Expectations for Duke-UNC Pt. 2

Seth Greenberg, one of the bald men on campus, also an expert at raising daughters and Yankee baseball. None of those other two will come up right now, but we've got to talk basketball.

How are you, sir? Welcome to the Triangle in advance of Saturday's College Game Day. Yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun. I mean, you know, a lot of people say, why are we going there? Well, let's do Carolina.

Why are we going there? Carolina is just, you know, it sets the standard for rivalries and to game college basketball. And obviously both are playing a little bit better. I think Duke's playing really, really well right now and Carolina's starting to figure it out, so I can't wait to get there.

No, it should be. It should be a blast. I know we spoke to Jay Will yesterday.

Jay has taken all objectivity off the table. He is here. He is coming to town for revenge. I don't know if you guys are you guys incorporating him in the show at all Saturday? Yeah, I think he is going to be a part of the show some. I spoke to him yesterday.

He's in revenge mode, you know, sending Coach K home on senior night, you know, the last two games, his career. I mean, I heard, I hear that about once a week. It's part of my life.

You know, it's Jay World's world and I'm just passing through it at times. Understood. Understood. All right, before we get to the actual game last night and talk about the way Duke's playing, the way State's playing, maybe ACC Player of the Year conversation. What was your view of the technical foul given to Taquavian Smith in the little bumping and shoving incident with Tyrese Proctor? I'm a big Roger Ayers fan, but I didn't think it was anything.

I thought it was a play on. I mean, I just did. I mean, you know, you know, you know, look, it's a rivalry game per se. I mean, it's a physical game.

I mean, you know, just say you to knock it off enough of this. Right. I think they could have done that.

There's no question. My feeling was if they were going to call anything, they called it right. No, well, what would you what would you give Proctor a technical foul for? Well, he was kind of, you know, he was he was playing into it a little bit.

Also, it's it's it's like to me, I can just walk over YouTube. Cut it out. That would have been the better call to just to let it go entirely.

But I don't understand what like you would have to come up with something for Proctor that the video wouldn't support. Now, look, video has not been kind to ACC officials in Duke games this year because Duke got the short end of it both times in the state of Virginia. Yeah, they did. And look, I mean, look, it's a hard game.

If you go probably that whole incident started probably four or five plays before. Right. Absolutely. Yeah.

That's just the way this thing works. You got you guys know that it's a long game. And, you know, we struggled a little bit.

He was a little frustrated. He was getting banged up a little bit. Proctor is a really good defender.

Yeah. I mean, like a really good defender. That's the part of his game that I don't think people appreciate that much. He asks to defend.

Yeah, they're quite good. He asked to defend Caleb love. I mean, and that's the part of him. I really like because he won't back down.

Seth Greenberg is joining us here on the Adam Gold show. Yeah, I think I mean, he's he's one of the best on ball defenders in the league. He's built for it.

He's got long arms. He's got enough quickness. I don't think he's super quick.

He certainly doesn't use that on the offensive end as well. But I think he's got good defensive instincts and he wants it and that and there's something about this Duke team. There's a grit factor of this Duke team that I think is impressive because I don't think they are.

I mean gifted is not necessarily the right word to use. They're not they're not a great offensive basketball team at all. They're not great shooter shooters. They don't create offense, but they do kind of dig down and grind.

Yeah, they do it. Look, they have pieces that get give you problems. I can, you know, like Derek lively. He gives you problems at the rim.

I'm actually doing a video on the first Carolina game for a game. They show and just showing his impact the guy day blocks. Yeah, he took Armando Baycott out of the game like for this this next game Armando Baycott's got to take that challenge Armando Baycott's got to take it not away from them, but right through the guys nose, you know, so they got lively got proctored. He's got a little bit bitch, you know, Jeremy Roach can really guard the basketball. They got enough physicality and versatility in terms of other Defenders on the floor and then offensively they get, you know, I think they're a physical offensive team. They're not a big transition team there. What they are is, you know, Kyle Philpowski plays physical offense. He starts backing people down and he's banging with people and spinning off people, you know, three wide ahead is going to be that way Mitchell is going to be that way. So, you know, I think there is a physicality to do offensively and defensively.

