Lucas: Carolina Basketball Notebook

By Adam Lucas

Roy Williams appeared on his weekly radio show with Jones Angell on Monday night and had some good news about his team's health. Seventh Woods, who missed both games in Las Vegas for precautionary reasons related to a concussion sustained in practice, will be available against Michigan on Wednesday night. "Seventh practiced today," the head coach said. "He went full today and he's completely free to play on Wednesday night."

The junior point guard has 27 assists (second on the team) and just six turnovers in five games this year. "We really missed him in the first half against Texas," Williams said.

Room to improve: The biggest needed area of improvement from the two games in Las Vegas is Carolina's defense. Williams had stern words for his squad's proficiency in that area so far this year. "We're a little weaker defensively than any team I've ever coached," he said.

Opponents are shooting just 40 percent overall against the Tar Heels this year. But Texas and UCLA shot a combined 48.3 percent from the field and also made 55 trips to the free throw line, as Carolina struggled to defend without committing fouls (the Tar Heels left for Las Vegas allowing opponents to attempt just 18 free throws per game). "You have to be attentive to detail," Williams said regarding his team's needed improvements. "You have to decide, 'If I'm going to guard you, I'm going to guard you.' Against Texas we just weren't tough enough."

After an arrival at the Smith Center after midnight on Friday night, the Tar Heels were off on Saturday and then watched clips from the Texas game on Sunday night. Most of that film session dealt with defensive shortcomings.

The other Williams: One player who consistently grades out well defensively is Kenny Williams. The senior has struggled some offensively to start the year, as he's shooting just 34.1 percent from the field and 19.2 percent from the three-point line. But the head coach doesn't sound particularly concerned. "He's been our best defender," Roy Williams said. "He's gotten some key steals and gotten some key rebounds. The ball isn't going in the basket for him right now, but he isn't saying, 'Woe is me.' He's figuring out a way to be in the game and be positive."

Notes: Some high praise from Roy Williams for Nassir Little. "He's probably more athletic and a better jumper than anyone I've ever coached," he said. While Williams thinks the freshman may settle for the outside shot too frequently, he's pleased with his play inside the three-point line. "Going to the basket, he's hard to handle, and rebounding, he's hard to handle," Williams said. Little is shooting 29.4 percent on three-point shots and 64.6 percent on two-point shots...This is a very difficult portion of Carolina's nonconference schedule, with the just-completed games against Texas and UCLA and upcoming showdowns with Michigan, Gonzaga and Kentucky. "Michigan may be playing better basketball than anybody," Williams said. "And if anybody is playing better than them, it's Gonzaga, and we play them in a couple weeks."...

Yes, there was the obligatory lineup question on Monday night. "We've played (the smaller lineup with Luke Maye at center and Nassir Little at power forward) quite a bit and we'll continue doing it quite a bit," Williams said. "Garrison (Brooks) does a better job for us defensively and rebounding. Nassir gives us more scoring and athleticism."...Williams punctuated the show with a bit of praise for Wednesday's opponent, Michigan, and a lighthearted jab at his own team's defensive proficiency. "Michigan is the number-one defensive team in America," he said. "There are 351 Division I teams in America. We're 406th."

Players Mentioned

Nassir Little

Luke Maye

Kenny Williams

Seventh Woods

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