UNC can’t single out FSU’s Singleton

On Florida State’s opening possession Wednesday night, Chris Singleton spotted up from beyond the arc, pulled up and fired.

Swish.

On the next possession, Singleton did the same. Six quick points for the sophomore forward put him on track to lead FSU past North Carolina — and neither Singleton nor his teammates looked back.

Later on in the half, UNC freshman John Henson tried to go up for what looked like an open layup. But Singleton swooped in from the other side of the lane and ripped the shot from Henson’s hands.

Singleton’s final tally was 19 points. Along with the rest of his Florida State teammates, the lanky sophomore from Dunwoody, Ga., lit up the Tar Heels from beyond the arc. He hit three treys in the first half to lead all scorers with 15 points in the opening period. For the game, he shot 8-of-14 from the floor.

“He’s been taking great shots,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said.

Singleton’s stat line would indicate that he’s just another hot-shooting guard taking advantage of the Tar Heels aggressive, collapsing defense — but Singleton entered Wednesday night’s game shooting just 10-for-50 from beyond the arc. That’s hardly a lethal clip, but Wednesday night, Singleton buried both his shots and UNC.

“He’s shooting 20 percent (in conference play), but they made them,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “We helped them because they were so open.”

More so than the points, Singleton provided poise and leadership for a young Florida State team. Singleton frequently directed the older players, calling for longer possessions and calm play when FSU was up big.

“He’s been developing more to become a complete floor leader,” Hamilton said. “I thought he played a great floor game in addition to giving us good offensive production.”

In the second half, that production was Singleton skying for a rebound with the long-limbed and taller Henson, and it was Singleton ripping down the offensive board.

He pulled down a total of eight rebounds in the game, leading a Seminole squad that out rebounded UNC 36 to 31.

But perhaps the play that most exemplifies Singleton’s role came with 4:14 to play. After an FSU turnover resulted in a Marcus Ginyard dunk to cut the lead to 13, Hamilton called timeout. Out of the timeout, Singleton drove and finished a layup to put the lead back to 15.

Minutes later, when the Tar Heels drew to within 11 and were frantically trapping, Singleton found Micheal Snaer for a dunk, quietly killing UNC’s comeback hopes.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.