Chances are, if you’re a North Carolina men’s basketball fan, right now you’re riding high on the emotions of the Tar Heels’ 90-83 win over Duke on Saturday. And that’s understandable. North Carolina played well — Grayson Allen didn’t. Joel Berry looked like first-half-of-the-season Joel Berry and Isaiah Hicks played more than eight minutes. There were plenty of reasons to celebrate.
But now it’s tournament time. These next four weeks will take the Tar Heels out of the comfort of the Smith Center, where UNC went undefeated, and toss them into a gauntlet against college basketball’s best conference before facing dozens of other teams vying for a championship crown.
Sure, some of these players have been there before. In fact, all five North Carolina starters played in last season’s national title game.
But if you think this team can get back to that point — let alone win the whole thing — you might have inhaled a little too much smoke on Franklin Street on Saturday night.
Almost every member of the Tar Heels’ roster could be a cause for concern heading into the NCAA Tournament. I say “almost” because Brandon Robinson, Stilman White and the walk-ons don’t play enough to monumentally screw things up.
Berry has been as inconsistent this season as the Wi-Fi signal in my apartment. Pinson hasn’t scored since Feb. 25. Hicks — sans his performance against Duke — has spent more valuable time on the exercise bike than on the court over the past month. He also missed an uncontested dunk against the Blue Devils because he “jumped too high.” OK, Isaiah.
It seems like the only way Kennedy Meeks can score is if he misses a shot first. I don’t think Tony Bradley has ever used his left hand. Every time Luke Maye touches the ball, he incites more audible gasps and screams of “NOOOOO” than any player in the country. Seventh Woods elicits the same things but just from Roy Williams.
Even Justin Jackson, the ACC Player of the Year, has air-balled as many threes as he’s made over the past two games.
