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North Carolina forwards Day’Ron Sharpe, left, and Armando Bacot, right, bang for rebounding position during a preseason practice.
Times-News
[Photo courtesy of UNC athletics], Times-News
ON THE REBOUND
For all the North Carolina basketball staples that took a nosedive into the wilderness of last season, rebounding remained an area of unwavering consistency.
The Tar Heels again led the Atlantic Coast Conference in rebounding and rebounding margin, marking the 13th time they’ve topped those categories in 17 years under coach Roy Williams.
And now they’ve added a pair of beefy blue chip freshman recruits in 7-foot-1 Walker Kessler and 6-11 Day’Ron Sharpe to feature alongside 6-10 Garrison Brooks, 6-10 Armando Bacot, and the rest of the team’s glass-crashing crew this season.
Brooks, the senior whose 9.0 rebounds per game during ACC play led the league last season, said he envisions North Carolina dominating the boards to an elite degree with Kessler and Sharpe in the mix, and perhaps reaching an unmatched level.
“I think we’re going to do what Carolina does, get the ball inside,” Brooks said, “and I think we’re going to be tremendous rebounding the ball. I think we need to be the best rebounding team in the country, and it not even be close.”
No. 16 North Carolina opens the approaching season Nov. 25 against College of Charleston.
From the Tyler Hansbrough, Deon Thompson and Ed Davis rotation down low that helped the Tar Heels claim the 2009 NCAA title, to the Brice Johnson, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks frontcourt group that contributed to consecutive national championship game appearances in 2016 and 2017, Williams’ best North Carolina teams have had an appetite for feasting on the glass.
Of the six games the Tar Heels lost last season in the closing seconds on an opponents’ final possession, three resulted from missed defensive rebounding assignments and decisive offensive boards grabbed by Duke, Virginia and Notre Dame.
“Nobody in the history of college basketball has emphasized boxing out more than I do,” Williams said, illustrating a preseason talking point. “It’s competitive around that rim right now. I think we’ll rebound the basketball this year like North Carolina teams usually rebound the basketball, better than last year.”
LOVE IN THE AIR
North Carolina figures to feature a freshman point guard for a third straight season in Caleb Love, following the recent line of succession from Coby White to Cole Anthony, both of whom had one-and-done stays in Chapel Hill before moving on to the NBA.
Love is the Tar Heels’ top-rated recruit among their six new arrivals, checking in as the No. 14 prospect overall and the second-best point guard in the freshman class that has entered the college ranks.
Brooks said Love’s explosiveness and ability to excel in transition makes for a comfortable fit in North Carolina’s fast-paced, end-to-end system. Williams compared Love to former Tar Heels star Ty Lawson, the ACC Player of the Year in 2009, in labeling him as a point guard who’s driven by a scoring mentality.
“I think Caleb at 6-foot-4 is athletic as he can be and can take the ball to the basket, score in the lane with contact, and shoot the ball,” Williams said. “He is a big-time scorer; he’s an attacker. I do believe he looks to pass and understands that’s part of the role.”
PANDEMIC PLANS
Spectator attendance at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill will be reduced this season to meet coronavirus guidelines, and capacity still has yet to be determined for the 21,750-seat arena.
Williams said while some coaches might be uncomfortable wearing face masks during games, he doesn’t qualify in such a group. He said the extra space that will be used to create distance on the North Carolina team bench shouldn’t pose a communication issue.
“It doesn’t bother me in the least,” Williams said. “I think we have to follow what the doctors and the scientists tell us. I’m not a guy that is going to flout those kind of things and act like I’m stupid and not wear a mask.
“We have a different situation by being indoors. We’ve already laid out what our bench is going to look like, that people are going to be separated. But I’ve never really had a problem with people being able to hear me when I want to be heard, so I’m not worried about that separation. I think we’ll try to be as intelligent as we can possibly be.”
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim have tested positive for coronavirus during the preseason.
“I’m going to wear a mask during a game,” Williams said. “To me it’s the adjustments that we have to make so that we can be more intelligent to have a safer world. I loved the old normal. I’m going to figure out a way to love this normal as well.”
OUR TAKE
“What didn’t we learn?” Brooks said rhetorically, when asked recently about the lessons the Tar Heels have taken from last season’s dismal 14-19 campaign, just the program’s second losing record since 1962.
Expect North Carolina to engineer a substantial turnaround and hand out plenty of hard knocks this season, rather than continue absorbing them.
With Brooks back to lead the way, a rejuvenated Leaky Blank on the wing, and highly regarded freshmen such as Love and RJ Davis running the backcourt and Sharpe and Kessler contributing inside, the Tar Heels have the potential to go from tied for last place in the ACC last season to contending with Virginia, Duke and Florida State at the top of the league this season.
Look for a return to the NCAA Tournament, provided that the event can be conducted.
NORTH CAROLINA SCHEDULE
Nov. 25 College of Charleston
Nov. 30 vs. UNLV (Maui Invitational at Asheville)
Dec. 1 vs. Alabama or Stanford (Maui Invitational at Asheville)
Dec. 2 vs. Davidson, Indiana, Providence or Texas (Maui Invitational at Asheville)
Dec. 8 at Iowa (ACC-Big Ten Challenge)
Dec. 12 Elon
Dec. 19 vs. Ohio State (CBS Sports Classic at Cleveland)
