University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: New Developments
March 24, 2010 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
March 24, 2010
By Adam Lucas
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--Consider me converted.
Yes, it's the NIT. And yes, the NIT is made up of the teams that weren't good enough to make the NCAA Tournament field of 65. But somehow, over these last 10 days, the NIT has transformed the 2010 Tar Heels into an actual basketball team that plays together, plays for each other, and has fun doing it.
Who would have thought--who would have ever dreamed--at the beginning of March that we'd be hearing those words about this particular group?
So if that's what the NIT created, then long live the NIT. It may have started as a bit of a bummer. But it's turned into quality postseason therapy for a team that needed to experience some success.
Tuesday night in Birmingham, there was Larry Drew taking command of his team on defense, turning to his teammates and barking, "Talk!" on a crucial late UAB possession. And there was John Henson turning into a reliable offensive force around the basket.
And here's the most unexpected development of all: there were the Tar Heels, tied 47-47 on the road with less than five minutes left in a very hostile environment, needing a big play and crisply running a halfcourt set that generated the easiest of baskets.
"There were about two or three possessions there where we did a great job executing," said Roy Williams. That doesn't mean it comes naturally yet. Even this late in the season, he's still drilling his team on dummy offense at shootaround on gamedays, something he's done infrequently in the past. But there are signs that his squad might be getting it.
The Blazers' Jamarr Sanders had already dropped in two of the three free throws he received courtesy of a Will Graves foul when Williams tried to get Drew's attention. As Sanders prepared for his final free throw, one that would tie the score at 47, the head coach instructed his point guard which play to run. He wanted the same set that created an alley-oop dunk for John Henson in a similarly tight situation at Mississippi State.
This time, it worked just as well. It took only ten seconds to develop, roughly the same length of time it takes in one of those half-speed dummy offense drills. Drew brought the ball down the court. Graves obliterated two UAB defenders with a beefy screen. Henson wiggled free under the rim, caught the perfectly timed pass from Drew, and slammed it home.
"I just like using my body," said Graves, who went 0-for-5 from the field but still found an important way to contribute despite a balky ankle. "I'm always ready for that play, because I don't mind setting a pick. I went to my spot and had to judge which way the defender was going. I put my body against his, and luckily John was free."
Then Graves flexed a little. "I like using this strength I have," he said with a grin. OK, maybe he describes it as "strength" while Williams and Jonas Sahratian describe it as something else, but whatever you call it, it worked perfectly.
"That was a big play," Henson said. "It's nice to have a guy with a big body setting that screen. When he does that, I'm supposed to go to the block, and I was able to hide down there and get to the rim."
How many times this year have the Tar Heels needed a quality shot in their halfcourt offense in the late stages of a tight game and been unable to get it? Now, it's happening. Whether it's the NCAA or NIT or a blue-white game, that's progress. And there will be a point sometime during the 2010-11 season when a sophomore version of Dexter Strickland or a sophomore version of Henson builds off the positive experience they had at Bartow Arena.
"When it started off we weren't that excited about it," Marcus Ginyard said of the NIT. "But the more we play in it, the more excited we get."
It's not his words that make that sentiment credible. It's his actions, and the actions of all his teammates.
As the final seconds elapsed in Carolina's 60-55 win, Ginyard crossed midcourt and eyed Henson near the Tar Heel bench. Henson pointed to the sky. Ginyard nodded. And the senior and freshman launched themselves at each other, a skywalking chest bump that ended with broad smiles and high fives.
That didn't happen when this team was in College Park this year, or Durham, or sometimes even in Chapel Hill. It's happening in the NIT.
Play on, Tar Heels. This is, well...is it OK to say this? Yes, I think it is.
This is fun.
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.
