Carmichael Comments: Better Late Than Never

News flash: College basketball coaches work long hours during the season. For better or worse, sleep is sacrificed in the name of chasing improvement, watching film, and looking for that little advantage to earn a hard-fought win.

From that perspective, it's not a shock that Carolina women's basketball head coach Courtney Banghart and her staff were at work as the clock struck midnight and December 19^th gave way to the 20^th. But they weren't in any sort of dark room pouring over defensive coverages or player tendencies on film. Instead, the final seconds were ticking away in the Tar Heels' 61-52 win over Oklahoma in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, Carolina's first win over a "power conference" opponent this season after near misses against ranked foes Kansas State, South Carolina, and UConn.

Once the game ended, I raced down to the tunnel to record Coach's postgame interview – and let me tell you: while the working at midnight might not be unique among the profession, the size of the smile on her face was. Those near misses had given way to a marquee non-conference win, one the Tar Heels had been chasing in the résumé-building process, and Banghart was elated for her team, staff, and ardent Carolina supporters. Incremental growth – some of it in the late nights and early mornings – had finally turned into a signature win.

"We're rebounding a little bit better, we're shooting a little bit better," Banghart said with the grin of relief visible to all gathered in the back hallway of the Spectrum Center. "It's been a journey. We're glad to get the win before the break."

The game was already a late tipoff – 9:30 p.m. in front of a national TV audience on ESPN2. But when the Florida and Michigan men's teams, playing before Carolina and Oklahoma, went to double overtime, the tip was pushed back to past 10 p.m., a rarity for a game played in the Eastern Time Zone. Carolina's players waited patiently. I scrambled and recruited a broadcast intern – Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham – to come by and help fill time on the radio broadcast (Thanks, Bubba!) with an interview.

At first, the wait and anticipation were anticlimactic, with Oklahoma racing out to a 10-2 lead and a 23-14 advantage in the final minute of the opening quarter. A Sooners team that came into the game in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense seemed destined impose its will on the offensive end of the floor and in transition. But Carolina, frustrated from a loss in the 2022 Jumpman Invitational against Michigan, was determined to avoid a similar fate in the Jordan Brand's showcase event.
The rest of the way, the Tar Heels' defense locked down the Sooners and made sure the result would be flipped.

"We started to get really locked in to the personnel," Banghart explained.

She and her staff ensured that Carolina players understood which Oklahoma players needed to be defended with long closeouts, and which didn't. What followed was an absolute shutdown of OU's high-powered offense, with the Sooners held to just 29 points over the final three quarters, a total of 16 in the second half. Oklahoma shot just 12.9 per from the floor after halftime, and remarkably, ended the game missing 25 consecutive three-pointers.

Carolina's strength has been its defense in the last three seasons, an era in which the Tar Heels have been regulars in the AP Top 25 poll. For the most part, the defense was good enough in the earlier games against ranked teams this year, but couldn't get Carolina over the finish line to earn a win. Tuesday night, that was a different story.
"They just really clamped down," Banghart remarked.

Even in a game where the Tar Heels scored only 25 points in the second half and were 3-for-15 themselves from three, the win seemed comfortable and imminent as early as the start of the fourth quarter. That's the kind of performance you'll need to win ACC games, and the reason why coaches put those long hours in.
Who says Rudolph and Santa will have the world's most successful overnight work shift this December?

Here's what else caught my eye this week…

Banghart, Women's Basketball Remember Montross
One of the first people that Banghart was introduced to in Chapel Hill upon being hired as the head coach of the Tar Heels was an individual she grew up watching play basketball: Eric Montross. Banghart, a New England native and lifelong Boston Celtics fan, watched the Celtics' 1994 first round draft pick out of Carolina play for Boston to start his NBA career, and now had the privilege of meeting the Rams Club staff member and Tar Heel Sports Network men's basketball analyst in Chapel Hill.

The interaction fostered a friendship between the pair, a friendship ended far too soon with Montross' passing at the age of 52 over the weekend following a fight with cancer diagnosed in March. The women's basketball team gathering in which Banghart delivered the news to her players was an emotional one.

"We had a moment where we all teared up," she said. "(Eric) had that influence on us, and that means something. It's a competitive world we're in, and he reminded us not to let it change who you are."

