Team Assessments: North Carolina Tar Heels

 

As my alma mater and team I watch the most every season, it's only fitting that the first team assessment of 2015 is the North Carolina Tar Heels. Prior to last weekend UNC was 17-4 and 8-1 in the ACC. They arrived in Louisville riding a six-game winning streak and sitting comfortably in 2^nd place, only a game behind league-leading Virginia. The Heels jumped out to a huge lead against the Cardinals, only to watch an 18-point second-half lead evaporate in one of the most pathetic segments of basketball I've ever watched.

UNC panicked and wilted under the pressure of Louisville's press, turning the ball over 19 times and ultimately getting beat-down in overtime by 10. When I think of adjectives to describe this Carolina performance, the first words that come to mind are scared, soft, and poorly-coached.

Fast forward to Monday night, where the Tar Heels played a good first half before ultimately getting bullied and outplayed by a much tougher Virginia team in Chapel Hill. At 17-6 and now 7-3 in the ACC, the season takes on a much different look than it did just a week ago. UNC starts a three-game road trip at Boston College on Saturday, and if the Tar Heels drop all three they're all the sudden on the NCAA tournament bubble. While I don't expect this to happen, a team that started the year with National Championship hopes now looks like a prime candidate for a first-round upset.

There are several very concerning issues for the Tar Heels. The most obvious problem is the fact that there's only one player who can consistently make outside shots. I'm not sure how a school that can pretty much recruit whoever it wants can continue to put teams on the floor that can't shoot the ball, but it's happened a couple years in a row now. With shooting being the first thing most people think about when you mention the game of basketball, it's hard to believe UNC can't convince a few more kids with deadly J's to join the program.

Beyond the shooting, the most troubling aspect of this team is the lack of toughness and intensity. This UNC squad is a group of “nice” guys who shy away from physical contact, and it lacks a player that consistently imposes himself on the game from start to finish. The level of aggression of each player comes and goes throughout the game, and Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson are the only two players I'd ever say have dominating thoughts. Theo Pinson is the guy I think could have brought and inspired this mentality on a regular basis, but he's out with a broken foot and was having trouble getting playing time anyway.

When I look at the top teams in the country, the one thing they all have is competitive toughness. You need a team full of guys that dig deep to dominate every possession and destroy each opponent, and UNC has lacked this essential characteristic for a few years. P.J. Hairston brought this quality to the team during his time at Carolina, but he was typically in the doghouse and eventually kicked off the team. Tyler Hansbrough was a legend in this category.

The lack of fiercely-aggressive competitors is becoming a reoccurring issue. Failing to even come close to optimizing the lineups on the floor has been a major problem as well. At what point do you have to put the blame for this squarely on the coach? Who is responsible for bringing in talent and divvying up the playing time? I know he's a Hall of Famer, but even the best begin to lose their abilities at some point. 

Roy Williams hasn't been recruiting enough players with the grit and fight you need to win championships in college basketball in recent years, and he's making the mistake of keeping them on the bench when he does have them. He either needs more help, or it's time for 'Ol Roy to make his way to the golf course for a permanent vacation.

Don't get me wrong. I'm extremely grateful to Roy Williams for restoring the program and bringing two championships to the University I love so much. However, as I watch UNC basketball lose a little something each passing year, I can't help but think just how long this could take to play out. Kentucky, Kansas, Duke. These are the programs North Carolina has been compared to for decades, and right now the Tar Heels are not on that level.

I know I'm not the only Carolina fan who's thought about the next leader of the program, and I have a name for UNC's Athletic Director...Gregg Marshall at Wichita State. It's time to start thinking about the future.