Carmichael Comments: Kent/VCU Roundup

CARMICHAEL COMMENTS: Inside Carolina Women's Basketball – Edition 4

By: Matt Krause (@MattKrausePxP)

Musical icon Frank Sinatra once said "The Best Is Yet to Come."

Add in the word "competition" after "best," and you've got an accurate description of the Carolina Women's Basketball team's current situation.

As Coach Hatchell aims to get the Tar Heels back to the NCAA Tournament, a 3-0 start for the second time in the last three seasons and third in the last five is a great place to be on Nov. 16. Make no mistake — Elon, Kent State, and VCU are far from pushovers. The Phoenix has won back-to-back CAA championships and had the energy of playing in its brand new arena on its side on Nov. 6, while Kent State and VCU are a pair of tough mid-majors that, while featuring young rosters, are expected to contend in their respective conferences this season. All that being said, that trio is nothing like what the Tar Heels will see in the next two weeks. Over a five-game span away from Carmichael Arena, Carolina will face five teams from the nation's most elite conferences: a true road game at Colorado, a neutral-site tournament in the Virgin Islands against UCLA, No. 21 South Florida, and Kentucky, and another true road game at Ohio State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

By the time the Heels return to the friendly confines on South Road on Dec. 2 to take on Maine, an 8-0 record likely means a special season in Chapel Hill. 3-5? No need to hit the panic button, because ACC play is still a month away, but Carolina's weaknesses will have likely been exploited by that quintet of opponents. If the Tar Heels end up somewhere in between, especially if the win total sits at six or seven, the outlook will still be positive.

What we will learn an awful lot about in the ensuing weeks is how well this group of Tar Heels can gel into one cohesive unit. I appreciated the honesty from Carolina Assistant Coach Sylvia Crawley on Wednesday when she mentioned in her postgame visit on the Continental Tire Coaches' Corner that the team chemistry still has room to grow.

"We have a lot of dominant personalities," she said. "So chemistry is not 100% just yet, but you don't want to play your best basketball at the beginning of the season."

Sometimes, a series of long road trips is the missing link in building that chemistry, so we'll see if the Heels can amass more than frequent flier miles before November comes to an end. Even this weekend, an otherwise-normal trip for one true road game, has an extra day of travel. Carolina will head to Boulder on Friday to adjust to the altitude of the Rocky Mountains, but an additional day with the team together could very well aide in the development of one cohesive unit.

Now, as for the on-court keys to a successful second half of November…

Get The Shooting Going

The offensive efficiency was a major bright spot for the Tar Heels in the exhibition triumph over Carson-Newman and the 31-point opening night win at Elon. However, both Kent State and VCU held the Heels under 35% from the floor and under 28% from three-point range. In Friday's game against the Golden Flashes, only Paris Kea and Janelle Bailey reached double figures in scoring, while that pair was joined by Shayla Bennett's 10 points against VCU.

"We were just disappointed in our shooting," Coach Crawley said on Wednesday. "Our kids are putting up a lot of shots, that's why it's so disheartening. Every time I come to work, they're in the gym. They've got the music playing, they've got a sweat, so they're not casually taking shots, they're taking game shots, so eventually it will fall for us."

It's a lot easier said than done to "get the shooting going" against elite competition like the Heels will face in the next few weeks, but it could provide the spark that's needed to avoid putting so much pressure on the defensive end of the floor to succeed. Which brings us to our next point…

Keep Up The Defensive Intensity

Carolina held Kent State to just 60 points on Friday while limiting VCU to 47 on Wednesday morning. Part of that effort against the Rams was a remarkable third quarter in which VCU scored just four points against a Tar Heel zone defense.

"We went zone, which we didn't really want to do because it slows the game down," Coach Crawley said. "But that slowed them down and we said 'if it isn't broke, don't fix it.' I thought our kids did a really good job of talking in the zone, guarding and bumping."

Coach Crawley's boss echoed her thoughts, and pointed to efforts in practice as being a key for successful defense.

"We've been working some on our zone and that was pretty good," Coach Hatchell remarked after the 59-47 win.

The consecutive games of holding an opponent to 60 points or fewer marks the first time since a three-game stretch from Dec. 3-10 (Appalachian State 43, Presbyterian 56, Furman 56) last season that Carolina has done so in back-to-back games.

The Colorado Matchup…

Carolina will aim for a sweep of the home-and-home series with the Buffaloes when the two teams get together Sunday in Boulder. The Heels erased a 15-point halftime deficit to win 87-80 in overtime last Nov. 12 in Carmichael, and will face a lot of the same personnel on Sunday. Colorado returns four starters off of a 15-16 team that went 5-13 in Pac-12 play, and like Carolina, is hoping to take the next step in 2018-19.

As mentioned above, the Heels will travel out a day early to help adjust to the altitude.

"We're seasoned," Coach Crawley said with a smile. "Coach Hatchell has been doing this a long time."

The game is set for 3 p.m. Eastern time (1 p.m. local) on Sunday from the CU Events Center. As always, catch the Tar Heel Sports Network Call on GoHeels.com, the GoHeels app, as well as TuneIn.com and the TuneIn app (search "Tar Heel Sports Network"). Also on Sunday, for the first time in 2018-19, we'll be on the radio in your car on WCHL 97.9 FM and 1360 AM. What I'm saying here is that you have myriad ways to catch the call from Boulder. Hope you'll join us! Go Heels!