Lucas: What We Missed

By Adam Lucas

SPARTANBURG, S.C.—Oh, how we missed this.

It had been a long 233 days without a real Carolina basketball game. And in one night, in a little less than two hours, the Tar Heels proceeded to remind us of virtually every single thing that makes this the best time of the year.

Start with the environment. Carolina made what most programs in the nation would consider a foolhardy choice to open the regular season at a possible NCAA Tournament contender, Wofford. The Terriers, of course, defeated Carolina in Chapel Hill last year. The school advertised the game as the "biggest sporting event in Spartanburg history." Tickets sold out weeks ago. Students camped out. Many who made it inside wore white t-shirts with the simple black numbers "79-75" written on the front, a reference to last year's score.

Ninety-five percent of Roy Williams' major conference brethren would have never even returned Wofford's phone call about playing this game. They'd see Terriers coach Mike Young on the summer recruiting circuit next summer and feign ignorance. "Oh, you called about a game? We'd love to! Hate that the office didn't relay that message to me." Then they'd scurry away and hope Young lost their number.

So, predictably, the Tar Heel head coach loved everything about Tuesday's environment.

"This is what college basketball should be like," Roy Williams told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network pregame show. "You should be willing to go to someone else's gym without getting 27 home games in return."

Well, yes. It should be like that. It's just that, well, it's not.

And when it's not, we miss out on the little moments that make it so fun to play—and win—on the road. Three Tar Heel legends made the trip to the game: Antawn Jamison, in an NBA scouting capacity, and Ed Cota and Julius Peppers, seated on the baseline looking every bit like regular Tar Heel fans, trying to be as inconspicuous as a future NFL Hall of Famer and one of the best passers in school history can be.

Just before the second half, Kendall Marshall walked over from the UNC bench and exchanged a hug and a handshake with Cota. Those five seconds were worth the trip to Spartanburg. How many great passes, how many jaw-dropping assists, how many feeds that led to rim-shaking dunks—15 years apart—were in that handshake?

Carolina Basketball is what it is because Ed Cota can whirl behind the back passes to Jamison on the fast break, and Marshall can throw three-quarters of the court pinpoint darts to Tyler Zeller, and 15 years later they still have as much respect for each other as if they'd been teammates.

Oh, and Peppers is great, too.

Then there was the game. It had just enough to remind you of what's so exciting about the 2018-19 Tar Heels while also reminding you that this team is a work in progress. Nine different players saw at least eight minutes of action and 11 different Tar Heels saw meaningful game action.

The result was alternately concerning (an overreliance on three-point shots and carelessness with the basketball) and heartening (three players with at least 17 points, key plays from freshmen, mostly quality defense).

Wofford tied the game at 46-46. Tar Heel seniors scored 12 of the next 14 points. Cameron Johnson buried three three-pointers, Luke Maye made three free throws, and junior Seventh Woods had the other bucket during a stretch that ended with the Heels having stretched the lead to nine.

On the next play, the red-hot Johnson turned passer, finding Garrison Brooks with a sweet touch pass for a three-point play.

"That stretch started with defense first," said Woods. "But offensively I think this is the deepest team we've had since I've been here. We've got three freshmen playing quality minutes, and we can score the ball one through five. Everybody on this team can put the ball in the basket."

Reminder: when Woods says it's the deepest offensive team Carolina has had in his tenure, he's including the 2017 national champions.

It's too early, of course, to even think of putting this group in such lofty company. But they showed enough signs to make it easy to believe that the next five months are going to be a lot of fun. Those veterans are a trio most college teams can't match. And their influence doesn't just manifest itself on the court. After the game, as the Tar Heels were dressing and preparing for the short flight back to RDU, Luke Maye approached Nassir Little. Maye had scored a game-high 24 points and added eight rebounds. He could've been excused for spending his time thumbing through his highlights on Twitter—nice step-back here, sweet jumper there.

"That little baseline jumper is tough," he told Little, referencing one of the freshman's three field goals in his college debut. Then Maye added a couple words of advice, senior to freshman, for how Little could make the move even more effective.

You don't find many National Player of the Year candidates willing to offer those tips to a freshman, and you don't find many Freshman of the Year candidates willing to accept those tips from a teammate. Unless you're in the UNC locker room, of course.

Kenny Williams didn't make a basket, going 0-for-3 from the field, but was one of the most important players in the game, as he was largely responsible for harassing Wofford sharpshooter Fletcher Magee into a 7-for-23 performance (3-for-16 from the three-point line).

Williams left the game after landing on his shoulder diving for a loose ball in the second half. One of his very first actions after returning to the game, rather than favoring that shoulder, was to throw himself into the first row of seats in pursuit of another loose ball. That's the kind of on-court example you want from your senior.

That's the kind of leadership that carries over to everyone else. Eight minutes into the season, Woods made a play that is absolutely guaranteed to end up on the end of season highlight tape, beating a Terrier to a loose ball at midcourt, throwing himself on the loose ball, and feeding Maye for an easy basket.

"That kind of play," Woods said, "will be the definition of our team."

And that's precisely why we missed this so much.

Players Mentioned

Garrison Brooks

Cameron Johnson

Nassir Little

Luke Maye

Kenny Williams

Seventh Woods

Related Videos