University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Expect the Unexpected
February 8, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2005
By Adam Lucas
In case you haven't heard, Jackie Manuel will be guarding J.J. Redick Wednesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
That's become the spotlight matchup in a spotlight game. And defending the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading scorer (Redick hits at a 22.8 points per game clip) will be a challenge for the wiry Manuel.
"A lot of guys have the green light," says Manuel. "But I think Melvin (Scott) put it best: J.J. has the highway. No lights, no nothing, just a highway. He can do anything he wants."
Manuel held Redick to a combined 6-of-21 last year, and this year he'll get relief help from David Noel, whose physical style has been the perfect complement to Manuel's slithering defense against Julius Hodge and Von Wafer. After two years of being forced into the paint defensively by Carolina's lack of depth, Noel has been a revelation on the perimeter.
But even with Redick's struggles from the field, Duke still went 2-0 against the Tar Heels last year.
So what's the key to tomorrow night's game? It'll turn out to be something that isn't written about in game previews, something that creeps up during the game and surprises everyone.
Something like Matt Doherty taking the ball the length of the floor to tie the game on Senior Day in 1984, two of his 12 points on the day. Or something like Ronald Curry scoring six straight second-half points in less than a minute in the game at Cameron in 2001 to help the Tar Heels build a seven-point lead.
And it works both ways. In 1968, the previously unheralded Fred Lind, who averaged 2.8 points per game for the season, scored 16 points and played more minutes in Duke's triple-overtime upset win than in the rest of the season combined.
Redick, Shelden Williams, and Daniel Ewing are likely to get their usual contributions, as are Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, and Sean May. But what are the keys that lurk just below the surface?
"Lee Melchionni," May says. "To me, he's been playing great. He doesn't get a lot of hype, knocks down a lot of shots, and is a tough-nosed kid. You have to watch out for that kid who just wants that opportunity to play and who nobody ever talks about."
There's no formula for determining the soon-to-be-revealed X factor. But there's a lingering suspicion in the Carolina locker room that at some point, Melvin Scott is going to win the Tar Heels a game. Elbowed out of his starting role by Manuel, he's seen his minutes drop to 14.2 per game. He's made just 3-of-15 shots in his previous three trips to Cameron Indoor Stadium. But when the Heels were blowing through the Maui Invitational, it was Scott who contributed 10.3 points per game and hit some key perimeter jumpers.
He hasn't made more than two three-pointers in a game since Jan. 2, and he could've used his declining minutes as justification for poisoning the locker room chemistry, something that has occasionally derailed previous super-talented Tar Heel teams. Instead, though, Scott has remained generally upbeat. He had a heart-to-heart talk with May before the Florida State game and responded with 8 points and 3 rebounds.
"We want him to pump away when he's out there on the floor, because we know he's going to hit some shots," May said. "He could've been a real headache for this team. But the way he's handled it has allowed this team to stay focused and keep our group tight and together."
Scott's frequent backcourt partner, Raymond Felton, could provide another unheralded contribution. The junior point guard is responsible for setting the offensive tempo. But he also will match up defensively against Sean Dockery, the Duke point guard who has handed out just 47 assists this season.
The Manuel-Redick matchup will get most of the defensive attention, and May-Shelden Williams will pick up whatever's left over. But it's Felton-Dockery that will determine how the Blue Devils are able to initiate their offense. Want a blueprint for how to take Duke out of their game? Think King Rice vs. Bobby Hurley circa 1990.
"He's done a good job this year," Felton says of Wednesday night's opponent. "He's taking good care of the ball and playing great defense. He's starting to knock down his outside shot and once he gets that back he's a great player."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. His book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about the book, click here.
