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Kenny Williams
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Lucas: Rapid Reactions
February 11, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from Carolina's matchup with Virginia.
By Adam Lucas
1. Tough win by Virginia in a tough environment with tough travel conditions. The Cavaliers earned that one.
2. The Atlantic Coast Conference race changed significantly in the closing minutes. With Carolina holding a seven point lead with 7:51 left, the Tar Heels had the chance to essentially make the league a two-team race, with Virginia losing the tiebreaker to both Duke and Carolina. That changed with the Cavalier win, as the 'Hoos now have the tiebreaker over the Tar Heels, and Carolina still has to play Duke twice.
3. In a very close game, Carolina came up short on two very close shot clock plays. Coby White scooped up the ball just an eyelash after the shot clock buzzer at the end of the first half, costing the Tar Heels a layup. And White released the ball perhaps even less than an eyelash after the shot clock horn on what felt like the key play of the game with 3:29 left. Instead of giving UNC a three-point lead, the shot clock violation turned it back over to Virginia, who promptly went on a game-sealing run.
4. Virginia was allowing opponents to shoot just 43.7 percent on two-point shots in ACC games. They came about as close as anyone has come in the Roy Williams era of turning the Tar Heels into a perimeter team in the first half. Carolina stayed close by tossing in six first-half three-pointers, but they were just 5-for-16 on two-point baskets. Not surprisingly, that led to the Cavaliers having a 14-8 edge on points in the paint. Carolina ended the game shooting 14-of-35 on two-point shots. Overall, the Tar Heels shot 35.4 percent from the floor and 30 percent from the three-point line. Those aren't winning numbers against Virginia.
5. This wasn't the determining factor in the game. But it's an absolute truth that when Nassir Little went down with 12:06 remaining, it significantly handicapped Carolina's ability to be flexible at a variety of positions. Now down Sterling Manley, Leaky Black, and Little, the Tar Heels just weren't able to be as multifaceted at multiple positions. Little missed the rest of the game with a right ankle injury. The situation got worse when Cameron Johnson missed four minutes with an ankle injury late in the second half.
6. Without Little, Roy Williams' team was also without one of its best players at creating foul trouble for the opposition and getting to the line. It's no coincidence that with Little playing just two minutes, the Tar Heels went to the line only seven times (making six).
7. For the most part, Carolina did a better job taking care of the basketball than they have at other times this year, and committed only eight turnovers. But the eighth--coming out of a Roy Williams-called timeout to get Johnson back in the game--was a tough one, as White was just a second too late on a pass to Johnson.
8. Garrison Brooks played a very strong game and didn't back down from a physical game. The sophomore had 12 points, shot 5-of-8 from the field, and grabbed eight rebounds, second on the team. Brooks was involved in several key second half plays and was an asset. He and Luke Maye (team-high 11 boards) were a big part of Carolina holding a 16-3 edge on the offensive glass and 15-2 on second chance points.
9. It's fair to wonder if fatigue might have played a role late with Kenny Williams chasing Kyle Guy, who scored a game-high 20 points and made some very tough baskets. Williams played 38 minutes, his most of the season, and defending Virginia requires absolute effort for at least 25 seconds every time down the court. The Wahoos closed the game on a 21-6 run over the final eight minutes of the game. After just hosting Duke 48 hours ago, that was an impressive close to the game.
10. Here's your nightly uniform update: Carolina wore the retros again that they wore at home against NCSU last week. But early arrivals might have also noticed some new shorts being worn during early warmups, plus a new shooting shirt. The full lineup is here:
11. Quite a turnout from the Tar Heel basketball lettermen. In addition to Michael Jordan, fellow National Players of the Year Phil Ford, Lennie Rosenbluth and Antawn Jamison were on hand. Other familiar Tar Heel faces included Nate Britt, Buzz Peterson, Dick Grubar, Eddie Fogler, Mitch Kupchak, Billy Cunningham and George Lynch.
12. One of those lettermen was 1957 national champion Tom Kearns, who has endowed the point guard position for the basketball program. It's a significant gift for the program and the first of its kind for the Tar Heels.
13. Great call by Roy Williams early in the second half. With Virginia up one five minutes into the second half, Williams applied some fullcourt pressure, which then turned into a halfcourt trap. That trap created a Brooks steal and turned into a Johnson layup and a Tar Heel lead. It was one of the few times all night that UNC was able to create any tempo at all.
14. So, now what? That's a damaging loss right this second. But the main point to take from this one is the Tar Heels need to get healthy. They aren't such a juggernaut that they can afford to play key minutes against a top-five team with four rotation players unavailable. There were also some signs of life in the second half, after the Tar Heels appeared unwilling to mix it up in the first 20 minutes. It's entirely possible we could see a rematch of this game in Charlotte at the ACC Tournament.
