University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: J.D. Lyon Jr.
Lucas: Leadership Lessons
December 23, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Kentucky outplayed Carolina, which heads into the break searching for some answers.
By Adam Lucas
CHICAGO—The first warning shot for Carolina's game against Kentucky was fired five nights ago at Top of the Hill restaurant.
That's where Jones Angell hosts Roy Williams' weekly radio show, and that's where a perturbed Williams arrived on Dec. 17 for the one-hour show. Within seconds of putting on his headset, the Tar Heel head coach recounted what he had told his team that afternoon at practice, the squad's first since the big home win over Gonzaga.
"We didn't come out to practice," Williams said. "I asked them, 'Why are you so fat and happy? We won one game.'"
As usual, the coach knows. Carolina wasn't very energetic in dropping an 80-72 decision to Kentucky Saturday evening, following up the best effort of the season with one of the most listless. The Wildcats defeated the Tar Heels in virtually every meaningful category, but from watching on the ball and away from the ball at the United Center, this one was the most disturbing: Kentucky simply played with more effort than Carolina. This wasn't a situation where a Wildcat got red-hot from the three-point line (Malik Monk/Tayshaun Prince Syndrome). This was simply playing harder and with more consistent concern for the final outcome.
This isn't an indictment of Carolina's players. As Williams said after the game, "They're all great kids." They are. There's not a jerk on the roster, which makes all of this even more confusing. The marquee part of the nonconference schedule is over. Carolina shouldn't have lost to Texas (which has lost to Radford, VCU and Providence) and should have—at minimum—competed better with Kentucky.
It's fair to say that those quality individuals have not yet blended into a cohesive team. Let's ask two players who have played national championship college basketball what they see as the difference between that version of the Tar Heels and the current iteration.
"We have to communicate better," said Brandon Robinson. "We have to fix that ASAP. When we get back from Christmas, we have to lock in. We have to be consistent."
"We can't take nights off," said Kenny Williams. "We have to have more attention to detail on the court. I've been on teams that have done those things and have seen what they can do. We have to bring a little bit more."
What kind of little things? On at least two occasions, the Tar Heels came out of a dead ball against Kentucky and the five players on the court either didn't have the right defensive call or didn't know who they were guarding. That's simple communication.
The quantity of "What kind of shot was that?" shot attempts on this year's team through a dozen games is higher than some entire seasons. Players haven't yet shown the confidence to let the possession develop, to make one more pass.
This is when you start grumbling that the seniors should fix this, that a good on-court leader would never let this happen. Carolina has three seniors who are playing by far the most minutes on the team. Why doesn't one of them just refuse to let outcomes like this happen?
Answer: Because it's really, really difficult to be that kind of leader, and sometimes it can take longer than December to figure it out.
I'm going to tell you a secret: Kenny Williams, Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson are college seniors (or, in Johnson's case, a graduate student). Think realistically about your senior year of college. You had fun, you studied some, and…you thought a whole lot about what was coming next. Would you get a job? Where would you live? What would you do?
Williams, Maye and Johnson have those same exact worries. Sure, they're college basketball players and they have a great life right now, but they're also human. As fans, what we selfishly want them to do is put all those worries aside from now until April and think only about the team, because that's what is best for us. You see the problem here? We want them to be unselfish…because, selfishly, that's what we need.
Being a senior is not that hard. Being a senior leader—that's tough. All three of those players would tell you they need to play better in order for Carolina to be successful. That's exactly when being a leader is so difficult, when you're also concerned about your individual performance.
"A lot of people say, 'Be a leader,'" Kenny Williams said. "Honestly, there are very few leaders in this world. It's easy to say, but you can't force it."
What would you want Williams to do to be a better leader? Make physical plays that show how much he cares about the team? He drew a first-half charge. Do you want him to take charge in the huddle? When Roy Williams yanked the five players on the court—of which Kenny Williams was one—midway through the first half, he chastised them for a lack of patience on offense. Then, when he was finished, as the game continued on the court, Kenny Williams stood up on the bench and turned to his teammates. "We have to work together on offense," he told them. "If we screen and move the ball we will get good shots. We have to work together. It can't be iso ball, with guys trying to do it on their own with four people watching."
His words weren't especially effective, but Williams' willingness to say them might be the most encouraging thing to come out of a day when there weren't many encouraging moments. He's showing some leadership signs. Now: who's going to follow him?
None of this is in any way indicative of the kind of season Carolina could ultimately have. The 2017 team sat 12-3 when the calendar flipped to 2017 and was coming off a clunker at Georgia Tech that was worse than anything you saw on the court on Saturday. This year's team has a good chance to be 11-3 on Jan. 2.
Roy Williams described it perfectly after the game. Hopefully, these words are just as prophetic as his concern earlier this week. This is Thought for the Day-quality stuff right here, and something every player is likely to ponder during the long-awaited Christmas break. This could easily be the 2019 mantra for this group.
