University of North Carolina Athletics
Kenny Williams
Photo by: J.D. Lyon Jr.
GoHeels Exclusive: Six More Games
March 16, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers
By Pat James, GoHeels.com
CHARLOTTE — As the clock neared midnight Friday evening and reporters started gathering outside North Carolina's locker room at the Spectrum Center, the conversation unsurprisingly revolved around the last possession of UNC's 74-73 loss to Duke.
With 12 seconds left in the ACC Tournament semifinal and the Tar Heels down by one point, Nassir Little rebounded the second of two R.J. Barrett missed free throws. Little, like all 20,116 fans inside the arena, knew Roy Williams wouldn't call a timeout. So he handed the ball off to Coby White, and Carolina began its mad dash down the court.
In the timeout before Barrett's free throws, Williams had called a play designed for Luke Maye, the same one UNC used to force overtime against Miami. The Blue Devils snuffed out the play, though. And White ultimately settled for an off-balance jumper.
That shot dominated the discussions among reporters as they awaited postgame interviews. But inside the Tar Heel locker room, Little was talking about what followed that.
Left alone on the left wing, Little had charged toward the basket as soon as White elevated for his shot with three seconds remaining. No Duke player attempted to box him out. So nestled underneath the basket as White's shot drew iron, he knew he'd have just enough time for a tip-in.
With his outstretched right hand, Little got just enough of the ball to redirect it back toward the hoop before the final buzzer sounded. The ball bounced off the backboard, though, and the Blue Devils' celebration subsequently commenced.
Once in the locker room, Little started speaking of how close he came to sending Carolina to its 36th ACC championship game. But Kenny Williams quickly intervened.
"I just told him, 'We've got six more games. Don't hang your head,'" Kenny Williams said. "I just said, 'I've won an ACC Tournament championship and it has nothing on a national championship.' We can still go do that."
History doesn't suggest otherwise.
As a sophomore during the 2016-17 season, Kenny Williams was on a UNC squad that faced the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament semifinals. The Tar Heels dropped that game. Yet, three weeks later, they defeated Gonzaga to claim their sixth NCAA championship.
The 2005 and 2009 teams that Roy Williams led to national titles also lost in the ACC Tournament semifinals. And even the 1993 national champions, who did play for the ACC championship, left the conference tournament without any hardware.
Roy Williams reminded reporters of all that during his postgame press conference.Â
"I don't know how many, but we have been to several Final Fours, several," he said. "We have never won a tournament championship but one time. So our season's not over. We've just got to regroup and play better and understand that we didn't play well enough to win today."
That's the same message Kenny Williams tried conveying to Little. And the freshman chose to adhere to the senior's advice.
"He was telling us to keep our heads up and put this behind us," Little said. "We've got our eyes on a larger goal and (can't) dwell on this game."
Despite the loss, Carolina remains in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. At the worst, it'll be on the two line. UNC will learn exactly what its fate is when the bracket is unveiled on Sunday.
In between then and now, the Tar Heels will move on from Friday's outcome, if they haven't already. But nearing the end of his college career, Cameron Johnson said he'll "hold onto this little bit of anger" and use it as motivation, as if he needed any more.
"This is me, Kenny and Luke's last chance at this, and I don't have a national championship," Johnson said. "I don't even have a Final Four. I've got a Round of 32 beatdown by Texas A&M. So that kind of fuels me and I know it fuels a lot of my other teammates.Â
"We've got a lot of fire now to get rid of."
CHARLOTTE — As the clock neared midnight Friday evening and reporters started gathering outside North Carolina's locker room at the Spectrum Center, the conversation unsurprisingly revolved around the last possession of UNC's 74-73 loss to Duke.
With 12 seconds left in the ACC Tournament semifinal and the Tar Heels down by one point, Nassir Little rebounded the second of two R.J. Barrett missed free throws. Little, like all 20,116 fans inside the arena, knew Roy Williams wouldn't call a timeout. So he handed the ball off to Coby White, and Carolina began its mad dash down the court.
In the timeout before Barrett's free throws, Williams had called a play designed for Luke Maye, the same one UNC used to force overtime against Miami. The Blue Devils snuffed out the play, though. And White ultimately settled for an off-balance jumper.
That shot dominated the discussions among reporters as they awaited postgame interviews. But inside the Tar Heel locker room, Little was talking about what followed that.
Left alone on the left wing, Little had charged toward the basket as soon as White elevated for his shot with three seconds remaining. No Duke player attempted to box him out. So nestled underneath the basket as White's shot drew iron, he knew he'd have just enough time for a tip-in.
With his outstretched right hand, Little got just enough of the ball to redirect it back toward the hoop before the final buzzer sounded. The ball bounced off the backboard, though, and the Blue Devils' celebration subsequently commenced.
Once in the locker room, Little started speaking of how close he came to sending Carolina to its 36th ACC championship game. But Kenny Williams quickly intervened.
"I just told him, 'We've got six more games. Don't hang your head,'" Kenny Williams said. "I just said, 'I've won an ACC Tournament championship and it has nothing on a national championship.' We can still go do that."
History doesn't suggest otherwise.
As a sophomore during the 2016-17 season, Kenny Williams was on a UNC squad that faced the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament semifinals. The Tar Heels dropped that game. Yet, three weeks later, they defeated Gonzaga to claim their sixth NCAA championship.
The 2005 and 2009 teams that Roy Williams led to national titles also lost in the ACC Tournament semifinals. And even the 1993 national champions, who did play for the ACC championship, left the conference tournament without any hardware.
Roy Williams reminded reporters of all that during his postgame press conference.Â
"I don't know how many, but we have been to several Final Fours, several," he said. "We have never won a tournament championship but one time. So our season's not over. We've just got to regroup and play better and understand that we didn't play well enough to win today."
That's the same message Kenny Williams tried conveying to Little. And the freshman chose to adhere to the senior's advice.
"He was telling us to keep our heads up and put this behind us," Little said. "We've got our eyes on a larger goal and (can't) dwell on this game."
Despite the loss, Carolina remains in contention for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. At the worst, it'll be on the two line. UNC will learn exactly what its fate is when the bracket is unveiled on Sunday.
In between then and now, the Tar Heels will move on from Friday's outcome, if they haven't already. But nearing the end of his college career, Cameron Johnson said he'll "hold onto this little bit of anger" and use it as motivation, as if he needed any more.
"This is me, Kenny and Luke's last chance at this, and I don't have a national championship," Johnson said. "I don't even have a Final Four. I've got a Round of 32 beatdown by Texas A&M. So that kind of fuels me and I know it fuels a lot of my other teammates.Â
"We've got a lot of fire now to get rid of."
Players Mentioned
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