University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Backcourt Matures
November 29, 2013 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
About 20 minutes after Carolina's 93-84 win over Louisville on Sunday, a happy Nate Britt was still reveling in the upset win, the biggest of his young career. It was the best kind of win-the kind with no expectations, like the depleted Tar Heels upsetting top-ranked Syracuse in the first game of the 1987-88 season, or Roy Williams' young 2006 team getting a win at Kentucky-and you could see the elation on Britt's face.
Just inside the UNC locker room, Britt was greeted with a handshake from assistant coach C.B. McGrath. "Great job today," McGrath told him.
Then he added, "But I still think you could've had a couple more layups out there."
Such is the life of a Carolina freshman point guard. Britt had a career-high nine points and a career-high five assists against the defending national champion and had more assists than turnovers for the second time in his Tar Heel career, and the coaching staff wanted to talk about the points he left on the table.
McGrath was right--Britt did fail to convert on a couple drives to the basket. But on multiple other occasions, he drove to the hoop past Louisville's seasoned guards and finished (with either hand), or drew defenders to him and then, as on one second-half play, dished to Jackson Simmons for an easy basket.
Just the fact that Britt was on the floor in the key closing minutes was an improvement, as he'd played his way to the bench in a couple earlier games. This time, though, he was under control and contributing.
"I thought Nate played great," said backcourt partner Marcus Paige, who knows a little something about being a freshman point guard having to learn on the fly. "They were hounding him, and even as a guy who doesn't have a lot of college experience, he was able to survive it. I'm really proud of Nate and all my teammates for just relaxing and playing their game."
Britt's breakout performance showed everyone, for the first time this year, that he can play and command a team at the college level against a good opponent. Sure, he shot 3-for-9, but as Paige proved last year, some of those early missed opportunities will be converted by the end of the year. After a turnover on Carolina's first possession of the second half, Britt committed just one over the final 19:30 of the game, a period when the Tar Heels turned a halftime tie into a nine-point lead.
Last year at this time, remember, it was Paige who was having some of those freshman point guard issues. Now, he has pumped through 17 three-pointers in the first five games of the 2013-14 season; he didn't make his 17th three-pointer last year until Carolina's 16th game of the year, the win at Florida State.
Paige is turning into a star. Or maybe he already is a star. The unanimous ACC Player of the Week scored 32 points against the Cardinals while taking half as many shots as the better-known Russ Smith, who needed 24 heaves to score 36.
For the season, he's shooting 53.1% from the field overall and 53.1% from the three-point line. Those are Marcusdiculous numbers that put him fourth in the ACC in effective field goal percentage (which weights three-pointers more accurately), and by the way, he's also hitting 93.1% of his free throws
But, again, those are just numbers. When you watch Paige play, it's the intangibles that are most impressive. In less than 18 months on campus, he's grown into a player who wants the ball all the time, but especially when Carolina needs a big basket. What's more, his teammates have come to the same realization. Watch the way he relates to them on the court, and more importantly, watch the way they listen when he speaks.
"He has great poise and he's a student of the game," said Brice Johnson, another emerging sophomore, before hitting on the one factor that would probably please Roy Williams above all others. "He listens to the coach, and he does what the coach tells him to do."
Former assistant coach Joe Holladay watched Paige work his way up the basketball recruiting circuit, having to answer questions at every level about whether he was big enough or strong enough to survive at the next level. Before Paige ever played a minute for the Tar Heels, Holladay said he was a future college All-America.
Even then, the coach said there was more to Paige than most people can see. Now, they're starting to see what he is talking about. "He is so tough," said Holladay, who was at the Mohegan Sun to watch his former pupil. "People haven't realized yet how tough he is. But they're going to."
Adam Lucas is the editor of CAROLINA.
