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RJ Davis
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Lucas: Georgia Tech Rapid Reactions
December 10, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the ACC home opener.
By Adam Lucas
1. Welcome back, Tar Heels. That looked much more like Carolina basketball, as the Heels got the first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season with a 75-59 victory over Georgia Tech.
2. A big factor in that return to Carolina basketball: the reappearance of Armando Bacot, whose presence inside was something the Jackets could never quite handle. In his first game since suffering a shoulder injury at Indiana, Bacot recorded a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. His 61st game with 10+ rebounds tied a UNC record also held by Billy Cunningham. He was a big part of the enormous advantage Carolina held on the glass, as Carolina outrebounded Tech, 43-22 (after having been outrebounded in the past three games). It was also Bacot's 15th 20/10 game and 54th double-double.
3. The game turned on an 11-0 Carolina run before halftime. Ahead 28-26, the Tar Heels scored three field goals in the final 2:43. All three of those field goals were assisted, which is why it looked so much more like the Carolina basketball that you're familiar with.
4. Included in that sequence was perhaps the best ball movement of the season, as with about 1:15 to go, the combination of Armando Bacot, Pete Nance and RJ Davis consistently gave up a good shot to find an even better shot. The ball ended up with Nance in the corner for a wide open three-pointer, which he knocked down. For the game, Carolina had 15 assists on 25 field goals after posting just 11 assists total in the past two games.
5. On the next UNC possession, Trimble pushed the ball in transition and found Davis with a bounce pass for a layup. That was part of a very good first half for the freshman, as he had three assists and zero turnovers in nine minutes. How much does ball movement matter? It really made no difference that Trimble was 0-for-4 from the field in that same stretch.
6. What a welcome sight to see Jalen Washington check into the game for the first time as a Tar Heel with 2:22 left in the game. Washington, who has worked tirelessly to return from a series of injuries, got a big hand from the crowd. There will be some rust, as expected, from a player who missed his entire senior season of high school. But Washington has the potential to give Carolina a big body off the bench in addition to a soft shooting touch that he flashed on his first Carolina bucket with a gentle turnaround jumper that dropped.
7. The Yellow Jackets came into the game getting consistently hurt by opponents on the offensive glass. That was the perfect prescription to get the Carolina second chance game going, as the Tar Heels, bolstered by the return of Armando Bacot, held a 6-0 offensive rebounding advantage in the first 20 minutes. Tops in that category was Bacot with four. For the game, Carolina had a whopping 12-1 advantage on the offensive boards and 7-0 in second chance points.
8. Carolina was just overall much more physical in this game, as also evidenced by their advantage at the free throw line. The Tar Heels went 18-for-24 at the charity stripe, compared to just 6-for-8 for Tech, a fact Josh Pastner mentioned to the officials a couple of times. Included in that mark was 5-for-6 from RJ Davis, who was under control and efficient all afternoon, finishing with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting and ten rebounds.
9. We saw a brief appearance of the three-guard Trimble/Love/Davis lineup that was very productive at Virginia Tech. The trio played almost three minutes of the second half together. During that stretch, Trimble flashed the exceptional off the ball defense that continues to earn him minutes. Despite at one point being in an accidental headlock by Miles Kelly, Trimble kept fighting, denying his man the ball from one side of the court to the other and eventually forcing a turnover from the visitors.
10. You can't say that Pastner is predictable. The always engaging Pastner--who was the first person to take note of what Carolina could be last season, even when the Heels weren't clicking--called two time outs in the first eight minutes of the game. Pastner has never been bound by convention.
11. You have to credit Caleb Love for perseverance. After sitting on the bench for a significant portion of the first half and watching Carolina play well without him, Love came back and was good in the second half. That's the thing about Love--he is always capable of turning around any sort of performance. Love finished with 10 points and five assists.
12. As you would expect, recently retired Tar Heel field hockey coach Karen Shelton received a huge hand at halftime. Accompanied by her grandchildren, Shelton got a standing ovation when she went to midcourt.
