Lucas: Carolina Basketball Notebook

By Adam Lucas

Two straight January losses created some tension in the Carolina basketball world over the past few days.

Some of that stress is deserved. That's why Roy Williams spent an hour and 25 minutes with his team watching fourteen and a half minutes of game film from Saturday's loss at Virginia—with plenty of rewinding…and rewinding…and rewinding accounting for the extra hour and eleven minutes.

"We've had a meeting of the minds the last couple days and showed them a lot of tape," Roy Williams told Jones Angell on his radio show Monday night. "I've been really upset, because we haven't played well."

But Williams is also in his 30^th season as a head coach, which means he has a little wider perspective on what he frequently calls the "marathon" of a regular season. So in addition to cajoling his team on areas in which he believes they can play better—decreasing the turnovers, shooting better from the field, improved intensity—he also reminded them this weekend that plenty of the season remains.

"I wrote something on the board for them last night after practice," he said. "Last year, we were the NCAA champions, and we had four road losses. We lost at Virginia, and we've done that again. We lost at Miami, and we've lost one this year in the state of Florida. I talked to them about Ohio State, a team that we beat, that beat the number-one team in the country (Michigan State) and had them by 20 points at one point."

Williams perfectly summed up the situation for the Tar Heels, who will host Boston College on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. in an important ACC game. "It's not time to panic," he said. "But it is time to start playing better."

Need for Improvement: Several Tar Heels want to improve on recent performances, with no one really able to say they've played consistently well throughout the three ACC games. One who has drawn the most attention is Luke Maye, who is 22-66 from the field in his last five games after shooting 56.5 percent in the first 11 games of the season. Maye uncharacteristically missed a couple of layups against the Cavaliers. Combined with a free throw that didn't draw iron, it looked like perhaps the junior was thinking a little too much on the court.

"He has to be more focused and not feel the pressure," Williams said. "I told him, 'You don't need to be anybody but Luke Maye, and be Luke Maye to the best of your ability."

Somewhat lost in the recent discussion of Maye's performance is the fact that he remains 12^th in the country in defensive rebounding, 16^th in overall rebounding and 20^th in double-doubles.

After a hot start to his junior campaign, Maye's name is likely near the top of most opposing scouting reports. But he says he hasn't gotten different shots or been defended differently.

"I feel like I'm getting the same open looks and my teammates are hitting me in open spots," Maye said this weekend. "I don't think there's any difference in the way people are playing me. I have to make shots. And, really, it starts on the defensive end. I have to do better for my team."

Briefly: Williams indicated that at the time, he did not see the initial interaction between Joel Berry and official Ted Valentine in Tallahassee. But he did see Berry put the ball on the court afterwards, and told Berry in the huddle, "You go apologize for setting the ball down, because that's not what you do." Berry didn't chirp back with what Valentine had done to precipitate the confrontation. "I love that," the head coach said. Williams said he has talked to the ACC supervisor of officials about the incident and hopes everyone can move on soon…Williams said Seventh Woods is making progress but not close to a return. "He's out of a boot and off the crutches," Williams said. "He's doing some dribbling and shooting but no running."…The three players named by Williams who he thinks could be potential coaches: Maye, Theo Pinson and Kenny Williams. The head coach reserved judgment on some of the younger players until he gets to know their on-court demeanor a little better.

Players Mentioned

Luke Maye

Theo Pinson

Kenny Williams

Seventh Woods

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