What Will Heels Remember From This Season?

GREESNBORO – At some point over the next month or so, North Carolina’s basketball players will try to process their disappointing season that formally came to an end Sunday evening.

UNC was not included in the NCAA Tournament field of 68 teams, and then declined an opportunity to play in the NIT, concluding its season at 20-13. The team reportedly voted on it, with most of the Tar Heels opting to not play anymore this season.

The decision came as no surprise to anyone that was in Carolina’s locker room following its loss to Virginia in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament on Thursday night. Inside that room, most Heels were slow to change out of their uniforms, perhaps because many knew it was the last time this team would be in Carolina blue together.

Maybe it's beause the players werre simply drained, emotionally and mentally more than physically. This season was a grind, with the plummet they experienced taking an internal toll.

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It was the last time fifth-year forward Leaky Black would wear the fabled jersey. Yet, he was one of the few players that had already showered by the time members of the media were allowed in the locker room.

“I’m not sure, I really feel kind of numb,” Black responded when asked what went through his mind when he changed out of his uniform. “It’s not hit me yet.”

Reflection during such a time isn’t easy, and usually is best served after time allowed for clearer perspective. But the questions still had to be asked of players on a team that began the season No. 1 in the nation and with a “championship or bust” motto.

Sometimes, raw reactions carry tremendous value, and are at least interesting, if nothing else. And now that the Tar Heels aren’t playing in any postseason for just the second time since 1966, and are the first preseason top-rated team to miss the NCAA Tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, what stands out to the Heels from this highly disappointing season?

“I’m not sure yet. I’m not sure yet,” Black said. “That’s a good question, I’m not sure yet.”

Carolina finished 20-13 and claimed just three wins over teams that are in the big dance. One was over NC State, which is an 11 seed, and another was over College of Charleston, a 12 seed that would not have gotten in without winning the CAA Tournament. Virginia, a 4 seed, was UNC’s other NCAA victim.

The losses, not the wins, were on the minds of the Heels, though, and it will probably stay that way until next season.

“Disappointing, especially with the expectations we had coming into the year,” junior forward Puff Johnson said. “You never want to lose games, and that’s just what happened too many times this season.”

The Tar Heels fell out of the poll from the top spot faster than any team in history, they were the first preseason No. 1 team to have a four-game losing streak, and they had two of them. They lost both games to Duke, finished 11-9 in a down ACC, and lost 12 or more regular season games for just the fifth time since 1952.

The peak of the season was Carolina winning 10 of 12 games beginning in mid-December. Wins over Ohio State in Madison Square Garden and Michigan in Charlotte were part of that run. A comfortable home victory over NC State was in that stretch, too.

“We had some good moments,” senior forward Armando Bacot said. “But I can’t particularly say what I remember right now.”

Whether it was mere minutes after losing to UVA or weeks later, the Tar Heels likely will view the season with a similar mood and mindset. A year after making a magical run to the national championship game, one they led by 15 points at halftime, they trudged through an unthinkably bad season, all things considered.

“It's a lot of emotions just to see from last year, the type of run we made…,” junior point guard RJ Davis said. “Looking from the outside in this year, it's tough. It's a tough position to be in.”

And it’s one that will remain for some time.