University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Two Plays
December 30, 2009 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Dec. 30, 2009
By Adam Lucas
Let's not talk about the entirety of Wednesday's 87-70 win over Albany. We don't have time, do we? Not when there are trees to take down and New Year's plans to make and bowl games to watch.
So let's just talk about two plays. Because in these two plays, you will know everything you need to know about the 2009-10 Tar Heels, a team that--don't forget--stands 11-3 but seems determined to make the most difficult play possible at any given moment.
First, the good. With Carolina holding a 25-point lead and in the middle of a stretch when freshmen either scored or assisted on 11 of its 13 scoring plays, Dexter Strickland wrangled a steal near the Albany basket. He took three dribbles, then fired a 60-foot one-handed pass to David Wear, who was speeding downcourt and was already near the low block under the Tar Heel basket.
The second he received the pass, Wear redirected it to Leslie McDonald, who had an open path down the baseline for a basket. It all happened so fast that without the benefit of replay you might have thought Wear simply mishandled the ball and McDonald was lucky to recover it. But that's not what happened. What happened was quick and it was instinctive.
"That was a perfect example of how good we can be," McDonald said. "I told David I didn't even see that pass coming, but it was a good pass. It was good instincts. That's how we play. If we can get through it, that's how we can really play."
You can slowly see the lights turning on for the freshmen, but it happens sporadically, like your neighbor's blinking Christmas lights. Strickland has moved past unpredictable rookie status and is an indispensable part of the rotation. John Henson showed wisdom beyond his years when he entered the game in the second half and passed up an open three-pointer, remembering his head coach's admonition not to shoot immediately upon entering the game. "That's what Coach always tells us," Henson said. "And we have to listen to him if we want to be successful."
The latest freshman to exhibit signs of progress is McDonald, who may have had his best game as a Tar Heel, going aggressively to the basket--maybe too aggressively at times, but we'll get to that in a minute--and playing turnover-free. "This is the game he needed," Henson said to Strickland while the duo was on the bench watching McDonald play. "We've all had our feel-good games and this one is his."
It was an unsullied feel-good game until the final eight minutes. There have been many stories written and comparisons made between this year's team and the 2006 squad. Right now, though, it might be more fitting to compare this team to the 2004 Tar Heels, a group with good talent that was still trying to figure out exactly what their head coach wanted.
With 3:39 remaining and the Tar Heel lead down to 23 points--from a high of 38, which had been just four minutes earlier--Roy Williams called a timeout. Here's what happened next, and it's a good reminder that even when a coach calls a timeout, it doesn't guarantee success.
Without the ball ever getting within 10 feet of the basket or even changing sides of the floor, Henson grabbed the ball near the three-point line, took one dribble, and fired a jumper. Williams has now coached 227 games at North Carolina. In exactly zero of those games has he ever called timeout and drawn up a play for a freshman shooting 46.5% from the field to take a contested 17-footer.
But Travis Wear and Tyler Zeller combined to haul down the offensive rebound. They passed the ball back out to the perimeter, and after Williams shouted, "Move!" it eventually found McDonald in the left corner. He took a couple dribbles, drove to the baseline, and forced a shot between two Albany defenders that was even more contested than Henson's jumper. Luckily for McDonald, he grabbed his own rebound.
Then, a breakthrough. Strickland found Zeller on the left wing. Zeller threw a textbook bounce pass to Travis Wear in the post. A quick spin and a couple of dribbles later, Wear and the Tar Heels had two points.
On the Tar Heel sideline, Williams's reaction was the perfect summary. As best he was able while still wearing the limiting sling on his left shoulder, he threw up his hands in exasperation. "See?" he said. Not for the first time this year, he looked miffed, pleased and surprised all at the same time.
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.
