Carmichael Comments: Reset And Recharge

In the game of basketball, each team is given four timeouts a game. Why? To be able to stop the game, quell momentum, and give players and coaches alike the chance to step away from the hectic action. It's an opportunity to analyze, regroup, and discuss what adjustments to make moving forward. Often times, timeouts accomplish just that.

From a broader scale, a bye week serves as a timeout for the season. Even at full health, a college basketball season is taxing with two games in a week, organized practices on four of the other days, and extra self-motivated skill work, too.

The Carolina women's basketball team will finally enjoy its ACC bye week this midweek, a seven-day gap between last Sunday's game against Virginia Tech and next game at Duke. With an odd number of teams in the ACC (at least for this year), each team receives one bye week during conference play, and Carolina's turn comes up this week.

Way back when the ACC schedule was released in September, I wrote in this column that the timing of the bye – between ACC games 11 and 12 – was "close to perfect" due to its placement about two-thirds of the way through the schedule and coming off of a stretch of rivalry games. Good news: I still feel that way, and so does Carolina head coach Courtney Banghart.

"It's been a mental and physical grind here since December 26th, when we came back (from Christmas break) and practiced," she explained on her radio show Holding Court this week.

Sure, you'd prefer to get here off of a three-game win streak instead of a three-game losing streak, but the chance to truly get "back in the lab" and refocus with one less game to prepare for is a golden opportunity when a few games in a row haven't gone the Tar Heels' way. Tuesday and Wednesday of this week are normal practice days, and days that Banghart said are "focused on us." Think two preseason practices smack in the middle of February. Those are practices that are the full-season equivalent of drawing up a play on the whiteboard in the huddle.

"Part of it is getting the chance to reload and regroup," Banghart said. "And then some really pointed growth on the offensive end, what we think makes sense for our next steps."

By week's end, Carolina will turn its attention to Duke and the rivalry that awaits on Sunday. The Tar Heels come out of their "season timeout" huddle with a lot of basketball left. It's time to see how the stretch run plays out.

"It's a good chance to have one less thing to think about and really focus on ourselves," Banghart said.

Here's what else caught my eye this week…

Playing for a Cause

Sunday's game with Virginia Tech was the Tar Heels' annual Play4Kay game in support of breast cancer awareness. Fans received pink t-shirts, while many others wore their own pink clothing items in lieu of the customary Carolina blue. The Tar Heels' uniforms featured pink accents in the normally-blue argyle pattern and neckline, and several players wore pink shoes. Banghart wore a custom-painted pair of Jordans designed by Director of Operations Jessika Carrington. The pink and blue shoes contained the message "When life kicks you, let it kick you forward."

The significance of using the rapidly growing platform of women's basketball to spread awareness, honor survivors, and remember those lost to breast cancer is meaningful to many, including the Tar Heels' head coach.

"There's a lot of people in this world who have suffered or have lost to a terrible disease," Banghart said postgame. "To be able to shed light and send some love and recognition, and hopefully some continued support, we're really grateful to be able to use our platform to do such a thing."

Z's Critical Minutes
Throughout her Carolina career, senior Alexandra Zelaya has been the definition of a team player. Always one of the most vocal players in practices and in preparatory film and scouting sessions, Zelaya might not play every game, but seems to always make an impact whenever her number is called. When Banghart summoned Zelaya, one of her first recruits at Carolina, into the game on Thursday at NC State, she had played only three minutes since January 4th. Yet over the two games this week, Zelaya played 29 total minutes and helped to clog the lane defensively against the NC State and Virginia Tech post threats. Not only that, but she hit a pair of threes in the Virginia Tech game – her first career game with multiple made triples. Without Zelaya, the Heels and Hokies don't even get to overtime. It was because of that offense that Zelaya played the final 11:39 of regulation.

"Z is able to space the floor because she's shot-willing," Banghart explained while praising Zelaya's screen-setting instincts. "She (understands) how to create space for her teammates."

Staying Disruptive
The Tar Heels and Hokies know each other extremely well. That's what happens when you've played nine times since January 2021, and the last four matchups have come down to the final play of regulation. So when Banghart and the Tar Heels were tasked with setting up their defense while trailing by two with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, Carolina went to a zone. The normally steady-handed Georgia Amoore, an All-American point guard last season and trending toward a repeat of the honor, was flummoxed when Lexi Donarski and Indya Nivar swarmed her at the elbow. Out came the ball, and Nivar was off to the races to finish a reverse layup to tie the game.

The turnover was one of 17 forced by Carolina in Sunday's game – against a team that came into the day ninth nationally with fewer than 12 per game.

Tech Head Coach Kenny Brooks admitted in his postgame press conference that the defensive switch-up caught his team by surprise.

"We just anticipated it coming a little bit sooner," Brooks said, adding his team also didn't get the shot they wanted on the ensuing possession. "It did throw us off there a little bit."

Up Next
The next game action is another rivalry showdown, this time the shortest trip of them all: just up 15-501 to Cameron Indoor Stadium and a date with the Duke Blue Devils. Sunday's game marks the 107th matchup between the two foes, and Carolina will arrive to the game on a four-game regular season win streak over Duke, searching for its first three-game win streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1992-1994. However, Duke took the win in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals a season ago to deny a three-game season sweep for the Tar Heels in 2023. While this rivalry has grown and developed through the years, current Duke and Carolina are both known for elite defense. Proof? The last two matchups have been the lowest scoring games in series history – a 45-41 UNC win at Cameron in the regular season finale last year, and a 44-40 Duke win in the aforementioned ACC Tournament game.

This game Sunday tips at 2:00 p.m. We'll be on the air at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday 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.

Additionally, the next Holding Court with Courtney Banghart tapes on Tuesday, Feb. 13 at noon at the Sheraton Chapel Hill. As a reminder, the show is open to the public, and we hope to see you there! If you can't make it, catch the show on the Tar Heel Voices Podcast Channel or on Wednesday night, Feb. 14, at 7:00 p.m. on WCHL 97.9 FM/1360 AM.

That's all for now. Go Heels!

-Matt