Oh sorry Oltz, I must still have been on my victory lap from the second straight bowl pick off win. Funny how that happens. I almost celebrated by proposing to Rachel Glandorf at midfield of Texas Memorial Stadium. Seems like someone got there first.
But my post today focuses on this: the fact that Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson are one of the larger reasons this Tar Heel team has underperformed so far.
There's nothing negative than can be said about Ginyard's personality, his devotion to the team to come back for another year, his well spoken-ness, or by all accounts, his work ethic. But there's plenty negative to be said about his performance on the court and his lack of in-game leadership with the team.
Ginyard absolutely needs to be the steadying force, the good decision maker, the ball protector and the organizer of the team when he's on the floor. I'm not sure he's any of those. He turns the ball over way too often, hasn't really figured out how to get himself easy baskets, and doesn't seem to organize the team on the floor the way a senior is expected to.
The problem, really, though, is the turnovers. Besides the point guard, who leads most teams in turnovers by virtue of handling the ball the most, which Tar Heel has the most giveaways on the team? Marcus Ginyard. Guess who's second. Deon Thompson. Assist-turnover ratio is a crude measure, but it's fairly telling in this case.
Against Clemson: Ginyard 1 assist, 5 turnovers. Thompson 1 assist, 5 turnovers. No one else on the team (aside from the point guard) had more than 3 turnovers.
By no means is it the only problem for the team or the most glaring one, but it's the one for which there is little excuse. These guys are seniors and tremendous people...but unless they lead their younger teammates by example with good decision-making, this team's ills won't be cured very fast.
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