What in Tar Nation

Come join co-editor Brandon Anderson (@THBBrandon) and host Chad Floyd (@Chad_Floyd) for a fun discussion of all things...June college basketball news!

The guys start by talking about the Jalen Wilson announcement. Wilson, the nation’s 50th-ranked player, is likely to commit to Kansas today at 2, but in case he doesn’t...your ears are prepared. 

After that, they dive in to the NBA Draft, which takes place next week and should see three Tar Heels drafted. Brandon debates whether Coby White would be ruined by his Chicago Bulls, Chad determines that Nassir Little would be ruined by his Charlotte Hornets, and they agree that Cameron Johnson can’t really go wrong.

Go ahead and give it a listen! As you do, go ahead and subscribe so you get all episodes of the Tar Heel Blog Podcast, and leave us a 5-star review so we can read your sage words of wisdom on air.

Til next time, Go Heels! 

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In the depths of the simultaneous offseasons for the primary revenue college sports, there lies perhaps the most exciting NCAA Tournament of them all— the race to the College World Series*.

*- Don’t believe me? Turn on the ESPN at-bat station (probably on ESPNU) on Friday and through the weekend. Thank me later.

As such, the folks at Tar Heel Blog had to preview it. Joining host Chad Floyd is staff writer Jake Lawrence, whose piece breaking down the Chapel Hill Regional drops later today. 

We discuss: 

Strategies for navigating the quick four-team double-elimination tournament, from a pitching perspective;Mike Fox’s recent embrace of the Sabermetric revolution;The depth of the UNC offense, including Aaron Sabato and Michael Busch;Tennessee’s difficult yet impressive run through the SEC;Chad’s struggles to find stats on Liberty;...and UNCW! If you enjoy it, or just want more baseball content, go ahead and hit ‘subscribe’ on your podcast host of choice. Leave us a 5-star review telling us you want more baseball, and more baseball you shall get.

Enjoy the games! 

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In a last-minute decision to jump on and podcast, host Chad Floyd and guest Akil Gurupuran wax as poetic as they can (again, with zero planning) about the Tar Heels’ recruiting efforts for the 2020 class, thus far. 

Discussed: 

While the Heels rank 10th in the country in 247Sports team rankings, that is only good for fourth in the ACC. The absurdity of Clemson’s class, the surprise of Georgia Tech’s, and the lol’s at Virginia Tech’s are included.Way-too-early class superlatives! Who is the most underrated? Best? (Again, 8 months before signing day.)The offensive side of the ball is shaping up, how will the Heels round it out? The big, can’t miss names on defense.We ran into a little audio quality issue late in the podcast, as my Wi-Fi decided it wanted to take periodic breaks as we recorded. (Personal note: it helped me miss the Hurricanes, Braves, and Hornets all taking simultaneous L’s, so not the worst thing.) My apologies to those pining for the linebackers and defensive backs segments. 

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We did a lot of this on episode 18 of Between the Banners, but we needed more voices to discuss the 2019-2020 North Carolina Tar Heels basketball roster. 

Ask and you shall receive! Host Chad Floyd (@Chad_Floyd) is joined by our friends Brandon Anderson (@THBBrandon) and Al Hood (@albhood) to break down the next Tar Heels hoopers. 

Discussed: 

What does Carolina do with the 5 spot? Sterling Manley is the incumbent, Armando Bacot offers some interesting upside.What roles do guys coming off of injury (Anthony Harris, Jeremiah Francis, Leaky Black to an extent) do in the backcourt? The wings are kindof a mess, but maybe in a good way? The three participants in the pod are officially Christian Keeling stans, but how do we sort out this rotation? Its a very fun program. Since I know you’ll enjoy it, subscribe on your podcast host of choice, leave a 5-star review with words and we will read it on the air. We’re looking forward to your participation so we can continue to give you awesome content. 

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On Monday, colleague Joe Carpenter and I penned a piece on this here blog talking about what defines success for the Gridiron Heels in the upcoming football season. 

