University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Rout Milligan, 103-61
January 12, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2010
by Kathryn Young, TarHeelBlue.com
CHAPEL HILL - The University of North Carolina men's junior varsity basketball program returned to the Smith Center for the first time in the new year on Sunday, routing the Milligan College junior varsity 103-61.
With only one practice under their belts, Carolina had a slow start, not gaining a lead until the 18th minute of play. But the Tar Heels dominated the rest of the game to end up with a 38 point lead.
Sophomore David Dupont attributed the shaky first half to the extended time away from the court. "Well we got off to a rough start, because we had a month-long break," he said. "But we came back in the second half, and started getting some things, getting into the flow of it. So we ended up doing alright. (From now on), we just need to get back into the flow of it and remember the plays, and just get back to playing basketball."
One problem the players have identified is their poor shooting effort, making only 36.4 percent of their field goals in the game. Luckily, the Tar Heels were hot from the free throw line, shooting 63.4 percent and gaining 21 points from the charity stripe.
Milligan head coach Aaron Collazo was also proud of his team's effort, even considering the losing result. "It was more for them to get that experience in the Dean Dome, have them have a part of playing North Carolina," he said. "I thought we were too hyped up at the beginning. We came out with just adrenaline. But when that wore off, it was kind of like `alright, where do we go from here?' I just think we were kind of flat, kind of still with the `wow' factor, playing in the Dean Dome. I just don't think we ever got over that."
The junior varsity program is in the inaugural year for the Buffaloes, and Collazo noted the importance of the program, echoing the fans of the Carolina program. "We try to get some of the varsity players who are freshmen who don't get a lot of time on the varsity program to play in all of the JV games, and to get a lot of running in," he says. "And obviously we have some players that are strictly JV, but it's going well. It's our first year, so we're still trying to get a good schedule, get guys in here, to give guys an opportunity to play college basketball."
His final thoughts were on his team's improvement after playing UNC, realizing that they had plenty of lessons to be learned from the lopsided defeat. "I think if nothing else (we learned) to be able to just trust each other and being able to move without the ball - just simple things," he says. "We've got to start deciding the difference between playing hard and playing smart. So we just have to realize those situations when we get them."
The Tar Heels will face King College next on Friday, January 15th at 7 p.m. in the Smith Center.
