Lucas: Back In Time

By Adam Lucas

DEACTOWN—Let me take you back to a time that probably seems long ago right now: the time in which Saturday's Carolina-Wake Forest game was fun.

That time was about midway through the first half. The Tar Heels had taken an early 2-0 lead, and then there had been five lead changes and six ties. There had been a rowdy student section screaming very unkind things at the Carolina bench. There had been a Demon Deacon on a motorcycle at midcourt. There had been the PA announcer bellowing, "Welcome to Deactown!" at tip-off.

In other words, it felt exactly like how an Atlantic Coast Conference game is supposed to feel.

In theory, you come to the University of North Carolina to play in games that feel exactly like this. Being Carolina is supposed to mean facing this environment in every single road game.

Wake Forest's Jake LaRavia had made some tough baskets, but likewise so had Carolina's RJ Davis. It felt like we were settling in for that kind of back-and-forth evening. Not a guaranteed victory, but at least a competitive game that felt like an old school ACC battle.

When freshman D'Marco Dunn forced a jump ball with 8:27 remaining while fighting for a rebound, it felt like the kind of subtle play that would pay big dividends later. Surely, I thought to myself, in what is certain to be a close, one-possession type of game, Dunn forcing the change in the arrow will be a memorable play later.

It wasn't. Because from that point forward in what was a tie game with 8:30 left in the first half, Wake Forest outscored Carolina by 22 points over the next 28:30. The loss to Miami on Tuesday night was a constant onslaught; there was never a sense that Carolina was in the game.

This one was different. This one felt like was going to be competitive…until it wasn't. It's very difficult to be competitive when the opponent shoots 54.2 percent from the field and outscores you 30-2 in fast break points. Those two points came on free throws; Carolina did not have a field goal in transition the entire night. I'm not sure those words have been written since the Tar Heels held the ball against Duke in 1979.

Following that Dunn play, the rest of the game went very poorly. At that point, Wake was shooting 8-for-17. They closed 24-for-42, or 57.1 percent. That might sound like a big number, until you consider that Carolina opponents have broken 50 percent in four of the last five halves.

At the moment Dunn forced the jump ball, it seemed inconceivable that Wake would essentially coast through the final ten minutes of the game, tossing a couple alley-oop passes, trying highlight reel plays, the crowd rooting for the walk-on on the end of the bench. But that's exactly how it ended.

You will probably not believe this, and that's OK. But Carolina had one of the most competitive practices of the season on Thursday. Wednesday was a mandated off day, so Thursday was the first day back on the court after the loss at Miami. Davis stacked the practice plan with competitive elements, splitting the team in half and forcing them to compete in every single practice period. Losers ran. Winners got to take a breath while preparing for the next period.

It was one of the loudest, most boisterous, energetic practices of the year. RJ Davis and Puff Johnson were standouts. But on Saturday night, when it was time to bring that some competitive spirit to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, with a very few exceptions, the Tar Heels couldn't find it. Sure, sometimes it's about talent. And as Hubert Davis said following the game, "They had three guys who were better than us."

Certainly that was true on this particular night. At least for the final 28 decisive minutes.

Players Mentioned

RJ Davis

D'Marco Dunn

Puff Johnson

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