Lucas: The Vision

By Adam Lucas

TALLAHASSEE—In the wake of Carolina's 96-85 victory at Florida State on Monday night, RJ Davis was finishing his postgame interview on the Tar Heel Sports Network. As his stat line was recited to him—20 points on just nine shots, five assists, zero turnovers—he grinned.

But then he interrupted. "And a block!" he said. "Don't forget that block!"

That's right, he did have a second half blocked shot. And his delight in pointing out that seemingly meaningless play—hey, a blocked shot isn't meaningless when you're facing one of the three biggest teams in the country and they pretty clearly tried to bully you because of your size—illustrates exactly why Carolina is playing better basketball since their last Monday night game (we won't talk about that trip to Clemson).

The Tar Heels shot the ball well, making 55.2 percent from the field. They hit 38.5 percent from the three-point line. They made 71 percent from the free throw line—a number a little lower than they would like, but they had 31 attempts.

But all those gaudy offensive numbers weren't the difference makers. Instead, it was plays you'd instinctively recognize as, well, Carolina Basketball.

You know the types. It was Drake Powell fighting for an offensive rebound with under three minutes to play and earning another possession by knocking it off a Seminole. And then, a minute later, Ven-Allen Lubin doing the exact same thing.

Helped along by more minutes at the three, Powell is sneakily turning into a well-rounded player. On multiple occasions, he carved up the FSU defense by lofting a perfect pass over the rangy 'Noles, including one time when Dean Smith would have gleefully singled it out as "an assist the way we keep them" because it led to two free throws for Jalen Washington.

Powell was +13 in his 23 minutes of playing time; he is now a team-leading +56 in his last four games. That's a gaudy number for a freshman, and it's not simply because he's been posting big scoring numbers. It's because he's making good basketball plays for what suddenly looks like a capable—bordering on good—basketball team.

Part of the change is due to the competition. We all understand that. Carolina has played NC State, Virginia and Florida State instead of Auburn, Alabama and Florida. But the Heels aren't just scuffling past the second-tier opponents. They're cruising, and have now stacked not just four straight wins but four straight wins by an average of 14.0 points per game.

So why does this team look more like a team right now?

"We've all bought in to the little things," RJ Davis said on the THSN. "We're bringing energy and we are there for each other. Our mindset and mentality and energy is better. We know what's at stake and how good we can be, and our vision of what we can be is becoming more clear."

Which is why, in the wake of the win, both RJ Davis and Hubert Davis made a point to single out Cade Tyson. His numbers weren't huge. Fans weren't chanting his name and he missed his only two three-point attempts. But he made all three of his two-point shots—equaling his two-point basket production for his last 14 games played—while grabbing four rebounds, including one offensive board. He was good on defense, as it was his rotation with five minutes remaining that helped force an FSU shot clock violation.

"The guy I want to highlight is Cade Tyson," Hubert Davis told Jones Angell on the THSN. "I always tell the guys I never tell them when, what, or in what manner their number will be called, but when it is called their job and responsibility is to be ready. There have been times this season his number hasn't been called. But he has stepped up to the challenge the last two or three games. We don't win this game without Cade Tyson. He was our MVP tonight."

That kind of sentiment—the player who scored six points being called the MVP—is when you're starting to see a more typical Carolina basketball team. It's fun to watch someone light up the opponent for a big scoring night, and RJ Davis certainly had his share of big baskets on Monday night. The wins are starting to give the Tar Heels just the tiniest bit of swagger; it was enjoyable when the rangy Christian Nitu starting clapping in Davis' face on defense, and the reigning ACC Player of the Year promptly swished a three-pointer in his grill.

But it's more fun to watch a team that plays cohesively. Carolina put six players in double figures for the first time since the Kansas game. In the same way that you could watch some of the games a month ago and instantly recognize that maybe this was not a postseason-worthy group, this new iteration is starting to look like the complete opposite. Early second half foul trouble forces both Ven-Allen Lubin and Jalen Washington to the bench? No problem, just change the rotation and slide a couple players into different positions. Florida State is torching the man-to-man? Give them a different look with a zone and force them to think about their offense. Facing one of the tallest teams in the nation? The Heels will just dominate them on the boards, 35-21, and get a whopping 24 second chance points.

A month ago, Carolina was a team that needed everything to go right, and one piece of adversity was an instant loss. That's not the case anymore, at least not against this part of the schedule.

They still have work to do. But as they sit here at 17-11, what are they? If they have this newfound crisper vision of their potential, what do they see?

"We're a really good basketball team," RJ Davis said. "We might be undersized but we don't lack heart and we're resilient. We've bought in to being a gritty team."

And don't forget that block.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

RJ Davis

Ven-Allen Lubin

Drake Powell

Cade Tyson

Jalen Washington

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