University of North Carolina Athletics
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Lucas: Notre Dame Rapid Reactions
January 2, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from Carolina's home matchup with Notre Dame.
By Adam Lucas
1. Whew. At this point, we probably can't get greedy, because enough of these went the other way last year that it was enough just to get the win, as Carolina beat Notre Dame, 66-65.
2. That game gave you a little window into what Day'Ron Sharpe could be. The big freshman was completely dominant during a key stretch of the second half. Before leaving for a quick breather with four minutes left, Sharpe had scored 14 of Carolina's last 17 points over an eight-minute stretch, almost all within arm's reach of the basket. He paired that scoring--and they weren't all successful, as he did attempt 19 field goals--with a relentless approach on the backboards, where he picked up nine rebounds. Sharpe finished with 25 points, the first time this year Carolina has had a player score at least 20.
3. Kerwin Walton is rapidly turning into someone Carolina must have on the court. Walton stretches the opposing defense in a way the other Tar Heels do not. When he was out of the game, the Irish sagged back in a very soft zone. When he was on the court, they had to play him honestly. Walton made a clutch three-pointer with 2:16 left that gave the Heels a one-point lead. He finished with 12 points, the only double-figure scorer other than Sharpe. He also tied with Black for the team lead with three assists. Other than Black's basket, all of Carolina's final 24 points were scored by freshmen.
4. Mark it down: Roy Williams used a timeout with 28.2 seconds left and Carolina down by one point to set up the final offensive possession. It turned into a Leaky Black basket. Williams then called another timeout with 9.1 seconds remaining to get the team he wanted on the floor defensively, as Carolina went with RJ Davis, Andrew Platek, Black, Sharpe and Garrison Brooks for the final defensive stand. That enabled Brooks to guard Nate Laszewski, which put Sharpe on Juwan Durham. Sharpe's length forced a missed Durham jumper to preserve the win.
5. Notre Dame was completely committed to preventing the Tar Heels from running, but Carolina still isn't close to running the way Williams wants them to. The Irish had a 10-2 advantage in fast break points.
6. As you would expect against a smaller team, Carolina overwhelmed Notre Dame on the glass, holding a 48-27 advantage. They also had a 21-3 lead in offensive rebounds, which makes you wonder how the final score was as close as it was. The answer is partially that Carolina turned those 21 offensive rebounds into just 18 second chance points (another big answer to that question: Carolina shot 34.8 percent from the field, so there were plenty of offensive rebounds available).
7. The Tar Heels were sloppy with the ball early, committing five turnovers in the first five minutes. That had been a major emphasis in Friday's practice, and they cleaned it up--helped by sagging Notre Dame defense that didn't apply much ball pressure--and committed just three the rest of the game.Â
8. Give credit to Tar Heel assistant coach Brad Frederick, who had scouting responsibilities for Notre Dame. Frederick thought he wouldn't need a report on the Irish until the end of the month, and was handed the task to get ready for the Irish on Thursday afternoon. He helped prepare the Tar Heels at Friday's practice and Carolina clearly had a good grasp of the Irish. Scouting responsibilities typically stay with the same assistant from year to year; it helped Frederick to already have a working familiarity with Mike Brey's team.
9. Speaking of Brey, he's a character. Carolina didn't get to go to Maui this year but did get a taste of the islands when the Irish head coach showed up to coach the game wearing shorts, a Smith Center first. But don't let the sartorial choices distract you from the fact that he's an excellent coach. Notre Dame had a grand total of nine players in uniform, was vastly outmanned in the post, and still managed to be competitive.Â
10. Brey also was crafty in the way he adjusted Notre Dame's attack. The Irish peppered Carolina from three-point range for most of the second half, but then, in the game's closing minutes, used the three-pointer as a decoy and took advantage of the Heels' defense being conscious of the perimeter to drive for easy layups.Â
11. When Puff Johnson starts earning more playing time, he might get it with his play on the glass. Better known as a shooter, Johnson has shown the consistent willingness to bang under the basket. He did it again in the first half Saturday, recovering a missed free throw and scoring. His length also forced an Irish miss defensively, and he grabbed another offensive rebound in the second half. The younger Johnson is going to be an important player for Carolina during his career.
12. Most of the attention has gone to the Carolina freshmen who are playing more minutes. But in addition to Johnson, Walker Kessler had some good moments against the Irish. Kessler rejected an attempted Notre Dame dunk and also scored on a nice first half post move. You'll learn more about Kessler in a very candid interview he gave for Tuesday's Carolina Insider podcast. You're going to enjoy getting to know him.
13. Players who will likely be frustrated with their play on Saturday: Garrison Brooks struggled from the field, making just 2-of-7 from the field, but he did have eight rebounds. And Caleb Love played only 15 minutes and also went 2-for-7 while distributing zero assists. Love--who did make a couple of jumpers in the second half during a key stretch in the game--started the first half but was replaced by RJ Davis for the second half.Â
14. Carolina has now won eight of the last nine against Notre Dame. They're scheduled to hit the road again for Miami on Tuesday night before returning home for a date with what appears to be a good Clemson team. Next week is an important one for the Tar Heels.
