ATLANTA – It’s safe to say Georgia Tech basketball coach Josh Pastner thinks very highly of the North Carolina Tar Heels.

The Yellow Jackets’ coach wasn’t exactly gushing about Roy Williams’ team following the Tar Heels’ 77-54 victory over Pastner’s team Tuesday night at McCamish Pavilion, but he certain lathered up the Heels. And it came off as quite genuine.

Pastner’s comments were also interesting in that just three days earlier, his team lost 66-53 at Duke in a game the Jackets led by eight points fairly early in the second half. So Pastner wasn’t blowing smoke, he’s not one of those political coaches that says everyone his team plays is great.

So, what Pastner had to say was interesting enough we decided to cobble it together so you can rad for yourself:

*In his opening comments…

“They (UNC) are as good as any team in country.”

*Later in his opening statement…

“I think they are really good and are playing at a really high level. They just had that stretch there in the second half just like Coach Williams said where they looked like a national championship team…

“Coach Williams told me after the game when I was shaking his hand ‘That was our best ten minutes we’ve played all year long. If we play like that, we will win the national championship.’”

*Pastner then discussed his team again before going back to the Tar Heels…

“I had told our staff in our staff meetings the last few days, I just said ‘Carolina’s really good, I think people are sleeping on them,’” Tech’s coach said. “I know they’re ninth in the country, but no one’s really talking about them, I think they’re really good, they’re playing at a very, very high level and they were playing at a high level before coming into this game. And they had that stretch there in those 10 minutes where… they looked like a national championship team.”

*After discussing some of his players, and when concluding his seven-plus minute opening statement, Pastner expressed how impressed he is with UNC’s Cam Johnson, who finished Tuesday's game with 22 points.

“I think Cameron Johnson, and I said this before the game, I said last night on my radio show, Cameron Johnson right now, if you look at the league, he and (Louisville’s) Jordan Nwora are playing like players of the year in the ACC the way they’re both playing…,” Pastner said. “Cameron Johnson’s at a very, very high level. He’s been like that all ACC.”

*In response to a question about the difference between competing with Duke and then not competing against Carolina, Pastner listed several reasons about his team before making clear statements about two Tar Heels.

“Coby White (19 points, eight assists) and Cameron Johnson… are high level guys,” he said. “They’re both probably NBA players, especially Cameron Johnson.”