The distinction is an important one to Matt Doherty, though. North Carolina's coach doesn't seem to worry about his offense creating open looks at the basket. Those have come.
But good shots won't satisfy Doherty when No. 5 UNC takes on No. 13 Virginia today at 7 p.m. at the Smith Center. He wants an offense that stays patient, one that ignores the temptation of a good shot and waits for an even better one.
"Breaking the press and getting an open 3-pointer is not necessarily a great shot for us," Doherty said. "It might be a great shot for another team in our league, but when we have a 7-footer and a 6-11 kid, we want to get the ball inside. If we do that and kick it out, then it's a great shot.
"I don't want just good shots; I want great shots."
That's not an unattainable goal to have against Virginia (13-3, 2-3 in the ACC). In league games, the Cavaliers have allowed their opponents to shoot 55 percent from the field, a by-product of the easy baskets their press sometimes allows.
That press has helped UVa. force 19.6 turnovers a game this season. The Cavaliers throw a full-court, man-to-man press at teams or trap after one pass. Virginia can attack with two different three-quarter court presses. Once an offense crosses halfcourt, the Cavaliers might trap the first pass. Or the first dribble. They might even trap a screen on the ball.
"They throw a lot of things at you that maybe other teams don't," Doherty said. "Where maybe another team shows you one or two things, they'll show you maybe six things."
The Tar Heels (15-2, 5-0) have encountered the press on several occasions this season. UCLA erased an
18-point deficit in the second half by guarding the ball for 94 feet. UNC fared much better when it later faced pressure from Georgia Tech and Maryland.
