Carmichael Comments: Tangible Progress

CARMICHAEL COMMENTS: Inside Carolina Women's Basketball
Vol. 3, Edition 6: Tangible Progress
Forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but in case you haven't noticed, there's a lot different about the North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball team – and life as a whole – compared to this February. You know, all those empty arenas, socially distant benches, and a team with numerous new faces.

Even with all those differences, I thought about February a lot this week. Flash back with me. It's February 12th. Syracuse is coming to Carmichael Arena for a Thursday night game, and Carolina finds itself on its first two-game losing streak of the season. The Tar Heels had dropped a 10-point decision at Duke, 71-61, and taken a 72-63 home loss at the hands of Virginia Tech to fall to 7-6 in ACC competition. The Syracuse game represented the swing game for the season. Win it, and the Tar Heels were likely back on track and headed toward a bye (if not two) in the ACC Tournament and a potential NCAA Tournament bid. But a loss might – and did – send the season in the wrong direction.

(Insert mechanical sound to represent time passing, you know what I mean, you've seen movies.)

It's now December. The Tar Heels have suffered their first two-game losing skid of the season with two narrow losses by seven total points to Wake Forest and Miami. Who's next on the schedule? Syracuse. At home. On a Thursday night. The same fork in the road.

This time around, the result was different for the Tar Heels. The 18-point defeat to the Orange seemed like ancient history as Carolina led the game from wire-to-wire on Thursday, taking a 92-68 win that marked the largest margin of victory against an ACC opponent in six seasons.

"So happy for these guys," Carolina head coach Courtney Banghart said after the game. "It was a gut-check the last couple of games, and we felt it. We wore it, we felt it, we put our hard hats on and were eager to learn. They've tried so hard to do what I'm telling them to do, and it's a great win."

The Tar Heels played aggressively and together, recording 21 assists on the 30 made field goals in the contest, while also putting three players (Janelle Bailey 25, Deja Kelly 22, Petra Holešínská 21) into the 20-point category in one game for the first time since January 2017. By shooting 47 percent from the floor, Carolina was 18 percent better than in the February game. Unlike in the February game, the feeling after the game was one of relief and confidence that this group had the ability to overcome roadblocks. Confidence that growing pains would be just that – a loss here or there, but an overall upward trajectory.

Remarkably, the Syracuse game wasn't the only flashback to February's disappointment that the Tar Heels experienced this week. In the Feb. 23 game at Wake Forest, the Tar Heels led late, only to see the game head to overtime. That afternoon in Winston-Salem, the host Demon Deacons prevailed with an 82-79 victory.

Time for another flash forward.

On Sunday, a 59-49 second-half lead dwindled, and the Heels and Deacs headed to overtime tied at 68. The Tar Heel defense responded to the added challenge, holding Wake Forest without a point in OT for over four minutes. Though Wake had a chance at a three for the tie in the waning seconds, Carolina prevailed 77-74 to snap the losing skid to the Demon Deacons.

One week, two repeat scenarios at opposite ends of the strangest year any of us have ever lived through. And in what's perhaps a sign of hope for our world as a whole, two different outcomes from February. Now there's something to brighten up a holiday season.

Here's what else caught my eye this week …

Home for the Holidays
In "normal" years, the NCAA-mandated minimum three-day break from team activities at Christmas time is one of the more drama-free elements of the annual basketball calendar. After the final pre-Christmas game, players and staff scatter to join their loved ones, and re-convene to resume the season after. This year, though, there's the obvious concern of contracting COVID-19 while traveling, and the impact that could have upon the season.

But there are two sides to every debate, and for Banghart, the players' mental health and wellness is a priority, which includes being able to be home for Christmas.
"These kids have been here since July 1st," she said. "Not allowing kids home for Christmas doesn't feel like a student-athlete wellness issue that I want to take on. We're going to give them a short window at home and they'll be bubble-ized."

The decision to allow players time at home mirrors that of Carolina football head coach Mack Brown, who permitted his players to enjoy time off between the Tar Heels' Dec. 12 game at Miami and the start of Orange Bowl practice. Like Brown, Banghart stressed the importance of trust in her players to follow the intensive protocol while traveling.

"We're asking them to drive if they can, and we're asking those that fly to make sure they're double-masking at all times and their circles are very tight when they go home," Banghart said.

She emphasized the reward of playing college basketball as a motivating factor for model behavior amidst a pandemic.

"These athletes have a lot to lose," she said. "Often times, they're a bit more responsible than the general population. Even though they're healthy, their careers will be limited by a couple weeks if they're positive (for the virus)."

