CHAPEL HILL – There’s a big difference between North Carolina’s disposition heading into the NCAA Tournament this year as opposed to this time 12 months ago.
The Tar Heels a No. 1 seed with six losses now instead of a two seed with 10 losses like last year, so they’re certainly more confident, they are saying, but the Heels also have a different source of fuel.
Consider that the current seniors were on teams that advanced to the national championship as freshmen and sophomores, losing on a buzzer-beater in 2016 and cutting down the nets in 2017. So, going into last year’s tournament, perhaps the drive wasn’t as fortified as it was the previous two years.
It’s also something that has returned, courtesy of the lessons learned from being drubbed by Texas A&M in the second round last March.
“I honestly think we caught ourselves looking ahead a little bit too much,” said senior Cam Johnson, who was not on the championship game teams but was a start a year ago. “Not like ‘Texas A&M’s not going to be very good, we should beat them easy,’ I don’t think we were as mentally focused on the game as we should have been.
“The main thing that I try to convey and that we all are understanding is that it takes 40 minutes of a B-minus effort can get your butt kicked in this tournament. That’s how our season last year was remembered… So, we want to change that.”
Senior forward Luke Maye, who was on the 2016 and '17 clubs, said there’s a huge difference between the Heels’ collective mindset as their opener in the NCAA Tournament versus No. 16 seed Iona is fast approaching.
“You can’t take any game for granted and you can’t be looking forward,” he said.
After a so-so performance in taking out No. 15 seed Lipscomb, the second-seeded Tar Heels were pounded by the seventh-seeded Aggies, 86-65. Carolina was outrebounded 43-27 that afternoon.
A&M shot 51.7 percent from the floor while UNC converted only 33.3 percent of its field goal attempts. What’s amazing given the final score is that Carolina led 20-13 midway through the first half before falling apart. The Ags outscored the Heels 73-45 over the final 30 minutes of the contest.
Kenny Williams echoed what Johnson said and then some.
“We’re going to have to be locked in at all times,” he said. “Whether it be a film session, whether it be practice or just a shoot around we have to be locked in. We can’t let a minute go where we’re not 100 percent focused on what we’re doing.”
This is also about enjoying the ride and having fun. You can be locked in while still goofing off when the time calls and simply having a blast.
Roy Williams knows this, so in an attempt to get his group into the right mental place, asked his veterans a simple but telling question during Monday’s practice.
“At the huddle in practice, I started practiced and I asked Kenny and Luke ‘What’s the most fun you’ve ever had in basketball,’ and they said the run to the national championship, those three weeks.
“So, I said, ‘Well, you’ve got an opportunity to do something similar here but we’ve got to play great.’”
Play great, play focused all the time and don’t get caught looking ahead.
That recipe worked just dandy in 2016 and 2017, and it appears the 2019 squad has embraced it once again.
