Carmichael Comments: Thinking Small

CARMICHAEL COMMENTS: Inside Carolina Women's Basketball
Vol. 3, Edition 12: Thinking Small

The game of basketball has continued to evolve since the day Dr. James Naismith crafted his 13 rules of the sport in the late 1800s. From the evolution of the three-point shot to the advent of the shot clock, some changes have a greater impact than others. In the modern game, the current buzz phrase is "positionless basketball" – the thought that success is no longer achieved with a traditional "two-guard, two-forward, and a center" lineup. Watch the NBA, WNBA, or the college game these days and you'll see it. The move toward positionless small ball has left Roy Williams' Carolina men's team as an outlier in the modern game, with an adherence to a two-big lineup.

This season, the Carolina Women's Basketball team has leaned on its increased post depth to start a pair of traditional bigs in Janelle Bailey at center and typically Malu Tshitenge at forward (the "four" in basketball speak). But Tshitenge wasn't available for the Feb. 7 game against NC State due to medical reasons. Not wanting to be limited in the post to just Bailey and freshmen Anya Poole and Ali Zelaya, Carolina Head Coach Courtney Banghart started four players listed on the roster as guards. The decision to start four guards was made in part because it provided a better matchup with NC State, since the Wolfpack's current lineup is a "four around one" offense with four guards (four-spot player Kayla Jones is a forward in name only) around superstar center Elissa Cunane. Then, a funny thing happened. Carolina beat NC State with its four-guard lineup.

Even with an available Tshitenge for Sunday's road game at Pittsburgh, the four-guard lineup returned. And it stuck – post players (Bailey, Tshitenge, and Poole) played a total of 40 minutes. From the naked eye, it never seemed like there were two posts on the floor at one time. Much like the game against NC State, the small lineup worked as Carolina won 81-72 for the Tar Heels' first road win of the season.

The most obvious change in a small lineup to the average fan is freshman Alyssa Ustby starting at the four, which she did against both the Wolfpack and Pitt Panthers. At 6'1, Ustby's size and athleticism makes her a natural fit for a modern game four-player role, even if she began her Tar Heel career splitting time between the three and the four.

"That's really her natural position, it's what she played in high school," Banghart explained. "With some inexperienced guard play, we had to move her to the perimeter. She's comfortable being on the floor and contributing to winning."

It's no knock on Tshitenge or Bailey, who each have elements in their game that make them difficult to defend at the ACC level, but the established frontcourt duo have made a combined four three-pointers this season, all by Bailey. Prototypical bigs can sometimes be three point threats, such as Carolina's ever-improving freshman Ali Zelaya, but the presence of a player in the mold of Ustby at the four changes the way that opponents defend the Tar Heels.

"When she's at the four, we have a lot more space because you have to respect her from the perimeter," Banghart said. "We like that lineup with her there."
Sure enough, Ustby has hit five threes across the last two games, and is 5-for-6 from distance in that span. With another shooter on the perimeter, teams have to be more careful with double-teams against Bailey on the inside. It's a simple numbers game.

Another factor of the smaller lineup is Carolina's fluid guard group. As the lineup has morphed, so have the roles of the quartet of Petra Holešínská, Kennedy Todd-Williams, Stephanie Watts, and Deja Kelly. None of those four are true point guards, and though Kelly had been projected as the starting "one" into the season, the ball handling duties now are divvied up between all of them. The stats reflect this trend, with three players registering at least four assists on Sunday at Pitt – Holešínská with six, and Todd-Williams and Watts handing out four helpers each.

Let Banghart teach you her thought process in compensating for the lack of a true point guard.

"It's sort of by committee," she said. "Sometimes we want Deja with the ball in her hand, sometimes we want Kennedy with the ball in her had. Sometimes, we want either of them or both of them on the wing. It's a combination of handling it and who gets the outlet."

