Lucas: Owning It

By Adam Lucas

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—As soon as Joel Berry II missed the potential game-winning shot with seconds remaining on Wednesday night, he immediately felt compelled to do something a little unusual: he apologized.

With Florida State leading 81-80, Berry's aggressive drive ended up with him on the floor and the ball bouncing off the rim. As he lay just beyond the baseline, he instantly knew what had happened.

"As soon as I shot the floater, I knew Cam (Johnson) had been open," Berry said.

As the Seminoles went to shoot free throws, Berry walked up to the Pitt transfer. "That's my fault," he told Johnson. "I should've kicked it out to you."

Berry repeated the apology in the locker room to his teammates. It's a powerful message to hear from the Final Four Most Outstanding Player. He has won awards. His jersey is already qualified for the rafters.

And on Wednesday, he made a mistake. Of course, he also scored 28 points before making that mistake, almost singlehandedly keeping the Tar Heels in a difficult road game. He scored on drives. He scored on three-pointers.

This was going to be a magical finish. Helped by some quality second half play from Theo Pinson, Berry was going to rally his team and make the game-winner in his home state. Playing less than four hours from his hometown of Apopka in his last regular season trip to his home state, Berry had the ball in his hands with the seconds melting away. Nearly a full row of his family and friends were on their feet behind the Tar Heel bench. You could feel the storybook finish.

But here's the thing: Berry's story isn't finished. As he will be the first to tell you, he's not a completed product just yet. Just last year, after losses at Miami and to Duke in the ACC Tournament, Roy Williams had to illustrate to his fiery leader how the guard's emotions sometimes negatively impacted his game. Berry made noticeable changes to his on-court demeanor and has become a better leader.

He'll learn from this one, too. Remember, of all the players on the court in the final seconds, Berry and Johnson might have had the least acquaintance with each other.

"If you think about it, Joel and I haven't played together very much," Johnson said. "For a big chunk of the preseason, when he was out with his injury, I was playing. And when he came back, I was hurt. That adds up to nine or ten weeks we missed out on playing together.

"Going forward, it's the kind of thing we learn from. There are situations we learn from and tendencies we learn from. Any time you play with a point guard, they have to understand me and I have to understand them. When you get in game situations, a lot of stuff happens that isn't instinctive when you haven't played together for a long time. He doesn't necessarily know yet where I'll be or where I'm most comfortable taking shots or how I can help him and he can help me."

You can't replicate that knowledge (or the maturity of Johnson to recognize it minutes after a tight loss, because don't forget, Johnson is a competitor who wants to take that last shot just as much as Berry does). When Pinson snagged a key steal with Carolina trailing by four in the final minute, it looked for a second as though he and Berry would have a two-on-one fast break. But the seniors have played four years together. Berry faded to the wing, while Pinson fired him a perfect pass and went to the rim, where he knew he would have inside position if his teammate missed the three-pointer. Berry made it, cutting the deficit to one, yet another reminder of what a big but underappreciated role familiarity plays in key situations.

Johnson had also been open on Berry's drive against Wake. By February, Berry will know exactly where his teammate is going in that situation and exactly where he needs to deliver the ball. He'll have racked up a dozen assists by driving and kicking the ball out to Johnson. Now, on January 3, he isn't quite sure. And you make mistakes in ACC basketball by not being sure. So Berry relied on someone in whom he is completely confident: himself. That's part of what makes Joel Berry, Joel Berry.

But he's also savvy enough to know when he makes a mistake. Maybe you are fortunate and everyone in your life immediately admits every mistake. Most of us are not so lucky. We are talking about a 22-year-old, who within moments of playing a nationally televised game, wanted to acknowledge what he'd done wrong. That's as refreshing as it is abnormal.

We take it for granted because we've grown accustomed to watching Tar Heels do this, and it's what we'd expect from Joel Berry, but it's still remarkable. I don't know about you, but I'm still not convinced I was wrong about something as insignificant as when I gave the Creighton mascot a friendly gesture after a game several years ago (I just wanted to tell him he was number-one). One day, perhaps, I'll be as mature as Joel Berry.

Until then, we'll have to be content with what a great reminder he brought us of exactly what Dean Smith said about making a mistake.

First, recognize it. Done. Berry did that before he got back to his feet.

Next, admit it. Done. Berry took ownership both with Johnson and with the rest of his teammates.

Then, learn from it. That will happen. Mark that play—similar to Raymond Felton and the Tar Heels fumbling the ball out of bounds at Duke in 2005—and let's come back to it later this year and evaluate the role it had in the rest of the season, and how the Tar Heels grow from it.

Finally, forget it. Berry isn't quite ready for that just yet. He sat in his jersey for a long time, stone silent, in the Carolina locker room after the game. No words, no phone. Just sitting, picturing the play, knowing he'd made an error. Not that he'd missed a shot. But that he hadn't helped his team win.

"I will go back and look at that play and realize I had someone open," he said. "I was trying to be aggressive and do what I can for my team. I wanted us to win so badly. It's not me trying to be the hero. It's me wanting to be a basketball player and compete and do whatever I can to help my team win…In that situation, I have to be a basketball player, and that play should've been kicked out."

Forget it? Not Berry, not just yet.

"It was my fault," the 28-point scorer said one more time as he packed up to leave the locker room. "I have to be better. And I will be."

Players Mentioned

Joel Berry II

Theo Pinson

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