College Basketball Notebook 11.20.19

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Photo credit © Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
The Footprint
Duke Up To Number OneThe Blue Devils have had little trouble so far this season past the opening night win over Kansas. Duke faced somewhat of a challenge Friday night against Georgia State but was able to skate by 74-63, thanks to a career-high 31 points from Tre Jones.

As Jones goes, the Blue Devils go. Duke now finds itself the No. 1 team in the country and should probably hold onto that title until a December 3rd trip to East Lansing when they face off against the formerly No. 1 Michigan State Spartans. 

Will Someone Please Help Cole Anthony 

I think it's fair to say that at some point North Carolina is going to need someone other than Cole Anthony to carry the offense. Through three games, Anthony leads the Tar Heels in scoring with 27.3 points per game, leading all freshman scorers in the nation.

While Anthony is sure to be a sensation he can't single-handedly carry the Tar Heels to where they annually expect to be.

The next closest scorers are junior forward Garrison Brooks, 11.3 points per game, and grad transfer Justin Pierce, 10.3 points per game. Thus far, Charleston Southern grad transfer Christian Keeling, 6.0 points per game, hasn't provided the scoring punch that Roy Williams has expected.

Although, Williams has been quick to defend Keeling, stating that he's still "figuring things out." 

TAKE FLIGHT @The_ColeAnthony ✈️ pic.twitter.com/PImxPEBjub

— ACC Network (@accnetwork) November 16, 2019

Overall, the Tar Heels lack depth, talent and experience. This is arguably the least talented roster Williams has had in his 16 seasons at the helm.

Maybe when Brandon Robinson returns, which is expected to be in time for the Heels trip to the Bahamas for the "Battle for Atlantis", that'll give an offense that is rated deceptively fifth by KenPom in adjusted offensive efficiency a much-needed boost.

I'd expect come mid-to-late February, the Heels to have rounded into form, as most Williams' teams have done. It'll be interesting to know then which of the other Heels has aided Anthony along the way.

Wake Forest Can't Get Right 

Objectively, Wake Forest is not a very good basketball team. Whether that's because of coaching, which most would tell you is, or a lack of talent, the Demon Deacons don't seem to do much of anything right. 

The final seconds of Sunday night's 67-65 overtime loss to Charlotte, illustrated yet another example of just how inept this team has been under head coach Danny Manning.

Despite having an opportunity to foul Charlotte in the final moments, Wake allowed the Niners to advance the ball past mid-court and dribble out the clock. 

Those events are even more mind-boggling when you take into account the fact that Charlotte players were expecting a foul and fully prepared to give themselves up.

Yet, Wake lacked the situational awareness that every basketball team at this level should have.

Pretty good chance to foul there. Charlotte was expecting it. Yet.... pic.twitter.com/XY8Mh6XA7W

— Grant (@DeacsWin) November 18, 2019 The loss is now a part of a growing list of frustrating losses to non-Power conference opponents that has become all too familiar during Manning's tenure. 

Wolfpack's Dynamic Post Duo

Following what amounted to a two-game suspension, Wolfpack junior forward D.J. Funderburk made his return to the lineup Wednesday night. Funderburk came off the bench scoring 11 points and grabbing 7 rebounds during the Packs 86-77 victory over Florida International.

Kevin Keatts chose to bring Funderburk off the bench again on Saturday in the Wolfpacks 95-64 thrashing of St. Francis (NY). It'll be interesting to see how Keatts continues to deploy his starting center.

Redshirt freshman Manny Bates has had a strong start to the season (8.0 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game) and provide more rim protection (4.0 blocks per game) than Funderburk (1.1 blocks per game through his career) but lacks the same offensive skills and experience Funderburk possesses.

That's another @PackMensBball (4-1) win inside Reynolds Coliseum! The team returns to action at @PNCArena on Saturday at 1 pm. #GoPack // #NCState pic.twitter.com/Xprs42yvnG

— NC State Athletics (@PackAthletics) November 20, 2019

In the two games, Bates and Funderburk have been available, the pair have averaged 18.5 and 21.5 minutes per game, respectively. 

It doesn't matter so much who starts, as it does how Keatts decides to utilize the pair moving forward. 

The presence of both is why I'm a big fan of the roster composition of this NC State team and am high on what they can achieve in 2019-20. 

Queen City Hoops 
Charlotte's One Week Resurrection 

What a week for Ron Sanchez and his Charlotte 49ers basketball program.

