University of North Carolina Athletics
Improving Britt's Quiet Confidence
January 29, 2015 | Men's Basketball
by Emily Fedewa, GoHeels.com
CHAPEL HILL—Sophomore guard Nate Britt has had his share of adversity in the last couple of weeks, both on and off the court.
The Upper Marlboro, Md., native lost his grandfather on the day of UNC's 81-79 victory over NC State and then injured his mouth two games later against Wake Forest.
But despite the 15 stitches that were still in his lip on Monday night, and in honor of his grandfather, Britt gave his best performance of the year and played a crucial role in helping to lift the No. 15 North Carolina basketball team to a 93-83 win against Syracuse – the team's sixth victory in a row.
“Nate (Britt) was awesome. I feel so good for him,” head coach Roy Williams said after the game. “He had a death in the family – his grandfather the night of the North Carolina State game – 15 stitches in his mouth at Wake Forest. He's been battling, battling, battling.”
He has been battling, and he battled through it all to score a career-high 17 points, including a career-high four three-pointers, as well as rack up two assists, a steal and two rebounds in his 26 minutes of action.
In the first half alone, the sophomore tallied eight points in just 12 minutes on the court. He said that his ability to hit from behind the arc – sometimes way behind the arc – on Monday helped to build up his confidence.
“I feel like my confidence just grows as I continue to play, so for me to be able to knock down some shots tonight is pretty good,” Britt said. “The basket did seem to get bigger, and (my teammates) kept feeding me and kept telling me to shoot, so when they do that, it gives you a lot of confidence.”
Support from teammates and coaches can certainly increase confidence, and Britt said that this game and the encouragement from the team that has gotten him through a difficult time on the court, as well as in his personal life with the death of his grandfather, Ned Britt.
“(This game) was really big for me, and the coaching staff and my teammates have been behind me the whole way, just helping me get through it,” Britt said. “I've got to give all the credit to them because they've been keeping my head on straight.”
The young guard now feels like he has someone watching out for him and someone to play for, so it seemed only right to dedicate this performance to his “grandpop.”
“I know he's watching,” Britt said. “I feel like he's my guardian angel now, and I can attribute that to him. I can attribute this game to him.”
While his guardian angel and his shooting ability give him some extra confidence that he's been searching for since he decided to switch shooting hands in the offseason, his teammates don't think he lacked confidence before Monday.
Junior guard Marcus Paige wouldn't describe Britt as overly or obviously confident, but he knows that the sophomore is actually one of the more confident guys on the team.
“He's really steady,” Paige said. “Talking to him and getting to know him, he's one of the most confident kids on the team just in his abilities. He's got that swagger about him, and it came out tonight, he's a real confident guy.”
Despite his existing confidence though, a game like the one Britt had on Monday is important because it shows him and everyone else what he's capable of when the Tar Heels need him most – even after a personal loss or with 15 stitches in his mouth.