Don't Make the Same Mistake Twice
A critical element of Carolina's success in recent games has been the Tar Heels' ability to earn free throw attempts. It's been a common point of discussion in this column, going back to the 25-for-37 performance at the line against Charlotte on Dec. 6. In the three games this week, the Tar Heels attempted 22, 31, and 31 free throws, respectively. It's the first time Carolina has attempted 20 or more free throws in three straight games since Feb. 2-9 against Clemson, Duke, and Virginia Tech, and first occurrence of consecutive games with 30+ attempts since Elon and Temple on Nov. 22 and 28, 2019. Now, you may notice that there was another game in between the Charlotte contest and Monday's Miami game. The game in question was the first meeting with Wake Forest, when the Tar Heels attempted just nine free throws. Banghart and her staff knew that changing the result in the rematch on Sunday would likely require more frequent trips to the line.

"You don't want to make the same mistake twice," she said. "We know we've got an inexperienced team, we know we're playing against a lot of experience in this league, and the only way to combat that is to make sure you're not making the same mistake twice."

The Tar Heels certainly delivered, turning in a 22-for-31 performance at the line that included the clutch free throw from Kennedy Todd-Williams to tie the game at 68 and force overtime. Especially in a game where Wake Forest hit 14 three-pointers, the Tar Heels needed every point they could muster.

Take Care and Share
Carolina's early 17-point hole against Wake Forest was thanks in part to sloppiness in the form of eight first quarter turnovers.

"We really have to work on the ball not sticking in our hands," Banghart said after the Wake Forest game. "It's not a selfish thing, it's really not. They're trying to figure out how to play together. So we have to make sure the ball moves, and when the ball moves, we're hard to guard."

Much like in the Miami game last Monday, the turnovers can be attributed to perhaps overthinking and trying to account for a slow-developing possession. That chemistry will be an interesting area to watch when the season resumes after Christmas.

Lineup Swap
Following Alyssa Ustby's 17-point performance on Monday at Miami, the freshman from Minnesota found herself in Carolina's starting lineup for the first time in the Thursday contest against Syracuse. By moving Ustby into the initial quintet, Banghart shifted graduate student Petra Holešínská to a reserve role for the first time as a Tar Heel. The move seems to have worked for the Tar Heels, with Holešínská scoring 21 points Thursday night (a season high) and chipping in 14 more on Sunday.

Carolina now features a lineup in which the freshman guard group of Ustby and Kennedy Todd-Williams and the senior guard group of Holešínská and Stephanie Watts each see one member start and one come off the bench. That's a balance that seems to work.

"What Petra and Watts have shown us is the ability to stretch the floor," Banghart explained. "What they haven't done well enough is get other people shots, so we shouldn't have them both in. (It should be) really one and one per lineup, so we have a tested and true spacer and multiple guys at the other spots who can get others shots."

Up Next
With Christmas on Friday and the aforementioned holiday break underway, the Tar Heels have no games scheduled this week. As a result, we'll take a break from the supplemental coverage both in this column and the Courtney Banghart Show. Look for the next edition of the column on Tuesday, Jan. 5 (a one-week hiatus), and the next Courtney Banghart Show on Jan. 6 (a two-week hiatus).

Carolina's next game is a rematch with Syracuse at the Dome on New Year's Eve in Upstate New York. The Tar Heels will be aiming for a season sweep of the Orange for the first time ever, and consecutive wins over SU for the first time since winning the first three games of the series in 1998, 2000, and 2007 – before the Orange were members of the ACC. Even though New Year's Eve is a Thursday, note the early 2 p.m. tip time. Our Tar Heel Sports Network coverage of the Dec. 31 game begins with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show at 1:30 p.m. Catch the call streaming worldwide for free on the TuneIn app (search "North Carolina Tar Heels Women's Basketball"), GoHeels.com (click "listen" on the women's basketball schedule), and the GoHeels app. Additionally, fans in the Triangle can tune in on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM.
After Syracuse, the Heels will head to the Steel City to meet Pittsburgh on Sunday, Jan. 3 at 1 p.m. Carolina won the lone meeting last year, 70-62 at Carmichael Arena on Dec. 30, 2019, but has had trouble winning at the Petersen Events Center of late. Since Pitt joined the ACC, the Panthers have won all three meetings on their home floor by at least 13 points. This game will be Coach Banghart's first on the Carolina bench at Pitt, so let's hope the trend comes screeching to a halt in the first game of 2021. Our Tar Heel Sports Network coverage of the Jan. 3 game begins with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show at 12:30 p.m. Catch the call streaming worldwide for free on the TuneIn app (search "North Carolina Tar Heels Women's Basketball"), GoHeels.com (click "listen" on the women's basketball schedule), and the GoHeels app. Additionally, fans in the Triangle can tune in on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM.

In the meantime, enjoy your Christmas and your holiday season, but most importantly, stay safe and healthy.

That's all for now! Go Heels!
-Matt