Lucas: Basketball Practice Notebook

By Adam Lucas

It took a shootoff to decide the winner in a Thursday drill that featured the Tar Heel perimeter players competing to see how many three-pointers in a row they could make from the top of the key. Andrew Platek and Kerwin Walton each swished seven in a row. Walton narrowly won the shootoff.

The freshman has shot the ball better in recent practices, showing the stroke that made him such a key late addition to the Carolina recruiting class. But he also knows he'll have to make some adjustments as the season begins next week. "It's going to be a lot tougher because the game is a lot faster at this level," Walton says. "Especially the way we play, there will be a lot of guys running at me real fast. I have to learn how to shoot faster, get my feet set quicker and my release has to be quicker. I have to be able to catch and shoot over people. That will be big for me."

Notes: Freshmen don't always have the easiest time adapting to the type of defense Roy Williams wants them to play. But both RJ Davis and Day'Ron Sharpe drew praise from the head coach during a transition defense drill on Thursday, with Williams calling Davis' work "fantastic" and "really good"…Thursday's session included some work on late game situations. After Platek made a terrific hustle play to save a loose ball that a couple players on the Blue squad had conceded, the White team almost immediately had a wide open three-point look for Caleb Love. There was only one problem: time and score, as Williams often says. There were just over 90 seconds left in the game and the White team had a six-point lead. Even before Love's shot bounced off the rim, Williams was stopping the action. "Would you take that shot with a six-point lead and 1:36 left in a game?" the head coach asked his freshman point guard…But don't let that make you think Love doesn't understand the Carolina offense. The St. Louis native has shown the ability to push the ball both with the dribble and the pass after an opponent's miss or--and here's when the Tar Heel offense really clicks--a make...

You're going to hear plenty of comparisons between Cameron Johnson and his younger brother, Tar Heel freshman Puff Johnson. It's better to go to the source and find out the similarities and differences. "The biggest thing we have in common is we shoot at a really high percentage," Puff says. "The biggest difference is that ever since I was young, I was comfortable playing down low, rebounding and guarding bigs. I feel like that's the biggest difference."…Roy Williams confirmed on Thursday's ACC teleconference what was already apparent: Anthony Harris will not play in Wednesday's season opener…It's not his primary offense, but Garrison Brooks has worked hard to make his midrange jump shot a reliable and effective weapon, and he's knocked them down with regularity this preseason...

We would be remiss if we went through an entire preseason without recognizing the work of Walker Miller. The senior has to bang every single day with Carolina's deep big man rotation, and he does so without complaint and with maximum effort. Miller has helped Garrison Brooks, Armando Bacot, Day'Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler get better over the last month of practice. There have been seasons when Miller might have earned some occasional minutes, but this year's post depth makes it difficult…Tomorrow's guest on the Carolina Insider podcast is Baden Jaxen, formerly known as Dexter Strickland. The former Tar Heel guard, now playing professionally in Qatar, has some very interesting thoughts on his time in Chapel Hill and why he made the decision to change his name.

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Garrison Brooks

RJ Davis

Anthony Harris

Cameron Johnson

Puff Johnson

Walker Kessler

Caleb Love

Walker Miller

Andrew Platek

Day'Ron Sharpe

Kerwin Walton

Related Videos