University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Smooth Moves
November 22, 2008 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Nov. 22, 2008
By Adam Lucas
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--A sellout crowd of 6,000 shoehorned into Santa Barbara's Thunderdome--sorry, I mean "Thunnnnnderrrrrrdooooommmmme," as the PA announcer kept saying--on Friday night expecting to see the North Carolina they've seen so often in highlights.
You know that team: high-flying alley-oops, long-distance marksmanship, oh, and the national player of the year, Tyler Hansbrough.
They saw the latter during Carolina's 84-67 win, as Hansbrough played for the first time this season and contributed 13 points and seven rebounds in just 25 minutes. More importantly, he said he played those 25 minutes pain-free as he makes his way back from a stress reaction in his shin. But despite Hansbrough's presence, the Gauchos largely kept the Tar Heels out of any offensive rhythm, and instead of the typical high-scoring assault, Carolina emerged with a hard-fought 84-67 victory.
"We weren't as smooth as we'd like, to say the least," Roy Williams said.
It's the first time in the Williams era that a UNC team hasn't broken 90 points at least once in the first three games. Of course, it's also the first time in the Williams era that one of his teams had to spend multiple games without multiple starters.
"Teams are preparing differently against us," said Ty Lawson. "They don't want to let us run, and we're having to grind it out in the half-court. Most teams are sending two or three guys back on defense, and sometimes they leave someone up to slow me down when I get the ball."
Sometimes that works, as when the Gauchos built a 27-22 lead midway through the first half. But then Lawson responded with back-to-back three-pointers, and then the junior point guard did something even more impressive--he sprawled on the hardwood while attempting a steal, the first of two times in his 32 minutes that he'd pick up a floor burn. He was eventually called for traveling on the play because his feet were sliding across the floor, but the reaction from the bench was telling. Some turnovers are greeted with a fierce look from the head coach or a forceful clap demanding more effort.
This time, however, Williams wore a wide smile.
That stretch seemed to ignite Lawson, who for the rest of the game looked like one of the best point guards in the nation. Defensively, he was in passing lanes. Offensively, he appeared to have Paul Roemer on a string.
After the game, Roemer was hugging a couple members of his family. They asked about Lawson, and Roemer gave a long sigh.
"That guy..." he said. "You think you're in exactly the right position in front of him, and somehow he goes by you."
To appreciate Roemer's plight, consider these three possessions from early in the second half. First, Lawson hit a step-back 18-footer. The next possession, after a made UC-Santa Barbara basket, he took the ball and whooshed the length of the court to draw a foul while shooting. Finally, two minutes later, he sprinted down the court and with Roemer anticipating another dash to the basket, he stopped at the foul line and dropped in a Cota Floata to give the Tar Heels a seven-point lead.
"Those are things I've been working on," Lawson said. "That's my new comfort zone. Going to the basket, shooting jump shots, that step-back shot...those are things I've been working on all summer."
It's one thing to work on them in an empty Smith Center. It's another to do it in front of a hostile crowd. Both Carolina and eighth-ranked Notre Dame stopped in the Los Angeles area Friday on their way to the Maui Invitational. It's no coincidence that both teams had to scrap to emerge with a win, as the Irish faced an 0-3 Loyola Marymount team playing without its head coach, leading scorer, and top returning starter...and still managed only a 65-54 win.
Just like the Tar Heels, the Irish had to play in front of a sellout crowd thirsty for a top-10 scalp. In Santa Barbara, the yellow-clad student body was loud, occasionally profane (despite the PA announcer admonishing them to "keep it a family environment"), and enthusiastic. The low wooden roof held in the noise, and it was somewhat reminiscent of Carmichael Auditorium in the way it made you wonder how so few people could make so much noise. In other words, it was exactly the kind of crowd Williams wants his veteran team to play against early in the season.
"We had to grind it out in the half court to get the win," Lawson said. "But I'll take a half-court win any day as long as it's a win."
His head coach put it even more simply. In a back hallway outside the cramped UNC locker room, which apparently did double duty as the volleyball locker room because Hansbrough was dressing at a locker that said "Dana" in blue-and-gold glitter, the head coach exhaled deeply.
"Whew," he said. "A road win is a win."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
