University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: J.D. Lyon Jr.
Lucas: Carolina Basketball Notebook
March 23, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Notes and quotes from Washington and Carolina in advance of the round of 32.
By Adam Lucas
One of tomorrow's storylines will be Washington head coach Mike Hopkins' pedigree as an assistant coach at Syracuse, where he spent over two decades as an assistant after also playing for the Orange. The connections will immediately be obvious, as Washington plays the same 2-3 zone employed by Syracuse. Hopkins called the Syracuse zone "the foundation" of Washington's philosophy.
The Huskies have been effective with that strategy. Their defense has the fourth-highest turnover percentage in the nation, and their average defensive possession length of 18.7 seconds is fifth-longest in the country according to Ken Pomeroy's statistics. While the UW zone forces some desperation three-pointers from teams that can't pierce the defense, the Huskies are also extremely stingy inside the three-point line. Opponents make just 45.7 percent of their two-point shots against Hopkins' club.
"We tend to try and take away the three-pointer completely," said Washington forward Noah Dickerson. "We extend our zone out. No three's and no layups. The way basketball is going, people can shoot the ball from all over the place. Our zone takes into account how people are shooting and tries to take them out of the game."
There's a bit of a learning curve when unfamiliar opponents face that Washington defense. In theory, the Tar Heels could be immune to that since they have on-court experience against the Orange. Luke Maye was able to explain in-depth some of the challenges of facing the zone--issues other teams might have to experience first-hand before they can accurately dissect it. "The top two defenders are very active," Maye said. "We have to make sure we make good fakes and try to get into the middle of the zone."
"They're long, athletic and quick to the ball," Roy Williams said. "They probably double team in the corner more than Syracuse has done the last couple of years."
Notes: Despite the significant distance between the two campuses, there are some Washington-Carolina connections. Dickerson, a senior, is from Atlanta and played for the same AAU organization as Brandon Robinson. He also competed "seven or eight times" against Luke Maye when the duo were playing their final season in AAU basketball. "He's always been a good friend," Maye said. "I've enjoyed playing against him and I'm going to enjoy playing against him tomorrow."...At 6-foot-8, Dickerson is the tallest player in Washington's starting lineup. "He's always been able to use his body well and finish over people," Maye said. "He does a good job of finding his areas and finding his angles. We'll do our best to slow him down."...
Carolina and Washington have some relatively recent NCAA Tournament history. The two teams met in the round of 32 in Charlotte in 2011, with the Tar Heels earning an 86-83 win. That was the game in which current UNC staff member Kendall Marshall handed out 14 assists, a program record for an NCAA Tournament game...Keep an eye on the contributions of Nassir Little on Sunday. When he's aggressive and going to the basket, the freshman gives Carolina a reserve weapon most opponents can't match. Little had 19 points on Friday, his most since scoring 23 points against Virginia Tech on Jan. 21...It will also be interesting to see what the Tar Heels can get out of Leaky Black, whose versatility, athleticism and playmaking ability might be an asset against Washington. Black played Friday night for the first time since the Georgia Tech game and quickly piled up three rebounds in four first half minutes...Even in Columbus, with Duke in Columbia, Roy Williams got a question about Zion Williamson on Saturday afternoon during his 20 minutes of media availability.
One of tomorrow's storylines will be Washington head coach Mike Hopkins' pedigree as an assistant coach at Syracuse, where he spent over two decades as an assistant after also playing for the Orange. The connections will immediately be obvious, as Washington plays the same 2-3 zone employed by Syracuse. Hopkins called the Syracuse zone "the foundation" of Washington's philosophy.
The Huskies have been effective with that strategy. Their defense has the fourth-highest turnover percentage in the nation, and their average defensive possession length of 18.7 seconds is fifth-longest in the country according to Ken Pomeroy's statistics. While the UW zone forces some desperation three-pointers from teams that can't pierce the defense, the Huskies are also extremely stingy inside the three-point line. Opponents make just 45.7 percent of their two-point shots against Hopkins' club.
"We tend to try and take away the three-pointer completely," said Washington forward Noah Dickerson. "We extend our zone out. No three's and no layups. The way basketball is going, people can shoot the ball from all over the place. Our zone takes into account how people are shooting and tries to take them out of the game."
There's a bit of a learning curve when unfamiliar opponents face that Washington defense. In theory, the Tar Heels could be immune to that since they have on-court experience against the Orange. Luke Maye was able to explain in-depth some of the challenges of facing the zone--issues other teams might have to experience first-hand before they can accurately dissect it. "The top two defenders are very active," Maye said. "We have to make sure we make good fakes and try to get into the middle of the zone."
"They're long, athletic and quick to the ball," Roy Williams said. "They probably double team in the corner more than Syracuse has done the last couple of years."
Notes: Despite the significant distance between the two campuses, there are some Washington-Carolina connections. Dickerson, a senior, is from Atlanta and played for the same AAU organization as Brandon Robinson. He also competed "seven or eight times" against Luke Maye when the duo were playing their final season in AAU basketball. "He's always been a good friend," Maye said. "I've enjoyed playing against him and I'm going to enjoy playing against him tomorrow."...At 6-foot-8, Dickerson is the tallest player in Washington's starting lineup. "He's always been able to use his body well and finish over people," Maye said. "He does a good job of finding his areas and finding his angles. We'll do our best to slow him down."...
Carolina and Washington have some relatively recent NCAA Tournament history. The two teams met in the round of 32 in Charlotte in 2011, with the Tar Heels earning an 86-83 win. That was the game in which current UNC staff member Kendall Marshall handed out 14 assists, a program record for an NCAA Tournament game...Keep an eye on the contributions of Nassir Little on Sunday. When he's aggressive and going to the basket, the freshman gives Carolina a reserve weapon most opponents can't match. Little had 19 points on Friday, his most since scoring 23 points against Virginia Tech on Jan. 21...It will also be interesting to see what the Tar Heels can get out of Leaky Black, whose versatility, athleticism and playmaking ability might be an asset against Washington. Black played Friday night for the first time since the Georgia Tech game and quickly piled up three rebounds in four first half minutes...Even in Columbus, with Duke in Columbia, Roy Williams got a question about Zion Williamson on Saturday afternoon during his 20 minutes of media availability.
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