Lucas: Multiple Offense

By Adam Lucas

Chapel Hill, meet Nassir Little.

The Carolina freshman put on a terrific display Monday night against Saint Francis, scoring 19 points on just nine field goal attempts. But his most impactful play of the night—the one with the most long-term ramifications for the 2019 Tar Heels—might have been one that resulted in a turnover.

With the highly touted freshman sitting on 19 points and just a bucket away from tying the career high of 21 he set against Elon, Little received the ball around the free throw line late in the second half. This is prime Nassir Little scoring territory. Especially against Saint Francis, the Florida native consistently showed that when he had the ball in reasonable proximity to the rim, he was able to get to the rim almost at a whim…and when he got to the rim, two points ensued.

So it was reasonable to assume that he was about to make an aggressive move to the basket. This was good. When Little goes to the basket, highlights tend to follow. Such was the case in the first half, when he found himself streaking down the left side of the floor unchecked. Kenny Williams tossed a lob that the senior almost instantly thought was a turnover.

"I definitely thought I threw it too high," Williams said.

Nope, not for Nassir Little. He just went a little higher, climbed another cloud, and grabbed the ball two-handed and threw it through for the latest example of what his teammates have been buzzing about since July. Remember, this is a freshman about whom Andrew Platek recently said, "He does things with a basketball that I haven't seen before."

The guess is that you'll see that particular alley-oop again this year. It actually was open on a halfcourt set in the second half; as his teammates get more accustomed to Little's ability, we'll see that on a more regular basis. It won't be Cota-to-Carter regular, but it will be more frequent than you've seen in recent years, because Little has a unique type of athleticism.

"That," Kenny Williams said of Little's first half flight, "was a show."

So, again, it was reasonable to assume Little was about to make a physical move to the basket from the free throw line in the second half. Get to the rim, pass the 20 point mark, make another highlight tape.

That's when Little did something no one expected—he fired a pass inside to a wide open Luke Maye.

The "no one" in question included Maye, who like the other 20,547 people in attendance just assumed Little was about to score. The ball bounced off his hands and became one of Carolina's 18 (too many) turnovers. But that was also the type of turnover Roy Williams likely won't mind for two reasons: first, it shows how unselfish Little can be. And second, as the Tar Heels move toward a more regular rotation and the groups on the court become more familiar with each other, it's the kind of play that won't happen.

For now, though, it perfectly characterizes the Carolina team we've seen in the first five games. The Tar Heels once again got offense from virtually everywhere (let's don't talk about the defense, because it needs to get better), with five players in double figures and two players in double figures off the bench. Remember when Carolina had 15 players score against Elon in the second game of the season? According to Tar Heel Sports Network statistician Jody Zeugner, that's a feat that hasn't been done since Feb. 8, 1974.

So this has the potential to be one of Roy Williams' most potent offensive clubs. Remember, Little is coming off the bench. The Tar Heels have shot at least 50 percent from the floor in seven of the ten halves they've played this year, and the last four straight. Maye is a National Player of the Year candidate, got a double-double against the Red Flash (11 points, 10 rebounds), and no one even noticed he was at the game. Cam Johnson made two of his six three-point attempts on Monday night; this actually dragged his season three-point percentage down to 60 percent.

Sometimes, teams with multiple offensive options can turn into teams with multiple players hunting their shot, because they know if they don't take it, someone else will. That hasn't happened so far. Instead, the 2018-19 Tar Heels are so far best personified by Seventh Woods, who had another solid performance against Saint Francis, handing out seven assists and playing a key role during a second-half spurt.

Woods isn't one of the primary options for Carolina's offense; his job is game management, defense and effort. Any scoring is a pleasant bonus. But the tone he's helping set as a junior who is ceding playing time to a freshman is extremely important. Woods doesn't seem concerned about himself and, for that matter, doesn't even want to talk about himself.

Friday night, he threw a beautiful behind the back pass to Johnson for a three-pointer against Tennessee Tech. Asked after the game to describe the play, he politely demurred. "I'd rather not," he said. "It feels a little too much like bragging."

That response, combined with Little's unselfish play on Monday, is much more telling of Carolina's potential than any one stat from any of the first five victories. Starting Thursday in Las Vegas and for the next three games, we'll get a much better read on how far Carolina's diverse offense can carry this team.

"We can keep getting offense from everybody," Kenny Williams said. "We're all high level players and know how to put the ball in the basket. That makes us harder to guard because we put so many out there who can score the ball and are threats from everywhere on the court. That makes us that much more dangerous. Whether it's Cam, Luke, Coby, Nas, me, or anybody else, we all want to see each other succeed. We're not going to hesitate to give somebody else the ball."

University of North Carolina Athletics

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Nassir Little

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Kenny Williams

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