University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Needing More
January 14, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2006
By Adam Lucas
One of the first things Roy Williams does before addressing the media after games is check the stat sheet.
When he looked at the piece of paper Saturday after Carolina's 81-70 loss to Miami, he saw the following line for Tyler Hansbrough: 6-for-10 from the field, 13-for-14 from the free throw line, 7 rebounds, 25 points, 2 blocks.
This is what the head coach said: "You look and Tyler has 25. Well, that's fine. We needed him to have more."
He meant it in a larger, we-needed-more-from-everybody context. But the scary part is that he's right.
Beyond Hansbrough, the halfcourt offense simply isn't clicking very well right now. When he's on--when he's able to wrestle his way through the usual one or two defenders trying to deny him post position--it's breathtaking. He's become as indispensable to this team as Raymond Felton was during his freshman year. There was one stretch in the second half when Hansbrough was almost Antawn Jamison-like in the way you felt absolutely certain that when he touched the ball he'd either score or draw a foul. He scored seven straight points in less than a minute just before flashing the tired sign and leaving the game with 13:06 remaining.
He would score just five more points in the game. Two of them came on a pair of free throws after an intentional foul that looked to be the turning point. Once you caught your breath after having Kenny Smith/John Tudor 1984 flashbacks when Hansbrough was taken down on a fastbreak by Gary Hamilton, it seemed like a big moment.
Carolina already led 60-59. Hansbrough would make the free throws. Has there been a Carolina big man in recent years you've felt better about at the free throw line? So he would make the charity tosses, sure. Then the Heels would get the ball back, they'd score, and the game-ending finishing kick would be well on its way.
Hansbrough made the free throws.
But then, with Roy Williams frantically waving his index finger in the air and calling for motion, Carolina tried to initiate a play off the baseline. While the Tar Heels made four passes on the bench side of the court, Reyshawn Terry stood flat-footed on the other side. The play eventually ended with David Noel firing the ball out of bounds while trying to find Marcus Ginyard. The Carolina defense held, but yet another turnover on the offensive end opened the door for a 13-0 Hurricane run.
The Tar Heels ended the game with 17 turnovers. That doesn't seem like an especially gaudy figure--especially considering they were coming off a 25-miscue performance Tuesday night--but this was a very low possession game. 17 against Miami might be the equivalent of 25 against a faster-paced team.
"Their zone really slowed us down," Bobby Frasor said. "Early in the game we weren't getting the ball inside, and they were running the clock down some. Finally in the second half we started getting the ball inside."
For part of the time, anyway. Miami illustrated the future blueprint for trying to beat the Tar Heels--if you don't feel comfortable matching up man-to-man, sag back in a zone. Collapse around Hansbrough, make Carolina run the offense, and make an outside shooter other than Wes Miller beat you.
The Hurricane rebounding helped. There will be plenty of talk about their 21 offensive rebounds providing second chance points, but those rebounds also did something else very important--they cut off Carolina's fast break opportunities. That's been the most successful way to get other players involved so far this year. Grab the rebound, run, and create easy scoring chances.
"Their zone slowed down the pace of the game and that's not the way we like to play," Noel said. "Everybody knows our halfcourt offense isn't that great. When we execute, which we didn't do today, we can do the halfcourt thing. But for us to be able to play in this league we have to get out in transition and do what we do best."
That's exactly what they have to do. More running. More execution. More easy baskets.
And, most importantly, more Tyler.
The danger now is that he'll wear down. He's a sturdy player, but he's taken more abuse in the last 13 games than he's likely ever taken in an entire season before.
"My body is pretty bruised up right now," he said after the game. "I'm just trying to recover every day."
He'll recover today. And try to do more tomorrow.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and 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 Going Home Again, click here.
