NEW YORK, NY – Now that North Carolina has stepped away some from the grind of game preparation and actual battles versus high-caliber opponents, the Tar Heels are taking a broad view of where they are as a team and have some quality self time.
UNC doesn’t play again until Saturday when they meet Kentucky in Atlanta as part of the CBS Sports Classic. The No. 14 Wildcats will be one of No. 9 Carolina’s toughest opponents this season, but for now, there won’t be any talk of UK, Oklahoma, which comes a few days after, or the ACC.
This week is mostly about Carolina, and its coach was looking forward to it moments after the 87=76 loss to Connecticut last Tuesday night..
"These next 10 days, they've got finals, but it's also an opportunity to work on us,” Hubert Davis said at Madison Square Garden. “Over the last month, specifically over the last, and this is something that I told the team in the last two and a half weeks we've been practicing, but we've been preparing for games.
“Now we have an opportunity to practice on us over the next (week-plus). So I'm really excited about getting back and doing that.”
The Heels stand at 7-2 overall, 1-0 in the ACC, and at times have shown flashes of a team that could develop into a significant player come NCAA Tournament time. But there have also been stretches in which some old problems have surfaced, and some new ones.
Among them is rebounding. Last year, a taller but less athletic UNC team was No. 26 nationally in rebound margin at plus-5.4 per game, but that’s through the whole of the 33-game season. The Heels were also No. 12 in adjusted defensive rebounding.
Through nine games this season, four of which have been against mid-majors or lower, the Heels are No. 62 in adjusted defensive rebounding, and they are 90th in rebound margin at plus-4.9. UConn out-boarded the Heels, 43-33, last week.
“Just the little things,” fifth-year forward Armando Bacot said Tuesday, when asked what can be improved during this self time. “We are a smaller team this year, so we’ve got to make sure we are all boxing out as a team, doing those things, and really just following the game plan. I thought we were a little loose in some points.”
Davis doesn’t often bring up aspects of his team without being prompted, but he has three times in the last week-plus about the work on the glass. It was a point of emphasis following the loss to the Huskies.
Is it crashing the boards on the offensive end, as the Heels’ second-chance point opportunities are also down, and/or is it a simple matter of not boxing out enough?
“It's both,” Carolina’s coach replied. “I want to be one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. Every day we talk about three, four and five, get to the offensive glass. So to be able to get second chance opportunities.
“That's just something I believe in and on the defensive end, just boxing out and making contact first and limiting teams to one shot every possession. That's just huge rebounding, if you can win that battle you're going to put yourself in a position with whomever you play. We've got to do a better job boxing out and making contact.”
There is also something the players call “the little things.”
That encompasses attention to detail, the vocal structure of the defense, and areas that don’t usually show up in box scores.
This shouldn’t come as any surprise given that only four scholarship players are back from last year’s club, with five transfers and two freshmen joining the roster. Little things are often a product of on-court chemistry, which remains a work in progress.
Senior guard RJ Davis offered his take.
“We have to improve I just think the little things,” he said. “Talking on the defensive end, taking care of turnovers, and just getting into our transition offense. I think that’s what’s going to make us take the next step. There’s so much potential with this team.”
Davis, who has averaged 26.6 points per game over Carolina’s last five contests, also said this break comes at a good time. Final exams, a little bit of healing (he was scraped and clawed by the Huskies), smoothing some edges, and perhaps adding some tweaks are all on tap between now and the trip to Atlanta.
Most of the team’s arrows are pointed in the right direction, but the ones that aren’t will get a great deal of attention here over the next week, as the Tar Heels focus on themselves, and only themselves.
