University of North Carolina Athletics
Jacobs: In-Season Interlude
January 21, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2011
by Barry Jacobs, TarHeelBlue.com
North Carolina men's basketball differs from programs at most schools in its continuity of bench leadership. As a result, Tar Heel scheduling tends toward a pattern established long ago by Dean Smith, a man of remarkable analytical skills. The formula worked so well it's been followed by the two former assistant coaches and the former player who succeeded Smith in the arena that bears his name.
Several principles are unwavering.
UNC will play a creditable opponent near the hometown of each of its upperclassmen. This year it was the University of Evansville, where folks from Washington, Indiana, could turn out to see Tyler Zeller sparkle during a 76-49 Tar Heel victory.
Carolina teams also routinely embrace competition against premier nonconference opponents during the early season. This year that meant voluntarily facing Kentucky and Texas, not to mention anyone good who popped up in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. (Minnesota and Vanderbilt, as it turned out.)
Meetings with in-state schools, no matter how overmatched, were less attractive to Smith. As he explained it, the ACC contains plenty of opponents anxious to make their reputation by beating the Tar Heels. Therefore why look for more teams with a similar appetite, able to coast into an encounter with UNC by playing at a level far less taxing than the ACC?
Roy Williams has broadened his scheduling approach in that regard compared to his mentor. This year is only the third in his eight seasons at Chapel Hill that Williams scheduled just one in-state opponent, UNC Asheville.
In fact, North Carolina has taken on its sister school from the mountains five times under Williams, a Marion native, compared to three times each for Gardner-Webb and Davidson, two for UNC Wilmington (directed by current Clemson head coach Brad Brownell), and High Point and N.C. Central once each.
Smith also willingly sprinkled a national heavyweight or two into the mix during the ACC regular season, taking on nine such opponents during his last eight seasons. Williams began his UNC head coaching tenure on a similar track. The Tar Heels played Connecticut home-and-home amidst ACC play in 2004 and 2005, and Arizona likewise in 2006 and 2007.
More recently, North Carolina has not deviated from conference competition after the first week in January, a path followed by six other ACC clubs in 2011.
Presumably that singular focus on league games allowed UNC its current week-long breather, a luxury enjoyed by eight other ACC teams. (Florida State's Leonard Hamilton and Virginia's Tony Bennett liked the idea so much they each managed a pair of week-long breaks. UVa's first came immediately prior to hosting North Carolina on Jan.8.)
The Heels' hiatus commenced immediately after the customary defeat of Clemson at Chapel Hill on Jan. 18, and continues until a contest at Miami on the 26th.
Clemson came into the Smith Center following its off-week. Considering that the Tigers had previously won eight straight (all but one at home), their new coach thought the pause derailed his team's momentum. "We had a bunch of time to get ready for them, but in all honesty, with the way we were playing, I would rather have played this (past) weekend, hopefully played well again, and kind of kept it going," Brownell said.
Of course you can't plan for momentum. You can guard against going off track, however, and Williams has masterfully steered a squad searching for consistency into a safe harbor where the coaching staff can modify roles and reinforce old lessons.
The underclass-dominated Heels did well to start 3-1 in the ACC. Key to their aspirations to league leadership, they held serve twice at the Smith Center, beating Clemson and Virginia Tech, the latter a projected first-division finisher.
But there's work to be done. UNC's stats in conference play show a need for significant improvement in field goal and three-point shooting, assists compared to turnovers, and scoring, all issues last season too. Encouragingly, Carolina holds an edge on the boards, fouls far less than its opponents, and is much more accurate at the foul line in ACC action than it was earlier in the year.
Just prior to the break, Williams titillated outsiders by starting Kendall Marshall at point, and by deploying him alongside rather than instead of Larry Drew II. Both are adept ballhandlers and effective drivers in halfcourt, with Drew the superior defender and Marshall the more natural playmaker.
"Strangely enough, I feel pretty comfortable on the court with him," Drew said after the pair shared brief stints against Clemson. "I've never played two (shooting guard) in my life, but I feel like I don't necessarily have to be at two. We can just watch each other's backs when we're out there. I feel when I'm out there with Kendall I'm probably going to be guarding the two man, or whoever is the more aggressive offensive player.
"Out there with Kendall on the offensive end, he does a pretty good job of directing everybody and getting everybody good shots. I feel like it would be nice to have somebody drive and kick to me every once in a while. I'm ready for that."
Williams, a coach who stresses putting the ball in the basket, may well decide a Drew-Marshall arrangement sacrifices too much firepower unless used for brief intervals. Then again, similar backcourt pairings have improved Carolina's ballhandling and court savvy in the past. Kenny Smith with Steve Hale in the mid-80s and Jeff Lebo with King Rice in 1989 are two that come to mind.
For all the buzz about who starts at point guard, it's likely changes made by Williams and staff will be more subtle than sweeping. The results of any tinkering may not even be immediately apparent. But there's little doubt the Tar Heels will be better for having scheduled an interlude to learn, practice, and polish with roughly half the season yet to be played.
