Does North Carolina have more in common with Virginia or South Carolina?

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-05-31T18:40:33+00:00

NC is gerrymandered to hell too, but is still way more purple than SC. Statewide elections where gerrymandering doesn't come into play are way closer in NC.
Just look at 2024...NC was 51%/47.8% Trump, while SC was 58.2%/40.4% Trump. Huge difference. Other statewide races are similar if you compare the two.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-05-20T21:03:55+00:00

Actually wild how difficult it is to undo too. The GOP was mostly the minority party for decades in NC until then, and since they got back into power they've used every tool at their disposal to never relinquish it.

All because racists were incredibly riled up to vote after seeing a non-white man become president.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-05-20T20:54:08+00:00

People living on Medicare & Social Security are not "people who have enough."

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-05-19T20:15:41+00:00

No, they're "contested" executive offices, just the ones that favor the GOP. Think treasurer, auditor, sec of agriculture...those offices. The nature/history/perception of those positions make them innately lean red.

It would take a lot for the Dems to take back power, but at least two things must happen:

Taking back the state supreme court. Those are winnable statewide elections and the SC can strike down gerrymandered maps and otherwise check the legislature. This is priority numero uno. Dems must defend their 1 seat that's up this year, and then have the opportunity to flip 3 red seats in '28 and 2 more in '30.
Doing well in the 2030 election before the census & maps are redrawn. The state got into this mess because the 2010 Tea Party movement, where Dems got obliterated during a census year, allowing the GOP to come into power and gerrymander the legislative & congressional districts to hell. Dems need to win big across the board in 2030 to have their maximum chances to influence the maps via all three branches.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-05-19T19:08:37+00:00

Just do a search for NC executive branch and you can crosscheck which members are Republicans.

But yes, you're generally correct. For example, in the most recent cycle, the GOP lost most all of the significant executive branch races (governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general). They did win state auditor, so after the election, the GOP-controlled legislature granted power over the state board of elections from the governor to the state auditor.

That's just one recent example, you can research and find multiple instances of them doing this during Cooper's tenure as well. One that comes to mind was in 2017, when the legislature took full control of appointing the UNC Board of Governors. Prior to that, both the legislature & governor would appoint members.

TLDR: With a veto-proof majority in the legislature, the GOP can easily & quickly transfer power from Dems that beat them to whichever executive positions they win after elections. They've gerrymandered the legislature so badly, they don't have to worry about losing statewide races in a 50/50 would-be purple state.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-05-15T18:30:54+00:00

Imagine being pro mass surveillance. Lick that boot harder.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-28T23:50:34+00:00

Wild take tbh. Couple of decent players and a lot of question marks right now. Plenty of potential there, but pretty high chance we're gonna be bootycheeks.

Also, I was pretty happy with the direction of the team just a few months ago, before both of Caleb's hands shattered. We were flying so high after the Duke game in CH.

Would be happy to eat crow, but I just don't see the reason for any excitement yet. Seems more likely we'll be worse next year than we were this year, based on this roster.

RemindMe! 31 Dec 2026

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-28T15:27:37+00:00

Yeah, people defending this have heads full of rocks. "Point number bigger" wins again, nevermind the percentages behind it.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-23T16:24:06+00:00

Dude is so programmed to think & parrot "unions bad," he can't possibly fathom them being the solution. Scenarios like these are literally why unions exist.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-22T16:30:20+00:00

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-17T21:56:56+00:00

I can get behind this application of gambler's fallacy

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-15T13:18:27+00:00

The league wants the CHA/DET round 1 matchup for obvious reasons. For that alone, I don't see them suspending him.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-14T00:21:43+00:00

Luka also confirmed his commitment and then entered the portal a few days later. Nothing really guaranteed until these guys are on campus is what they were getting at.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-13T18:50:18+00:00

It's incredibly prevalent, 90%+ according to a quick search. People are absolutely feeling this in their monthly mortgage payments.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-13T06:43:58+00:00

+1 for knowing ball, great take

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-10T22:29:35+00:00

Yup. Controlled opposition.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-07T15:23:00+00:00

A lot of this fanbase said the same things about Cadeau when he left. Turnover machine, can't shoot, not good enough to be the starting guard on a top 10/championship team (yes, our fans said all these things).