"If you lose yourself in the success of the team," Williams said, "every individual will be taken care of."
CHICAGO—The first warning shot for Carolina's game against Kentucky was fired five nights ago at Top of the Hill restaurant.
That's where Jones Angell hosts Roy Williams' weekly radio show, and that's where a perturbed Williams arrived on Dec. 17 for the one-hour show. Within seconds of putting on his headset, the Tar Heel head coach recounted what he had told his team that afternoon at practice, the squad's first since the big home win over Gonzaga.
"We didn't come out to practice," Williams said. "I asked them, 'Why are you so fat and happy? We won one game.'"
As usual, the coach knows. Carolina wasn't very energetic in dropping an 80-72 decision to Kentucky Saturday evening, following up the best effort of the season with one of the most listless. The Wildcats defeated the Tar Heels in virtually every meaningful category, but from watching on the ball and away from the ball at the United Center, this one was the most disturbing: Kentucky simply played with more effort than Carolina. This wasn't a situation where a Wildcat got red-hot from the three-point line (Malik Monk/Tayshaun Prince Syndrome). This was simply playing harder and with more consistent concern for the final outcome.
This isn't an indictment of Carolina's players. As Williams said after the game, "They're all great kids." They are. There's not a jerk on the roster, which makes all of this even more confusing. The marquee part of the nonconference schedule is over. Carolina shouldn't have lost to Texas (which has lost to Radford, VCU and Providence) and should have—at minimum—competed better with Kentucky.
It's fair to say that those quality individuals have not yet blended into a cohesive team. Let's ask two players who have played national championship college basketball what they see as the difference between that version of the Tar Heels and the current iteration.
"We have to communicate better," said Brandon Robinson. "We have to fix that ASAP. When we get back from Christmas, we have to lock in. We have to be consistent."
"We can't take nights off," said Kenny Williams. "We have to have more attention to detail on the court. I've been on teams that have done those things and have seen what they can do. We have to bring a little bit more."
What kind of little things? On at least two occasions, the Tar Heels came out of a dead ball against Kentucky and the five players on the court either didn't have the right defensive call or didn't know who they were guarding. That's simple communication.
The quantity of "What kind of shot was that?" shot attempts on this year's team through a dozen games is higher than some entire seasons. Players haven't yet shown the confidence to let the possession develop, to make one more pass.
This is when you start grumbling that the seniors should fix this, that a good on-court leader would never let this happen. Carolina has three seniors who are playing by far the most minutes on the team. Why doesn't one of them just refuse to let outcomes like this happen?
Answer: Because it's really, really difficult to be that kind of leader, and sometimes it can take longer than December to figure it out.
I'm going to tell you a secret: Kenny Williams, Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson are college seniors (or, in Johnson's case, a graduate student). Think realistically about your senior year of college. You had fun, you studied some, and…you thought a whole lot about what was coming next. Would you get a job? Where would you live? What would you do?
Williams, Maye and Johnson have those same exact worries. Sure, they're college basketball players and they have a great life right now, but they're also human. As fans, what we selfishly want them to do is put all those worries aside from now until April and think only about the team, because that's what is best for us. You see the problem here? We want them to be unselfish…because, selfishly, that's what we need.
Being a senior is not that hard. Being a senior leader—that's tough. All three of those players would tell you they need to play better in order for Carolina to be successful. That's exactly when being a leader is so difficult, when you're also concerned about your individual performance.
"A lot of people say, 'Be a leader,'" Kenny Williams said. "Honestly, there are very few leaders in this world. It's easy to say, but you can't force it."
What would you want Williams to do to be a better leader? Make physical plays that show how much he cares about the team? He drew a first-half charge. Do you want him to take charge in the huddle? When Roy Williams yanked the five players on the court—of which Kenny Williams was one—midway through the first half, he chastised them for a lack of patience on offense. Then, when he was finished, as the game continued on the court, Kenny Williams stood up on the bench and turned to his teammates. "We have to work together on offense," he told them. "If we screen and move the ball we will get good shots. We have to work together. It can't be iso ball, with guys trying to do it on their own with four people watching."
His words weren't especially effective, but Williams' willingness to say them might be the most encouraging thing to come out of a day when there weren't many encouraging moments. He's showing some leadership signs. Now: who's going to follow him?
None of this is in any way indicative of the kind of season Carolina could ultimately have. The 2017 team sat 12-3 when the calendar flipped to 2017 and was coming off a clunker at Georgia Tech that was worse than anything you saw on the court on Saturday. This year's team has a good chance to be 11-3 on Jan. 2.
Roy Williams described it perfectly after the game. Hopefully, these words are just as prophetic as his concern earlier this week. This is Thought for the Day-quality stuff right here, and something every player is likely to ponder during the long-awaited Christmas break. This could easily be the 2019 mantra for this group.
"If you lose yourself in the success of the team," Williams said, "every individual will be taken care of."
Players Mentioned
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