We came back to talk about it, because you can fit more words into a podcast than one would want to read in an article. 

As the title indicates, the overarching theme of the podcast is how Carolina can ‘win’ the 2019 season on the field. Discussed: 

Does Carolina need to qualify for a bowl game to continue its upward trajectory? Why Chad is a little bit more rosy in his appraisal of the football team coming off the two previous debacles.Why Joe’s biggest thing is taking back the state of North Carolina— something upon which the host and guest agree wholeheartedly.If the first four months of the calendar year are any indication, success should not have a limited application moving forward.As ALWAYS, keep the great comments coming because they are inspiring a lot of our work on the podcast through the dreary summer months. A great way to leave commentary is to log on to your podcasting app of choice, leave a five-star review, and have it read on-air so it is part of the public record and a potential topic for future pontification.

Thanks for listening, and Go Heels! 

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With the addition of William & Mary grad transfer Justin Pierce, the 2019-2020 North Carolina Tar Heels basketball roster appears to be complete, barring any unforeseen circumstances. 

It would be inappropriate not to talk about it. With the help of Quintin Schwab, host Chad Floyd breaks down the Pierce recruitment, and what it may mean for different lineup combinations for the 2019-20 Heels. 

What kind of player are the Tar Heels getting in Pierce?Do his numbers against better competition scare you? How important is getting a player of his size, given modern college basketball? And of course...what does this do to the projected rotation? 

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Joe Carpenter (@joecarpenteriv) comes on to discuss the Anthony Harris commitment as the Heels land their second combo guard of the day.

He planned to come on to discuss the transition from one era of Roy Williams' players to the next, and we did that too! 

Damn good day to be a Tar Heel. 

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Did the 2019-2020 North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team just become nationally relevant, or did they just become an ACC contender? 

Chad Floyd is joined by Jake Lawrence (@therealestRJL) to bring some instant reactions to Cole Anthony's commitment to North Carolina. The combo guard chose the Tar Heels over Oregon, Notre Dame, and Georgetown on Tuesday morning. 

- What does this mean for the UNC program?

- How does this affect the Tar Heels' roster construction as the 2019-20 Heels are still in flux? 

- What's next? 

We did our best to get to all of that in roughly 15 minutes. 

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A new cast of characters on the coaching staff and the Kenan Stadium field calls for a unique group to break down the Spring Game! 

Chad Floyd is joined by Akil Gurupuran (@akillesheel17) and Jacob Cowden (@JacobCowden28) to talk about the following: 

- Early impressions from an insanely close three-way quarterback battle between freshmen Sam Howell, Cade Fortin, and Jace Ruder; 

- The reimagining of the offensive line, and some explosive plays from some new names in the skill positions;

- A work in progress on the defensive side of the ball.

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Between the Banners Episode 15, we admit, is probably about a week late. 

Bad scheduling, bad moods given the way Carolina’s season ended, and a terrible-looking national championship game to look forward to were not enough to make a podcast out of the sweetness of Duke blowing another preseason #1.

Chad Floyd is joined by Jake Lawrence and Al Hood to run through the following: 

Texas Tech/Virginia: an aesthetically-terrible-yet-maybe-good national championship? The over/under is 117.5. Which idiot took the over? The dark side of Muppets in ManhattanUnwrapping Carolina’s one-and-dones: Nassir Little and Coby White have moved on, and the Tar Heels are seeing the downside of the highest perceived benefit of OADs. How does Carolina fill in the gaps for the 2019-20 season? Let’s dance on Duke’s grave for a little while. Zion probably didn’t play at Duke for free, Mike Krzyzewski can’t really coach anymore, and Duke may be better-equipped with Tre Jones’ experience next year.SUBSCRIBE AND REVIEW, POR FAVOR! No, but seriously, do that. If you leave a topic request in the reviews, it will make for great #offseason #content as we continue to grow our humble podcast. Thanks for listening, and Go Heels! 

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