Although the North Carolina and Duke men's basketball teams boast strong play at the guard and frontcourt positions, both sides have found production from their talented group of wings.
A position group known for its versatile skillset, here is a look at how the wings will impact Saturday's rivalry matchup.
North Carolina
Leaky Black
Black is the backbone of the Tar Heels’ defense and is often the player who is given the toughest defensive assignments. Although senior big man Armando Bacot will likely be tasked with slowing down center Kyle Filipowski, Duke's leading scorer, Filipowski's perimeter-oriented style of play will likely enable Black to draw some defensive work for North Carolina.
While Black is much more known for his defensive prowess — averaging 1.6 steals per game — he is quietly in the midst of the best offensive season of his career. Although he is only averaging seven points a night, his playmaking and knowledge of team's offense has helped the team remain productive on that end of the floor.
Puff Johnson
The Tar Heels’ sixth man is not relied upon to shoulder the offense, but he has proven to be an effective scorer, particularly from deep in his best showings.
After bursting onto the scene in the national championship by scoring 11 points, Johnson has been productive when he has seen the floor this season. Despite battling knee soreness for most of the year, the junior has drilled 37 percent of his 3-point attempts and scored in double digits three times.
