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By Adam Lucas
1. Hubert Davis probably loved this game. He’s spent the last month telling his senior Tar Heels that they have to compete with a target on their back every single night… and then UNC-Wilmington went out and proved it to him. Carolina won an ugly opener, 69-56.
2. The amazing thing wasn’t that the margin was so tight. The amazing thing was that the lead was so big despite Carolina playing so poorly. The Tar Heels had four assists, four fast break points, shot under 50 percent from the field and a meager 20 percent from the three-point line, got passed by a CAA team… and still won at 13. Everyone can relax: Yes, Carolina looked better (and shot better) in practice. This is not a permanent referendum on Heels 2022-23.
3. The new passing version of Caleb Love will take some getting used to. Such was the case early in the second half when Leaky Black saw Love going to the edge with the ball and also made a cut to the basket to be in rebound position. But Love threw him a pass he wasn’t expecting, resulting in a turnover. This is the kind of game that won’t happen in a month.
4. This was the back half of a sequence where the Tar Heels committed a 10 second offense by being too casual against light UNCW pressure. Hubert Davis then went straight to his bench for newcomer Seth Trimble, who played 15 minutes, the most of any reserve.
5. Do you think Hubert Davis will talk about rebounding in practice this week? The Seahawks had a 37-31 overall advantage and a whopping 16-7 advantage on the offensive glass (which resulted in a 14-7 advantage on second chance points). Yes, there were more visitors’ misses and therefore more chances, but that’s not a statistic that will make the head coach happy.
6. As a reminder, even though Armando Bacot made it look so easy last spring, getting double-doubles is hard. He had a streak of eight straight double-doubles and was sitting at 49 for his career. But limited by fouls in the second half, he finished with 16 points and “only” nine rebounds, a game-high for both sides.
7. Seahawk Coach Takayo Siddles comes from the Kevin Keatts coaching tree, so he’s very familiar with Carolina. UNCW did a good job in the first half, limiting UNC’s offensive transition opportunities and holding the heels without a quick break point. That was part of a somewhat disjointed first 20 minutes in which Carolina had just one rebound advantage on the boards, amassed just one assist on nine field goals, and was 2-for-7 (28.6 percent) from the three-point line lap . And yet the Tar Heels led by 11 points at halftime.
8. A big part of that halftime advantage was a sticky UNC defense. In the first half, they limited the visitors to 36 percent from the field, 20 percent from the line of three, and forced eight turnovers. The Tar Heels have a chance to be a very good defensive team.
9. One of Carolina’s best weapons en route to the Final Four last year was free throw shooting. The Tar Heels still rule this area; they hit 23 out of 30 on Monday night. It’s a significant advantage to have two ball-safe guards like Caleb Love (4-5) and RJ Davis (4-4) who are so good at the line.
10. Interesting crease with the Tar Heels showing three guards in the last minute of the first half. That combination, including Love, Davis and Seth Trimble, forced a UNCW turnover and essentially kept them shotless by the end of the half. That might not be Carolina’s top five, but it’s a look they’ve shown off on occasion preseason and could use when circumstances call for it.
11. Carolina played without Puff Johnson, still working her way back from injury.
12. A change has been made to the way student tickets are distributed this season. Early assessment after a home game: very positive. Students sat in their seats for over an hour before the game, even on the upper floors. The surroundings were noticeably better because of the noise they entailed.
13. Great to see Luuuuuuuuuke Maye at the Smith Center on Monday night. Maye is currently playing in Spain. With a few days off, his choice was clear: go back to Chapel Hill. As he put it, “I wanted to make sure I got to see at least one of my brothers play.” Beau Maye is a freshman year with the Tar Heel basketball team; Drake Maye, as you may have heard, is having a very successful year as a Carolina football quarterback.