A look at what’s wrong with UNC basketball after Tar Heels’ losses to NC State and GT
Three consecutive possessions in North Carolina’s 72-67 loss at Georgia Tech explained why coach Roy Williams has been so disgusted with how the Tar Heels are playing defensively that he changed his starting lineup for the first time this season.
Williams said during a critical second-half stretch, UNC (5-4, 0-2 ACC) defenders didn’t pickup the correct player and the Yellow Jackets made three straight 3-pointers. It’s how the Yellow Jackets (5-3, 1-1) climbed back from a 61-53 deficit and eventually took the lead for good.
“We didn’t have the proper matchups a single time,” Williams said. “... The defensive end of the floor has been more important to us in lower-scoring games, it’s got to be more important as well, because we’re not gifted enough on offensive end to make a lot of shots.”
UNC is still having problems turning the ball over at a high rate — it had 18 against Georgia Tech. And its shot selection can still be questionable. But those mistakes could be massaged if the Heels were better on defense.
The Yellow Jackets scored 43 second-half points and scored 1.082 points per possession, which is the second straight game UNC has allowed an opponent more than 40 in a half and more than 1.0 points per possession.
“What’s stopping us from reaching our potential is pretty much or focus and just a lack of really wanting to guard somebody,” senior forward Garrison Brooks said. “I think that’s something we can get to but I think right now that we’re struggling to do that.”
Their 79-76 loss to N.C. State was supposed to be the nadir that created a change in approach defensively. Williams said their defensive grades against the Wolfpack, “weren’t just bad, they were horrible.”
It’s why he changed the starting lineup for the first time this season, based on how players graded defensively. Brooks, junior guard/forward Leaky Black and freshman guard Caleb Love were all benched in favor of guard Andrew Platek, forward Day’Ron Sharpe and guard Kerwin Walton.
The move captured their attention — for the first half anyway. UNC never trailed while limiting the Yellow Jackets to 44% shooting from the floor and forcing a turnover percentage of 22.9.
That seemed to change quickly in the second half, as Georgia Tech made seven of its first 10 shots from the floor. It cut down its turnovers to just five — or 14% of its possessions. And its guards either got to the basket without much resistance or were making open 3s.
Georgia Tech outscored UNC, 24-22, in points in the paint, despite its undersized center Moses Wright only scoring eight points. Guard Michael Devoe, who matched Jose Alavardo with a game-high 20 points, shot 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Guard Bubba Parham nearly matched him with three as the Jackets made 10 of 22 shots from deep.
“We weren’t locked in defensively, that’s just on the players, that was not coaching or anything,” Black said. “Look at the scouting report, we’ve got to review it, we need to know it. And I don’t think we did a good enough job of reviewing the scouting report. You got to know your personnel.”
Georgia Tech’s 61% shooting in the second half was the highest for any half by a UNC opponent. It comes one game after N.C. State set the season-high by shooting 52% from the field in the first half of its win.
“I feel like we’re all just being selfish right now,” Black said. “I feel like we’re all not bought in completely and is showing up there. It’s just our main problem. Once we get over the hump and we all buy in and play together, we’ll get back to North Carolina basketball.”
This story was originally published December 31, 2020 at 9:49 AM with the headline "A look at what’s wrong with UNC basketball after Tar Heels’ losses to NC State and GT."