The Niners followed up Tuesday's demolition of Davidson with an overtime win over Wake Forest. Albeit an anemic and highly disappointing Demon Deacons team, but still a win against an in-state ACC team.

This past week should go a long way on the recruiting trail for Sanchez and restore a belief in the program that hasn't been there it about a decade. 

Part of that belief should rest on the shoulders of uber-talented freshman point Jahmir Young.

Young shined on Sunday night at Halton Arena, scoring a game-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting, helping to earn himself Conference USA Freshman of the Week honors for the second straight week. 

Young, out of nationally-renowned DeMatha Catholic, is averaging a team-high 15.7 points per game while dishing out 3.7 assists per game. Young, listed at 6-1, is also second on the team in rebounding, at 5.7 rebounds per game. 

Congrats to Jahmir Young for being named @ConferenceUSA Freshman of the Week for the second straight week.#GoldStandardStory - https://t.co/th1Vm8LWhu pic.twitter.com/LIC4faia4Z

— Charlotte Men’s Basketball (@CharlotteMBB) November 18, 2019

Undoubtedly, Sanchez has this program headed in the right direction. It'll be interesting to watch how they fare throughout the rest of the non-conference season before heading into conference play. 

Davidson ​Finding Joy in the Game

Davidson head coach Bob McKillop felt that his team lacked joy in the first two months of the season.

Whether it was during a "secret" scrimmage at Tennessee or in the first two contests against Auburn and Charlotte.

It's no secret that there was an abundance of preseason media expectations for a Davidson team that returned it's starting five for the first time since 2012-13 season.

Junior guard Kellan Grady expressed a similar sentiment to his head coach, saying that the team was "pressing" in the first two games.

Grady acknowledge what he called an "exceptional" amount of preseason attention, along with self-imposed expectations led to the Cats to sputter to an 0-2 start. McKillop also said on his coaches show that in today's age of social media it's hard for a team to "divorce itself from expectations". 

Check out --️ highlights from our 91-71 #CatsWin over Nevada!#TCC #CatsAreWild pic.twitter.com/KN4MLTiyT8

— Davidson Basketball (@DavidsonMBB) November 20, 2019

While expectations have played their own role in the slow start, so did the Wildcats defensive effort. 

McKillop said on his radio show that Davidson was "exposed" in the first two games. Davidson struggled to contend defensively, which led McKillop to spend the day after the Charlotte loss going over film and spending an hour and 15 minutes of practice on defense.

Following the 91-71 win against Nevada, McKillop acknowledges that he doesn't have anyone on his roster that he would consider a "lockdown defender" and felt that the team's poor scoring outputs led to a diminished return on the defensive end. 

Because of this, his team needed to find it's "connectivity" on the defensive end, which he believes it has.

McKillop believes that "joy comes before success". Well, the joy came back on Saturday night in an 87-49 win over UNC-Wilmington.

Now the success has also returned with back-to-back wins prior to a meeting with Wake Forest at the Spectrum Center in uptown Charlotte. 

Around the Old North State
-What happened to UNC-Greensboro on Saturday had too much of a March vibe for a November game.

INJECT MORE COLLEGE SPORTS STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS!!! pic.twitter.com/092UsMzLZ1

— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) November 17, 2019 Don't get me wrong, I'm here for this type of drama but it's way too early for this kind of stuff.

-Mark Prosser, the son of former Wake Forest head coach, the late Skip Prosser, has his Western Carolina Catamount team competing early this season. On Friday night, Western-led Florida State by as much as 17 points in the first half. The Catamounts held a 74-73 advantage with 57 seconds left to play before the Seminoles closed out the game on a 6-0 run. The win would've been the Catamounts first win against an ACC team, since, coincidentally, when on December 8, 2001, Western traveled to Tallahassee and left with a 79-69 victory over the Noles.

Games That Matter This Week:
Charlotte at Appalachian State Thursday 7:00 ESPN+

Why: Charlotte is coming off of two impressive wins last week and will look to keep up the momentum in Boone.

Duke vs California (2K Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden) 9:00 ESPN

Why: Duke is the top-ranked team in America playing at the World's Most Famous Arena.

Davidson vs Wake Forest (Spectrum Center in Charlotte) Friday 

Why: Davidson has a shot at a win against an ACC opponent coming off of a loss at Charlotte. 

​Be sure to follow Julian on Twitter and listen to him weekdays from 2-6pm on The Clubhouse with Kyle Bailey​. Also, check out Julian on Saturdays throughout the fall from 12-2 pm for College Football Today.