University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Matchup Could Dictate Personnel
March 11, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
By Adam Lucas
On Tuesday morning, Roy Williams announced there was a good possibility Kennedy Meeks might be unable to play in Carolina's opening ACC Tournament game on Wednesday afternoon. The sophomore big man did not practice on Tuesday in Chapel Hill. “He's running a temperature,” Williams said. “They got it down last night. It was back up again this morning. They tested him for mono and strep and everything comes up negative. I have a great idea that he won't play tomorrow.”
But on Tuesday afternoon, Williams got the result that might have rendered Meeks' possible absence less meaningful.
Boston College's one-point win over Georgia Tech sets up a 2:30 p.m. matchup against the Tar Heels in Greensboro tomorrow. It also means Carolina will have to defend the Eagles' more guard-oriented attack rather than the beefy inside-oriented game of the Yellow Jackets. In the only meeting between Carolina and Boston College this year, on Feb. 7 in Chestnut Hill, Meeks did not start and played just 12 total minutes.
Isaiah Hicks, meanwhile, played a career-high 28 minutes and scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting. It's unreasonable to expect similar production from Hicks again, but he is more suited to defending the more perimeter-oriented Eagles. Hicks leads Carolina with 13 defensive player of the game awards from the coaches, including four in the past six games and six in the past ten.
The way the Tar Heels might use their personnel in the potential absence of Meeks may have depended largely on Tuesday's outcome. A Georgia Tech victory might have meant more time for Joel James, who has quietly played well down the stretch. The center is six for his last 11 over the last four games, scored six strong points against the Jackets last week, and played solid defense in the post against Duke's Jahlil Okafor on Saturday night.
But James is built to be more effective against a team with a strong post presence. He played just four minutes in the season's initial meeting with Boston College.
No matter who spends the most time in the paint this afternoon, offensive rebounding should be key. Boston College gave up 18 offensive rebounds and 28 second-chance points on Tuesday, and second-chance opportunities have been a huge part of Carolina's offense all season. UNC enters ACC Tournament play with the highest offensive rebounding percentage in the conference, with their 37.3% mark in league games giving them a slight edge over Duke (36.9%).
The Tar Heels, of course, hope to stay long enough in Greensboro to need their entire post rotation at some point. That includes Meeks, who has not reached double figures in points or rebounds since the NC State game, and has just one double-figure rebounding game in his last 14 outings after posting nine such games in the first 17 games of the year.
Williams believes another offseason committed to the weight room will be important for the Charlotte native.
“You need to be explosive,” Williams said on Monday night at his radio show with Jones Angell. “I've said that since the first day. You lose the weight, but you have to be more explosive. You can't shoot the ball against everybody's armpits because it usually doesn't go in. He has to have enough lift to get up there. That is a big-time challenge for Kennedy in the offseason, to try and become a more explosive athlete. Kennedy has enough moves. He just has to get better lift.”
Another injury note: Williams indicated that freshman wing Theo Pinson had suffered from some soreness in his foot after the Duke game and did not practice on Monday, making his availability uncertain for Wednesday.
