CHAPEL HILL – The stress meter has been high around the Smith Center of late.
Very high, actually.
Three losses in a row and clearly regressing across the board in performance will do that to a team, especially one that wears North Carolina’s laundry and carries the expectations of always meeting the program’s standard.
Underachieving players, underachieving team, and a swarm of heat form all angles are undeniable to the Tar Heels.
“I’ve been here for three years, I can tell when guys are playing with confidence and when guys are playing not with confidence,” junior guard Seth Trimble said. “When guys are always thinking about someone on the court. It’s my job now, I’m a vet, I’m a leader, so it’s my job to keep their heads high when things are going bad.”
Yet, Trimble is only a teammate. He can’t make shots to lift RJ Davis’ confidence, or bang with success to enhance how Jalen Washington feels about his game right now. He can’t slow down Jae’Lyn Withers’ rushed play or minimize Elliot Cadeau’s rash of turnovers.
He can talk to teammates and try to lead. But UNC’s issues, of which lacking apparent leadership is one, is greater than that. It has many prongs, and is why the Heels’ recent three-game losing streak took place, and near-miss wins over Dayton and Georgia Tech were simply escapes.
It’s been a while since Carolina has looked like Carolina, and it’s weighing on the team.
“A hundred percent,” veteran guard RJ Davis replied, when asked if the stress on the team is extensive. “This year, I think overall everyone wants to have a really good year, and rightfully so individually and as a team. For us to play like I know we can, we’ve just got to relax a little bit.
“I think we’re trying to be too perfect, even myself. Just go out there and play basketball. Play together and have fun.”
The ACC Player of the Year last season, Davis has been far from perfect, and it’s something he openly discussed following a 68-65 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday at the Smith Center. He’s shooting only 35.1% from the field, including a surprisingly low 24.3% on 70 attempts from 3-point range.
Washington, who is UNC’s tallest player at 6-foot-10 and its starting center, has averaged 2.8 points and 4.6 rebounds over the last five games. And Cadeau, regarded as one of the top point guards in the nation, has 24 assists and 23 turnovers in the last five games.
“Sometimes, I think you can put too much pressure on yourself and it takes the joy out of it and you don’t really play like how you know to,” said Davis, who is fourth all-time on UNC’s scoring list with 2,251 points.
“That’s really the main message at the end of the day, because sometimes, we get lost in our feelings when shots are not falling and we’re not executing the right plays because internally we’re not there on the court.”
Winning, however, can solve a lot of problems. Some of the players said they were relieved walking off the court with a win Saturday, even though overall the team did not play well.
Yet, they eked out a win, found a way to survive, and got a little positivity back. UNC (5-4, 1-0 ACC) Coach Hubert Davis agreed the team has played under stress. But he also believes getting a win Saturday gives them the spring needed to use the win as a springboard.
“Yes, I do,” he said. “You feel a lot better after a win than you do after a loss. We needed something good to happen to us.”
The Tar Heels don’t play again until Saturday when Atlantic-10 member LaSalle visits the Smith Center. By then, the Heels will have not tasted defeat in 11 days and will have a whole week with that coming-off-a-win mojo.
Stress may hang around for a while, but at least the Tar Heels now have a dose of good stuff fueling them for a week.