The increased playing time for Todd-Williams (60 total minutes across the last two games) has paved the way for statistical contributions from the freshman. On Sunday, she notched her third double-double of the season, but first of the calendar year 2021, with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Still, Banghart's biggest takeaway from Todd-Williams' effort was the fact that she was able to contribute on both ends of the floor by limiting Pitt on the glass while serving as another point guard option.

"For a team that offensive rebounds as much as they do, we needed some length and she provides great length at the ball-handling spot," Banghart said. "She's coming into her own, and I'm really happy for her."

Perhaps the magic formula has been found at the right time of year.

Here's what else caught my eye this week ...

Bailey Takes Advantage of Valentine's Day Gift
Janelle Bailey was gifted points on Sunday by the Pitt Panthers.
Carolina's senior center brought an aggressive and attacking mindset to the Steel City, earning 11 trips to the free throw line. Bailey converted on 10 of those free throws, matching a career high she set, coincidentally enough, during Carolina's last road win on Jan. 23, 2020 at Georgia Tech and one week prior to that game on Jan. 16, 2020 against Miami.

Her 10 free throws made were part of a 26-for-31 effort at the line for the Tar Heels, marking the most free throws made in a game under Banghart and most for Carolina since hitting 28 on Dec. 21, 2013 against High Point. This effort took place a week after Carolina went 13-for-15 at the line against NC State.

"We're always working on (free throws)," Banghart said. "It's partly that this team is gaining maturity, and we wanted the NC State game to be a springboard and we wanted to prove it with what we were doing. We know that we wanted to attack offensively and the way you attack is to get to the free throw line. 31 attempts proves that."

Out of Routine Again
Last Thursday's game against Boston College was postponed due to COVID protocols impacting the BC program, and left Carolina playing only one game in a week for the first time since the week of Jan. 11-17. Having another one-game week proved frustrating after such a big win against NC State, because you want to be able to build on momentum after earning that triumph. The Tar Heels tried to land a non-conference game last week, but after those efforts fell through a week of practice remained. It's no surprise that Carolina looked on the bright side and took advantage of the non-routine situation.

"It's been an interesting week," Banghart reflected. "We got a little more time for rest and recovery but also for Pitt prep. Hopefully, we're better for it."

Strange Trend Broken
Prior to Sunday's win, Carolina had never beaten one of the "Big East Four" in an ACC road game. The quartet of Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse, who all joined the ACC in a two-year period from 2013-2014, had been perfect in conference games on their home floors against Carolina. Yes, there was a non-conference win at Syracuse in there from November 2000…or neutral court NCAA Tournament wins at Pitt's Petersen Events Center in 2007 over Prairie View A&M and Notre Dame. But no true road win. Now that hex is gone – here's to many more road wins across all ACC venues.

Up Next
Carolina will stay out on the road this week for a pair of games. First up, it's a trip to Littlejohn Coliseum on Thursday night for a showdown with the Clemson Tigers. Carolina has owned this series of late, winning three straight (including an 86-72 win last year that was more lopsided than the score indicated), eight of nine, and 25 of 27. Still, with both teams sitting at five ACC wins into Thursday night, it's a game the Tar Heels need to keep the NCAA Tournament hopes alive. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. Our Tar Heel Sports Network coverage of the game begins with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show at 11:30 a.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.

Then, it's a much shorter trip on Sunday to historic Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh for the second meeting in 15 days with NC State. As mentioned above, the Tar Heels won 76-69 in Carmichael on Feb. 7, marking the third straight year that the Tar Heels have beaten a ranked NC State team. However, each of the previous two years have seen the Wolfpack earn revenge in the second meeting. Carolina hasn't swept State since 2014-15. Will that change on Sunday?

With tip at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, our Tar Heel Sports Network coverage of the game begins with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show at 11:30 a.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, check out this week's edition of the Courtney Banghart Show on the Tar Heel Voices podcast channel. Fans can listen after Wednesday morning by clicking here, or by searching "Tar Heel Voices" on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and wherever else you get your podcasts. Be sure to subscribe to the channel to automatically receive each episode! Plus, fans in the Triangle can listen on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM on Wednesday evening at 8:00 p.m.

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