Trusting The Process

CHAPEL HILL – Nassir Little has an introspective side to his personality. He’s a thinker, someone who’s comfortable self-examining but grounded to not get worked up when things aren’t going as designed.

Those qualities have anchored the North Carolina freshman forward through the first near-three months of his inaugural season as a Tar Heel. They are attributes for sure, perhaps his greatest ones that will stick for a lifetime. And they’ve also already been tested.

Little arrived at UNC decorated as the No. 2 player in the nation in the class of 2018 and projected as a top-five lottery pick in next summer’s NBA draft. He was a certain One-And-Done player who was going to step onto Carolina’s campus and take over.

Move over Luke Maye, Nassir Little had arrived. Move over Cameron Johnson, move over Kenny Williams and anyone else, this was going to be Little’s team. He was going to do for UNC what so many ballyhooed prep stars have for loathed Kentucky and even more despised Duke in recent years, something many Tar Heels’ fans had apparently been thinking and craving.

It’s as if having some OAD stars, as they are often referenced, validates a program these days. So, despite a national championship in 2017 and a buzzer-beating national title game loss the year before, plenty of Carolina fans were singing the blues because they didn’t have any nationally-renowned phenoms on their beloved roster. Many believed something was wrong with Roy Williams’ program.

So along came Little. He was going to change all of that. He was going get back Carolina the street cred it once dominated back in the days of Jordan, Reid, Stackhouse and Carter.

Only that Little wasn’t delivering. And with that came criticism not so much of him, but his head coach and, according to some, the archaic manner he runs the UNC program.

Williams scoffed at the idea before a throng of national media in Chicago following a listless loss to Kentucky. The coach even defended himself, which he rarely does, noting that if he holds back freshmen why was rookie Coby White starting at point guard?

That didn’t matter to many, though. Perception is reality in the Twitter era where all it takes is 280 characters to present one’s thesis on pressing matters from border security to how many minutes a talented freshman basketball player should get.

So, the drumbeat continued even though Little’s play on the court didn’t warrant more than the 20 minutes a game he was getting. Yet, while an element of the masses was near-outraged suggesting ‘Ol Roy was holding him back, the kid from Orange Park, FL, wasn’t fixated on such things. He made that clear following UNC’s 21-point win over No. 10 Virginia Tech on Monday night, an evening in which Little, White and fellow freshman Leaky Black were integral in fueling a 20-0 run in the emphatic victory.

“We’ve got some pictures on social media talking about us three,” Little said, smiling. “It felt good to have that swag about us… There’s a stigma about North Carolina not playing freshmen, I think we were kind of vibing with that and rocking out how we play.”

Little brought up the stigma on his own. He’s not living under a rock, though he says he doesn’t pay attention to what’s being said. But it’s also inescapable, he admits.

“For sure,” Little said.

Does he channel that talk or simply deflect it?

“I wouldn’t say I deflect it,” he replied. “I acknowledge that it’s there, but you can’t let that dictate how you go about things. You acknowledge that it’s there, but at the end of the day you’ve got to do what you do.”

Little posted solid umbers versus the lower-tier opponents on UNC’s schedule during the nonconference portion of the schedule but struggled badly against the Power 5 teams and Gonzaga, a verifiable P5 from a mid-major conference.

Over UNC’s first nine contests versus Power 5 teams through the Louisville game, Little averaged 19.1 minutes, 6.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, .56 assists and 1.3 turnovers while shooting 29.3 percent from the field and 6 percent from 3-point range.

The 6-6 MVP of the two most notable all-star games last spring wasn’t happy, but he wasn’t dejected, either.

“Everybody looks for instant gratification, but I trust the process,” Little said. “If you knew me as a person, you’d know I’m willing to learn and get better each and every day. And I think that’s what I’ve been doing.”

He’s right.

In the last 44 minutes Little has been on the court, a span that goes back to his initial entry in the second half of a Jan. 15 win over Notre Dame, he’s scored 46 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, handed out four assists, registered three steals and blocked a shot. He’s 15-23 from the field and 14-16 from the free throw line.

Little’s game has gone to another level, a surge adorned by a pair of 3-pointers he converted 35 seconds apart in Monday’s win. Prior to those two treys, Little was 1-18 from beyond the arc versus Power 5 teams, but draining those shots put a bow on his sudden and dramatic uprising.

“I think just getting more comfortable,” Williams said during Monday’s postgame press conference. “I've been telling you guys all along that he's coming. He's coming, but it's just some guys it takes them a little while to get more comfortable than other guys.”

Kenny Williams has noticed a recent change in Little’s approach.

“(He’s) being more aggressive and attacking the basket; and that opened up his jump shot,” the senior guard said Monday night. “He hit a couple jump shots – hit a couple threes… That's all it's been. He's been more aggressive getting to the rim and once he gets into the paint there's not many people who can stop him because he's so explosive, he's so strong, he's so athletic – he just finishes on top of people.”

Little can serve almost as a wrecking ball inside. Similar to UNC’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder Tyler Hansbrough, who constantly went to the free throw line after racking up fouls on opposing bigs, Little has recently displayed that element in his game.

Even though foul trouble limited him to just 12 minutes at Miami, Little still led the Heels in drawing five fouls that afternoon. He drew five more versus the Hokies, and as a result is 13-15 from the line in the two games after converting just 66.7 percent from the stripe before this stretch.

“I think the way I play I can put a lot of pressure on the defense, especially in ACC play,” Little said. “A lot of the rotations have been tightened up, and if I can get their key guys in foul trouble that can also give us an advantage. So, me being able to get by the guy guarding me and making their defense have to foul is able to help us get a win.”

Little is known as an acrobatic dunker, and that’s what gets people out of their seats. But if the Tar Heels are going to contend for anything meaningful and he’s going to have a long career at the next level, making a living at the charity stripe will help those possibilities become realities.

That stuff may not make highlight reels, but they serve as a terrific complement to the elements of Little’s game that will be showcased. It’s a full game coming together, beginning with his mind and revealing itself on the court.

“It's really cool. He always had it in him, and now he's starting to put everything together,” White said, following Monday’s win. “He's going to become the monster everybody has been waiting for.”

And that might finally appease the baby blue masses.

*Following the win over Virginia Tech...

*Following the win at Miami...

*Following the win over Notre Dame...