Lucas: A Better Blue

By Adam Lucas

The 2020-21 Carolina basketball schedule has not been released yet, but the Tar Heels have already faced their toughest opponent of the season.

The Blue team had its finest practice of the young campaign on Wednesday afternoon. That might have something to do with the fact that the Blue team lineup consisted of Coby White at point guard, Theo Pinson and Cam Johnson on the wing, and Tyler Zeller and Tyler Hansbrough in the post.

That's a combined three national championship rings, five Final Four appearances and two honored or retired jerseys on the Blue squad. Yes, you might say it was a competitive practice.

Schedules happened to align to allow the quintet of alumni to be in town at the same time. They went through the same virus testing procedure as the current players and were cleared for team work. That led to a spirited practice session, as Carolina's freshmen have quickly gained a reputation for their talent, confidence and willingness to talk about their success.

"I know they've been talking," Coby White said before practice. "We've got something for them."

And they did. What would you expect? The Blue team was simply playing at a level of constant effort and enthusiasm—aided by 15 combined years playing for Roy Williams—that can't be simulated. Pinson provided a running commentary on the practice, which was highly enjoyable to everyone not on the White team. On one play during a full-court drill, freshman Day'Ron Sharpe had good inside position, went up to grab what looked like an easy defensive rebound…and was promptly outworked and outhustled by Hansbrough, which had happened hundreds of times in this exact gymnasium on that exact basket during game action.

Was it a foul? Might have been. But it wasn't called, and Sharpe now has a vivid first-hand example of the intensity required to get just one defensive rebound in the Atlantic Coast Conference. And he also understands the consequences, because the sequence ended with Johnson hitting a three-pointer.

One of Williams' favorite drills is stop-score-stop, which simulates key late game situations. It's pretty simple: a team must get a defensive stop, score on the other end, and then get another stop.

"White's got to have a stop!" Williams barked to the White squad on one possession. "Got to have a stop!" The only problem: the five players on the other team get paid to play basketball, and they also talk and communicate at a level most of the Tar Heels don't yet fully comprehend. In one instance, Pinson essentially drew up in the dirt a set play that included Pinson using a double high screen to toss the ball to Hansbrough, who fed White, who drove and then whipped a left-handed crosscourt pass to Johnson, who swished a three-pointer.

It's pretty tough to stop that if you're not the San Antonio Spurs.

It wasn't necessarily fair to evaluate this year's Tar Heels on their traditional box score production. But it was hard not to notice, for example, that RJ Davis didn't back down even a half-step and on one play took the ball end-to-end for a basket, drawing praise from Williams, or that Sharpe looked not entirely uncomfortable posting up against Zeller (you'll be able to hear some views on the current team from several players who participated in Wednesday's practice plus some insights from those workouts in upcoming episodes of the Carolina Insider podcast, so now would be a good time to subscribe).

And don't be fooled into thinking the current team was noncompetitive. A practice isn't scored like a traditional Blue-White game or even a pickup game, but suffice it to say that Wednesday's session was far more competitive than any exhibition game Carolina might have played in a normal season.

The season starts four weeks from today. Until then, Wednesday afternoon was a pretty good substitute.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

RJ Davis

Day'Ron Sharpe

Coby White

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