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University of North Carolina Athletics
Freshman Nassir Little
Photo by: Robert Crawford
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
November 9, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from Carolina's visit to Elon.
By Adam Lucas
1. Just a great all-around offensive performance from Carolina in a solid 116-67 road victory over Elon. The Tar Heels got buckets from all over the court and rode that offensive firepower to the 2-0 start to the season. That was Carolina's first 100+ point performance on the road since a 2016 win at Florida State and the first 30+ point victory on the road since an 81-49 win at Georgia Tech in 2015. All 15 players who played scored, and the 116 points tied the most ever in the Roy Williams era (tying a 2008 win over UNCA).
2. Cameron Johnson continued his great start to the season by pumping in 21 points. The graduate student's shot looks very smooth right now and always on balance and in rhythm.
3. As you would expect, the Tar Heels completely dominated the glass, holding a 58-28 advantage overall and 24-8 on the offensive glass.
4. The Tar Heels can't play much more efficiently on offense than they did in the first half. Carolina posted a startling 1.56 points per possession figure in the first 20 minutes, which was higher than any PPP number for a half last season. Ten different Tar Heels scored as the baskets came from a bevy of different players...first it was Cam Johnson heating up, then it was the big men, then the freshmen had a few notable possessions.
5. Cameron Johnson's two quick fouls in the first half appeared to throw a wrench into Carolina's rotation. Instead, it opened the door for Nassir Little to have a terrific stretch. Even when Little wasn't making shots--he finished with ten points in the first half--he was making the kind of powerful offensive moves that made him so highly sought after coming out of high school. Just to make sure you noticed him, Little then punctuated the first half with a vicious follow slam to give Carolina a 63-45 halftime advantage.
6. Oh, by the way, Little also had one of the nastiest in-game open-court dunks you will see in the second half of the game. When the freshman took off from inside the free throw line, it looked like he had jumped too soon. Nope, he floated to the rim for a one-handed thunder jam. Looking forward to seeing more of that this year. There are times when Little simply plays the game at a different altitude than the other nine players on the court.
7. It's going to be a fun few days of Tar Heel connections. Jerod Haase brings his Stanford squad to town on Monday night for the home opener (tickets are available), and Friday night was a chance to see J.B. Tanner and Jack Wooten, both of whom are fixtures on the staff of Elon head coach Matt Matheny. By the way, another Carolina alum, Kenny "The Jet" Smith, was in the stands behind the UNC bench on Friday, so he got to see son K.J. play the final four minutes of the win. K.J. even scored on a nice hesitation move to complete the fun evening for the Smith family.
8. Kenny Williams hasn't had a good start to the season on offense. But a short stretch in the second half shows just how important he is to this year's team. First, he denied Elon's Sheldon Eberhardt all over the court on a simple inbounds play that started the final 20 minutes. Eberhardt never could get his hands on the ball. Then, on Carolina's first possession, the Tar Heels very clearly ran a play specifically to get Williams a shot--a three-pointer at the top of the key that he usually knocks in but rimmed out during this tough stretch. Williams' teammates continued to make the extra pass throughout the second half to try and get Williams a good look. The senior finished 0-for-7 from the field and hasn't made a field goal this season...but keep in mind he also won the team's defensive award in the opening win against Wofford.
9. Seventh Woods had another steady game off the bench at point guard. The junior had five assists and zero turnovers in 15 minutes of action.
10. Friday's win completed a 2-0 road start. That's the first time the Tar Heels have opened with two straight road games since the 1986-87, when Dean Smith's squad opened with victories at Hawaii and Hawaii-Loa.
1. Just a great all-around offensive performance from Carolina in a solid 116-67 road victory over Elon. The Tar Heels got buckets from all over the court and rode that offensive firepower to the 2-0 start to the season. That was Carolina's first 100+ point performance on the road since a 2016 win at Florida State and the first 30+ point victory on the road since an 81-49 win at Georgia Tech in 2015. All 15 players who played scored, and the 116 points tied the most ever in the Roy Williams era (tying a 2008 win over UNCA).
2. Cameron Johnson continued his great start to the season by pumping in 21 points. The graduate student's shot looks very smooth right now and always on balance and in rhythm.
3. As you would expect, the Tar Heels completely dominated the glass, holding a 58-28 advantage overall and 24-8 on the offensive glass.
4. The Tar Heels can't play much more efficiently on offense than they did in the first half. Carolina posted a startling 1.56 points per possession figure in the first 20 minutes, which was higher than any PPP number for a half last season. Ten different Tar Heels scored as the baskets came from a bevy of different players...first it was Cam Johnson heating up, then it was the big men, then the freshmen had a few notable possessions.
5. Cameron Johnson's two quick fouls in the first half appeared to throw a wrench into Carolina's rotation. Instead, it opened the door for Nassir Little to have a terrific stretch. Even when Little wasn't making shots--he finished with ten points in the first half--he was making the kind of powerful offensive moves that made him so highly sought after coming out of high school. Just to make sure you noticed him, Little then punctuated the first half with a vicious follow slam to give Carolina a 63-45 halftime advantage.
6. Oh, by the way, Little also had one of the nastiest in-game open-court dunks you will see in the second half of the game. When the freshman took off from inside the free throw line, it looked like he had jumped too soon. Nope, he floated to the rim for a one-handed thunder jam. Looking forward to seeing more of that this year. There are times when Little simply plays the game at a different altitude than the other nine players on the court.
7. It's going to be a fun few days of Tar Heel connections. Jerod Haase brings his Stanford squad to town on Monday night for the home opener (tickets are available), and Friday night was a chance to see J.B. Tanner and Jack Wooten, both of whom are fixtures on the staff of Elon head coach Matt Matheny. By the way, another Carolina alum, Kenny "The Jet" Smith, was in the stands behind the UNC bench on Friday, so he got to see son K.J. play the final four minutes of the win. K.J. even scored on a nice hesitation move to complete the fun evening for the Smith family.
8. Kenny Williams hasn't had a good start to the season on offense. But a short stretch in the second half shows just how important he is to this year's team. First, he denied Elon's Sheldon Eberhardt all over the court on a simple inbounds play that started the final 20 minutes. Eberhardt never could get his hands on the ball. Then, on Carolina's first possession, the Tar Heels very clearly ran a play specifically to get Williams a shot--a three-pointer at the top of the key that he usually knocks in but rimmed out during this tough stretch. Williams' teammates continued to make the extra pass throughout the second half to try and get Williams a good look. The senior finished 0-for-7 from the field and hasn't made a field goal this season...but keep in mind he also won the team's defensive award in the opening win against Wofford.
9. Seventh Woods had another steady game off the bench at point guard. The junior had five assists and zero turnovers in 15 minutes of action.
10. Friday's win completed a 2-0 road start. That's the first time the Tar Heels have opened with two straight road games since the 1986-87, when Dean Smith's squad opened with victories at Hawaii and Hawaii-Loa.
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