Nate Britt prepares to answer the call

There might not be a more underrated player on the North Carolina men’s basketball team than Nate Britt.

He doesn’t have the late-game heroics of Marcus Paige, the raw scoring production of Justin Jackson, the flashiness of Theo Pinson or the hype of Joel Berry. Even his jersey number is zero to remind him of the naysayers he’s had since high school.

But starting with today’s game against Temple, Britt will be key to UNC’s success.

With Paige sidelined due to a broken hand, either Britt or Berry will be the starting point guard. Berry came on strong at the end of his first year, but Britt has more experience with 19 career starts.

“In the past, teams with the most experience tend to go the furthest in the tournament,” senior forward Brice Johnson said. “Those guys know what to expect and they know what coach wants out of them.”

After Paige returns in three to four weeks, Britt could still carve out a significant role. Depth is considered a strength for UNC this season, and Britt is a big reason why.

If Coach Roy Williams slides Paige over to shooting guard, Britt could play the point and run the offense.

Williams has also shown a tendency to play with three point guards late in the game where the added shooting and speed can help close out the win. This is where Britt’s 84 percent career free throw shooting percentage becomes crucial.

After switching shooting hands following the 2013-14 season, Britt’s 3-point percentage leaped from 25 percent to 37 percent, and his 26 made 3-pointers made him third on the team. He hit four 3-pointers en route to a career-high 17 points to spark a UNC win against Syracuse, and he’s continued to work on his shot this offseason.

“That’s one of the things that our team has been lacking the last two seasons and we depended on Marcus to do that,” Britt said. “Me being able to knock down some shots last year was an improvement and me being able to do that more and increase the percentage will help us a lot.”

Britt has also continued to work on protecting the ball and improving his assist to turnover ratio. He’s also worked on improving his on-ball defense, which Williams identified to the team as a weakness a season ago.

All of this will allow Williams to rely more on Britt, like he did at the end of the 2014-15 season. Britt played 23 minutes against Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament and scored 10 points, including going 5-for-5 from the free-throw line.

“Being ready for whenever Coach is going to call my number is important,” Britt said. “I think that was big for our team.”

Perhaps that’s what No. 0 will be known for this season — being ready when called upon.

@loganulrich

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