CHARLOTTE – Rumors have swirled about how North Carolina fared in its not-so-secret scrimmage last Saturday at Florida Atlantic. Wednesday, aspects of what the Tar Heels did were confirmed by the Heels themselves.
Carolina defeated the Owls by nearly 20 points, though the score was not specifically confirmed as the players discussed it some during the ACC Tipoff. But veterans Armando Bacot and RJ Davis were quite pleased with how the new-look Heels performed.
A few notes: FAU returns many of its players that led it to the Final Four last season; and the Owls started four guards, so the Heels embraced the challenge of facing a dribble-drive group, which is exactly the kind of team that has given UNC trouble in recent years.
“We can compete, and I don’t want to jinx us, but we looked real good defensively,” Bacot said at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown. “That was really encouraging for me. I really thought we would struggle against FAU because they had experienced guys, they had been playing with each other, made the run, they’ve got four guards that can all score off the dribble.
“So, I really honestly, going into that game I didn’t know what to expect. But it was real encouraging how we defended, how we played smart.”
The Tar Heels used the bench a lot, and head coach Hubert Davis had a chance to look at a variety of player groupings on the court. And that Carolina didn’t need preseason first-team AP All-American Bacot to produce as he will in the regular season is another noteworthy positive from the team’s trip to South Florida.
“We made a lot of mistakes, I didn’t have a great game, and we won by a lot,” Bacot said. “So that just shows this year we’ve got depth and we’ve got a lot of guys that are ready to play.”
As well as the Tar Heels did, RJ Davis says the next step for the team is to sustain playing at a high level on every possession.
“It was encouraging,” he said. “We did a lot of great things in the scrimmage. But I think the key thing for us is the little details. We played good defense for a possession for a long time, and just that little mistake; like a missed box out or something, or close out middle drive. It’s like the little things, but we did a lot of good things.
“It’s encouraging the way we played, the way we made up for each other’s mistakes, and how we listened to coach’s game plan. This team is so dialed-in to wanting to be great and wanting to be there for each other. The ball movement was there, we were there for each other on defensive rotation. It was encouraging because you could see the potential that we can get to. So, I was definitely impressed.”
Asked what was clearly different from last year’s team, based on the vibe he got during the intense “game,” Bacot immediately noted one specific.
“The trust was there,” he said. “And I think that was a huge problem for us last year. We didn’t do a good job of trusting each other. But this year, I’m confident enough to go block that shot weakside because I know Cormac will be there; he’ll be in front of my man who won’t get an easy dunk.
“And I think that’s something coaches have been trying to hammer into us.”
Carolina hosts St. Augustine’s on Friday night in an exhibition game, and the No. 17 Tar Heels open the regular season November 6 at home versus Radford.
