Carmichael Comments: Let's Get Creative

Winning games over the course of a long college basketball season requires teams, players, and coaches to employ differing approaches tailored to each specific situation that arises in the course of a game. Sometimes, those challenges are caused by an opponent's tendencies. Sometimes, the atmosphere and energy of the game is the culprit. And occasionally, it's both.

That was the case Friday at Gateway Christian Academy in Bimini, Bahamas. The Tar Heels, winners of each of their first four games of the season by at least 33 points, were locked in a battle with VCU. The reigning Atlantic 10 Conference champions had not only become the first team to hold a lead over Carolina at any juncture this season, but grabbed an advantage at 39-38 with 6:14 left in the third quarter. The VCU bucket capped an 11-2 run in less than two minutes, and prompted third-year head coach Courtney Banghart to request a timeout. The tactical change that followed caused some – myself included – to do a double take. Banghart pulled her traditional post player out of the lineup, and played a quintet of players listed on the official team roster as guards. Alyssa Ustby slid from the four spot to the five, Kennedy Todd-Williams from the three to the four, and the trio of Carlie Littlefield, Deja Kelly, and Eva Hodgson all played together as guards. Typically, two of those three players will be on the floor at any given moment.

The five-guard lineup – the ultimate small ball – was brought about for a few reasons.

"Knowing how loud it was and how they were neutralizing our defense with their ball screen – we're usually very good (against) ball screen, but we couldn't hear at all," Banghart explained. "We were late on our coverages so we wanted to play a bit faster and be more nimble."

Yes, hard to hear in a neutral-site game. Let's explain here for a second. The Goombay Splash was held in a middle and high school gym at Gateway Christian Academy. Some of these events held in tropical locations around this time of year are in converted hotel ballrooms or mostly-empty arenas. The gym at Gateway was far from that. Even with about 100 people in attendance, the noise in the miniscule facility was a thunderous din that interfered with Carolina's ability to communicate.

The switch to small ball and ability to switch ball screens worked. Carolina outscored VCU 34-20 the rest of the way to preserve its fifth win of the season. Not only that, but the Tar Heels won the rebounding battle, 37-30. A rebounding win even without a true big on the floor for much of the second half was cause for the Carolina bench boss to say that her team "put their hard hats on."

So, did the Carolina staff have that plan in its back pocket prior to the matchup with guard-dominant VCU? No. It came together on the fly.

"It was during the game," Banghart reflected. "As a coach, you have to assess the situation in live time – it's one of the hardest things we do. It's also what makes our job so fun."

There was a hint of offensive concern, as the lineup was not one used to being on the floor with one another.

"It's not a lineup you practice with very often, so offensively, you have to rely on the fact that everyone knows how to move the ball effectively," Banghart said.

The win was followed by another dominant effort over Washington on Saturday, a 58-37 Carolina win that matched a program record for fewest points allowed to a Power Five opponent. The Tar Heels were presented commemorative hats and a trophy to commemorate their week in Bimini. Who knows if that moment would have happened without the burst of creativity on Friday?

Here's what else caught my eye this week…

Ustby's MVP Performance
The MVP of the Goombay Splash was Alyssa Ustby, who scored 32 points on 12-for-24 shooting in the event, all while pulling down 22 rebounds and snaring three steals in the two games. That effort included a career-high-matching 23 points on Friday in the win over VCU, when she shot 9-for-12 (75%) from the floor, and collected 12 rebounds for a third double-double of the season.

"The kid is just so fun to coach," Banghart beamed. "Just look at how hard she plays. You don't have to call a lot for her, you just know she's going to find a way when it matters. A double-double when our team needed it – good stuff."

Limiting the Size
In the dominant win over Washington, the Tar Heels had to contend with 6-9 Nancy Mulkey, the Huskies' sixth-year senior center who is one of the tallest players in all of women's college basketball. Mulkey's length and size allows Washington to use her as a one-woman zone. Before the game, Banghart was asked about how to counter Mulkey's size and length when Carolina had the ball.

"We've got to find our gaps," she said. "And we want to utilize them in ball screen action, so our pull-up game has to be good."

The Tar Heels certainly found gaps. Over half of the team's 58 points (30) were scored in the paint, a testament to being able to create space. On the other end of the floor, Mulkey was limited to four total points on 2-for-6 shooting, so her ability to score at will was eliminated.

Quick Turnaround
The trip to Bimini was not just for relaxation and playing amidst palm trees. It provided a challenge to turn around and play a pair of games tipping off less than 24 hours apart, a scenario that can appear again later in the season at the ACC Tournament. Banghart and her staff were taxed with breaking from the norm of preparing for one game at a time and being able to have a practice in between games.

"You kind of sign on to that in these kinds of tournaments," Banghart explained. "Right after the (VCU) game, we fed the kids quick and got into the pool for some recovery. Watched some film (Friday night) and again on (Saturday morning). You're preparing for two games at once."

Up Next
The Tar Heels have another pair of games this week to bridge the span between Thanksgiving and the team's exam break, and both contests will be challenges. First up, the Tar Heels will head to Minnesota for the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The sixth all-time meeting between Carolina and the Golden Gophers will tip at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday night (so brew some coffee!) from Williams Arena, affectionately known as "The Barn." Though just the sixth meeting, it's the third in six seasons between the two teams, with Carolina claiming wins in Bimini (of all places) in the 2016 Junkanoo Jam and at Carmichael in the 2017 playing of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The 6-3 Golden Gophers have a home loss to Jacksonville University, but their other two setbacks are against powerhouse Connecticut and Big 12-member Oklahoma, both on neutral courts at the Battle 4 Atlantis prior to Thanksgiving. We'll have full coverage of the game live and on location in Minneapolis.

Airtime on Wednesday is at 8:30 p.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. Catch the call on all our streaming options – The Varsity Network App from Learfield, GoHeels.com, and the GoHeels app – all for free.

Then on Sunday, James Madison will visit Carmichael Arena at 2 p.m. for the fourth all-time meeting between the Tar Heels and the mid-major power from Virginia. The Dukes sit 3-3 on the campaign, but have an ACC win over Virginia to open the season. Sunday's game is a critical one for JMU, who is ineligible for the Colonial Athletic Association conference tournament and championship thanks to a controversial bylaw triggered by their impending move to the Sun Belt Conference. If the Dukes have any hope of making the NCAA Tournament in 2022, they'll need to do so via an at-large bid. Carolina edged out JMU 74-71 on Jan. 2, 2014 in the programs' last meeting, while each team posted a win in the first five seasons of Carolina program history in the two prior matchups.

Airtime on Sunday is at 1:30 p.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. Catch the call on all our streaming options – The Varsity Network App from Learfield, GoHeels.com, and the GoHeels app – all for free.

Unfortunately, due to men's basketball games at the same time as the women's contests this week, neither game will be carried by 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL. The flagship station for Carolina Women's Basketball resumes its coverage on Dec. 12 against UNC Asheville.

In the meantime, be on the lookout this week for the first edition of Courtney Banghart Live, which will be released as a podcast on the Tar Heel Voices podcast channel after Carolina returns from Minnesota.

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