GoHeels Exclusive: Press Conference Notes

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

CHAPEL HILL—Playing golf with a few NBA friends last summer, Roy Williams said many encouraged him to continue using the traditional two-big lineup that's become less common in recent years.

For a majority of this season, that's the approach Williams has stuck with. But since Cameron Johnson returned from a torn meniscus in his left knee on Dec. 20, Williams has experimented with a small lineup that features Luke Maye at the five spot along with Joel Berry II, Johnson, Theo Pinson and Kenny Williams.

That group has shown flashes of potential in limited minutes. But during his press conference on Friday, Williams remained cautious about straying away from the two-big lineup.

"That's what I'm comfortable with," Williams said. "So to me, I look at other people and say, 'OK, if I had Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green shooting the ball, the center probably wouldn't get many opportunities.' But I still want to be balanced.

"I still believe in the bottom of my soul that the most important thing is getting the ball inside because you're going to get fouls on the other team. I think shooting free throws, getting to the foul line, is extremely important to your scoring. Period."

Here are four other notes from the press conference, leading up to Saturday's noon game against Wake Forest at the Smith Center:

Giving something up
One of Williams' largest concerns about utilizing a smaller lineup is rim protection. And through the first 13 games of his college career, Garrison Brooks has proven to be one of UNC's most effective defensive players.

Brooks has claimed the defensive player of the game award three times, tying him with Joel Berry for second on the team. Without him, Sterling Manley or Brandon Huffman on the floor, the Tar Heels will likely be more vulnerable in the post.

"I've had guys here two years who were drafted highly in the NBA and never won a defensive player of the game award a single time," Williams said. "So you have to look at those kinds of things, too. 'OK, we'll play smaller.' Well, you're going to give something up."

No worries about Maye
Although Maye has remained productive, his offensive numbers haven't been as prolific over the last three games as they were at the beginning of the season.

Maye averaged 19.9 points on 57.1 percent shooting in UNC's first 10 games. Since then, he's averaged 13.7 points on 36.8 percent shooting against Tennessee, Wofford and Ohio State.

"Some games you're going to shoot it well and sometimes you're not going to shoot your best," Maye said. "I feel like I'm going to continue to shoot shots when I'm open and continue to try to do the best I can to score inside and really have more points in the paint."

Maye said he needs to have more of a "ready mindset," especially at the beginning of games. But neither he nor Williams expressed concerns about Maye's shooting numbers.

"His numbers were so off the charts," Williams said. "It's hard to expect anybody to maintain that kind of thing. But I think Luke will continue to be a very effective offensive player and a very effective rebounder for us because he'll figure some things out.

"And then it's up to us to realize, 'OK, we need to do a better job of screening for him to see if we can get him a little more open than he was before.'"

3-point shooting success
The Tar Heels are shooting 39.6 percent on 3-pointers, which ranked 39th nationally through Thursday's games. They're making 7.8 3-pointers per game, tied for the second most in school history. The record is 8.3 per game during 2002-03 season.

Asked about his team's 3-point shooting, Williams said he feels "very confident." Still, UNC hasn't displayed the same sort of inside-out game that he desires.

"We need to make some of those (3-pointers) because we don't have, so far, the balance in the scoring that I always like," he said. "We don't have that guy who is scoring baskets inside, even though Luke is doing some of his work inside and outside."

Easing back from injury
Since returning from his injury, Johnson has averaged 12 points and four rebounds across two games. He played 17 minutes in his Tar Heel debut against Wofford before playing 23 against Ohio State.

Johnson said he's starting to feel more comfortable on the court. And he said he's benefitted from being able to focus primarily on basketball during Winter Break.

"I feel like I'm making strides every day still," he said. "But this last week-and-a-half has done a lot for me, trying to get back in the lineup and all of that. I'm really happy just to be back out there in general and am really looking forward to continuing to smooth things out."

Players Mentioned

Joel Berry II

Garrison Brooks

Brandon Huffman

Cameron Johnson

Sterling Manley

Luke Maye

Theo Pinson

Kenny Williams

Related Videos