1. Welcome back, Tar Heels. That looked much more like Carolina basketball, as the Heels got the first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the season with a 75-59 victory over Georgia Tech.
2. A big factor in that return to Carolina basketball: the reappearance of Armando Bacot, whose presence inside was something the Jackets could never quite handle. In his first game since suffering a shoulder injury at Indiana, Bacot recorded a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds. His 61st game with 10+ rebounds tied a UNC record also held by Billy Cunningham. He was a big part of the enormous advantage Carolina held on the glass, as Carolina outrebounded Tech, 43-22 (after having been outrebounded in the past three games). It was also Bacot's 15th 20/10 game and 54th double-double.
3. The game turned on an 11-0 Carolina run before halftime. Ahead 28-26, the Tar Heels scored three field goals in the final 2:43. All three of those field goals were assisted, which is why it looked so much more like the Carolina basketball that you're familiar with.
4. Included in that sequence was perhaps the best ball movement of the season, as with about 1:15 to go, the combination of Armando Bacot, Pete Nance and RJ Davis consistently gave up a good shot to find an even better shot. The ball ended up with Nance in the corner for a wide open three-pointer, which he knocked down. For the game, Carolina had 15 assists on 25 field goals after posting just 11 assists total in the past two games.
5. On the next UNC possession, Trimble pushed the ball in transition and found Davis with a bounce pass for a layup. That was part of a very good first half for the freshman, as he had three assists and zero turnovers in nine minutes. How much does ball movement matter? It really made no difference that Trimble was 0-for-4 from the field in that same stretch.
6. What a welcome sight to see Jalen Washington check into the game for the first time as a Tar Heel with 2:22 left in the game. Washington, who has worked tirelessly to return from a series of injuries, got a big hand from the crowd. There will be some rust, as expected, from a player who missed his entire senior season of high school. But Washington has the potential to give Carolina a big body off the bench in addition to a soft shooting touch that he flashed on his first Carolina bucket with a gentle turnaround jumper that dropped.
7. The Yellow Jackets came into the game getting consistently hurt by opponents on the offensive glass. That was the perfect prescription to get the Carolina second chance game going, as the Tar Heels, bolstered by the return of Armando Bacot, held a 6-0 offensive rebounding advantage in the first 20 minutes. Tops in that category was Bacot with four. For the game, Carolina had a whopping 12-1 advantage on the offensive boards and 7-0 in second chance points.
8. Carolina was just overall much more physical in this game, as also evidenced by their advantage at the free throw line. The Tar Heels went 18-for-24 at the charity stripe, compared to just 6-for-8 for Tech, a fact Josh Pastner mentioned to the officials a couple of times. Included in that mark was 5-for-6 from RJ Davis, who was under control and efficient all afternoon, finishing with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting and ten rebounds.
9. We saw a brief appearance of the three-guard Trimble/Love/Davis lineup that was very productive at Virginia Tech. The trio played almost three minutes of the second half together. During that stretch, Trimble flashed the exceptional off the ball defense that continues to earn him minutes. Despite at one point being in an accidental headlock by Miles Kelly, Trimble kept fighting, denying his man the ball from one side of the court to the other and eventually forcing a turnover from the visitors.
10. You can't say that Pastner is predictable. The always engaging Pastner--who was the first person to take note of what Carolina could be last season, even when the Heels weren't clicking--called two time outs in the first eight minutes of the game. Pastner has never been bound by convention.
11. You have to credit Caleb Love for perseverance. After sitting on the bench for a significant portion of the first half and watching Carolina play well without him, Love came back and was good in the second half. That's the thing about Love--he is always capable of turning around any sort of performance. Love finished with 10 points and five assists.
12. As you would expect, recently retired Tar Heel field hockey coach Karen Shelton received a huge hand at halftime. Accompanied by her grandchildren, Shelton got a standing ovation when she went to midcourt.
Players Mentioned
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