University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: By A Fingertip
February 19, 2011 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Feb. 19, 2011
By Adam Lucas
Earlier this week, Tyler Zeller was discussing the evolution of John Henson as a defensive player. Henson had recently received significant attention for his shot-blocking prowess, but Zeller had noticed another key area of improvement.
"He's gotten a lot better at moving his feet out on the perimeter," Zeller said. "Because of that, he can guard some of those smaller guys out there sometimes."
With windows into the future like that one, let's go ahead and get Zeller's 2012 Super Bowl picks. Because after a strange Saturday game featuring an incredible 58-point scoring differential for the Tar Heels compared to the last UNC-Boston College meeting, the outcome ultimately came down to exactly what Zeller said--Henson against a smaller guy.
The smaller guy in question was Reggie Jackson, a player Roy Williams had yesterday identified as "one of the five best players in the league." Eagles coach Steve Donahue, who has already established himself in the top half of league coaches before even coaching a full season in the conference, had called a timeout with 17.6 seconds left.
These are some of the most fascinating timeouts in college basketball. They call for scouting, because this was exactly the scenario assistant coach Jerod Haase had tried to prepare for when watching tape of Boston College. He had a pretty good idea of what would happen--Jackson would get the ball, and he'd likely attempt a three-pointer.
Williams made two key tactical switches. First, he substituted Henson for Zeller (who had minutes earlier drawn a key charge), knowing Henson's length on defense could prove beneficial. Second, he instructed his team to switch all screens rather than following the usual Carolina defensive principle of fighting through them.
"We wanted to switch everything," Williams said. "We thought the big guy would come out and screen for Reggie (Jackson) and he did. And we subbed John for `Z' because he is so long and we thought he could bother him."
The entire afternoon had been a two-hour clinic in the value of coaching. After allowing 106 points to the Tar Heels in the previous meeting, Donahue very openly admitted to making major changes in Boston College's usual style for the rematch. The Eagles changed the way they attacked the offensive backboards, sending more players back for defensive balance, and made a greater effort to control the tempo.
"We tried to learn a lesson from playing Carolina the last time," Donahue said. "We did not do a good job on the offensive end in terms of taking care of the ball and taking quick shots. We could have played this game typically on offense and lost by a lot. We couldn't afford to do that."
That strategic decision, partially made possible by the seven days of preparation Boston College had for Saturday's meeting, paid major dividends. Some teams try to control the tempo but don't have the patience. But even after a stultifying opening six minutes that saw the Eagles go without a point, Donahue and his team stuck with the plan.
That--combined with some untimely Carolina turnovers and some more perimeter shooting struggles--got Boston College to the final possession, with the ball and a chance to win the game. And that's the beauty of the sport, really. Both coaches had done significant work to get the game to that point. And then--after all the diagramming, pleading and coaching--they turned it over to the players, where the game fell to improvisation and the unlikely matchup of Jackson against Henson. Josh Southern had set a pick that forced Dexter Strickland and Henson to switch. It was exactly what Boston College wanted.
"We wanted to get a ball screen and hopefully a mismatch," Jackson said.
That's what they got--twice. Henson was on Jackson, but quietly the switch also left Strickland on 6-foot-10, 263-pound Southern. With Boston College's offense spread out, Southern had Strickland alone in the paint, forcing the guard to play unfamiliar post defense. Remember, it was a two-point game. If Strickland gave in, Southern had an easy layup and overtime was on the horizon.
"I was trying to use all my strength to get around him," Strickland said. "He's a big dude."
"Dexter did a nice job getting around to front him," Williams said.
That left Jackson with just one option, because by that point the other three Eagles were extraneous. With under 10 seconds left, he pulled the ball to the top of the key, near the southern Outer Banks on the Carolina blue outline of the state at midcourt of the Smith Center.
As Jackson waved off his teammates and indicated he wanted isolation, it became clear that this was the matchup that would decide the game. Henson hunkered down and clapped his hands together, muttering, "Come on, J!" to himself.
"At first, I thought he would drive," Henson said. "I saw him do a hesitation move, and that's what usually happens when a player is going to shoot. I got up just enough to alter the shot."
There will be time later to dissect what the recent offensive struggles could mean. Right now, the unconventional win moved Carolina to 20-6 overall, 10-2 in the ACC--narrowly. Jackson's shot was true. Even with Henson's harassment, it still went halfway down before bouncing off the rim.
"His fingertip hit my palm," Henson said. "I thought it was going in for a second. It was that close."
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.
