Too many pick sixes, uh, CL Brown at CL Brown hoops on Twitter from the news and observer finalist, North Carolina sports writer of the year. Good luck to you, man. I appreciate it.

Uh, we'll talk to you soon. Sound like a better than I am. First of all, you, you, you are absolutely. I think I tweeted this out when I saw the list of those people who are finalists, um, a hundred percent deserving. So you're awesome at your job. So that's validation for that. Plus by saying that. It sounds like, I mean, wow. Gold had a finalist for an award.

He had award when he guessed. So no, that's, uh, that was not really that selfish, but, uh, uh, good luck to you, man. I appreciate your time. All right. Thanks.

You got it. See on Brown Peloton's best offer of the season is here. Get up to $600 off Peloton bike, bike plus or tread packages.

Choose the package that's right for you with accessories like our cycling shoes, a heart rate band, non-slip grip, dumbbells, and more. If you've been looking for a sign to join Peloton, this offer gives you everything you need to get going. This limited time offer ends December 6 visit one peloton.com to learn more. I'll access membership separate offer ends December 6, 2022 excludes bike, bike plus, and tread basics. See additional terms at one peloton.com.