University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions (Final Edition)
November 8, 2014 | Men's Basketball
By Adam Lucas
1. In case you missed them, the first-half reactions.
2. As in the above link, there's a hesitation to draw too many conclusions from an exhibition game. But it might be worth noting--if indicative of Carolina's depth and ability to score and defend with multiple bodies--that the Tar Heels have now won this year's exhibition games against Fayetteville State and Belmont Abbey by 53 and 78 points, respectively, after Friday night's 112-34 win over the Crusaders.
Last year's exhibition game was a 19-point win over UNC Pembroke. You have to go back to the potent 2012 team to find margins anywhere close to those posted this preseason.
3. Theo Pinson is not a great shooter, as his 0-for-4 mark from the three-point line will attest. But he still had the play of the night. The freshman got the ball on the right wing in the second half, took two dribbles, glided by a pair of Belmont Abbey defenders, cupped the ball way behind his head in his right hand, and one-hand tomahawked it through the rim. It was a play that, for example, you might expect to see J.P. Tokoto make, and you could feel the crowd gathering their breath as Pinson kept ascending. He actually did it again later in the half, but the dunk was wiped off by a reach-in foul.
The Greensboro native has the athleticism to earn some minutes with his defense this year, and that's most of what the Tar Heels need from him this season. But if he does earn some time on the floor, those types of spectacular plays are going to occasionally follow. (When the second one-hand dunk was erased, Carolina simply ran an alley-oop in-bounds play for Pinson, and Joel Berry II tossed him the ball for a slam). One obstacle for Pinson: he looked winded at times, and needs to improve his conditioning.
But the best thing about the rookie is what he's not being asked to do. He's the type of player who Carolina might have needed to do too much in the last couple of seasons. This year, he'll have the opportunity to learn at a more comfortable pace. Pinson got a huge hand from the crowd of 11,441 when he left the game with 3:13 remaining and is well on his way to becoming a fan favorite.
4. Sometimes you have those nights when every shot seems like it's going in. On Friday, the Tar Heels had a night where it seemed like every pass worked. Carolina handed out 28 assists against just eight turnovers, and ten different players had an assist.
The fruits of that passing: according to Tar Heel Sports Network stats guru Jody Zeugner, at one point the Tar Heels scored on 22 of 26 second-half possessions.
5. This UNC team might be fun to watch defensively. They used a variety of defenses to get work on multiple sets, and forced 32 Crusader turnovers. It felt like every Belmont Abbey pass was contested, even on the perimeter.
