University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: National Championship Notebook
April 3, 2016 | Men's Basketball
By Adam Lucas
After Saturday night's display in the national semifinals, most observers will believe Villanova has the edge on the perimeter in Monday night's championship game. But if that's the case, then the Tar Heels probably have the edge in the paint.
“We're going to have to deal with their size, length, rebounding and inside game,” Villanova head coach Jay Wright said on Sunday afternoon. The Tar Heels rank third in the country in offensive rebounding percentage, while the Wildcats give up an offensive rebounding percentage of 28.6 percent, which ranks in the bottom half nationally.
Theo again: Once again, the five Carolina starters and Roy Williams had to go to the dais to meet with the media on Sunday afternoon. And once again, a few minutes into the press conference, Theo Pinson appeared.
According to Pinson, it wasn't a planned reprisal of last weekend's hijinks in Philadelphia. “I was laying here (in the locker room),” he said. “I got my socks and stuff on. I walked out and asked the dude outside. I think he knew where I wanted to go. He pointed me that way.”
Britt/Jenkins: There will be plenty of places you can read more about the Nate Britt/Kris Jenkins relationship. But here's an interesting tidbit from Jay Wright during Sunday's media availability: the Wildcats actually recruited Britt first. “When we met with Nate, we also met with Kris,” Wright said. “We told him, 'We love you, but you would have to come in here and change your diet, work out hard, get tested every morning, that's what we want you to do.' As the recruitment went on, Nate Britt Sr. said Kris loved it. We said if he loved that, we want this guy.”
Philly tough: Apparently, there's some sort of theme about “Philly tough” as it relates to the way Villanova plays basketball. Several Tar Heels were asked about it on Sunday, and it became repetitive enough to become somewhat reminiscent of the “team vs. talent” discussion at the 2005 Final Four, when the pre-championship theory was that Carolina had the most talent, but Illinois had the best team.
“We all know what Philly tough means for them,” Pinson said. “They've been doing it for a long time. They just have a certain toughness about them. They muddy it up. For us, people say we're not tough all the time. But we're here, so I don't really know what to say to that.”
Meeks thoughts: Kennedy Meeks had some interesting thoughts that seemed to suggest he wasn't completely healthy during the stretch that earned him some criticism nationally.
A bone bruise in his left knee forced the Carolina junior to miss seven games near the start of the Atlantic Coast Conference season. Upon his return, his play was somewhat sporadic, but he's put together three straight solid games in the NCAA Tournament, including 15 points and eight rebounds against Syracuse last night.
“When I first came back, I felt like I was in the way a little bit because I wasn't able to move as well as I did before,” Meeks said.
The big man will be important against Villanova, who relies primarily on post man Daniel Ochefu. One of Carolina's biggest advantages on paper would appear to be on the paint, where Williams will be able to rotate Meeks, Brice Johnson and Isaiah Hicks, with an occasional dose of Joel James.
Notes: Sunday afternoon's closed session at NRG Stadium was Carolina's 100th practice of the season…Expect a large turnout of Tar Heel basketball alums at Monday night's game. Danny Green, among others, is already talking about it.