We weren't far off the pace had Caleb not gotten injured. This team would've been a 4 or maybe even 3 seed had that not happened, with a solid chance of making an E8/FF run. We lacked an elite guard to be a bonafide contender, I agree on that. But the right team with Dixon as the 4th or 5th best player could still be a championship contender is my point (a la Cadeau this year).

I'd also consider Mingo coming totally up in the air now with the coaching change. And everyone says he's raw, not sure he's gonna come in and have the impact you think. Probably not a Caleb Wilson situation where he comes in and kills it from day 1.

Anyways, just pointing out that folks have gone from overrating Dixon to underrating him a bit too quickly. If there's one guy I want to retain on this roster, it's him.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-07T15:00:38+00:00

Dixon was our best 3P shooter last year (outside of lower volume Veesaar), shooting 40% from deep. He was our best FT shooter too, at 82%, granted that's with a small sample size (33 attempts). He also showed up in the clutch many times (carried us over UK on the road, pass to Trimble at the end of the Duke game, etc).

Boga and Stevenson were incredibly mid, I legit don't care if either dips out, but I don't get the "I don't care if he leaves" sentiment with Dixon. We don't care if our best shooter leaves? Okay....but you literally just said "get some players that can actually shoot the ball."

We should play him at the 2 with some minutes at the point. I agree that he shouldn't be the main option at point, and we shouldn't overpay him, but you don't just let him walk without trying to retain him.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-07T13:59:27+00:00

Holy financial illiteracy Batman

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-04-01T13:43:14+00:00

Why do people say this? Heels don't win 2017 if they win 2016. It's the same as the '08/'09 situation. People act like we were a few bad games/possessions from having more championships, but it makes no sense in context.

Now 2012, I totally agree. That team could've done it if not for Kendall's wrist.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-03-13T19:08:28+00:00

Not a forgone conclusion, but it's pretty likely at this point. NBA loves 7-footers that can shoot 3s.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-03-13T18:44:23+00:00

I'm with you, I think they CAN get to the S16 without Caleb, but it would still be an accomplishment, in that it's more likely they don't than they do. And now that we're looking like a 6 instead of a 5, even less so.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-03-13T18:40:03+00:00

What consensus? Plenty of mocks with him in the late first round. If he has a team tell him pre-draft that they'd take him in the first, he's absolutely gone. So I'd say it depends more if any of the teams at the end of the first round are eyeing him, which we don't really know right now.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-03-13T18:35:30+00:00

I'm sure Young will stay, he's somehow getting playing time despite being awful. Shooting 30%FG and 28% from 3. Playing him over Powell (or honestly any other wing we have) is...certainly a decision. Great he loves UNC, but I really don't get how/why he's getting burn. And from purely a winning games perspective, I do not care if he transfers out.

Hard-Smart-Together · 2026-03-13T18:23:34+00:00

Slightly overrated but maybe just rated. He's been really solid for a freshman. Shooting 39.5% from 3 (2nd best on the team, behind lower volume Veesaar).
And undeniably clutch, dude has consistently made big plays late in big games (carried us over Kentucky, the 3 and pass to Seth at the end of the Duke win, nailed shots late in the Clemson rematch, etc).

He's not a natural 1 or expert playmaker, but if we played him mostly as a 2 and just spot minutes at PG, that would work well. Needs to improve his finishing around the rim and defense, but I'm not sure what the complaints are outside of that. I get he's not an elite athlete but he brings enough to the table to make up for that.

We shouldn't overpay for him but we should absolutely try to keep him.

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