Shorthanded Heels May Dig Deep Into The Bench At Wake
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina’s growing list of injury concerns means Roy Williams might need to dig into his bench if the Tar Heels want to get back to winning ways Saturday at Wake Forest.
UNC (19-5, 9-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) enters the matchup in Winston-Salem without freshman Leaky Black and sophomore Sterling Manley, who have missed a combined 16 games this season. The Tar Heels may also be without freshman Nassir Little, who injured his ankle less than two minutes after entering Monday’s loss to Virginia.
Senior Cam Johnson, who also inured his ankle in the game but returned, has been somewhat limited in practice this week but is expected to play.
With three players potentially out and Johnson still hobbled, UNC must adjust in how it’s preparing for the Demon Deacons (9-14, 2-9 Atlantic Coast Conference), as the reserves that rarely play are thrust into more important game-prep roles.
“You don’t do as well in your preparation for the other team for sure because you’re not getting that same kind of competition in practice,” Williams said Friday. “Our walk-on’s do a great job but you can pick any walk-on, he's not as athletic as Nassir and probably doesn't shoot as well as Cam.”
Not only has the Tar Heels’ preparation in practice changed, but the way they want to play on Saturday may also have to be altered.
“We rely on depth sometimes, we like to play at a fast pace, we like to enforce that on the other team,” Johnson said. “Obviously, without a couple players, you’re missing that a little bit. But it just means everybody else has to do a little bit more.”
While Brandon Robinson has stepped up in ACC play, playing more than 15 minutes in seven of UNC’s eleven conference games, so those minutes could go up until the Heels get healthier.
And coming off a loss, which was preceded by a so-so performance in barely beating Miami, the Heels can’t afford a mediocre performance against one of the league’s worst teams. To do that, reserves Seventh Woods, Brandon Huffman and Andrew Platek might be called on to play more than usual, so they need to make an impact.
Regardless, the mission is to cut the cord to Monday’s loss even if it means employing some makeshift lineups.
“We’ve got a bad taste in our mouth that we didn’t play very well in the last three, four, five, six minutes, whatever you want to pick, against Virginia,” Williams said. “We want to get that bad taste out of our mouths.”
Carolina has responded well to losses all season, and while on paper this game appears to be a mismatch, being shorthanded raises the level of the Heels’ challenge.
“(Saturday’s) a game that we really want to get,” Johnson said. “We want to come out and not have what happened on Monday happen (at Wake).”
Dispatching Wake by getting production from some of the unusual suspects will not only help move on from the UVA game, but infuse a good vibe into the Heels with Wednesday’s anticipated matchup at Duke just days away.