University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Outside Chances
October 28, 2011 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Oct. 28, 2011
By Adam Lucas
Hold on a second. So now we have to wait for two more weeks?
Carolina's 2011-12 basketball team debuted on a cold, wet Friday night in Chapel Hill, an event so anticipated that 16,852 people found their way to the Smith Center--a total more than the capacity of every arena in the Atlantic Coast Conference except two--to see it for themselves.
In all likelihood, Roy Williams got exactly what he wanted out of the game. The Tar Heels had no injuries, most importantly. They got a victory, a 100-58 win in which the score was forgotten almost as soon as the plug was pulled on the scoreboard. And in the first half, they received some plucky competition from Pembroke, a team well-coached by Ben Miller (a former Williams assistant) and athletic enough to provide 20 minutes of gritty competition. Those 20 minutes, in particular, will be the foundation of some pointed Williams teaching over the next few days, giving him an angle at a time of year when it's easy for players to let minds wander.
The intrigue about Friday night's exhibition was in the backcourt. Of course Carolina is talented among the trees, where the combination of Tyler Zeller (18 points and 11 rebounds) and John Henson (8 rebounds, 7 points and 5 blocks) means it's unlikely the Tar Heels will lose too many battles in the paint this season. Height doesn't have off nights.
But what about that backcourt? Three-for-16 against Kentucky in Newark still feels fresh. The story about this year's team is how much talent returns--between now and Nov. 11, you will hear repeatedly about those five returning starters--but the backcourt somehow feels rebuilt.
Of course there is Kendall Marshall, who had an uncharacteristic Friday and was aided by some energetic relief from Stilman White, who along with his fellow freshmen helped key the gamebreaking first-half surge. But the most notable part of the win over Pembroke might have been the performances of P.J. Hairston and Reggie Bullock, a pair of Tar Heel natives charged with sharing the void left by Leslie McDonald's injury.
They shot well--a combined 6-for-11 from the three-point line. By this point, though, we know they can shoot. That's obvious just watching them warm up. What they hinted at on Friday, and what they must prove against tougher foes very soon, is that they can play.
So what was more remarkable was the way Bullock exploded to the rim in the first half, one of the cleanest athletic bursts to the basket he's shown in his Carolina career. Hairston, meanwhile, who was riding a hot second half, chose not to hunt his shot and instead found James Michael McAdoo and Zeller on successive possessions.
Combine that perimeter promise with the always-on speed of Dexter Strickland, who quietly contributed 13 points, two assists and zero turnovers and has that speed that also takes no evenings off, and it's hard not to be excited. After all, these are the question marks we're supposed to be discussing.
"It stretches the floor," Marshall said of Carolina's backcourt depth. "It makes it a lot easier for `Z' and John and Harrison to get to the basket. To have players like Reggie shooting the ball well, P.J. shooting the ball well, and Dexter getting out on the break means teams have to respect our backcourt as well as the frontcourt."
On first viewing, and with the obligatory caveat about the quality of the competition, the pieces fit well. There are multiple scoring threats--the Tar Heels posted 100 points on a night Barnes shot 2-for-8. There's the flexibility to substitute one shooter for another when the inevitable off nights arrive. Now, we get five months to find out how it all mixes together. Bullock and Hairston must adapt to sharing a role and must learn when it's time for a Danny Green-esque heat check and when it's time to feed the beasts inside. Strickland's knee must remain sound and Marshall must walk around campus encased in bubble wrap, meticulously avoiding all those ankle-grabbing loose bricks.
These are all manageable concerns. It's us who have the most difficult job. We're the ones who have to wait two more weeks to see it again.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of six books on Carolina basketball, including the official chronicle of the first 100 years of Tar Heel hoops, A Century of Excellence, which is available now. Get real-time UNC sports updates from the THM staff on Twitter and Facebook.
