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University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Tough, Patient, Poised
March 28, 2008 | Men's Basketball
March 28, 2008
By Adam Lucas
CHARLOTTE--Before every Carolina game, Roy Williams steps to the white board in the Tar Heel locker room and writes his three keys for the game.
Rarely has he ever been more prescient than he was Thursday night.
One of his keys for the Sweet 16 matchup against Washington State was this: Be tough enough, patient enough, and poised enough to play defense for 35 seconds.
Tough, patient, and poised. Those are words we're not used to hearing associated with Carolina. At this time of year, the easy description of UNC is talented and fast-paced. Even the Cougar players unwittingly bought into it.
"If you could run, I think you could (play Carolina's style)," guard Kyle Weaver said a couple days before the game. "That's pretty much the way we all started, just get the ball and try to run downcourt as fast as you can."
That's not exactly correct, as Weaver was finding out early in the second half. Despite a lengthy 20-minute halftime, several Cougars were bending over pulling on their shorts in the universal tired sign even before the first media timeout.
But that's what people think across America when they think of the Tar Heels. They think of speed, which to the casual observer indicates a certain carelessness.
Games like Thursday's 68-47 victory might change that.
Tough enough
This is all about quick slides in practice and Danneyball with Jonas Sahratian and long, grueling runs up a hill on the fringe of campus. This wasn't something that could be worked on in practice Wednesday. This happened before the 2007-08 team ever touched a basketball.
"For us, being tough enough is not the hard part," said Deon Thompson.
Williams is fond of telling his team that at some point in every game, one team gives in. Washington State's offense depends on it. Their plan is that at some point in the 35-second shot clock, your thighs will burn and you'll stand up for just a second...and that's when they're by you for an easy basket.
"This game started for us back in October when we were doing all that running," said Wayne Ellington. "This is why we did all of that. This is why we sweated. So that on nights like this we would be tough enough."
Patient enough
Patience is an offensive term. We're used to hearing it in relation to shot selection, in being patient enough to work the ball for a good shot. Why did Carolina lose to Georgetown in last year's regional final? In part because they became impatient.
But it's a defensive term, too. The Tar Heels knew they wanted to try and control the tempo against the plodding Cougars. Ty Lawson could do that with the ball in his hands, of course, but it's also possible to do it defensively.
In some ways, that's what WSU wants. They want the opponent to take chances, to gamble and create openings.
"Against a team like that, you can't get outrageous when you're trying to get steals," said Quentin Thomas. "You have to be patient even when you want to force the tempo."
Poised enough
The Tar Heels realized the Washington State offense was not particularly potent.
"Being poised is simple," Thomas said. "It means that if we get one stop, we can't be complacent. Whether we were up or down, we have to play defense the same way. And if they score on one possession, don't carry that over to the next possession."
Sometimes, good defense is fast-paced. That was not the case Thursday night. Thursday night was hunkered-down, half-court, 35 seconds at a time. Impressively, the Tar Heels never particularly seemed to be in a rush.
Williams tried to employ traps on a couple of occasions, but his team was largely willing to stay between their man and the basket and, as their coach often says, make their man uncomfortable.
When they took chances, it was a good chance. Like the instance early in the first half when Danny Green took an extra half-second to hang around after his own missed jumper to swipe the ball away. After picking up the steal--just one of five Tar Heel steals on the day--he laid the ball into the basket.
The play salvaged what to that point had not been a very effective opening seven minutes for Green. When he'd missed the jumper, which wasn't a particularly wise shot, Williams had turned to the bench in frustration and looked to be on the verge of removing his junior scorer. By the time he turned back to face the court, Green was already dropping the ball through the hoop.
"If I don't get that steal, things could have gone downhill," Green admitted.
Instead, Green returned to supersub form and paired 15 points with five rebounds and three steals.
Combine the toughness, the patience, and the poise, and the Tar Heels might have given the nation a new storyline.
"You know what?" Lawson said without the slightest hint of a smile. "We can play defense too."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
