Lucas: UNC Basketball Notebook

By Adam Lucas

Roy Williams has made repeated references to the challenge of early-season practices with a team featuring eight new players. The veterans can tell a difference in the first approximately 25 practices this season as compared to past years.

"There are a lot of plays we don't have in yet that we usually have in by the first game," Theo Pinson said. "We've taken things a little slower."

Of course, even with the slower practice pace, the Tar Heels still shot 50 percent from the floor against Northern Iowa, including 56.8 percent from two-point range.

"When we execute what we do have in," Pinson said with a grin, "we're still pretty good."

Brooks' debut: Let's try to provide a little context for Garrison Brooks' 14-point, six-rebound performance in his first game as a Tar Heel (in 18 minutes of action). In their first game at Carolina, these Roy Williams-era UNC big men turned in the following performances:

Kennedy Meeks: 10 points and five rebounds in 13 minutes against Oakland.

Isaiah Hicks: Two points and five rebounds in 11 minutes against Oakland.

Brice Johnson: Six points and five rebounds in 12 minutes against Gardner-Webb.

Joel James: Six points and four rebounds in 14 minutes against Gardner-Webb.

James Michael McAdoo: Four points and three rebounds in 17 minutes against Michigan State.

John Henson: Four points and one rebound in 12 minutes against FIU.

Tyler Zeller: 18 points and two rebounds in 23 minutes against Penn.

Ed Davis: 10 points and 14 rebounds in 22 minutes against Penn.

Brandan Wright: 10 points and three rebounds in 28 minutes against Sacred Heart.

Deon Thompson: Zero points and three rebounds in seven minutes against Sacred Heart.

Tyler Hansbrough: 21 points and four rebounds in 28 minutes against Gardner-Webb.

The takeaway? Brooks is getting a huge opportunity, as he played more minutes than all but Zeller, Wright and Hansbrough (that's a pretty good list to be on if you're a Tar Heel). But he was very efficient with the minutes he received.

Of course, it's also only one game. Like any freshman, Brooks is going to have games where he doesn't look quite as polished as Friday night. It's a promising debut, and now it's up to him to work hard and improve upon it.

Veteran wisdom: Pinson made an excellent point about the competition among the young big men. "They're fighting for minutes," he said. "They're trying to get to the point that Coach trusts them going into ACC play."

That competition adds an extra element to the big man race. All three of the Brooks, Sterling Manley and Brandon Huffman triumvirate know they can't afford to coast. They'll get a solid test on Wednesday, as Bucknell has a solid frontcourt that includes Nana Foulland (15 points and 7.8 rebounds last year) and Zach Thomas (15.9 points and 6.6 rebounds last season). Between the two of them, Foulland and Thomas took 33 of Bucknell's 66 shots, made 18 of the team's 29 field goals, and had 20 of the team's 32 rebounds in a season opening 79-78 loss at Monmouth.

Briefly: Don't forget that Roy Williams Live is tonight at 7 p.m. at Top of the Hill. The show is also now available as a podcast by subscribing to the Carolina Insider podcast feed, where it will be pushed to subscribers on Tuesday morning…Wednesday's opponent, Bucknell, is better than a typical early-season walkover. The Bison have all five starters returning from last year's Patriot League championship team that narrowly lost to West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. It will be an opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament-type game at the Smith Center on Wednesday night…If Carolina can beat Bucknell, it will be Williams' 400^th win at Carolina and his 200^th win at the Smith Center.

Players Mentioned

Garrison Brooks

Brandon Huffman

Sterling Manley

Theo Pinson

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