Lucas: American Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Biscuits for everyone, as John Holbrook makes the biscuit basket and Carolina thumps American, 107-55.

2. Elliot Cadeau has quietly been Carolina's best, most consistent player through the first three games of the season. He did it again on Friday, contributing 18 points to go with his eight assists and generally controlling the entire game on both ends. He easily could have had a double-double using the old Dean Smith standard of "assists the way we keep them," as a couple of his very nice passes easily could have been buckets.

3. Another Tar Heel who has quietly been reliable and steady is Jalen Washington, who put up a career high 18 on Friday night. Washington was 6-for-6 from the field and 6-for-7 from the line as he continues to be very efficient. He scored his 18 in just 18 minutes.

4. For the second straight Friday, free throws were a big part of the offense while the shots from the field weren't falling. Carolina eventually hit 28-for-34 from the line, with Cadeau taking nine of them.

5. The Tar Heels need to get RJ Davis on track. You could tell in the veteran's body language that he was frustrated, although he finally did knock in a three-pointer with under five minutes to play. Davis finished 5-for-13 from the floor and 1-for-7 from three. The great thing about him, though, is he never stops competing--he was still diving out of bounds to secure a rebound with four minutes left in a 43-point game. He's going to make plenty of big baskets for Carolina this year (remember the close of the Elon game), and the Tar Heels are still a team capable of nearly getting biscuits even without a big contribution from him.

6. Carolina played without freshmen Ian Jackson and James Brown. Both players were sidelined with lower leg injuries.

7. The story of the first half for Carolina was Cadeau, who was by far the most efficient Tar Heel. Cadeau sat for only two minutes, and in the remaining 18 he was 5-for-7 from the field, 5-of-9 at the line, and handed out four assists (which could have been higher if the Heels had converted a couple shots off his passes). In all, Carolina made 14 field goals, and he scored or assisted on nine of them.

8. Three of those Cadeau baskets were created by his defense. On three separate occasions he made a steal near midcourt and then turned it into transition points. That was part of a big 14-0 edge in fast break points in the first half, which offset Carolina's 0-for-6 three-point shooting in the first 20 minutes and helped build a 43-34 halftime lead.

9. Great coaching by Hubert Davis. Cade Tyson was not impactful in his 8:32 of playing time in the first half--the only statistic he charted was a turnover. But with the Tar Heels stretching the lead in the second half, Davis gave Tyson some extended minutes to try and play his way into a rhythm. It worked. The Belmont transfer hit three three-pointers and scored in transition for his 11 points. The best version of this year's Carolina team has Tyson contributing from the perimeter and on the glass. He showed more of that potential in the second half.

10. It's fun to watch Drake Powell compete at the rim. Whether it's going for a rebound, block, or attacking with the ball, the freshman isn't scared of anything or anyone. Combine that with his unique athleticism and he's a player who is going to have a big impact for Carolina this year. Powell had three blocks against the Eagles and now is the team leader with five total for the season. He also had 11 rebounds.

11. Jackie Manuel got a well-deserved big hand when he was introduced as part of pregame introductions. Numerous "Jackie Manuel has a posse" shirts were spotted in the crowd, and several American staffers were shocked when they walked in and saw them. "They've got your picture on their shirt!" they said to Manuel, who just grinned. Jackie Manuel is and always will be a big deal in Chapel Hill.

12. Now the schedule gets really tough. Fans won't see the Tar Heels again until a week from tonight, with a very late East Coast tip off at Hawaii. Then the Heels will make the short trip to Maui, where they'll play three straight games in the loaded Maui Invitational the Monday through Wednesday of Thanksgiving week. Then it's back to the mainland for Alabama, the nation's number-two team, at the Smith Center on Dec. 4. That Alabama game is a white-out, by the way, so if you have tickets, keep that in mind.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

James Brown

Elliot Cadeau

RJ Davis

John Holbrook

Ian Jackson

Drake Powell

Cade Tyson

Jalen Washington

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