In a year full of new experiences, yet another awaits a vast majority of North Carolina’s players next week in Indianapolis.
The Tar Heels’ ACC Tournament run came to an end on Friday night as they lost 69-66 to No. 2 seed Florida State in the semifinals, ending their three-day, three-game run in the Greensboro Coliseum.
Despite the loss, UNC played some of its best basketball this past week, particular in victories over Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.
Players like freshman guard RJ Davis, who posted 14 points against the Irish before scoring a season-high 19 against the Hokies, stepped up at important times.
And he wasn’t the only young Tar Heel to do so, either.
Freshman forward Walker Kessler nearly had a triple-double against the Irish, finishing with 16 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocks. Kessler’s eight rejections set a UNC ACC Tournament record and an ACC Tournament freshman record.
Another freshman big in Day’Ron Sharpe, who started in place of an injured Garrison Brooks against the Irish, nearly had a triple-double, too, pitching in 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the victory before scoring 10 points in 21 minutes against the Hokies.
Even freshman guard Caleb Love showed more signs of growth, shooting 7-for-18 from three-point land in Greensboro, including 3-for-6 against Notre Dame and 3-for-5 against the Seminoles, where he was also the Heels’ leading scorer with 13.
Those positive contributions should give Carolina some momentum going into Indiana next week where, according to many projections, it will between a seven and nine seed.
“I think we just found out how deep we are, and we’ve really got guys that come in and give us a lift off the bench,” Love said after Friday night’s loss. “We really can play 10, 12 guys.”
For all but four scholarship players on the Heels’ 17-man roster, including Brooks, Leaky Black, Andrew Platek, and Sterling Manley, playing in an NCAA Tournament game will be a new experience.
Brooks has by far the most NCAA experience on Carolina’s roster. He averaged 15.0 minutes in Carolina's 2018 squad that was a No. 2 seed in its region and was bumped in the second round of the tournament by Texas A&M. Brooks started for a team that was a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region the following season, averaging 19.2 minutes before the Tar Heels were eliminated by Auburn in the Sweet 16. He is the only Tar Heel with significant NCAA experience.
Need more proof of just how inexperienced this club is in the big dance? UNC as a program has only played five games in the NCAA Tournament since winning it back in 2017.
While trying to carry momentum from a conference tournament into the NCAA Tournament presents its own set of challenges, there is no doubt the Tar Heels are going to Indianapolis carrying confidence following their recent performances and obvious growth, particularly from its young players.
“Obviously, we hurt, but I guess we fought back, saw some stuff we could take away from that…” Bacot said on Friday night, initially referencing the loss to FSU. “I feel like we got better as a team this week and we can carry that on into the tournament.”
Another new experience awaits, but Love is ready for the next challenge, too.
“That's all I care about is winning, just winning one game at a time, focusing on the game ahead of us and just trying to win,” he said. “Just doing whatever I can to get us a win and my teammates being locked in and coaches just lifting us so we can get this National Championship.”
