After a very attractive start to the conference season, the UNC Tarheels have fallen into a bit of a rut, losing three of their last five games, two of which were on their way to a team that almost certainly misses the NCAA Tournament. . They will spend four of their next five games at home, giving them a chance to rest and reset as they try to regain the form they had when they were ranked No. 3 in the country and talked about as finalists. become. There are 4 candidates. However, everything has to start with his one match. Tomorrow's game is against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Here are some things to keep in mind on Saturday afternoon.
1. How to use the bench
One of the biggest signs of Hubert Davis' growth as a coach earlier this year was his increased ability and willingness to use the bench. He was still in the bottom third of coaches in terms of bench time percentage, but was significantly better than in recent years. With Seth Trimble emerging as a capable offensive player and a more experienced bench with Jaylen Washington, Jaylin Withers, and Paxson Wojcik all having extensive playing experience, Davis has no choice but to become a starter. given an option to choose from. However, recently, that has been falling apart. Trimble's brief absence due to injury put a huge strain on the guard rotation for two games. Wojcik is really the only other bench guard, and he hasn't played well enough at either end to merit a spot in the majors. The frontcourt of Washington and Wizards and their freshman teammate Zyden High has been inconsistent, especially defensively, and their minutes have decreased accordingly, resulting in UNC's starters playing like the Iron Five. Lately, he has been playing with such intensity that he has been unable to finish close games. With Trimble returning to practice several times in a row, Davis can return to some semblance of an early-season bench rotation, with Washington, the Wizards and High hoping to rediscover their form. Of them, they made very positive contributions in short to mid-term bursts at various points in the season. Virginia Tech doesn't have the biggest front court, so that might help.
2. At the end
A lot of thought can and has already been made about UNC's failure to shut out its final three games against Clemson, Miami and Syracuse. In Coral Gables, the Heels had built up enough of a cushion to come out with a win anyway, but in the other two games, UNC basically traded buckets from behind the entire time, likely tying or tying the game. They took a point lead but never really threatened to hold it. . That clearly has to change, both in the immediate sense and if this team wants to make some noise in March, and this game is the right time, if not more, to change that trend. There are also concrete things you can do to achieve this. Against the Orange, UNC suffered from ill-timed turnovers and an inability to get stops down the stretch. More offensive and defensive rotations and a healthy amount of Trimble, preferably ready to take on his old job as both an offensive point-of-attack defender and second/third ball handler, would be a good first step. It will be. Reducing fatigue by increasing bench time may also help (see #1).
3. Cormac Ryan
Super senior wing Cormac Ryan is clearly a talented player, but he has struggled to complete games of late. Although he had a great floor game against Clemson, he only hurt the team offensively by making just 1-of-10 shots (0-of-6 from 3). Against Syracuse, he had his best offensive game of the season, hitting 6/14 (2/5 from 3) and scoring 18 points, but committed 5 of UNC's 11 turnovers, including several It was an important moment that pushed the team to an eight-ball lead. In both cases, even though he did some things pretty well, it ended up feeling like he played as much time as a net negative for the team. It's also frustrating that even though he's as old and experienced as he is, he still doesn't seem to be able to control his game or play within himself. Considering he's on a new team with new teammates, his grace period is long overdue. He brought some good things to the Heels this season, and his great game against Duke cemented him as a minor but good player in UNC history. But this isn't the time for all those traits to coalesce into a consistent, positive contribution to help the Heels. The heels are approaching the ceiling seen at the beginning of the season. A fully realized Cormac Ryan would be a very welcome sight against a VT team that is content on the perimeter.
