GoHeels Exclusive: Lessons Learned

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

This time a year ago, as Luke Maye and Kenny Williams prepared for their third NCAA Tournament in as many seasons at North Carolina, they did so unaccustomed to their season ending anywhere other than the Final Four.

As freshmen, they were reserves on a Tar Heel team that finished as the national runner-up. They then helped capture the program's sixth NCAA championship as sophomores.

But last season ended abruptly with a second-round loss against Texas A&M. And with that defeat came a wakeup call for the then-juniors, who subsequently watched the rest of the tournament from Chapel Hill.

"This is not a fairytale," said Williams on Tuesday, when asked what he learned from the setback. "I got a dose of reality. As much fun as those first two years were, I was still hoping we'd get there. But we met a tough match and they gave us everything that we could handle.

"I learned that it isn't easy, I'll say that. I didn't play much the first two years, and I think that was a big lesson, just how hard it is to get there."

So now, as Maye, Williams and Cameron Johnson embark on their final NCAA Tournament run – beginning Friday, when UNC, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, faces No. 16 seed Iona in Columbus, Ohio – they're looking to apply the lessons they learned from last season's early exit.

Among the storylines surrounding Carolina last season was that it was susceptible to big teams that could pound the Tar Heels in the paint. And that's exactly what the Aggies did in handing UNC an 86-65 loss.

But that wasn't the sole reason for the defeat.

"I honestly think we caught ourselves looking ahead a little bit too much," Johnson said. "And not even like, 'Texas A&M is not going to be very good. We'll beat them easily.' I don't think we were as mentally focused on that game as we should've been. The main thing that I try to convey is that it takes 40 minutes of 'B-minus' effort to get your butt kicked in this tournament.

"That's kind of how our season last year was remembered. That's kind of the stain we left. That's how people remember that 2017-18 team. So we want to change that."

That added motivation, Johnson said, makes this tournament feel different. Carolina also finds itself more so in the position of the hunter, not the hunted, as it was as the defending national champion last season.

Before Monday's practice, Roy Williams gathered his team in a huddle and asked Maye and Kenny Williams what they consider the most enjoyable moment of their basketball careers. Both said the run to the 2017 NCAA title. And as the Hall of Fame coach started saying this squad is capable of accomplishing something similar, the same reaction swept over the players.

"People just kind of started smiling," Johnson said. "I don't know, but I also just kind of started smiling. I knew everybody smiling was thinking about the possibility of getting there (to the Final Four). And what's not to smile about when you think about having that experience?"

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Cameron Johnson

Luke Maye

Kenny Williams

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