After the NBA Draft picked off 66 percent of his team’s offensive output last season, North Carolina coach Roy Williams told James Michael McAdoo and Reggie Bullock exactly what he expected from them in the Tar Heels’ 2012-13 campaign.
“Last summer I said they needed to be big for us every night,” he said after UNC’s 87-62 victory Tuesday against Wake Forest.
And so far, they’ve come through. McAdoo and Bullock, who are first and second on the team in scoring, have played in 21 games together this season. In all but five of them, they both contributed double-digit points.
But against the Demon Deacons, the pair took its coach’s forewarning to a whole new level.
For the first time this season, both McAdoo and Bullock scored more than 20 points in the same game — Bullock finishing with a team-high 23 and McAdoo with 20 — as the Tar Heels (16-6, 6-3 ACC) rolled to their sixth conference victory in seven games.
“Everyone would agree that those are our two main guys on the offensive end, probably the most consistent,” said Marcus Paige, who went 3-for-6 from the field Tuesday.
“To have them put up big numbers, it makes it easier for all of us.”
Especially in the first half, North Carolina’s offense got a little bit of help from the sloppy Demon Deacons (10-12, 3-7 ACC). When the teams went into the locker room at halftime, UNC leading 47-27, Wake Forest had more turnovers (13) than field goals (nine).
Bullock, who finished 7-for-10 and 4-for-5 from deep, conceded that Wake Forest’s smaller guards made it easier for him to hit shots all night. He wasn’t the only one to find his sweet spot on the Smith Center floor, as 12 different Tar Heels recorded at least two points in the game.
