University of North Carolina Athletics
Brewer: Depth Pays Off In Carolina Victory Over Blue Devils
February 9, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2007
CAR-O-LINES
By Rick Brewer
Some people say that North Carolina has so many talented players this year that there isn't enough playing time for everyone.
Roy Williams proved that isn't the case Wednesday night in Durham. He needed his entire roster to secure a 79-73 victory over Duke.
With Jon Scheyer and Greg Paulus doing much of the damage Duke led the first 30 minutes of the game. But, it was the liberal substituting by Williams that helped bring his team back from a 10-point deficit in the final 16 minutes of the game.
Late Wednesday night and then early Thursday night national broadcasters were pointing to the scoring of Ty Lawson, Brandon Wright and Tyler Hansbrough as the keys to the victory. Certainly, Carolina could not have won without them.
But, the Blue Devils would have won this game except for the play of Wes Miller, Marcus Ginyard, Bobby Frasor and Reyshawn Terry.
The Tar Heels trailed, 50-40, with 16:33 following a free throw by Wright. Hansbrough replaced him, joining those four on the court.
This unit provided the greatest defensive intensity of the night, perhaps of the entire season .
"I really thought we were competitive,"said Williams, who had criticized his team's almost lackadaisical play in a loss at N.C. State in its previous game.
Ginyard , probably Carolina's best defender, shadowed Scheyer all over the court. Miller or Frasor picked up Paulus in the backcourt and stayed in front of him.
The lead was cut to 50-47 on a pair of free throws by Hansbrough and a layup by Frasor.
Scheyer broke a five-minute scoring drought for Duke with a jumper. But, Miller responded with a long three-pointer. Miller has struggled with his three-point shooting this season. But he was able to get completely set for a 30-footer from the left sideline. He was so far over that a Duke student could have probably blocked it from behind.
A minute later Hansbrough's jumper tied the game for the first time.
Duke eventually went back ahead, 58-54, when Scheyer hit a three-pointer and made one of three free throws. But, Lawson hit Terry for a layup and Wright made a short jumper.
Carolina eventually took the lead for good, 62-60, on Terry's layup with 5:15 left.
During this stretch Williams made defensive switches on almost every possession. He took advantage of Ginyard's height advantage and shifted him to Paulus, while Miller tried to get inside Scheyer's jersey.
Duke had to work so hard on offense that the Blue Devils had trouble slowing down Lawson when he re-entered the game. But, well-rested opponents have had problems doing that all year. The 5-11 freshman has displayed an uncanny ability to drive the lane and somehow get off shots. Against Duke he was able to get around tired defenders down the stretch.
It was his jumper at the 5:52 mark that had tied the score, 60-60. That set up Terry's go-ahead basket. Lawson's three-point play on another drive pushed the lead to 70-63 with 1:46 left. A minute later he was back in the lane. He went up on the right side of the basket and, in order to avoid a blocked shot, somehow swung his body completely to the left for a spinning reverse layup.
"I don't know how he gets off some of his shots," said Miller, "and I sometimes wonder if he does."
But, this game was won on the defensive end.
Hansbrough only got off nine shots. Duke did a good job of keeping the ball out of his hands and then surrounding him when he was able to get it. However, that allowed Wright more freedom and he finished with 19 points.
After shooting 44.1 percent from the floor in the first half, Carolina hit 59.3 percent after intermission. The Tar Heels' constant pressure defense had a lot to do with that. Carolina was able to score on fast break layups or get good shots out of its secondary break.
While Scheyer had a dozen second half points, the Tar Heels made him work harder to get them.
"On one play Marcus fought over three screens to keep up with him," said Williams. "I thought he, Wes and Bobby gave us a huge lift and really sparked that comeback."
Ginyard and Frasor were also outstanding a year ago when the Tar Heels won in Cameron, 83-76. Hansbrough was the big star that day with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Frasor had 10 points and made a pair of crucial free throws in the final minute. Ginyard scored 12 points and played great defense on J.J. Redick.
This trip to Durham was another huge test for Carolina. But, there are plenty more to come. In the last two weeks the Tar Heels played one of their best games in years in a 92-64 win at Arizona, pounded Miami at Chapel Hill, played poorly in a loss at N.C. State and now won at Duke.
Williams doesn't want to see any more performances such as the one in Raleigh. Carolina and Duke probably have the two toughest schedules in the ACC the rest of the season. The Tar Heels have home games with Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, State and Duke. There are road trips to Boston College, Maryland and Georgia Tech.
These games will require the defensive intensity and multiple scoring threats Carolina had in Durham. That should give plenty of playing time to everyone as the regular season winds down.
