GoHeels Exclusive: Blinders

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

Social media was in its infancy when Hubert Davis retired from the NBA in 2004. Even then, the North Carolina assistant coach understands the intense public scrutiny that it creates nowadays, especially for someone of Nassir Little's profile.

Throughout this season, there's been plenty of chatter about Little, the consensus top-10 recruit who captured MVP honors in last year's McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic. He's certainly heard it, just as anyone else would. The 18-year-old freshman has shown more maturity in handling it, though, than many adults could.

Still, about three weeks ago, Davis felt compelled to text Little and offer some advice.

Filling in for Roy Williams on his radio show Tuesday night, Davis told Jones Angell of how he sent Little a picture of a racehorse wearing blinders. Little initially didn't comprehend the meaning of the image, Davis said. But he then explained how blinders keep the horse focused on the race rather than the crowd or any other distractions.

"I said, 'Look, you have a lot of noise, from the phone, from friends,'" Davis recalled. "'Just work on trying to get better every day. Everything else are things that take you away from being the best person and the best basketball player you can be. So, focus on that every day, just trying to get better.'"

And since then, he has.

Entering the Tar Heels' open weekend in ACC play, Little has strung together three consecutive double-figure scoring performances off the bench. He's averaged 15.3 points on 62.5 percent shooting (15-for-24) in that span. Against 10th-ranked Virginia Tech on Monday, he registered a career-high 23 points, six rebounds and three assists in a 103-82 win.

Before this stretch, Little had struggled against stronger competition, averaging 6.9 points on 33.8 percent shooting in nine games against Power 5 opponents and Gonzaga. But he never became discouraged, no matter how loud the voices outside the UNC locker room got.

"Everybody looks for that instant gratification, but I trust the process," he said. "If you knew me as a person, you'd know I'm willing to learn and get better each and every day. And I think that's what I've been doing."

Nowhere else is that more evident than on the defensive end of the floor.

At the beginning of the season, Little said he was dwelling too much on the fundamentals and not playing defense instinctively. That's gradually changed, though. Williams said after Monday's game that Little posted his best defensive grades of the season in the previous two contests against Notre Dame and Miami. He added that Little would probably have a better grade against the Hokies, too.

When asked what's been the biggest key to those improvements, Little said he's making strides defending off the ball.

A sign of that came during Monday's first half, when he dropped into the paint to help defend Virginia Tech's Kerry Blackshear with the ball on the opposite side of the court. Ty Outlaw then attempted a skip pass to Isaiah Wilkins. But Little anticipated it, stole it and took it the other way for a two-handed dunk.

"When the ball is on the opposite side of the court and not being hugged on my guy," Little said, "it's being able to rotate, understanding how to hedge off the screens and get back to my guy. … A lot of little things I wasn't really aware of early on. I've been able to watch more film and ask more questions and get better at that."

Simultaneously, his confidence has grown. And that's started translating to offensive success.

Instead of scoring predominantly in transition or outside the offensive system, Little, 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, has started using his size and athleticism to his advantage by attacking the basket more frequently. That's subsequently led to more trips to the free-throw line.

Across 13 nonconference games, Little attempted 31 free throws. He's already attempted 26 in six ACC games. Against the Hokies, he made all seven of his free throws to improve to 13-for-15 from the line in the past two games.

Even when foul trouble limited him to just 13 minutes in last Saturday's win at Miami, he still drew five fouls. According to kenpom.com, he's drawing 7.1 fouls per 40 minutes during ACC play, the highest rate in the league through Wednesday's games.

"The way I play, I can put a lot of pressure on the defense, especially in ACC play," Little said. "A lot of rotations for teams tighten up. If I can get their key guys in foul trouble, that can give us an advantage."

As was the case Monday, his aggressiveness can also open up his jump shot.

Little made two 3-pointers against Virginia Tech. That matched his season high, previously set against Elon in the second game of the season. In the 16 games since then, he'd gone 3-for-24 from behind the arc. So, when those shots fell in a span of 35 seconds Monday, they provided further proof of his hard work paying off.

"It's not a relief," Little said. "It's just fun. This is the basketball I'm used to playing. This is me. I'm just glad to be playing the way I know I can."

When he is, Carolina's ceiling seems significantly higher.

"He's starting to put everything together," Coby White said. "He's going to become the monster everybody has been waiting for."

Few ACC teams, let alone potential NCAA Tournament opponents, can effectively guard Little when he's playing like he has the last three games. It's a brand of basketball that likely won't draw as much social media attention as his high-flying dunks, nor even his inevitable struggles as a freshman who's still learning. But he's not looking for that anyway.

Instead, he's focused on becoming the best Nassir Little he can be, through the good days and the bad. And he's keeping his blinders on.

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