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University of North Carolina Athletics
Kenny Williams drained six three-pointers in the win over Duke.
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
GoHeels Exclusive: No Hesitation
February 9, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers
by Pat James, GoHeels.com
Perhaps it began Saturday night, when Kenny Williams shook his shooting slump and made 3-of-5 3-pointers against Pittsburgh.
He said he sensed it during the shootaround.
But moments removed from standing on a chair on North Carolina's bench and screaming to the students below him after Thursday's 82-78 win over Duke, Theo Pinson jokingly referenced his pregame discussion with Williams as what potentially triggered his teammate's career night.
"I said, 'Kenny, if you hesitate on any shot, I'm going to call a timeout and I'm going to punch you in the face,'" Pinson recalled. "Kenny is too good of a shooter to hesitate. Every time he shoots it, I think it's going in. 'No need for you to hesitate. Shoot the ball.'"
And that Williams did, on his way to one of the finest shooting performances by a Tar Heel against the Blue Devils.
After averaging 6.8 points and shooting 22.2 percent on 3-pointers over his last five games, Williams erupted for 20 points and made six shots from behind the arc, matching career highs he set at Stanford on Nov. 20, 2017.
His six 3-pointers also tied the UNC record for the most against Duke. Current assistant coach Hubert Davis made six against the Blue Devils on March 8, 1992 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"I just wanted to come out and be aggressive," said Williams, who went 7-for-15 from the field. "All of the shots that I took, except maybe one that I can remember, were pretty much wide open. I was just taking what they were giving me, and I knocked them down tonight."
But in recent weeks, those shots, for whatever reason, weren't falling.
Williams averaged 13.5 points and shot 54.5 percent on 3-pointers through the Tar Heels' first 11 games of the season. But beginning with the Wofford loss on Dec. 20, he averaged 9.1 points and shot 28.6 percent from behind the arc over the next 13 games.
Still, he said his confidence never wavered. He never stressed about making any changes. And his performance against Pittsburgh allowed him build momentum heading into Thursday.
"It feels a lot better when the shots go in, I can tell you that," he said. "I knew I would be fine, I knew I'd find my touch again. There wasn't anybody in here doubting whether I'd be able to come back from that slump I was in.Â
"Everybody believed, everybody sees it every day, everybody expected this."
One might not have after Williams missed his first attempt, a wide-open shot from the right wing, about two minutes into Thursday's game. But he kept shooting and made four 3-pointers within the first eight minutes. Three came in a 90-second span.
As UNC searched for offensive production from someone other than Williams or Cameron Johnson – who combined for 20 of the team's first 24 points – Duke pushed its lead to as many as 12, thanks in large part to a 14-4 run.
At one point during that stretch, Grayson Allen tossed an alley-oop to Wendell Carter Jr. That prompted Gary Trent Jr. to provide some running commentary to Williams.
"He was jawing, he was saying a couple of things," Williams said. "But I wasn't really paying attention to it. I don't really get into all of that unless somebody says something really disrespectful. I heard him, smiled and nodded and kept running down the court."
Williams' early surge helped the Tar Heels trail by just four points at halftime. His scoring slowed as the second half progressed. But his most significant play came on his lone assist.
After the Blue Devils gradually cut UNC's lead from 10 down to three with about five minutes left, Williams drove a few possessions later and found Johnson for a 3-pointer, snapping a scoring drought of 5 1/2 minutes and extending the Tar Heels' lead to six.
"We missed about 77 shots in a row it seemed like," Roy Williams said. "You run a set play and don't get anything out of it, but Kenny penetrates and hits Cam out on the left wing across from our bench, and he made the three and I thought that was huge for us to give us a little space to breathe."
Duke continued to stay within striking distance. But with 21 seconds left, Williams stole a pass from Allen, leading to Pinson's finishing dunk.Â
Three other Tar Heels joined Williams with at least 15 points. And in one the most complete team efforts of the season, he said the victory showed what this team is capable of when every player contributes.
"I think we needed a game like this," Williams said. "Especially after the last month, not playing the best basketball that we can play, to come out and play the way we played tonight is pretty big for us, especially the young guys, because we know we have it in us. We know we can play at a high level and we need to."
