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University of North Carolina Athletics
Seth Trimble
Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI
Lucas: Charleston Southern Rapid Reactions
December 29, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the non conference finale.
By Adam Lucas
1. Carolina is better than Charleston Southern, and proved it on Friday, rolling to a 105-60 win. James Okonkwo had the biscuit basket, scoring on a layup with 1:44 remaining.
2. RJ Davis' scoring continues to be impressive. But even better--he's doing it without constantly looking for his shot. Davis either scored or assisted on 11 of Carolina's 20 first half field goals while playing 16 minutes, and finished with a double-double for the fifth time in his UNC career (20 points and 10 assists, marking his first career double-double involving assists). The highlight reel play came in the second half, when he went spinning into the lane and fed Jae'Lyn Withers with a bounce pass for a two-hand dunk. Davis has 15 assists and zero turnovers in his last two games. Friday's performance made Davis the first Tar Heel ever to post 20 points, 10 assists and five steals in a single game, and he's the first Heel since Tyler Hansbrough in 2008-09 to lead the team in scoring in eight straight games.
3. Only fitting that on this night it was the kind from Indiana, Jalen Washington, who might have had the most notable evening. The sophomore put up a career-high 17 points in just 16 minutes while also snagging seven rebounds. He shot an efficient 7-for-9 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers. His sophomore teammate, Seth Trimble, also tied his career high, scoring 12 points to go with his six rebounds.
4. Pick a category: Carolina was better in almost all of them. They won the rebounding battle handily, had a whopping edge in bench points and dominated points in the paint. This was very much the kind of game you want to play coming off the holiday break with a tough ACC stretch ahead.
5. The sellout crowd was emotional during a solemn pregame recognition of Eric Montross, who passed away last Sunday. It was great to see Henrik Rodl, a teammate on the 1993 championship team, at the game, along with two members of that squad's coaching staff, Dave Hanners and Phil Ford. Eric's normal chair at the scorer's table was left open, as Jones Angell did the game solo on the Tar Heel Sports Network.
6. Let's hope this continues during league play: Carolina is doing a very solid job taking care of the ball. The players in the regular rotation committed just four turnovers on Friday night, with no one making more than one error.
7. Poor Paxson Wojcik has had a rough year physically and won't be sad to see 2024 arrive. He took a hard elbow in the second half and went to the locker room, where he received stitches for the second time this season. The other came after an errant elbow during a team shootaround.
8. Armando Bacot scored 12 points and passed Larry Miller for seventh on Carolina's all-time scoring list. Bacot now has 1,987 points.
9. This will probably be one of the last nice things said about the officials this year: Roger Ayers has a knack for making fans feel important. It's not unusual at all for him to find a kid sitting courtside and let them hold the game ball during a timeout. Might sound like a small thing, but it makes a big difference. After doing it on Friday, Ayers winked at the wide-eyed kid and said, "Thanks for your help."
10. Of course you don't want to get a technical foul. But it's hard not to like the edge that Zayden High plays with. His first half minutes were punctuated by forcing a turnover and then getting in a jawing match that resulted in the technical. In a game like this, where energy is at a premium, it was nice to see a freshman bring plenty of intensity.
11. There's been plenty of talk about Carolina's formidable nonconference schedule. But things don't get any easier now. The Tar Heels are about to embark on a three-game ACC road trip, including a stop at recent thorn Pittsburgh, a trip to early season surprise Clemson, and a visit to cross-Triangle foe NC State.
12. Friday night was a big night for families, as lots of kids made their way to the Smith Center. Keep in mind they can come back tomorrow morning, as the annual Holiday Clinic takes place on the floor of the Smith Center. It's a great opportunity to interact with this year's team.
1. Carolina is better than Charleston Southern, and proved it on Friday, rolling to a 105-60 win. James Okonkwo had the biscuit basket, scoring on a layup with 1:44 remaining.
2. RJ Davis' scoring continues to be impressive. But even better--he's doing it without constantly looking for his shot. Davis either scored or assisted on 11 of Carolina's 20 first half field goals while playing 16 minutes, and finished with a double-double for the fifth time in his UNC career (20 points and 10 assists, marking his first career double-double involving assists). The highlight reel play came in the second half, when he went spinning into the lane and fed Jae'Lyn Withers with a bounce pass for a two-hand dunk. Davis has 15 assists and zero turnovers in his last two games. Friday's performance made Davis the first Tar Heel ever to post 20 points, 10 assists and five steals in a single game, and he's the first Heel since Tyler Hansbrough in 2008-09 to lead the team in scoring in eight straight games.
3. Only fitting that on this night it was the kind from Indiana, Jalen Washington, who might have had the most notable evening. The sophomore put up a career-high 17 points in just 16 minutes while also snagging seven rebounds. He shot an efficient 7-for-9 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers. His sophomore teammate, Seth Trimble, also tied his career high, scoring 12 points to go with his six rebounds.
4. Pick a category: Carolina was better in almost all of them. They won the rebounding battle handily, had a whopping edge in bench points and dominated points in the paint. This was very much the kind of game you want to play coming off the holiday break with a tough ACC stretch ahead.
5. The sellout crowd was emotional during a solemn pregame recognition of Eric Montross, who passed away last Sunday. It was great to see Henrik Rodl, a teammate on the 1993 championship team, at the game, along with two members of that squad's coaching staff, Dave Hanners and Phil Ford. Eric's normal chair at the scorer's table was left open, as Jones Angell did the game solo on the Tar Heel Sports Network.
6. Let's hope this continues during league play: Carolina is doing a very solid job taking care of the ball. The players in the regular rotation committed just four turnovers on Friday night, with no one making more than one error.
7. Poor Paxson Wojcik has had a rough year physically and won't be sad to see 2024 arrive. He took a hard elbow in the second half and went to the locker room, where he received stitches for the second time this season. The other came after an errant elbow during a team shootaround.
8. Armando Bacot scored 12 points and passed Larry Miller for seventh on Carolina's all-time scoring list. Bacot now has 1,987 points.
9. This will probably be one of the last nice things said about the officials this year: Roger Ayers has a knack for making fans feel important. It's not unusual at all for him to find a kid sitting courtside and let them hold the game ball during a timeout. Might sound like a small thing, but it makes a big difference. After doing it on Friday, Ayers winked at the wide-eyed kid and said, "Thanks for your help."
10. Of course you don't want to get a technical foul. But it's hard not to like the edge that Zayden High plays with. His first half minutes were punctuated by forcing a turnover and then getting in a jawing match that resulted in the technical. In a game like this, where energy is at a premium, it was nice to see a freshman bring plenty of intensity.
11. There's been plenty of talk about Carolina's formidable nonconference schedule. But things don't get any easier now. The Tar Heels are about to embark on a three-game ACC road trip, including a stop at recent thorn Pittsburgh, a trip to early season surprise Clemson, and a visit to cross-Triangle foe NC State.
12. Friday night was a big night for families, as lots of kids made their way to the Smith Center. Keep in mind they can come back tomorrow morning, as the annual Holiday Clinic takes place on the floor of the Smith Center. It's a great opportunity to interact with this year's team.
Players Mentioned
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