University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Making Progress
March 17, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
March 17, 2012
By Adam Lucas
GREENSBORO--As if James Michael McAdoo hadn't done enough to win one NCAA Tournament game on Friday, he managed to try to take credit for another victory.
NCAA procedure requires the head coach from each team, plus at least two players from each squad, to address the media from the podium after every tournament game. Those players are picked based on performance, so after Carolina's 77-58 win over Vermont, Tyler Zeller (17 points, 15 rebounds) was joined by McAdoo (17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals).
As you would expect from someone who still peppers his answers with "Yes, sir," and "No, sir," McAdoo turned in a fine performance in front of the media. Then, with Norfolk State in the waning seconds of its upset win over second-seeded Missouri, McAdoo sprinted the length of a Greensboro Coliseum hallway, then bounded into the Carolina locker room, where most of his teammates had gathered around a television tuned to the same game.
"Did y'all see my guys?" beamed McAdoo, whose hometown is listed as--you guessed it--Norfolk, Virginia.
A couple of his teammates expressed some concern about the authenticity of the freshman's Norfolk State fandom. But given the role McAdoo had played in the NCAA-opening victory, he had earned the benefit of the doubt.
The Tar Heels ostensibly have been pointing toward the NCAA Tournament ever since Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson announced their plans to return to school last April. But Friday didn't look especially long-awaited through the game's first 30 minutes. Maybe it was the virtually half-full Greensboro Coliseum, a startling turnout given the NCAA history of the Tar Heels in the building and in the state. Maybe it was the methodical pace of the Catamounts. Maybe it was the workday afternoon tipoff time of 4:18 p.m.
Or it could have been a little of all of the above. But with 10 minutes remaining in the game, on a day when anything could happen and probably did, the Tar Heel lead was just 48-35.
That's when McAdoo converted back-to-back three-point plays, prompting the fans that did turn out to give him a generous ovation when he checked out at the 9:21 mark. Forty seconds later, his classmate, P.J. Hairston, hit a three-pointer to boost the lead to 20, and Carolina's spot in the round of 32 was secure.
McAdoo's surge in productivity has coincided with an increase in playing time granted by John Henson's wrist injury--after being available "in emergency situations" in the ACC final against Florida State, Henson didn't dress out at all against the Catamounts. In order to achieve their postseason goals, the Tar Heels need Henson back in the very near future. In the meantime, though, it's given everyone the opportunity to notice McAdoo's progression.
The freshman won his first career defensive player of the game award from the coaching staff for his effort against Duke in the regular season finale. He followed that by claiming the honor again against Maryland in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. He's prone to occasionally taking some defensive chances, but those chances sometimes turn into easy baskets.
"He takes away the easy pass and he runs the floor," said current defensive guru Reggie Bullock. "He's getting in help position and playing really well."
McAdoo isn't always flawless, but sometimes that's the fun in watching a freshman progress. Within a span of 30 second-half seconds on Friday, McAdoo was part of a Carolina turnover that ended in Roy Williams pounding the ball in frustration on the Greensboro hardwood. Half a minute later, McAdoo went sprawling out of bounds to save a loose ball to Desmond Hubert (yes, this is play-by-play from the 2012 team in the NCAA Tournament, not the 2013 squad).
That's how thin the line is between success and failure for McAdoo right now as his play evolves. That he would finish the day on the podium seemed especially unlikely after the first half, when he was 1-for-6 and looked like a freshman playing in his first NCAA Touranment game. That one made field goal, though, had been a One Shining Moment-type highlight, as he soared and slammed through a one-handed follow show off a Bullock miss. "I didn't know it was going to be that nasty," McAdoo said of his dunk. "I'm looking forward to seeing the replay."
Eventually, he made sure that wasn't the only play he'd want to watch again from his first NCAA Tournament action. By the time he checked out of the game for good with 3:14 left and a 26-point Tar Heel lead, he was greeted with a standing ovation from the heavily pro-Carolina crowd.
McAdoo credited the turnaround to a play early in the second half.
"I took the ball to the basket and thought I got hit on the head, but they didn't call a foul," he said of a play with 17:15 left in the game. "I sulked for half a second and didn't get back on defense. I used that as a turning point to get back into the game and be aggressive."
For a heavily favored squad, these initial NCAA Tournament games are rarely memorable. No one really remembers Oakland '05, or Mount St. Mary's '08 or Radford '09. If there's significance to be gained from this type of win, it's in play that might be important later. Starting Sunday against Creighton (the Tar Heels tip off at 5:15 on CBS), there's no more time to talk about what could be or how someone might develop. Beginning against the very solid Jays, results are the only thing that matters. Based on that, could McAdoo be essential later in this NCAA Tournament run and help the Tar Heels get a key win?
He might. After all, he already has one big victory. Or maybe two.
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.
