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University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
November 13, 2016 | Men's Basketball
By Adam Lucas
1. Don't take Sunday's 40-point win over a team you might not have heard of for granted. Chattanooga is a very good, very experienced team that will almost certainly be in the NCAA Tournament this year. The Tar Heels played extremely well in frustrating the Mocs--a much better overall performance than the season opener against Tulane.
2. Kenny Williams had his best career Smith Center stretch at the end of the first half. The sophomore, who was shifted out of the starting lineup in favor of Nate Britt, capped it by diving on the floor to force a loose ball, outfighting Chattanooga for a defensive rebound, working for an offensive rebound, and then feeding Joel Berry for a three-pointer.
Williams ended the game with a stat-stuffing 11 points, six rebounds and five assists in just 20 minutes, and appears to be prepared to make the battle for starting shooting guard a difficult choice for Roy Williams in Theo Pinson's absence.
3. Could this team be even better at sharing the ball than last year's very generous group? The Tar Heels recorded 26 assists on 34 field goals on Sunday, featuring some highlight reel passes.
4. Congratulations to Kennedy Meeks on passing the 1,000 point mark, and a great way to do it in a game when he had 14 points and 12 rebounds (and also had three blocks). Meeks was more efficient from the field than he was in the opener, but just as active on the backboards. Meeks is the 73rd player in Carolina history to surpass the 1,000-point mark.
5. Speaking of the glass, it looks like the coaches emphasized the defensive backboards to Tony Bradley between Friday night and Sunday afternoon. He had a team-high seven defensive boards in just 15 minutes.
6. Chattanooga is a terrific opponent to play this early in the season because they're a veteran team that understands what they're trying to do offensively and doesn't panic late in the shot clock. That's especially valuable against an ACC that will feature plenty of other teams with similar looks that don't mind grinding down the clock in their pursuit of a better shot. Carolina limited the visitors to 34.9 percent from the field, 25.9 percent from the three-point line, and forced a whopping 26 turnovers while grabbing 14 steals. That's one of the best early-season defensive performances against a capable team in the Roy Williams era.
7. Brandon Robinson isn't going to have a huge role as a freshman, and could be the player most affected when Theo Pinson returns. But through two regular season games, he's shown enough savvy and ability to present some encouraging signs for his Tar Heel future. His length presented a problem in the passing lanes for the Mocs, and he also corkscrewed in a difficult shot in the first half.
In the second half, he was active defensively, and when Tony Bradley was caught in a switch against the much smaller Peyton Woods, it was Robinson who barked out to Bradley when he could switch back to avoid the mismatch. Then, to put an exclamation point on his evening, Robinson made a slick behind the back save of a ball that was headed out of bounds, recording an assist for his efforts when Kenny Williams converted the bucket. Robinson finished with five points, three rebounds and an assist in his nine minutes.
8. Let me give you a little advice to hopefully get you in on the early side of a trend: this Carolina team is fun to watch. Get to the Smith Center and check them out now, so that in January when the rest of the world catches on, you'll be able to say you were there at the beginning.