Yeah again to me and I cover hockey almost exclusively now. I like their sandpaper. I like their I like their grid factor.

I think they get in the corners come out with the puck. That would be that would be nice. Let me ask you real quick about State. I love that team.

I think that team has a very high ceiling for March specially because of the backcourt. And I know I was watching the last episode of bald men on campus and I still need to find out where you guys are looks like you guys are in the back about like a we're back in the State Farm bus. Okay, you're okay. I thought it was like the Madden Cruiser.

That's fantastic. And you guys were talking about ACC Player of the Year and I actually think it might be Jarkel Joiner. Yeah, well, Jarkel Joiner has elevated his game a tad wouldn't you say?

Yes. He was unbelievable. Not part of it was because they were taking Turqueville.

Now Jarkel Joiner is a two-way player. When I talk about NC State, I think they have the best two-way backcourt in college basketball. Now, obviously they weren't as good yesterday, but I mean they can defend you. Yeah, they can attack you they can shoot the three, you know, they have it.

They're an all three level backcourt and I think that will make them tough out in the NCAA tournament. You know, look at you played a good league. You can play a series of games. Your record is who you play when you play when you play and where you play them. Yeah, I mean really that's how you know, so like everyone gets caught up in you know, what I've lost three of the last four, you know, if you're going to lose games, you know, if your schedule backs up to a maybe some tough road games, maybe you know, there are things that happen during the course of you know the season.

Maybe it's an injury. Maybe it's you know, you can't play well forever. So you're going to go through an ebb it unless someone is really really special. You know, you're going to go through an ebb and flow of your season and there's no one that's special this year, right? That's just the way it is.

There's no one that you just walk away and go. Well, you know, there will be the final four and you know, you can say Houston. They lost it. They lost the temple.

They can get stuck off. Actually, you could say Kansas. You're right, but the one when they lose Dwan Harris struggles a little bit and you know, they do have great wing players. You could say Alabama, but they lost to Oklahoma because they were physical.

I mean, you can go through the whole country and you can find an answer for everything in the country and that's just the way it is. Yeah, this might be as open wide open as an NCAA tournament as we have seen. I know look the ACC has not had a good year. I think primarily it's because the ACC's bottom is historically bad and the bottom is bigger. I mean, we have four teams of rather six teams that are ranked outside the top hundred and five of them are ranked outside the top 180, which is I can't usually there's one team that might be that low but we have five teams and it drags everybody down, which makes the middle of the league seem much weaker than it might otherwise be. There are wins, you know, like there are wins. I'm like when I was coaching the league, you know, it's hard to find a win right there. There are wins within the league and that just that's just the way it is and yeah, I mean it's you know, it's a little bit of an issue. I think is even the top of the league. We don't have the Duke Carolina be top five team or top 10 team, you know, so when you have that combined with the bottom of the league.

I mean, let's lose Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Boston College is getting better, but they're getting better a little bit off of some of the other things. I was a little disappointed wake yesterday. Yeah, me too, but they were going to call that one out. So that was a little disappointed. I do think Steve does a really good job with his team.

I think they're a little bit running out of gas. Well, they're also missing Damari Monsanto is one of the best players in league to sell my guy. Yeah, I love I love that player. Look Tyree Appleby is a good player to really and so is a great year. Yeah, and so is Hildreth and they've got good players, but just not enough of them to survive the loss of Monsanto and I think they've basically played their way really out of the NCAA tournament. I think Clemson has a chance. I know they didn't win at Virginia, but they probably do a lot of damage. Yeah, people that are killing Clemson, you know, and Brad Birdell can really coach. Number two is they bet they were bagged up early in the season.

So, you know, they're almost like coming from behind if you can, you know, you can say it a lot of ways. But yeah, they've got a good team. I mean, like, you know, Virginia, that was a must win game and Virginia went to game sort of average about 53 points game.

