North Carolina was a Seth Trimble layup away from winning in a 78-76 loss to BYU. It was the Tar Heels first exhibition game of the of the offseason.
Lack of Toughness
One of the disappointing aspects of last season was North Carolina’s rebounding on both ends of the floor. The Tar Heels didn’t get off to a good start in their exhibition against BYU.
The Cougars scored 44 points in the paint.
BYU ended the night with 18 offensive rebounds, with Keba Keita leading the way. There were times when Keita outmuscled the defender, and there were other times when no one on North Carolina made contact with him. Keita ended the night with 16 points and 10 rebounds (7 offensive).
North Carolina’s defense was nothing to write home about. Too many times, BYU was able to get two feet in the paint, whether it was passed there, dribbled there, or rebounded there.
BYU had success running the pick-and-roll, but Hubert Davis and his staff might have played vanilla, saving their multiple coverages for the regular season. Either way, North Carolina must keep teams out of the paint.
Turnovers
The turnovers were careless, and they came in all shapes and sizes.
Turnovers came from miscommunications, fumbling the ball, and driving into traffic. Even when BYU put on token three-quarters court pressure, North Carolina found ways to turn the ball over.
It was the first time this roster played together in anything that resembled a real opponent. That probably contributed to some of the mistakes, plus there were guys who turned it over that probably won’t get too many minutes. Zayden High and James Brown combined for five turnovers in eight minutes.
Jarin Stevenson, who was the Tar Heels’ most accurate three-point shooter, had five turnovers in 32 minutes.
Wilson Makes Statement
Caleb Wilson’s debut was everything Tar Heels fans wanted it to be. Wilson finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, scoring in a variety of ways. There were the highlight dunks, but also, he squared up on a midrange jumper, and it was as pure as untouched snow.
Wilson can put the ball on the floor, get to the front of the rim, and get on the offensive boards. He was everything he was advertised to be. Let’s see what it looks like when teams start scouting North Carolina and game-planning for Wilson.
Notes:
- Luka Bogavac is still working through the eligibility process. Bogavac should help with some of the Tar Heels’ perimeter shooting woes.
- Speaking of shooting woes, North Carolina finished 4-19 (21%) from the three-point line. The Tar Heels will be a quality three-point attempts team, not a knockdown three-point shooting team.
