University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Play The Best, Play The Most
December 23, 2009 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Dec. 23, 2009
By Adam Lucas
Roy Williams has a way of condensing very complicated issues to one simple phrase. Have you ever thought about... "Yes." Why don't you play more zone? "I'm not a good zone coach." Why not call timeout during that difficult stretch in the second half? "I didn't want to."
So it shouldn't be surprising that the Tar Heel head coach had a very simple explanation for determining the player rotation of his 9-3 basketball team. The rotation--and especially the starting lineup--is something we like to talk about, email about, and disagree about. Who is going to get which minutes? What about starting a different player? Should someone else be eliminated from the rotation altogether?
Williams has all these thoughts, just like we do. In fact, he has them even more than we do, because he's lucky enough to call it his job. But in all that thinking, he's developed a foolproof system for doling out playing time. It doesn't sound very scientific, and there's no complicated formula, but it's almost impossible to disagree with it.
Here's the system, as described by Williams himself: "You play the best, you play the most."
But...wait. Shouldn't it be harder than that?
Usually, by Christmas, it's at least somewhat more complex. Usually, by now there's a standard rotation. Players have played their way in; others have played their way out. But the current rotation basically consists of those who have been issued a jersey. Will they all play on any given night? No, but they've got a chance.
Will Graves started in Saturday's loss to Texas and played 12 minutes. Graves didn't start in Tuesday's 98-61 win over Marshall but played more, logging 18 minutes.
John Henson played 17 minutes two games ago against Presbyterian and 14 minutes in the big win over Michigan State, but Tuesday night he played just nine, which nearly equaled his season low.
There could be many reasons for such a discrepancy. Shots not falling, a bad day at school, maybe it's biorhythms. Or it could be this simple: You play the best, you play the most.
That uncertainty seems to have impacted how fans feel about the 2009-10 edition of the Tar Heels. Because we don't really know what--or who--to expect from game to game, we haven't fully bonded yet. We'd like to learn more of their stories, just as soon as we can figure out which ones we need to know.
You think that's inconvenient? Imagine being the head coach. The calendar will flip to 2010 without Williams knowing for sure who will play the best--and therefore the most--on any given night. Sure, he has a group of five or six who make up the core of the rotation. Beyond that, though, he has to gauge what's happening in any particular game before knowing when and how the remainder of his roster will produce.
That's a little scary. But it can also lead to some eureka-type moments, like the second half against the Thundering Herd. At halftime, the Tar Heels received an emotional speech from assistant coach Steve Robinson that Graves described this way: "It was a Remember the Titans-type speech. The theme was compete. You have 40 minutes and you have subs. Compete. You should be excited to play against another team."
Suitably chastised, the Tar Heels went out and produced one of their best halves of the season. Every combination Williams used seemed to work. A quintet of Larry Drew II, Marcus Ginyard, Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller and Graves used crisp ball movement to beat the Marshall zone. Travis Wear scored five straight points and caused a Marshall timeout, then created a turnover with tough defense near midcourt. Eventually, Carolina ran the Herd into the ground, running after the frequent misses but also after the makes. By the time Thompson went to the free throw line with 5:23 remaining, all five Marshall players were bent over, grabbing their shorts--the most telling sign of another gassed opponent.
It's a sight there hasn't been enough of lately. But Williams will keep tinkering, and the plentiful available playing time and his willingness to alter it--after not starting, Graves started the second half as a reward for his quality first half effort--might be the theme of the next two to three weeks as Carolina tries to taper for ACC play.
"We have a lot of great freshmen," Zeller said. "Some are playing really well and some are playing not so well. And from game to game, that changes. I don't think it matters (if it's someone different every game). I think it helps us because it gives us some competition. Dave (Wear) started today and took Will's spot, and Will played very well. It gives you some competition and motivation."
As January approaches, there are still a dozen Tar Heels with legitimate hopes of being in the rotation. Seven different players have started a game, and the Tar Heel arguably opening the most eyes right now--Zeller--isn't one of them.
There has to be a deep meaning there somewhere. Maybe it means someone needs to step up. Maybe it means someone needs to step back. Or could it be that it's just as simple as Graves says?
"All it means is that we have a great basketball team," he said. "And we need to put it together and not have three losses."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of five books on Carolina basketball, including the just-released book on the 2009 national title, One Fantastic Ride. Get real-time UNC sports updates from the THM staff on Twitter.