1. Tough win by Virginia in a tough environment with tough travel conditions. The Cavaliers earned that one.
2. The Atlantic Coast Conference race changed significantly in the closing minutes. With Carolina holding a seven point lead with 7:51 left, the Tar Heels had the chance to essentially make the league a two-team race, with Virginia losing the tiebreaker to both Duke and Carolina. That changed with the Cavalier win, as the 'Hoos now have the tiebreaker over the Tar Heels, and Carolina still has to play Duke twice.
3. In a very close game, Carolina came up short on two very close shot clock plays. Coby White scooped up the ball just an eyelash after the shot clock buzzer at the end of the first half, costing the Tar Heels a layup. And White released the ball perhaps even less than an eyelash after the shot clock horn on what felt like the key play of the game with 3:29 left. Instead of giving UNC a three-point lead, the shot clock violation turned it back over to Virginia, who promptly went on a game-sealing run.
4. Virginia was allowing opponents to shoot just 43.7 percent on two-point shots in ACC games. They came about as close as anyone has come in the Roy Williams era of turning the Tar Heels into a perimeter team in the first half. Carolina stayed close by tossing in six first-half three-pointers, but they were just 5-for-16 on two-point baskets. Not surprisingly, that led to the Cavaliers having a 14-8 edge on points in the paint. Carolina ended the game shooting 14-of-35 on two-point shots. Overall, the Tar Heels shot 35.4 percent from the floor and 30 percent from the three-point line. Those aren't winning numbers against Virginia.
5. This wasn't the determining factor in the game. But it's an absolute truth that when Nassir Little went down with 12:06 remaining, it significantly handicapped Carolina's ability to be flexible at a variety of positions. Now down Sterling Manley, Leaky Black, and Little, the Tar Heels just weren't able to be as multifaceted at multiple positions. Little missed the rest of the game with a right ankle injury. The situation got worse when Cameron Johnson missed four minutes with an ankle injury late in the second half.
6. Without Little, Roy Williams' team was also without one of its best players at creating foul trouble for the opposition and getting to the line. It's no coincidence that with Little playing just two minutes, the Tar Heels went to the line only seven times (making six).
7. For the most part, Carolina did a better job taking care of the basketball than they have at other times this year, and committed only eight turnovers. But the eighth--coming out of a Roy Williams-called timeout to get Johnson back in the game--was a tough one, as White was just a second too late on a pass to Johnson.
8. Garrison Brooks played a very strong game and didn't back down from a physical game. The sophomore had 12 points, shot 5-of-8 from the field, and grabbed eight rebounds, second on the team. Brooks was involved in several key second half plays and was an asset. He and Luke Maye (team-high 11 boards) were a big part of Carolina holding a 16-3 edge on the offensive glass and 15-2 on second chance points.
9. It's fair to wonder if fatigue might have played a role late with Kenny Williams chasing Kyle Guy, who scored a game-high 20 points and made some very tough baskets. Williams played 38 minutes, his most of the season, and defending Virginia requires absolute effort for at least 25 seconds every time down the court. The Wahoos closed the game on a 21-6 run over the final eight minutes of the game. After just hosting Duke 48 hours ago, that was an impressive close to the game.
10. Here's your nightly uniform update: Carolina wore the retros again that they wore at home against NCSU last week. But early arrivals might have also noticed some new shorts being worn during early warmups, plus a new shooting shirt. The full lineup is here:
That Carolina X @jumpman23 🥶❄️ #CarolinaSZN pic.twitter.com/IR18diPzS5
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) February 11, 2019
11. Quite a turnout from the Tar Heel basketball lettermen. In addition to Michael Jordan, fellow National Players of the Year Phil Ford, Lennie Rosenbluth and Antawn Jamison were on hand. Other familiar Tar Heel faces included Nate Britt, Buzz Peterson, Dick Grubar, Eddie Fogler, Mitch Kupchak, Billy Cunningham and George Lynch.
12. One of those lettermen was 1957 national champion Tom Kearns, who has endowed the point guard position for the basketball program. It's a significant gift for the program and the first of its kind for the Tar Heels.
13. Great call by Roy Williams early in the second half. With Virginia up one five minutes into the second half, Williams applied some fullcourt pressure, which then turned into a halfcourt trap. That trap created a Brooks steal and turned into a Johnson layup and a Tar Heel lead. It was one of the few times all night that UNC was able to create any tempo at all.
14. So, now what? That's a damaging loss right this second. But the main point to take from this one is the Tar Heels need to get healthy. They aren't such a juggernaut that they can afford to play key minutes against a top-five team with four rotation players unavailable. There were also some signs of life in the second half, after the Tar Heels appeared unwilling to mix it up in the first 20 minutes. It's entirely possible we could see a rematch of this game in Charlotte at the ACC Tournament.
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