Lucas: UNC Basketball Notebook

By Adam Lucas

Garrison Brooks and Sterling Manley have played some of their best basketball during the postseason. Brooks put up ten points against Duke's tough front line, and Manley had ten rebounds against Lipscomb in his debut NCAA Tournament performance.

Both will be needed tomorrow against Texas A&M's impressive frontcourt. The Aggies have a trio of 6-foot-10 players, including Tyler Davis, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Robert Williams. In many ways, it's the reverse of a typical Carolina matchup, when the Tar Heels have a size advantage and are hoping to physically overwhelm an opponent. This time, it's Texas A&M that wants to force the smaller Tar Heels to guard them in the post, meaning Luke Maye, along with Brooks and Manley, will have to play some of their best post defense of the year.

"All three of them that we've looked at are very skilled," Maye said. "They all do different things. We've had experience going against Duke three times, and Louisville and Miami present a strong frontcourt. It will be a great test for us. Our bigs coming off the bench have been outstanding the last couple games."

Brooks and Manley played a combined 26 minutes on Friday afternoon and one or the other (or both) have played double-digit minutes in each of the last three games, after they reached that mark just twice in the previous eight games.

"We're putting them in difficult situations and expecting them to perform," Roy Williams said. "What they've done so far has been good. This may be the biggest challenge they've had."

The Texas A&M height won't just be an issue in the post. Wing D.J. Hoag is 6-foot-9 and guard Admon Gilder is a solid 6-foot-4. Williams called them "maybe the biggest team I've ever looked at." That length landed the Aggies just outside the top 20 in offensive rebounding percentage this year, a category in which Carolina currently ranks third. Expect second chance points and rebounding from all five players to be a key factor in Sunday's game.

"Our length and size is something I don't think they've seen a lot of," said Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy.

Pinson points: Theo Pinson's 15-point, 10-rebound, seven-assist stat line against Lipscomb was a notable one. He tied the closest any Tar Heel has ever come to a triple-double (Steve Bucknall had 10 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds against Michigan in the 1989 Sweet 16) in NCAA Tournament competition.

Coaching connection: One of the more unexpected coaching connections this season is the mutual admiration society between Roy Williams and Kennedy. Williams first mentioned he considers Kennedy "one of my big heroes" because of Kennedy's battle with Parkinson's disease. "I'm a great admirer of his," Williams said.

Kennedy was equally complimentary during Saturday's media session. "He understands it's a challenge and he's really been supportive every time I've seen him," Kennedy said. "He's a special man and a special coach. For him to say something like that is definitely touching and encouraging."

Briefly: The Carolina-Texas A&M basketball history is a short one. Carolina is 2-1 against the Aggies all-time, but both of the wins came in the regular season (2000 and 2001). Texas A&M won the lone NCAA Tournament matchup, a 78-61 Tar Heel loss in 1980 in a second round game played in Denton, Tex. That contest went to double overtime and Al Wood scored 26 for Carolina, which had just four assists and 16 turnovers. One of Roy Williams' best memories of that game: "We were walking out of the gym and Eddie Fogler said, 'We've got to get to Albany, New York. There's a guy there named Sam Perkins who can help us.'"…Carolina will need to be more careful with the ball against a Texas A&M team that is rugged defensively, but not especially intent on causing turnovers. The Aggies were in the bottom 40 in the country in defensive turnover percentage. But the Tar Heels turned it over 18 times against a relaxed Lipscomb defense, one short of the season high, and can't afford to be that careless again…

On the opposite side, it will be interesting to see if Williams employs any of Carolina's traps against an opponent that turned it over on 19.2 percent of its possessions this season. Williams often likes using traps to generate momentum in front of a favorable crowd, and with Virginia eliminated, Sunday's Spectrum Arena attendance should be decidedly pro-Tar Heel…You're used to many Carolina games this year being decided outside the three-point line. A key part of Sunday's matchup will take place inside the arc. The Tar Heels' two-point field goal percentage defense ranks among the nation's best 15, while the Aggies get 56.3 percent of their points on two-point shots and occasionally struggle from the three-point line.

Players Mentioned

Garrison Brooks

Sterling Manley

Luke Maye

Theo Pinson

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