As Banghart began her process of building the Tar Heel women's basketball program in 2019, Montross was always in her corner. She still cherishes a congratulatory text he sent after a pivotal win early in her tenure.

"He texted me after our first big ranked win, and I still have the text, and (he) said 'I love your team, Courtney'," Banghart recalled. "The thing about Eric is that he made everybody feel like a friend."

A Key Return
Two Tar Heels returned active play on Friday against Western Carolina – Paulina Paris, who missed the UNCG and UConn games with injury, and Teonni Key, who had missed the season's first 10 games.

Key, a 6-4 rebounding force and one of the Tar Heels' longest players, was certainly missed after a redshirt freshman season in 2022-23 in which she flashed potential on both ends of the floor. Games like her seven rebounds against Boston College, four steals against Syracuse, and three blocks against Iowa State left Tar Heel fans eager to watch her continued growth.

Due to her absence, though, the fans haven't been able to see the growth Banghart and her staff have behind the scenes.

"Just so much stronger," Banghart replied when asked how Key was better now compared to a season ago. "Physically, she can do so much more at this level. She's got that long, lean build, and now she's got a lot of strength behind it."

Key's return was already an impactful one, as she grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds in the home win over the Catamounts.
"Fans got to see what we're so excited about," Banghart said.

Kelly Guts it Out
Carolina women's basketball athletic training intern Logan Niños celebrated his 24^th birthday on Tuesday.

What was his present? Racing away from the timeout huddle in the second quarter to procure a trash can to bring back to Deja Kelly, who had been feeling sick leading into the game against Oklahoma.

You can use your imagination to figure out what happened next. A happy birthday for Logan, indeed, but that's what trainers sign up for, right?

Kelly, off her first single-digit scoring game of the year against Western Carolina, was making her 100^th career game a memorable one. She scored seven of the Tar Heels' 16 first-quarter points, and returned to her familiar 10-point mark with two quick buckets in the second quarter. Then came the media timeout and the loss of one pregame meal. But Kelly only continued to take over the game, scoring seven more points before halftime and finishing with 21 for the game. Her third 20-point game of the season included her milestone 1,500^th career point on her final bucket of the first half.

"The kid is so tough," Banghart said. "I needed her tonight, and I thought she and Alyssa (Ustby) both, they needed this one and they got to show who they were tonight."
The Jumpman Invitational honors Michael Jordan, so if there was ever a time for a "flu game," this was it. Good thing that Carolina doesn't play for another week and a half.

Up Next
The Tar Heels will take a well-deserved break to head home to their families for the Christmas holiday. Thanks to the Final Four falling the latest it possibly can on the calendar this season, ACC play does not begin until Sunday, Dec. 31, when Clemson comes to Chapel Hill. The 12 days between the Oklahoma and Clemson games mark the longest in-season break (not counting COVID cancellations and postponements in 2020-21) since the 2013-14 season, another year where the calendar aligned for an early season start and late Final Four.

With the week-plus between games, we'll take a one-week break for this column and return on Wednesday, Jan. 3, when the ACC Thursday/Sunday rhythm is established. In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open for two more bonus episodes of Holding Court – special interviews with Carolina's Director of Scouting & Video Operations/Assistant Coach Daniel Metzelfeld and the Carolina student managers. Daniel's interview will be released Thursday, Dec. 21, and the managers will be published on Friday, Dec. 29. Both can be found on the podcast home of Holding Court, the Tar Heel Voices podcast channel, wherever you get your podcasts.

We're back on air for the ACC opener against Clemson on Dec. 31. Tip is set for noon (so in the early hours of 2024 in Australia or Japan, but with plenty of time to celebrate the end of the Jordan Year and the start of the Donarski-Nivar year here in Chapel Hill). Coverage of the 91^st meeting in a series that has seen Carolina win seven straight begins at 11:30 a.m. with the Reeds Jewelers Pregame Show. As always, hear the broadcast worldwide for free on the Varsity Network App from Learfield, GoHeels.com, or the GoHeels app. The game will air locally in the Triangle on 97.9 FM/1360 AM WCHL, the flagship station of Carolina women's basketball.

That's all for now - Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Go Heels!

- Matt