Perhaps it began Saturday night, when Kenny Williams shook his shooting slump and made 3-of-5 3-pointers against Pittsburgh.
He said he sensed it during the shootaround.
But moments removed from standing on a chair on North Carolina's bench and screaming to the students below him after Thursday's 82-78 win over Duke, Theo Pinson jokingly referenced his pregame discussion with Williams as what potentially triggered his teammate's career night.
"I said, 'Kenny, if you hesitate on any shot, I'm going to call a timeout and I'm going to punch you in the face,'" Pinson recalled. "Kenny is too good of a shooter to hesitate. Every time he shoots it, I think it's going in. 'No need for you to hesitate. Shoot the ball.'"
And that Williams did, on his way to one of the finest shooting performances by a Tar Heel against the Blue Devils.
After averaging 6.8 points and shooting 22.2 percent on 3-pointers over his last five games, Williams erupted for 20 points and made six shots from behind the arc, matching career highs he set at Stanford on Nov. 20, 2017.
His six 3-pointers also tied the UNC record for the most against Duke. Current assistant coach Hubert Davis made six against the Blue Devils on March 8, 1992 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"I just wanted to come out and be aggressive," said Williams, who went 7-for-15 from the field. "All of the shots that I took, except maybe one that I can remember, were pretty much wide open. I was just taking what they were giving me, and I knocked them down tonight."
But in recent weeks, those shots, for whatever reason, weren't falling.
Williams averaged 13.5 points and shot 54.5 percent on 3-pointers through the Tar Heels' first 11 games of the season. But beginning with the Wofford loss on Dec. 20, he averaged 9.1 points and shot 28.6 percent from behind the arc over the next 13 games.
Still, he said his confidence never wavered. He never stressed about making any changes. And his performance against Pittsburgh allowed him build momentum heading into Thursday.
"It feels a lot better when the shots go in, I can tell you that," he said. "I knew I would be fine, I knew I'd find my touch again. There wasn't anybody in here doubting whether I'd be able to come back from that slump I was in.Â
"Everybody believed, everybody sees it every day, everybody expected this."
One might not have after Williams missed his first attempt, a wide-open shot from the right wing, about two minutes into Thursday's game. But he kept shooting and made four 3-pointers within the first eight minutes. Three came in a 90-second span.
As UNC searched for offensive production from someone other than Williams or Cameron Johnson – who combined for 20 of the team's first 24 points – Duke pushed its lead to as many as 12, thanks in large part to a 14-4 run.
At one point during that stretch, Grayson Allen tossed an alley-oop to Wendell Carter Jr. That prompted Gary Trent Jr. to provide some running commentary to Williams.
"He was jawing, he was saying a couple of things," Williams said. "But I wasn't really paying attention to it. I don't really get into all of that unless somebody says something really disrespectful. I heard him, smiled and nodded and kept running down the court."
Williams' early surge helped the Tar Heels trail by just four points at halftime. His scoring slowed as the second half progressed. But his most significant play came on his lone assist.
After the Blue Devils gradually cut UNC's lead from 10 down to three with about five minutes left, Williams drove a few possessions later and found Johnson for a 3-pointer, snapping a scoring drought of 5 1/2 minutes and extending the Tar Heels' lead to six.
"We missed about 77 shots in a row it seemed like," Roy Williams said. "You run a set play and don't get anything out of it, but Kenny penetrates and hits Cam out on the left wing across from our bench, and he made the three and I thought that was huge for us to give us a little space to breathe."
Duke continued to stay within striking distance. But with 21 seconds left, Williams stole a pass from Allen, leading to Pinson's finishing dunk.Â
Three other Tar Heels joined Williams with at least 15 points. And in one the most complete team efforts of the season, he said the victory showed what this team is capable of when every player contributes.
"I think we needed a game like this," Williams said. "Especially after the last month, not playing the best basketball that we can play, to come out and play the way we played tonight is pretty big for us, especially the young guys, because we know we have it in us. We know we can play at a high level and we need to."
Players Mentioned
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