Couldn't score it at all. One committed defensively. We're letting people shoot like 40% from the three and that's that's been Virginia's kind of problem all season.

They haven't guarded the way they have their guarded in the past, but yet League is not as deep. But you know, all these are going through this in a way like we thought we fell in love with the Big 12, right? Those guys are just beating each other up to the point where, like, you know, can you take like this is my question. The conundrum is my new favorite word.

The conundrum for the selection committee. Right. You play in the Big 12. You play two or Robin taking games. You're going to play 15, 15 against quad ones. Yeah, 15.

So like maybe 16. So you do that and then you have maybe three or four quad ones in your nonconference. Like all of a sudden, like you're playing 20 quad ones. Now, if you know, like West Virginia, they might have six or seven quad one wins.

All right. But they also they also might have 12 quad one losses. So now are they better than Charleston? Are they better than Hofstra?

Are they are they better than, you know, Furman? You know, again, that's a hard thing, because if you put those guys in those leagues, play those games. You know, I mean, there's a benefit of playing in a league like the Big 12, and there's also, you know, a detriment.

No question. That's going to be interesting. I listened to Joe Lenardi talk about Texas Tech as a potential team and West Virginia as a potential tournament team.

And frankly, I don't see a great difference between those two teams and Clemson when I watch them or or North Carolina, who apparently is has proven that they can't play. And my my feeling is, is that that's where the net goes awry in that it groups. And the net isn't any better or worse, really, than the RBI or and it's considered out the math. Right.

And it's close to the Ken Palm numbers and things like that. But we're the best is the best predictive analysis, my opinion. But, you know, I think it's look, it is really going to be interesting how the committee I think they've got a tougher job this year.

Yeah, I think I really do. I think they've got a tougher job this year because the metrics are so all over the place. So I think what happens to them when it was over the metrics are all over the place. You really don't trust the metrics. What are they going to trust their eyes? Yeah, they should.

If they trust their eyes, then North Carolina is going to be in the NCAA tournament. Real quick for Seth Greenbier, before we have to say goodbye, you have to get on a plane and we have to do all sorts of things. Do you want to make a pick for for Saturday?

Can't can't do that until Saturday. Oh, it's right now. My fault. I can't give it. I can't give it away.

I mean, the big close of the show. I mean, what do you want me to do? Get fired?

I'm just trying to stay employed. I'll make a prediction. Fun. It's look, it's it's going to be a great game. You know, I mean, Duke to me.

My Caroline is befuddling to me. I mean, they really are. I mean, they're they have. They should be better. I mean, right.

They should be better. And it's not it's not coaching. It's not this and that. It really comes down to trust. Like a team has to trust each other.

And if they do that. And I used the term last week on our on our game, they showed the Carolina way. Play hard, play smart, play together. That's the Smith.

It's right from the Carolina way out of his book. Well, you know what? Embrace that. If you embrace that, all the other stuff, you know, basically takes care of itself.

I love it. Oh, he just talking in cliche. Talk cliche.

Just tell the truth. I mean, play hard, play smart, play together. If you if you do that and you're Carolina with your talent and you play without ego and you trust each other. Then you know what? Good things are going to happen if you play with ego, if you don't compete, if you don't play smart, if you take bad shots, if you don't share the ball, if you don't make the right play, then you know what?

You'll dig yourself a hole. And it is really that simple to me because talent is not the issue. I'm sorry. Talent's not the issue.

Trust is the issue when I watch that. Seth Greenberg from ESPN at Seth Greenberg on Twitter. I appreciate your time. Get on a plane and we'll see you here on Saturday. I got a little bit of Illinois against Michigan and then I get there on Friday and talk to them all. Life is good. Life is good. Best to everyone. Greenburg is going to be in attendance with Big Pat. Oh, no.

The whole crew. Awesome. All right, man. I'll talk to you. You got to take care.