Lucas: Coach Says

By Adam Lucas

CHARLOTTE—This time, Roy Williams shouted Brandon Robinson's name on the Tar Heel sideline for a positive reason.

The last time any of us saw Robinson, he was getting chewed almost completely through on the sideline by Roy Williams during the Carolina-Michigan game on Wednesday night.

Williams had barked Robinson's name, and the sophomore didn't respond as quickly as the head coach would have liked. This was immediately addressed in stern fashion by Williams, who removed Robinson from the game and then made his point quickly and loudly on the Carolina bench.

"He was trying to help me, and I didn't look when he was talking to me," Robinson said. "I have to know that I have to take advantage of those chances when Coach is trying to help me."

Which is what he did 48 hours later. On a night when Joel Berry's 27 points and Luke Maye's 24 points and 17 rebounds will get most of the headlines, it was Robinson and fellow reserve Sterling Manley who were key off the bench. The Tar Heel reserved had contributed minimally in the last three games, averaging just over ten points per contest in the last three games.

But in the 85-75 win over Davidson, the UNC bench had 15, with Robinson (eight points) and Manley (seven points) carrying the full scoring load for the subs.

It wasn't just their scoring, however. Robinson pushed the ball on the break and followed exactly what Williams had written on the locker room chalkboard before the game—attack the rim. He had back-to-back transition baskets in the first half and also flashed a shot he's used with increasing success in the early part of the season—a step-back midrange jumper that has looked much smoother than his freshman season shot.

The sophomore continued his strong play with a great second half sequence that included diving on the floor in front of the UNC bench to save a potential turnover, then grabbing an offensive rebound. For the game, Carolina was +14 with Robinson on the court.

"I was trying to make plays and letting the game come to me," Robinson said. "In that last game, I felt like I disappointed Coach Williams. I wanted to bounce back and play better tonight."

He did, which is why Williams was screaming his name for the second straight game—this time for a positive reason. After that second-half dive, the head coach shouted, "Atta boy, Brandon!" which qualifies as big in-game praise.

Around the time Robinson entered the game, it looked like Carolina might have to play small for the remainder of the game to combat Davidson's perimeter marksmanship. The Tar Heel big men were having trouble staying engaged in the game with the constant barrage of three-pointers.

But then Manley entered midway through the half and aggressively generated points on three out of four possessions. The combination of Robinson's hustle and Manley's production were a major factor in Carolina stretching the lead from three points early in the half to an eventual gap that stretched as big as 17 points.

You can draw almost a direct correlation between the players who most frequently quote Roy Williams after the game and the players who find a way to improve and get more playing time. So it's a very good sign that Manley assessed his seven-point, four-rebound performance this way:

"Coach always says to play with a sense of urgency. I just want to play as hard as I can. I try to focus on rebounding and getting involved in the game and talking. Coach always says, 'If you get 30 seconds, make it the best 30 seconds you can play.' I want to play hard and do whatever the team needs, whether it's blocks, rebounds, or whatever they need at the time."

That's two "Coach says" in a four-sentence quote, and that's a very good sign.

So the night was largely about Berry and Maye, yes. But the dynamic duo—you know, Stackhouse/Wallace, Jamison/Carter, Maye/Berry—also helps set an example that's impossible not to follow. It was a back screen by Berry—the reigning Final Four Most Outstanding Player, the guy with his jersey already fitted for the Smith Center rafters, a player who might otherwise feel he doesn't have to set screens anymore—that helped free Maye for one of his ten field goals.

"Coach emphasizes doing whatever it takes to help the team," Berry said, and maybe you see what we mean about the players who quote the coach. "That will probably end up on a clip tape to show the younger guys, because sometimes you have to set a screen and stand in there and take a hit, because it's worth it if the team gets a basket."

You just can't underestimate what it means to a team to have a veteran in the locker room who understands the value of those plays, whether he's executing them himself or noticing them in others. Berry's eyes lit up when asked about the contributions of Robinson and Manley.

"They did some things that don't always show up in the stat sheet that make a huge difference in the game," he said. "We have guys who are already established who can score the ball. We need guys to come in and do the other things. That's what is so valuable, because we had that last year, with guys who came off the bench and gave us a spark. Coach emphasizes that all the time, that we have to find a way to make the plays that get us an extra couple of possessions. That's what those guys did for us, and those small plays make a big difference."

Players Mentioned

Sterling Manley

Luke Maye

Brandon Robinson

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