1. Whew. At this point, we probably can't get greedy, because enough of these went the other way last year that it was enough just to get the win, as Carolina beat Notre Dame, 66-65.
2. That game gave you a little window into what Day'Ron Sharpe could be. The big freshman was completely dominant during a key stretch of the second half. Before leaving for a quick breather with four minutes left, Sharpe had scored 14 of Carolina's last 17 points over an eight-minute stretch, almost all within arm's reach of the basket. He paired that scoring--and they weren't all successful, as he did attempt 19 field goals--with a relentless approach on the backboards, where he picked up nine rebounds. Sharpe finished with 25 points, the first time this year Carolina has had a player score at least 20.
3. Kerwin Walton is rapidly turning into someone Carolina must have on the court. Walton stretches the opposing defense in a way the other Tar Heels do not. When he was out of the game, the Irish sagged back in a very soft zone. When he was on the court, they had to play him honestly. Walton made a clutch three-pointer with 2:16 left that gave the Heels a one-point lead. He finished with 12 points, the only double-figure scorer other than Sharpe. He also tied with Black for the team lead with three assists. Other than Black's basket, all of Carolina's final 24 points were scored by freshmen.
4. Mark it down: Roy Williams used a timeout with 28.2 seconds left and Carolina down by one point to set up the final offensive possession. It turned into a Leaky Black basket. Williams then called another timeout with 9.1 seconds remaining to get the team he wanted on the floor defensively, as Carolina went with RJ Davis, Andrew Platek, Black, Sharpe and Garrison Brooks for the final defensive stand. That enabled Brooks to guard Nate Laszewski, which put Sharpe on Juwan Durham. Sharpe's length forced a missed Durham jumper to preserve the win.
5. Notre Dame was completely committed to preventing the Tar Heels from running, but Carolina still isn't close to running the way Williams wants them to. The Irish had a 10-2 advantage in fast break points.
6. As you would expect against a smaller team, Carolina overwhelmed Notre Dame on the glass, holding a 48-27 advantage. They also had a 21-3 lead in offensive rebounds, which makes you wonder how the final score was as close as it was. The answer is partially that Carolina turned those 21 offensive rebounds into just 18 second chance points (another big answer to that question: Carolina shot 34.8 percent from the field, so there were plenty of offensive rebounds available).
7. The Tar Heels were sloppy with the ball early, committing five turnovers in the first five minutes. That had been a major emphasis in Friday's practice, and they cleaned it up--helped by sagging Notre Dame defense that didn't apply much ball pressure--and committed just three the rest of the game.Â
8. Give credit to Tar Heel assistant coach Brad Frederick, who had scouting responsibilities for Notre Dame. Frederick thought he wouldn't need a report on the Irish until the end of the month, and was handed the task to get ready for the Irish on Thursday afternoon. He helped prepare the Tar Heels at Friday's practice and Carolina clearly had a good grasp of the Irish. Scouting responsibilities typically stay with the same assistant from year to year; it helped Frederick to already have a working familiarity with Mike Brey's team.
9. Speaking of Brey, he's a character. Carolina didn't get to go to Maui this year but did get a taste of the islands when the Irish head coach showed up to coach the game wearing shorts, a Smith Center first. But don't let the sartorial choices distract you from the fact that he's an excellent coach. Notre Dame had a grand total of nine players in uniform, was vastly outmanned in the post, and still managed to be competitive.Â
10. Brey also was crafty in the way he adjusted Notre Dame's attack. The Irish peppered Carolina from three-point range for most of the second half, but then, in the game's closing minutes, used the three-pointer as a decoy and took advantage of the Heels' defense being conscious of the perimeter to drive for easy layups.Â
11. When Puff Johnson starts earning more playing time, he might get it with his play on the glass. Better known as a shooter, Johnson has shown the consistent willingness to bang under the basket. He did it again in the first half Saturday, recovering a missed free throw and scoring. His length also forced an Irish miss defensively, and he grabbed another offensive rebound in the second half. The younger Johnson is going to be an important player for Carolina during his career.
12. Most of the attention has gone to the Carolina freshmen who are playing more minutes. But in addition to Johnson, Walker Kessler had some good moments against the Irish. Kessler rejected an attempted Notre Dame dunk and also scored on a nice first half post move. You'll learn more about Kessler in a very candid interview he gave for Tuesday's Carolina Insider podcast. You're going to enjoy getting to know him.
13. Players who will likely be frustrated with their play on Saturday: Garrison Brooks struggled from the field, making just 2-of-7 from the field, but he did have eight rebounds. And Caleb Love played only 15 minutes and also went 2-for-7 while distributing zero assists. Love--who did make a couple of jumpers in the second half during a key stretch in the game--started the first half but was replaced by RJ Davis for the second half.Â
14. Carolina has now won eight of the last nine against Notre Dame. They're scheduled to hit the road again for Miami on Tuesday night before returning home for a date with what appears to be a good Clemson team. Next week is an important one for the Tar Heels.
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