'Great' Practices Aren't Translating Into UNC's Games

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WINSTON-SALEM – There is an age-old saying in sports, or anything skill-related that goes, ‘practice makes perfect.’

On the surface, that is an adage to live by, but it doesn’t always come to fruition, as North Carolina is finding out these days.

The Tar Heels had two of their best practices of the season Sunday and Monday, in between a narrow loss at Duke and a date at Wake Forest on Tuesday night. But their performance versus the Demon Deacons showed no correlation to the two days before, as the Heels fell 92-85 in a game that wasn’t nearly as competitive as the score indicates.

Two great practices led to one horrible performance, in which UNC trailed by 22 points at halftime, by as many as 26, and by 24 with less then 15 minutes remaining.

“Yeah, I don't know, that's what I don't get,” UNC senior forward Armando Bacot said following the loss at Joel Coliseum. “We had two good days of practices, and I thought no question we were going to come into this game and win. Then we get out there and it's like we are not communicating.

“I just feel like we are more worried about ourselves, and it’s discouraging because I want to win, that's why I came back; coaches want to win.”

As loose as the Heels appeared during warmups Tuesday, they tightened as soon as Wake began a game-changing 19-4 run to take a 24-9 lead. In spite of a late push by the Heels, the game was essentially over at that point. Yet, there was still time for Carolina to get back in the game before it was completely out of hand, but that required executing the plan and what was worked on in practice since falling at Duke.

But there was zero connection between that group and the one that took the floor Tuesday.

Following the loss to Wake, some of the players, as well as UNC Coach Hubert Davis, openly acknowledged the team has chemistry issues. That, obviously, could be and likely is part of the problem in connecting practices to games.

The whole idea that this isn’t translating may be as much a source of frustration right now as anything.

“It’s tough, because to have great practices leading up to the game, and then a great shoot around and great energy, and then for it not to translate, it definitely is tough,” said junior guard Caleb Love. “I just feel like we’ve got to have a head about ourselves. We’ve got to play like we’re desperate to win. We’ve got to care about the game.”

Davis often references outside noise being a factor. A year ago, it was the negative noise enveloping the team before it made a magical run to the national championship game. This past fall, it was the complete opposite. The Heels were the preseason No. 1 team and brashly called this season “championship or bust.” So, the noise echoed the hype.

Now, the chatter has returned to negativity. And it’s cascading down a steep slope like an avalanche.

"It's a great question. I don't know…,” Davis said, when asked why practices don’t translate into games. “I think I've said that before that every time that I speak to the team, I'm speaking to 30 to 40 voices, they’re not just a team, the voices of families, the voices of friends, the voices of phones, the voices of agents, the voices of workout guys.

“And that's why that I tell them to turn down the noise from the phone, the family, and the friends, and that's why I give them Bible verses like Proverbs 4:25 and tell them to ignore all sideshow distractions, and keep your eyes straight ahead. Because the people and the teams that are able to do that best are the ones that have a better chance of being successful."

The Tar Heels sit at 15-9 overall and 7-6 in a weakened ACC. Their chances at “running it back” are contingent on reaching the NCAA Tournament, which likely wouldn’t happen if the 68 spots were filled at this time.

If the practices are a good as the players and Davis say, that’s certainly part of the process. But connecting that to games is what counts the most, and the Heels are struggling in that department.