Isaiah Hicks had a painful moment of deja vu at the end of the North Carolina men’s basketball team’s Late Night With Roy intrasquad scrimmage.
With about 20 seconds left, Hicks’ Blue Team holding on to a one-point lead, the White Team had possession of the ball.
Hicks knew who’d attempt the game-winner for the Blue Team. The sophomore power forward had seen the scenario play out many times before in the team’s offseason pick-up games.
Giving junior point guard Marcus Paige the ball with the game on the line has become a habit during pick-up, scrimmages, games, whenever.
It’s become an instinct, even for sophomore guard Stilman White, who has just started playing with Paige. White missed the last two seasons while away on a Mormon Mission. The year he left, Paige came to UNC as a freshman and quickly rose to stardom as a sophomore.
Late Night With Roy marked just his first time playing with Paige in front of the Smith Center crowd. White penetrated the middle of the floor, the clock ticking down with his team trailing the Blue squad, 41-40. As the defense collapsed on White, he kicked the ball out to a wide-open Paige, who set his feet and elevated for a 3-pointer — a familiar sight for Hicks.
“Oh, yeah. I thought he was going to make it,” Hicks said. “I was like, ‘Up, like another pick-up game where we lost because of Marcus.’ He always hits the last shot.”
Paige missed, though, and the White team lost 41-40. He couldn’t finish off the night with a clutch basket, like he did with his game-winning layup to lift UNC to a 85-84 overtime win at N.C. State last year.
But Paige’s performance in the scrimmage resembled many of his outings from his sophomore season. The point guard got off to a slow start, as the last player of the White team’s starting five to score, but finished strong to lead his squad with 10 points.
