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UNC NOTES

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Staff

Frank Heath

The North Carolina men’s basketball team regained a measure of its confidence Sunday, with a sure-footed 78-64 win over Virginia Tech, in which the Tar Heels pulled away with a strong overall second-half performance. Carolina was led by forward Ed Davis and point guard Larry Drew, a pair of sophomores whose contributions will be crucial to this team’s long-term development. Davis, who logged 20 points and 11 boards, has been quietly putting together an all-star caliber season. So far, he is averaging 15.5 points and 10.3 rebounds (2nd in the ACC), while leading the league in field goal percentage (63.1 percent) and blocked shots (2.9 per game).

Drew had 14 points against the Hokies – all in the second half – and eight assists, and his aggressive play after the break provided a big spark for the Tar Heels.

Almost as encouraging on Sunday was the play of junior Will Graves, who scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, and whose three three-pointers provided the foundation for Carolina’s second-half put-away of the Hokies.

Another impressive facet of the game was Carolina’s field-goal defense (the Heels blocked 10 shots, four by Davis, and held the Hokies’ shooting below 38 percent in both halves) and its second-half defensive lockdown on Tech’s Malcolm Delaney, who’d lit the nets for 20 points in the first half but was limited to six after the break. Marcus Ginyard’s return was instrumental in slowing Delaney. Ginyard played 20 minutes, mostly during the second half, and was on Delaney much of that time.

Among the freshmen, guard Dexter Strickland had a positive impact on the game, especially in the first half, when he drove through the Hokie defense for transition layups. Strickland also dished out three assists. When at his best, he gives the Tar Heels an extra dimension of speed and finishing ability from the guard spot. John Henson also made a couple of nice plays within the offense, and his long arms continue to be disruptive when Carolina is on defense.

That all being said, Carolina fans couldn’t afford a whole lot of time to enjoy Sunday’s win, as the Heels had to travel to play at Clemson Wednesday night, in what looked like one of the toughest assignments on the Tar Heels’ schedule.

It’s like that in the ACC when league play begins. The week’s results – Georgia Tech over Duke in Atlanta, NC State over Florida State in Tallahassee, Miami topping Wake in Coral Gables – show that this is likely to be another topsy-turvy year of conference play.

Clemson, which leads the league in steals by a wide margin, tends to trap relentlessly and should provide a hefty challenge for Drew and Carolina’s press offense. A victory Wednesday night won’t be a cure-all for UNC by any means, but it could give the Tar Heels an early leg up in the league race, and another boost of confidence, given that not a lot of opponents go into the Tigers’ den and win.

1 thought on “UNC NOTES”

  1. James Arndt says:
    January 18, 2010 at 6:14 pm

    Frank, Loved the article and your long time devotion to Carolina basketball. I am starting to think that this team doesn’t really have a point guard. Drew the Deuce has yet to impress me with his ability to handle the ball in a manner that Coach Williams would find acceptable, though I suspect that at this point there is no reasonable alternative.

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