3 things to note from UNC men's basketball's Maui Invitational wins

While most college students were home eating turkey over Thanksgiving break, the North Carolina men’s basketball team was winning the 2016 Maui Jim Maui Invitational Tournament.

The No. 4 Tar Heels steamrolled through the field, defeating their opponents — Chaminade, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin — by an average of 30 points per game.

Here are three things to take away from the Tar Heels’ three wins in Maui and their 7-0 start to the regular season.

UNC’s depth shows

Through seven games, five Tar Heels — Joel Berry, Justin Jackson, Isaiah Hicks, Kennedy Meeks and Tony Bradley — are averaging over 10 points per game.

UNC is so deep that opponents don’t know who to key in on and can’t double-team anyone. If the Tar Heels throw it to Meeks or Hicks on the block, it’s very hard to justify double-teaming them, because Berry or Jackson wait on the perimeter ready to drain an open 3-pointer.

The depth not only shows in who is scoring the basketball, but in how deep the Tar Heels’ rotation is. UNC has played 10 players over 10 minutes per game so far this season, including injured forward Luke Maye, who’s played in just two games. While junior Theo Pinson and Maye get healthy, the Tar Heel bench has to step up to fill the gaps left by their absence. So far, they have.

Perhaps most impressive from the bench has been Kenny Williams, a seldom-played guard last season who has found himself in a starting spot in 2016. He’s averaging 5.6 points per game and is shooting 44.4 percent from 3-point range. But after a disappointing performance against Wisconsin, the jury is out on whether Williams can make an impact against big-time opponents.

Bradley flashes potential

Bradley, a first-year big man, looks like a future star. Through seven games, he’s averaging 10.7 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 68.3 percent from the field.

He checks all the boxes that Coach Roy Williams wants from a big man. Bradley runs the floor well, protects the rim and finishes around the hoop.

Perhaps most impressive is his understanding as a first-year of the advanced defensive concepts: staying vertical, not fouling while defending down low and how to slide over to help a teammate who’s been beaten on defense.

Killer instinct

After Hicks made two free throws late against Wisconsin, North Carolina was up 60-36 over the Badgers in the championship game of the tournament. With 4:56 left, the Badgers’ Vitto Brown made a 3-pointer. North Carolina came back down the court, Bradley slammed home a dunk and Wisconsin countered with another 3-pointer by Brown. The Badgers called a timeout after their 6-2 run, which cut UNC’s lead to 62-42.

After the timeout, Berry came down the court and nailed a jumper. He would score the Tar Heels’ next seven points — a run that essentially ended the game.

That run is important because it illustrates just how well Berry is playing. He came on strong late last season, even scoring a forgotten 20 points in the national title game. But he did so last year under the shadow of Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige.

Now that those two are gone, this is unquestionably Berry’s team, and he’s playing like it.

The run also illustrates the 2016 Tar Heels’ killer instinct. It’s hard to describe, but any UNC fan watching the past few seasons knows that the Tar Heels sometimes fail to put teams away late — a bad habit that caused problems in ACC play.

This team, led fearlessly by Berry, doesn’t seem to have that problem. The players play hard, dive all over the floor for loose balls and dominate late in games.

Roy quieted expectations after the Wisconsin win, and the Tar Heels will know a lot more about themselves after a tough stretch ahead that includes games against Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky. But through seven games, North Carolina looks awfully good.

@bauman_john

sports@dailytarheel.com