TALLAHASSEE, FL – Pete Nance has been different the last few games.

Keen observers might not be required to have seen this. He has been more active, bouncier, and appeared to play with more juice than during his six-week slump that saw the Northwestern transfer produce very little outside of a big performance in a win at Syracuse in late January.

Nance missed three games and almost all of a fourth after injuring his lower back in early January. Sitting on elevated cushions, wearing heated braces around his lower back, and excess stretching had become norms for the 6-foor-11 forward to just tolerate being on the court.

He didn’t make excuses, though, even as his numbers generated a swell of criticism from social media. Asked multiple times during that stretch if the back was affecting his play, Nance never took the bait.

So, after he put together a third consecutive quality performance in a 77-66 win at Florida State on Monday night, Nance was asked if maybe he was in a bit of physical distress during the rough period.

**************************************************************************************

Remember, for just $8.33 a month, YOU CAN BE A TAR HEELS INSIDER, TOO!!!

***************************************************************************************

“I hadn’t been feeling it,” Nance said, while literally knocking on wood. “I think I’ve just really tried to be a lot more active just in general. I think that’s the one good thing about basketball, is you can learn a lot of things, it’s not just about scoring.

“During that stretch when I was having a hard time putting the ball in the basket, I had to turn and look at what I can do and how can I help this team while I’m in this slump.”

Nance finished with 15 points at the Tucker Center two days after pouring in 22 in a win over Virginia. He is 7-for-10 from the perimeter in the last two games after converting just six threes since the loss at Pittsburgh on December 30.

Nance had 10 rebounds in a win at Notre Dame, which was the beginning of this stretch, and at FSU. He has nine assists in the last three games, 48 points, five blocked shots, two steals, and is 15-for-15 at the free throw line.

The free throws indicate a change in Nance’s game more than anything else.

In the nine games before going to South Bend, Nance didn’t even attempt a free throw in six contests. More aggressive, more assertive, more decisive, quicker, and bouncier are ways to describe his recent performances. Maybe healthier, too. And not just physically.

"I think he's playing very loose right now,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said Monday night. “I think he's extremely comfortable out there on the floor on both ends. Offensively, I think he has a nice rhythm shooting the ball from three-point range. His ability to make plays and to pass and give us another playmaker. I think he's rebounding better.

“I really feel like he's starting to hit his groove and feel really comfortable out there on the floor."

Nance was open last weekend discussing the effects of not performing to everyone’s expectations, including his own. As much as he tries to avoid social media, where he was taking a verifiable beating from UNC fans, he couldn’t completely dodge the comments.

But much like the whole Carolina (19-11, 11-8 ACC) team, Nance appears to play with more mental freedom now, less cluttered upstairs, and as a result, he has more confidence, and it shows in his play. Two road blocks – lower back and psyche – may no longer be issues.

From a purely basketball perspective, Davis moving Nance to the top on offense more, aside from occasionally setting high ball screens, has made a difference, too.

Because he is moving better, Nance can make more things happen from the free throw lane area. He can shoot it, dump the ball down to Armando Bacot (did it twice at Notre Dame), kick it out to open shooters on the wings, dribble effectively to make defenses commit to him, and flip the ball out to a nearby guard for a wide open three with him serving as a pseudo screener, as he did one time in the first half at FSU.

“That’s definitely one of my strong suits,” Nance said. “I feel like is distributing from the top of the floor and trying to make plays from up there. We’ve been running a lot of actions when I do have the ball up there where I end up being up top.”

Up top on the floor and on top of his game, Nance has quieted the Negative Nancys while uplifting the Tar Heels.