Almost Time: Areas UNC Can Grow Entering Regular Season Opener

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Seth Trimble felt the Tar Heels played “horrible” in the exhibition loss to BYU in Salt Lake City last week, a harsh self-critique for a team that lost by two points to the preseason No. 8 team in the country.

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North Carolina started slow in its home exhibition against Winston-Salem State on Wednesday before turning it around in the second half. Hubert Davis couldn’t immediately place an explanation on why his team wasn’t as sharp to open things up in the Smith Center.

“I don’t know if we were nervous, or if it’s the first time this group has been at home and played on our home floor, but just the lack of energy, effort, and attention to detail wasn’t there in the first half, and that was the exact opposite in the second half,” Davis said. “And I think that’s why we played so well in the second half, just the energy picked up, effort, specifically on the defensive end, finishing, and I thought we were more disciplined defensively in the second half.”

Exhibition games can’t define a team’s path for how the season will go, especially when those games come against quality opponents like the two opening preseason games UNC has played the last two years. Seeing Memphis last year and BYU this year before the start of the regular season, though, has provided good indicators of where the team stands at the moment.

North Carolina is still in the adjustment phase with 10 new scholarship players, and it continues to wait on the clearance of Luka Bogavac. For now, while a complete evaluation can’t yet be made on this team, there are a few areas where some screws can be tightened.

Going into Monday’s season opener in the Smith Center against Central Arkansas, here are some areas for the Tar Heels to watch for:

Protecting The Basketball

North Carolina piled up the giveaways in Salt Lake City, committing 19 turnovers against BYU. The Cougars scored 16 points as a result of those giveaways. The timing wasn’t quite there for the Tar Heels when trying to connect on several passes, and BYU’s defense took advantage with 12 steals. Four players had three or more giveaways against the Cougars.

The first half against Winston-Salem State wasn’t much better, as UNC committed seven in the first 20 minutes. The second half was better, as the team only committed three.

Kyan Evans has started at point guard in the first two exhibition games, with Derek Dixon backing him up. UNC had 12 assists against BYU and 15 against the Rams.

The ball movement and willingness to let the offense flow are there. UNC’s done well at moving the ball around the perimeter to create open looks. To make the offense even more effective, though, UNC will have to take care of the ball.

“You’re not getting more playing time if you throw a one-handed pass,” Davis said on Wednesday. “That doesn’t impress me at all. I want simple and sound plays, make the easy play, and I felt like our guys were doing that (on Wednesday), and their understanding that those little things are really the difference makers in regards to being successful is being consistent in the fundamentals on both ends of the floor.”

UNC averaged 10.7 turnovers last season, seventh-fewest in the ACC.

Rhythm Shooting

On paper, North Carolina has enough players to space the floor with shooting. In the second half against Winston-Salem State, the Tar Heels found the range from outside. In the 60 minutes of exhibition play before that, though, the shots weren’t falling.

UNC shot 4-19 from outside against BYU in Salt Lake City, and it started 3-12 against the Rams before finishing the game at 12-32 from three.

“Playing faster, being able to get out in transition, making the right play for our teammates,” Young cited as reasons for the shooting improvements on Wednesday. “No selfishness, really. Just getting downhill, playing faster and then making the right play.”

The team has plenty of capable shooters based on percentages from last year. Evans shot 44.6% at Colorado State last year, Bogavac shot 39.9% over seasons, Dixon shot 38.5% in high school and Jonathan Powell made 35.2% of his 3-pointers at West Virginia. Jarin Stevenson shot it the best in the two preseason games, making four of his six attempts.

UNC created plenty of clean looks in the preseason, with the team naturally producing a number of catch-and-shoot opportunities within the offense. Knocking down those shots with consistency will allow them to make the 3-point line a weapon.

Last year’s North Carolina team made eight 3-pointers a game and shot 35.6%, a rate good for fifth in the ACC.

Interior Depth

Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar look poised to carry the ‘4’ and ‘5’ spots throughout the year.

Wilson turned in a productive preseason, averaging 22.5 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and a steal while recording two double-doubles. He shot 60% from the field and made nine of his 11 free throw attempts. Veesaar went for 14 points and eight rebounds against BYU, and he scored 10 points and grabbed one rebound against Winston-Salem State.

Beyond those two, though, UNC didn’t have a big interior presence in the preseason. The 6-foot-10 Stevenson started each of the first two games as a wing and mostly played the ‘3.’ Stevenson played the ‘4’ in some lineups and used his length on defense, but still acted mostly as a perimeter player.

Zayden High played five minutes off the bench against BYU, and James Brown only played three. Both players saw an increase in playing time against the Rams, with High receiving 12 minutes and Brown getting 11. Ivan Matlekovic didn’t play against the Cougars, and he played the final two minutes of Wednesday’s game against Winston-Salem State.

Having Wilson and Veesaar on the floor gives UNC the size it needs and noticeably lacked a season ago, but compared to the other positions on the court, the Tar Heels are thinner with their post players. This challenge can be circumvented, though, by using Stevenson at the ‘4’ in relief of Wilson or Veesaar and going bigger with other position groups.