UNC men's basketball remains calm after poor performance in Puerto Rico

North Carolina’s men’s basketball team left for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament last week playing with a confidence that resembled past teams coached by Roy Williams.

UNC had beaten its two opponents by an average of 29 points, and the Tar Heels were one of the top teams in the tournament.

But following two upset losses to Minnesota and Vanderbilt, the No. 25 Tar Heels returned from Puerto Rico more concerned. It was a shock to the system, but Williams spoke calmly about his team’s current problems.

“We’ve all got to be concerned that we play better, have more discipline about what we’re trying to do, have more intensity,” he said. “I mean we’re concerned, there’s no question.”

But for that to happen, UNC (2-2) must adjust a number of things.

For starters, Harrison Barnes, who Williams said was unfairly given a preseason All-America title, must play better. In the last two games — both losses — the freshman has gone 4-for-24 from the field.

But Williams didn’t attribute his slow start to a desire to do too much on his own.

“I get the sense he’s not doing enough,” he said. “Sometimes you have to lose yourself into the game. You can’t be trying to be perfect. You can’t be concerned about what you as an individual are accomplishing. And I think we’ve got a whole team full of that scenario right now… What everybody’s got to focus on is, ‘We’ve got to do this.’”

Williams said UNC spent the first three weeks of practice playing against the junior varsity basketball team in order to prevent potential injuries to starters.

Because of that, he said the team had to adjust to increased competition, but that he will still take the tradeoff to not risk an early injury.

North Carolina’s 38 turnovers in the past two games, which Williams credited in part to an overall lack of experience, are certainly an area UNC would like to improve.

“Nobody likes to admit it, but guys, we are an unbelievably young team,” Williams said. “Young teams are going to make mistakes… I can’t coach them to pass and catch. If they can’t pass and catch by the time they get here, we’ve got major problems.”

Five of UNC’s six leading scorers are freshmen or sophomores, as are six of the 10 players averaging more than 10 minutes a game.

But at some point, that too will no longer be a fallback for UNC.

“I’m gonna put more pressure on them, by-god you’ve got to play better,” Williams said. “You’ve got to play like you did in the first ten minutes of the second half last night. You know this is not seventh-grade little-league bitty-ball. You knew what it was going to be when you got here.”

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