Lucas: The Right Words

By Adam Lucas

LEXINGTON—Carolina was having a bad practice.

It was Monday afternoon at the Smith Center, and Hubert Davis was frustrated. He'd tossed down his pullover in anger after a missed box-out. He'd blown his whistle. He'd made the Tar Heels run punishment sprints.

Nothing worked. "You have to understand," Davis told his team, "it means something to wear this NC on your chest. It means something to go into Rupp Arena and beat Kentucky. It means something to me. It has to mean something to you."

But practice still lagged. Every offensive rebound allowed by the white team (the usual starters) seemed to lead directly to a Jaydon Young three-pointer. "Make them keep running, Jaydon!" Davis shouted.

Finally, Seth Trimble had seen enough. As part of working his way back from his injury, he was riding a courtside exercise bike while the Tar Heels practiced. He hopped off the bike and walked down to the baseline. He signaled Davis for a timeout, called his teammates around him, and delivered a very pointed message.

"Every opportunity we get means something," he told them. "We just got run out of the gym last week and I don't see that anger and consistent fight. Kentucky is going to be desperate to win. And we have to show that same desperation starting right now."

The message from the senior leader connected. Practice improved. And the fight that started midway through Monday's practice carried them to a 67-64 win over Kentucky late on Tuesday night.

It wasn't pretty. There weren't a lot of highlights, unless you really adore offensive rebounds (Carolina had 20 of them and turned them into 22 points).

But as Kentucky struggled to execute, the Tar Heels began to come alive. Coming out of a Davis timeout with 2:37 remaining in a one-point game, Caleb Wilson handed out the last of his six assists, finding Luka Bogavac for a wide open corner three-pointer and a two-point lead.

Then, after another UNC timeout with just over a minute left, Carolina handed the game to freshman Derek Dixon. With Kyan Evans battling foul trouble and having an ineffective evening, Dixon played 24 minutes. He made just one of his first six shots, but then he made two when it mattered the most.

The first was a three-pointer when the play called in the timeout wasn't available. Dixon calmly stepped into a jumper and swished it.

"We weren't able to get the shot we were looking for," Davis said on the Tar Heel Sports Network after the game. "At that time, you have to make a play. And he did."

"The play didn't work out and I had to make a play," Dixon said on the THSN. "The shot clock was low, and that's the kind of thing I work on all the time."

The work paid off. Half a minute later, the ball was back in his hands in a tie game. Carolina at Kentucky, packed arena, marquee game of the ACC/SEC Challenge…and the Tar Heels turned to a freshman. No, not that one.

"The call was a high ball screen for me," Dixon said. "I waited on the screen and I was patient, which is something I've been working on. When I did that, the lane opened up for me and I was able to finish the layup."

That type of instinctive play in that situation in that environment is very hard to teach. You can coach the patience, remind Dixon in practice to let the play develop and allow all the angles to open. But in that moment, it was completely up to the freshman playing in his eighth college game.

He had options. Henri Veesaar was having a great game and is always around the rim. Wilson is a walking dunk. But: "If he has an angle and an edge, we want him to go ahead and finish it," Davis said.

Which is exactly what Dixon did, and that's why Carolina now has more wins against Kentucky (26) than any non-SEC team in history.

Since Trimble had the first words, the ones that jump-started the victory over 24 hours ago, it's only fair to give him the last words. In the wake of the win, many of the Tar Heels stayed at ESPN's courtside broadcast location to watch Dixon do his postgame television interview.

Then they sprinted back to the locker room at top speed. That is a joyous run. The formerly pulsating arena is stone silent. You're a little exhausted but a little overjoyed and you're screaming but you're out of breath in a very enjoyable way.

Most of the players were yelling, some were clapping, all were celebrating. As they rounded the corner and prepared to duck into the locker room, Trimble yelled, "Derek, you are one bad…"

Then he spotted some bystanders. "I'm so sorry," he said. "Excuse my language."

Absolutely no need to apologize, Seth. For the second time in two days, you said it exactly right.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Luka Bogavac

Derek Dixon

Kyan Evans

Seth Trimble

Henri Veesaar

Caleb Wilson

Jaydon Young

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