Depth evident for UNC men's basketball in blowout of Fayetteville State

Kennedy Meeks began the scoring for the North Carolina men’s basketball team Friday night against Fayetteville State. A good look at the top of the key. Two points.

Next was J.P. Tokoto, sinking his first two free throws after drawing a foul. Fourteen seconds later Brice Johnson added a free throw of his own.

After that, junior point guard Marcus Paige hit a wide open 3-pointer from the corner.

The next UNC score came from the final starter, freshman Justin Jackson, who knocked down his first two free throws in a Carolina blue uniform.

Just three minutes and 29 seconds into the UNC's 111-58 blowout of the Broncos, each of the North Carolina starters were in the scoring column — it was a new look for the team. One that wasn’t forcing the offense through Paige, who led the team in scoring last year with 17.5 points per game.

Those first five scoring possessions foreshadowed what was to come in the rest of UNC's victory.

It could foreshadow what the team is going to look like throughout the 2014-15 season.

“We’re deep,” Johnson said. “Last year we probably weren’t as deep… Now we’ve got two or three people at every position so I mean, it’s a good thing.

“(We’re) probably a more complete team than we were last year.”

Each player on the team found time on the court and all but one player, junior forward Joel James, scored in the game.

“We got a lot of guys minutes, we really wanted to do that. I’ve always talked about that,” said coach Roy Williams, who also made his first public comments regarding the findings of the Wainstein report.

“I’m dumfounded by everything that came out in the report this week,” he said. “We thought we were doing the right thing, we felt very comfortable about it. Our kids were in the AFAM. I think our kids tried to do the right thing… tried to do the work they were assigned…

“It’s been a pain in the rear-end. But I believe in this university and nobody knows what’s going to happen with the NCAA, but I feel strongly, strongly, that we did things the right way."

As the starters began to trickle off the court, the scoring did not.

Isaiah Hicks came off the bench looking like a completely new player. After moving back to the power forward position this summer, the 6-foot-8 sophomore seemed confident and at ease on the court, while shooting 6-for-6 from the floor and finishing with 13 points.

“It all just came together,” he said. “I would say (I felt comfortable again) back during postseason, during pick-up games and all that. Just playing and just getting a sense of what’s going on.

“Last year, it was like a deer in headlights. (I) didn’t know what to do, just too nervous or something. This year, it just slowed down.”

Johnson said he expects Hicks to take on the role he played last year: coming off the bench and being an immediate scoring threat.

“I expect that to be him this year,” Johnson said. “He’s more comfortable this year, as you saw tonight. As soon as coach said, ‘You don’t have to play the 3 anymore,’ he was ecstatic about it.”

In addition to Hicks, North Carolina found double-digit scoring off the bench from the two other freshman: guard Joel Berry and forward Theo Pinson. Berry showcased his physicality going to the rim, finishing with 12 points and going 6-for-7 from the free throw line, while Pinson displayed speed and athleticism, en route to 15 points and eight rebounds.

With Jackson already finding his way into the starting lineup and leading all scorers with 18 points (6-for-9 from the floor, 3-for-4 from beyond the arc), the three have shown how much of a difference this freshman class can make.

“All three of them bring a lot to the table,” Paige said. “And they can all knock down shots — which is what we needed. Especially coming into this year.”

Other scoring options on the court means UNC doesn’t have to worry as much when Paige isn’t scoring. He only had three points during the first half after picking up three early fouls, but North Carolina still entered the half with a 46-27 lead.

Tokoto struggled with his shot throughout the game, going just 2-for-10 from the field, but tallied eight assists thanks to the many options around him.

“It’s easy,” he said. “I have great teammates, they make shots. I pass the ball, I see an open guy, they make the good play. If he finishes it goes on the board. So, it’s easy.

Despite the blowout, it wasn’t all good for UNC in their first competitive game of the year. Turnovers were an issue throughout the game and the team finished with 20 — including four from Pinson and three from Hicks.

“25 assists I like, I don’t like the 20 turnovers,” coach Roy Williams said. “But for us, it was good to get out and to concentrate on basketball for a while and get some things done.”

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