University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: A New Reputation
January 21, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2007
By Adam Lucas
Maybe this will happen at some point before the end of the season: Carolina will be playing a big game against a quality opponent. The game will be broken down on national television. And at some point, one of the talking heads will say, "Well, (fill in opponent) better be ready, because Carolina is going to play very intense defense."
That's not going to happen, is it? I know it's not and you know it's not.
The storyline on the 2006-07 Tar Heels was written before the first basketball was tossed into the air, and it's the same one that will be used until the last game is played. It's simple--Carolina is the designated overwhelmingly talented team. The phrase "all that talent" is required to be used in any assessment of their play. You know the type:
"Sure, the Tar Heels won, but they've got all that talent."
"Well, they should win a bunch of games, they've got all that talent."
"Well, (fill in team) would be that good, too, if they had all that talent."
No one talks about Carolina's defense. No television wonks warn opponents that they'll be viciously guarded for 40 minutes when they play the Tar Heels.
So here's some news the nation won't notice. Carolina played another team with plenty of talent Saturday night. The Tar Heels ground Georgia Tech into a fine powder, 77-61. And they didn't beat them with high-flying acrobatics. They beat them with grit.
It's like finding out the best-looking girl in class is also a genius. She can't be smart. She's too pretty.
Roy Williams himself called the game "ugly, sloppy, bad in some ways for both teams." That's his frustration with the last five minutes--when Carolina had a chance to blow Tech out but instead let them hang around and nudge their shooting percentage for the game over 40.0--talking. This was not a Rick Barnes-era Clemson team the Tar Heels were playing. This was a talented, high-scoring Yellow Jacket squad that came into the game ranked second in the league in scoring offense.
They left with just 61 points, more than 20 under their season-long average. It was their lowest point total of the season and just the second time all year they've been held under 71. They didn't break 50 points until there were less than four minutes remaining.
Some of that was due to a poor shooting night. But at some point doesn't Carolina earn some credit for the bad opposing shooting nights that always seem to happen when they're on the floor?
The Tar Heels let Tech point guard Javaris Crittenton cross midcourt unimpeded for most of the evening. Then the harassment began. Every single pass was contested. Every single passing lane had a Tar Heel's arm waving through it. The frustration soon became apparent on Crittenton's face. His confusion was easy to read. These passes--these simple movements of the ball 35 feet from the basket--were supposed to be easy. Then why was he having to work so hard?
During one stretch, Georgia Tech went six minutes and 35 seconds without a basket. College basketball teams just don't go 6:35 without a basket. Not high-octane teams like Georgia Tech.
The maddening thing for the Jackets was that every time they drew closer, every time they threatened to chisel the lead below double digits, Carolina would simply go to the other end of the court and shoot a layup. The Tar Heel offense wasn't especially pretty, but it was pretty when it had to be.
Tech draws to 36-25 in the second half? No problem, Ty Lawson hits Brandan Wright, who is so wide open that he has time to actually look around and try to find a defender before he dunks.
Tech hits a 3-pointer to cut it to 46-36 with 13 minutes left? No problem, Reyshawn Terry just drives to the basket for a layup.
"We definitely slowed them down and limited their possessions on the offensive end," Terry said. "And they weren't able to get stops when they needed them. It's a no-win situation for them. You can't win a whole lot of ballgames when you're not getting a lot of possessions and not getting stops."
On the very first Yellow Jacket possession of the second half, Ra'Sean Dickey was trying to post up so he could receive a pass from Mario West. Dickey spread his arms wide, calling for the ball. But West didn't think there was an opening and reversed the ball. Dickey rolled his eyes and shouted, "Come on, man!"
This is exactly the kind of communication you want to see as a defender.
"We wouldn't let them run their regular plays," Lawson said. "That put them in scramble situations. And when they got in those situations, we helped and stayed in our lanes."
When they are playing well, Georgia Tech can be beautiful to watch. Crittenton races down the floor and tosses the ball in the air, then waits for one of his athletic wings to launch into the air and slam it. Any team with Thaddeus Young--who scored 9 of his 22 points with less than 4 minutes remaining and the game decided--is accustomed to spending plenty of time above the rim.
Carolina wouldn't let the game be played that way.
"We put a body on them," Wright said. "Even if they had inside position, we gave them a little nudge. We knew they were a very athletic team that can jump and play above the rim. So we wanted to make sure we were sound with our defensive principles."
That sounds suspiciously like a team that might be developing a taste for playing defense. And--just maybe--earning a new reputation.
Adam Lucas's third book on Carolina basketball, The Best Game Ever, chronicles the 1957 national championship season and is available now. His previous books include Going Home Again, focusing on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.
