Lucas: Tar Heel Basketball Notebook

By Adam Lucas

Earlier this week, you read about the offseason work Jonas Sahratian has done with the 2018 Tar Heels. As he mentioned, one of his biggest challenges is showing the newcomers exactly how far they can go.

But Sahratian also has another, very different challenge with senior Joel Berry. The point guard is strong and has always been committed in the weight room. So how does Sahratian help him push himself even further?

"A lot of the stuff we're trying to do with Joel is improve his explosiveness, power output and rate of force development," Sahratian says. "We want to see how quickly he can produce force and try to make him more explosive."

Especially on a young team, Berry's presence is an asset when Sahratian works with some of the younger players.

"Joel is a really strong, powerful guy, so it's especially good for the other point guards to see that," Sahratian says. "He's setting the standard and he's showing them the place they can hopefully reach. He is always leading by example, and he knows the other guys are going to follow his lead."

Senior goals: With ACC and NCAA championships already on their resumes, Berry and fellow senior Theo Pinson don't appear to have much left to accomplish. Pinson says one of the most frequent offseason questions he's received is, "What do you have left to accomplish?"

Pinson just shakes his head.

"I really think people underestimate how competitive Joel and I are," he says. "Everyone knows we're friends, and they don't see that when we are in different teams in pickup or in practice, we're out there talking junk to each other, doing everything we can to win. It's going to be the same this year. When we get out there on the court, we want to win. There is no other way to play."

Sophomore surge: One of the most relatable parts of the immediate aftermath of the national championship victory over Gonzaga was Brandon Robinson's excitement at sharing the moment with his father, Frank Robinson. The elder Robinson is a diehard Tar Heel fan who has followed the team for decades.

So, how was it?

"It was one of the greatest moments of my life," Brandon says of seeing his father after the game in Phoenix. "The joy in his face when he talked about watching me win a championship playing at the school he loves was unbelievable. People at home say he walks around with a Carolina national championship hat all the time."

Frank Robinson was on the Kenan Stadium field when Robinson received his national championship ring, presented to him by 1993 Final Four Most Outstanding Player Donald Williams. "It was unbelievable for me to get to see that," Frank says. "I got chills. I couldn't believe that was my son out there. My son was on a North Carolina national championship team. What an incredible honor."

The younger Robinson, who has switched to jersey number 4 for his sophomore campaign, added five pounds this summer, which is a sizable increase for his frame. He says Roy Williams gave him the following list of tasks this summer: "Get stronger, take better shots, make better decisions and be a hardnosed defender."

Robinson received a first-hand example of the latter during the end of the 2016-17 season, when Justin Jackson—better known for his offense—repeatedly requested the toughest defensive assignment from the opponent's perimeter players. Robinson tried to carry that lesson into summer pickup games.

"I know that being a good defender starts with heart and being willing to guard the other team's best player," he says. "This summer in pickup I've been guarding Marcus (Paige) a lot. He's so crafty on offense, and guarding him has helped me a lot. I want to be able to cause havoc on the defensive end this year."

Players Mentioned

Justin Jackson

Theo Pinson

Brandon Robinson

Related Videos