University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: J.D. Lyon Jr.
Lucas: A Bad Feeling
November 29, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Carolina's defense was incapable of stopping Michigan.
By Adam Lucas
ANN ARBOR—No matter where you watched Wednesday night's game, no matter where you suffered through it, no matter how many remotes went to a violent death, there was undoubtedly one worse location to absorb Carolina's 84-67 loss to Michigan: on the bench next to the Tar Heel starters as the Wolverines put the game away.
That's where Coby White, Kenny Williams, Luke Maye, Garrison Brooks and Cameron Johnson found themselves just four minutes into the second half. Michigan had surged to a 12-point lead and was about to begin a stretch in which they scored on nine straight possessions.
That's when a frustrated Roy Williams substituted five for five. And yes, it's reasonable to assume he knew the consequences. Carolina had struggled in the first half with five reserves on the court, as Michigan went from down eight to up one with the substitutes on the court.
The head coach felt there were more important issues involved. So he yanked the starters, and they sat.
And sat.
And sat.
Brandon Huffman entered the game. K.J. Smith entered the game. And the starters sat.
"It was the worst," Kenny Williams said of having to watch his team struggle without being able to help. "We had dug a hole and it was a steep hole to get out of. He was trying to teach us a lesson."
How dire was the situation? Roy Williams had called a timeout less than three minutes into the second half (by the way, next time you argue that a timeout is a magical elixir, remember Ann Arbor, where a timeout did absolutely no good at all). You probably only need one hand to count the number of times he's done that during his Tar Heel tenure.
Usually, starters have the privilege of saying when they're ready to go back in the game. As Michigan stretched the lead past 15 points, and then to 20, Kenny Williams said, "Coach, I'm ready."
No response. Not even a head nod. The head coach said earlier this week on his radio show that the current team is "a little weaker defensively than any team I've ever coached." They proved him right on Wednesday, putting forth little resistance as the Wolverines first backdoored them to death, then switched up for some variety and swished a hailstorm of three-pointers.
How bad was it? The Tar Heel defense had so little impact that Michigan shot better when Carolina was guarding them (50 percent from the three-point line and a scalding 20-of-32 on two-point shots) than they did when there was no defense at all (11-of-23 from the free throw line). Loose balls went unchased. Shots were not contested. The Wolverines basically did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. The offense wasn't much better; on several occasions, two or more Tar Heels were trying to occupy the same spot on the floor.
So the starters had earned their way to the bench. The hope, at that moment, was that the view from the sideline would be more beneficial three months from now than letting them play through it to try and win one game tonight.
"As a coach, I feel like I've done the worst job with this team in my 31 years as a head coach," Roy Williams said. "The coach is not getting the job done with this team. It's the most frustrated I've ever been."
Again: it is November. Carolina beat Michigan in this same game last year and the Wolverines went to the national title game while the Tar Heels watched from home. There is a long, long way to go. But there are plenty of issues to fix along the way.
The postgame UNC locker room wasn't as intense as you might imagine. It was reasonable to assume there might be a fiery speech from Williams. But the head coach simply walked in, gathered his thoughts, and said quite plainly to his team, "We have to compete better."
It was like waiting for your dad to yell at you for a bad grade in high school, and then he just says, sadly, "I'm very disappointed in you," and somehow that is worse than the fury.
Players changed back into their suits and ties in silence. The bus ride to the airport was somber.
Kenny Williams was left to ponder the fact that Michigan shot a robust 59.3 percent in the second half and 57.4 percent for the game. And, worst of all, he'd been incapable of helping during one of the key stretches.
"It was," the senior said, "the worst feeling in the world."
ANN ARBOR—No matter where you watched Wednesday night's game, no matter where you suffered through it, no matter how many remotes went to a violent death, there was undoubtedly one worse location to absorb Carolina's 84-67 loss to Michigan: on the bench next to the Tar Heel starters as the Wolverines put the game away.
That's where Coby White, Kenny Williams, Luke Maye, Garrison Brooks and Cameron Johnson found themselves just four minutes into the second half. Michigan had surged to a 12-point lead and was about to begin a stretch in which they scored on nine straight possessions.
That's when a frustrated Roy Williams substituted five for five. And yes, it's reasonable to assume he knew the consequences. Carolina had struggled in the first half with five reserves on the court, as Michigan went from down eight to up one with the substitutes on the court.
The head coach felt there were more important issues involved. So he yanked the starters, and they sat.
And sat.
And sat.
Brandon Huffman entered the game. K.J. Smith entered the game. And the starters sat.
"It was the worst," Kenny Williams said of having to watch his team struggle without being able to help. "We had dug a hole and it was a steep hole to get out of. He was trying to teach us a lesson."
How dire was the situation? Roy Williams had called a timeout less than three minutes into the second half (by the way, next time you argue that a timeout is a magical elixir, remember Ann Arbor, where a timeout did absolutely no good at all). You probably only need one hand to count the number of times he's done that during his Tar Heel tenure.
Usually, starters have the privilege of saying when they're ready to go back in the game. As Michigan stretched the lead past 15 points, and then to 20, Kenny Williams said, "Coach, I'm ready."
No response. Not even a head nod. The head coach said earlier this week on his radio show that the current team is "a little weaker defensively than any team I've ever coached." They proved him right on Wednesday, putting forth little resistance as the Wolverines first backdoored them to death, then switched up for some variety and swished a hailstorm of three-pointers.
How bad was it? The Tar Heel defense had so little impact that Michigan shot better when Carolina was guarding them (50 percent from the three-point line and a scalding 20-of-32 on two-point shots) than they did when there was no defense at all (11-of-23 from the free throw line). Loose balls went unchased. Shots were not contested. The Wolverines basically did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. The offense wasn't much better; on several occasions, two or more Tar Heels were trying to occupy the same spot on the floor.
So the starters had earned their way to the bench. The hope, at that moment, was that the view from the sideline would be more beneficial three months from now than letting them play through it to try and win one game tonight.
"As a coach, I feel like I've done the worst job with this team in my 31 years as a head coach," Roy Williams said. "The coach is not getting the job done with this team. It's the most frustrated I've ever been."
Again: it is November. Carolina beat Michigan in this same game last year and the Wolverines went to the national title game while the Tar Heels watched from home. There is a long, long way to go. But there are plenty of issues to fix along the way.
The postgame UNC locker room wasn't as intense as you might imagine. It was reasonable to assume there might be a fiery speech from Williams. But the head coach simply walked in, gathered his thoughts, and said quite plainly to his team, "We have to compete better."
It was like waiting for your dad to yell at you for a bad grade in high school, and then he just says, sadly, "I'm very disappointed in you," and somehow that is worse than the fury.
Players changed back into their suits and ties in silence. The bus ride to the airport was somber.
Kenny Williams was left to ponder the fact that Michigan shot a robust 59.3 percent in the second half and 57.4 percent for the game. And, worst of all, he'd been incapable of helping during one of the key stretches.
"It was," the senior said, "the worst feeling in the world."
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