Lucas: Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Impressive offensive performance by Carolina in the team's PK80 opener, rolling to a 102-78 win over host Portland. The Tar Heels were a little sleepy in the first half of an 11:30 local time start, but made the first nine shots of the second half and hit nearly 60 percent from the field overall in the final half.

2. After such a solid display, it's hard to single out just one individual for their offensive exploits. Luke Maye had a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds in just 27 minutes, Theo Pinson approached a triple-double, and Joel Berry II scored 18. And then, sneakily, there was Andrew Platek, who made a pair of three-pointers and scored a career-high 12 points off the bench.

3. Player of the game goes to Tar Heel senior manager John Bumgarner, who was one of the legions in charge of keeping the floor moisture-free at the Moda Center. No one seemed exactly sure what caused it, but the building does also host ice hockey, and it went from very warm two hours before the game to frigid during the course of the action, so perhaps that had something to do with it. Either way, kudos to Bumgarner and several others for helping try to keep everyone safe.

4. As Kenny Williams' game continues to blossom, here's an underappreciated part of his offense: he's a very strong individual. Twice on Thursday, he scored through significant contact from his defender. As he gets more comfortable with taking the ball to the basket, that will be an important Carolina offensive weapon. Prior to this week, the most points Williams had scored in consecutive games in his Tar Heel career were 26. He's now tallied 37 in the last two games.

5. There are lots of highlights still to come for the 2017-18 Tar Heels, but the play in the first half when Kenny Williams found Theo Pinson under the rim for what looked like an easy basket, only to have Pinson touch-pass it over to Garrison Brooks for a one-handed dunk, will go on the season highlight reel. The play highlighted the unselfishness of both Williams and Pinson. And a few minutes later, a textbook example of why you'll never need to worry about the 2018 chemistry, as Joel Berry II and Luke Maye took charges on back to back possessions. When your veteran leaders are making plays like that, everyone else falls in line.

6. It was interesting to hear Portland coach Terry Porter's thoughts on the Tar Heel backcourt. Porter, of course, was a longtime standout for the Portland Trail Blazers, and has his number in the rafters of the Moda Center. "Wow," he said when asked for his impressions of Joel Berry II and Kenny Williams. "They really compete. What else can you say? They are both upperclassmen, the moment is never too big for them, they can score any way they want and they get up in you defensively and pressure you. I'm very impressed with their ability to impact the game."

7. It's a unique atmosphere here in Portland, where the two eight-team brackets are running concurrently right next to each other. The Moda Center (where Carolina played Thursday) and Veterans Memorial Coliseum (where tomorrow's game will be) are steps from each other, making it twice the size of a typical NCAA Tournament environment. As they did on Monday night in Palo Alto, the Tar Heels had a very strong fan turnout in Portland, 2,800 miles from the Smith Center.

8. Fans probably don't have a full appreciation for what a big deal the PK80 is to the players. More than some of those of us in the older generation, they understand what a big deal it is to celebrate Phil Knight, who addressed all the participating players at a tournament event on Wednesday night. And let's don't forget the gear. The Tar Heels got new clothing from head to toe for this event--including what can only be described as black capri pants for warmup gear, which they all loved--which goes a long way to creating a special Thanksgiving in their minds.

9. Tomorrow's game at 3:30 p.m. Eastern against the winner of Oklahoma and Arkansas begins what could be a very challenging eight-day stretch that also includes Sunday's game in the PK80, a trip back across the country, Wednesday's home tilt with Michigan, and Friday's journey to red-hot Davidson.

10. Wednesday's victory reminds you just how hard it is to record a triple-double in college basketball. Theo Pinson had a great all-around game and finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. But the Tar Heels needed him for just 23 minutes, and he fell a little short of just the third triple-double in Carolina history (Brendan Haywood and Jason Capel--who did it within two weeks of each other in 2000--are the only players to do it).

11. Expect Maye to spend plenty of time over the holidays working on his free throw stroke. The junior hit just two of four from the line against the Pilots, and is now at an even 50 percent (7 of 14) for the season. The notoriously hard worker has a good shot and nice touch, and after shooting 57.9 percent from the line last year, he'll find a way to get it worked out.

12. The youngsters are learning. Brandon Huffman has drawn the ire of Roy Williams on a couple of occasions for celebrating big plays a little too vociferously. But he slammed through a powerful dunk in the second half and immediately sprinted back on defense. The freshman had five points and three rebounds in nine minutes.

Players Mentioned

Joel Berry II

Garrison Brooks

Brandon Huffman

Luke Maye

Theo Pinson

Andrew Platek

Kenny Williams

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