Lucas: North Carolina

By Adam Lucas

BLACKSBURG—On Tuesday afternoon at 4:21 p.m., Roy Williams gathered his team around him at midcourt at the Smith Center. His squad was about to go through the 66^th practice of the season. In a couple of hours, they would make the three hour and 15-minute bus ride to Blacksburg for the 18^th game of the campaign, an Atlantic Coast Conference contest against Virginia Tech.

But first, Williams had some news for his team. He explained that senior Brandon Robinson would not travel with them. He told his team—which has now lost a combined 57 games to injury so far this season—that Robinson had lingering neck pain from a car accident ten days ago.

The head coach let them feel sorry for themselves for a half-second. Then he looked around the circle. "Who's going up there to play?" he asked.

You could be forgiven for thinking to yourself, "Well, not many." Cole Anthony: out. Anthony Harris: out. Sterling Manley: out. Jeremiah Francis was limited in practice. And now, Brandon Robinson: out.

"Who's going up there to play?" Williams said.

The answer came back unanimously and loudly: "North Carolina."

Throughout this period of decimating injuries, Williams has tried to consistently convey the message that no matter who is available, the Tar Heels still have to show up. They are still Carolina basketball, still a team that fills arenas on the road just by their mere presence. Even sitting on five straight ACC losses on Tuesday afternoon, it would still matter in Cassell Coliseum that Carolina was in town on Wednesday.

And so Williams asked for something very simple: he asked for North Carolina.

And darn if he didn't get it.

Carolina lost a double overtime decision to Virginia Tech, 79-77, on Wednesday. They left Blacksburg frustrated about some missed opportunities, about a possession here or a possession there that could have been decisive. Andrew Platek rued a missed rebound, partially due to the cramping he played through. Armando Bacot was frustrated with his inability to stay out of foul trouble. Leaky Black and Justin Pierce were frustrated over missed free throws.

But they competed, and they were every bit North Carolina.

The minutes played were staggering. Garrison Brooks played over 48 minutes. He left the game less than six minutes into the contest and then played 42 minutes and 24 seconds straight without leaving the floor. Leaky Black played almost 48 minutes, and played the final 39:45 without leaving the court. Andrew Platek played 48 minutes; he sat for exactly one minute and 22 seconds out of the final 39:07. Justin Pierce played 45:53.

Platek played a total of 55 minutes against ACC competition all of last season. He nearly equaled that in one night in Blacksburg.

At the top of that practice plan on Tuesday had been a very simple thought for the day. Usually, that's a space for some words of wisdom, a cute turn of phrase that often comes from Williams' rolodex of legendary Dean Smith sayings.

Tuesday wasn't cute. Tuesday was straightforward: "Our only focus and thought is Va. Tech."

And for 40, then 45, and finally 50 minutes, it really looked like it was. Carolina played as though they were fighting for a share of the conference lead. They didn't look like the group that played like one of those comatose Florida iguanas for part of the first half at Pitt on Saturday. Their ball movement was mostly crisp, and they handed out 17 assists on 28 field goals, including a nice extra pass from Platek to Black for what felt like a big three-pointer to provide a six-point lead with six minutes to go in regulation. Their execution was sharp—Platek set a tough screen that freed Brooks to slam home a nasty dunk over a helpless Tech defender on a pass from Black near the end of the first half. They caught some breaks, as when Pierce tossed in perhaps the first skyhook of his life in the second half. They fought through adversity, surviving Armando Bacot's foul trouble long enough to get shots to potentially win the game at the end of regulation and at the end of the first overtime, staving off a crowd that was singing "Enter Sandman" in unison at the top of their lungs.

And they got one of the most courageous individual efforts of the Williams era from Garrison Brooks, as he led the team in points, rebounds and assists.

Platek nearly choked up when describing Brooks' sixth straight double-double, a 28-point, 13-rebound, six-assist performance compiled through constant double-teams that if possible was even better in person than it looks in the box score. "First, Garrison is a great friend," Platek said. "He's such a good teammate and a leader. The way his presence is on the court, we look up to him in every way when we're out there. That should tell you something: he's younger than me and I look up to him."

It does tell you something. When it was over, Brooks sank to the ground at the free throw line while celebrating Hokies raced around him. He just sat there. He had just played 48 minutes and 21 seconds, expending every possible shred of energy. Eventually, teammates pulled him to his feet.

Afterwards, when there were just a few stragglers left in the Carolina locker room, you looked around and wondered how, exactly, it had been this close.

Jeremiah Francis had ice on his knee. Brooks had ice and a fresh tape job on his wrist. Platek was cramping. Black was cramping.

Remember—these were the healthy players.

This is why we keep watching, because something like this can happen on a night like this. Be honest: around 7:30 p.m., when you realized there was no Anthony and no Robinson, what chance exactly did you give this group that had lost five straight ACC games, tying the longest league losing streak in program history?

It's OK: you thought they had no chance. But then, unexpectedly, they played about as close to their potential as they've played all season. Were there mistakes? Absolutely. But there was also enough heart to captivate you for yet another January night, because this was as close to quintessential North Carolina for a full game (and then some) as we've seen in 2020. And so, with a couple minutes left, there was that familiar nervous feeling again, the gritting of the teeth and the wringing of the hands and the pacing and the holding of the breath when the shots were in the air. Maybe you've told your friends in these past few days that you have better things to do than watch these Tar Heels. But you don't, not when they play like they did Wednesday, no matter the outcome.

Because that was, just as Williams had said the day before, North Carolina.

"No matter who is here, no matter that we all have aches and pains, North Carolina basketball means the team will step up and play hard," Platek said. "We made mistakes, but we played hard. We're not going to sit back and give in. That's not what we are and that's not what this program is about. We're going back to work tomorrow, and we're going to get ready for Miami."

Players Mentioned

Cole Anthony

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

Garrison Brooks

Jeremiah Francis

Anthony Harris

Sterling Manley

Justin Pierce

Andrew Platek

Brandon Robinson

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