AJ: Finding Some Answers

LAS VEGAS – Yeah, the transformation of North Carolina’s basketball team is indeed in full swing.

With 12 games in the books, Roy Williams has more than enough intel to decipher who’s most likely to help the Tar Heels moving forward and who isn’t. The thing is, it’s actually not him making that determination, he’s following the rule employed by great scientists:

Mix the potions, look at the data and respect the results.

And after nearly two months of juggling one beaker after another, it appears Williams has found something he and his team can build on. The depleted Tar Heels are better with Jeremiah Francis and Anthony Harris playing major roles. There. Said. Done.

That was certainly the case Saturday during a 74-64 victory over UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic at T-Mobile Arena. Without either, the Tar Heels probably would have lost. They were and likely are a different team with the freshmen guards on the floor.

As a result, a few older players lost minutes. And that’s life playing for a blue blood and one of the greatest and most demanding coaches ever.

“I pointed at three or four guys in the locker room, and I said ‘Do you want to play? You didn't play much in the second half. If you want to play, play better,’” Williams said after the game.

Andrew Platek and Christian Keeling have had ample time to weave their smarts and experience into established roles, using consistency to cement their relevance, but neither has taken advantage of their opportunity.

Let’s face it, Williams and many observers have waited for the light to go on for Keeling, triggering an emergence of the guy who scored 1,700 points at Charleston Southern, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Platek has had two-plus seasons, and as the team’s best shooter, at least in practice, he hasn’t transferred that marksmanship to game situations.

They remain important pieces to UNC’s march forward, but likely in diminished roles.

Junior K.J. Smith started for the third consecutive game in Cole Anthony’s absence, but after playing only seven minutes in the first half, the son of UNC legend Kenny Smith got one more chance, but was removed two minutes into the second half and did not play again. In fact, when Francis next came out of the game with just under seven minutes remaining, Leaky Black, turf toe squashing his lateral quickness and all, was at the point.

Francis and Harris made plenty of mistakes Saturday, but they also made things and their snafus were the kind a coach can live with, especially one whose team has spent most of this season not handling rough stretches very well.

That’s why he went back to Harris, though the Virginia native’s first entry wasn’t until 2:56 remained in the first half. He ended up playing 17 minutes scoring 14 points shooting 5-for-7 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from the perimeter. Harris scored 12 points during a 23-11 UNC run from the 12:19 mark until 3:28 remained. It as the decisive stretch of the game.

Harris brings amazing energy to the floor, something the Heels have needed. He also brings a different level of athleticism. He’s the only healthy Heel who can consistently drive to the basket from any spot on the floor and he has some moxie.

“He's a tough guy,” junior forward Garrison Brooks said. “He works extremely hard, one of the hardest workers I've ever seen in the weight room myself. But he just, he has like a Kenny Williams affect.

“Just really tough on defense, going to do everything Coach says and just gets the job done no matter what.”

Francis is certainly the answer at point guard with Anthony out and he might keep the job moving Anthony over after he returns. The offense flows better when he’s out there and he’s always looking to find a teammate. The kid went 990 days without playing in a competitive game until two weeks ago and 1,000 days between games scoring in double figures, a stretch that ended with his positive performance Wednesday at Gonzaga.

Even though Francis was just 1-for-8 from the floor, he scored 12 points (9-for-10 from the free throw line), handed out four assists and was plus-16 on the floor during hs 28 minutes of action. He made a difference.

So did Harris, and for the first time in a few weeks, there’s optimism hovering above the Carolina program.

Yale and 18 ACC games remain before the postseason, and Anthony will be back. When he returns, the Tar Heels will look a lot different than when he went down, and the tea leaves suggest they will be a lot better, too.