People were not happy with the final result of UNC's first game of the season against Western Carolina. Sure, there were fans that were happy to get a win, because ultimately starting the season 1-0 is all that matters. But there were a number of people online that were mad because of the margin of victory, about how sloppy the Heels' play was, and overall just unhappy because this team is a work in progress instead of performing like the neighbor down Tobacco Road. How you feel as a fan is how you feel, but here's the thing: there's no such thing as a season being decided in November. That is an objective fact.
It's not a secret, though, that there is a lot of work to do, and it all starts Friday night against Wofford. Malone mentioned during his postgame that this team has been taking two steps forward and three steps back, which tracks with everything we've been seeing. It's not necessarily a lack of talent issue, though: it's a consistency issue. We've seen some good things from this team, but so far we've only seen it in flashes. Can we see more consistency against the Terriers? Possibly, but I think a better question is what needs to happen for it to be achieved.
Let's take a look at three keys to Friday night's game against Wofford.
In rewatching the game against Western Carolina, what was noticeable on almost every possession was that the Catamounts were very willing to let the Heels take as many threes as they wanted to. There were numerous possessions where not only one defender sagged off their guy on the perimeter, but at times there were two or three guys that were preparing for a Tar Heels to drive to the paint. Even more impressive was that they were able to close out effectively at times, but other times UNC had wide-open threes with varying results. It's also reasonable to say that so many Catamounts players clogging the paint created issues with rebounding as well, but that is one of a few reasons why the Heels were out-rebounded yet again.
But back to the perimeter shooting, Malone more than likely saw the same things when reviewing film with his team, and now they have to figure out how to keep Wofford from doing the same thing. Rather than having guys more or less stationary on the perimeter, he may have to incorporate more actions that cause more movement and confusion so that defenders don't park the bus. If the Heels do continue to get good to great looks from three, then all is well as long as the shots go in. Shooting 30% from the field again isn't going to work, though, so let's see what Malone has up his sleeve against the Terriers.
While Western Carolina had a blast daring UNC to shoot from the perimeter, the Heels did the same thing, but it would be disingenuous to say they were doing it on purpose. Film shows that there were numerous possessions where players were out of position, had bad eyes, and in general had bad close-outs. The great news is it is all fixable, but how quickly will we see improvements?
The problem is that this isn't a one-or-two-player problem, but more of a general team problem. There's not enough evidence to figure out how much of it is bad communication and how much of it is just not understanding what is being asked of them yet, but ideally we see a bit of improvement against Wofford. The tough thing is that we can't really look at the Terriers and decide how good or bad they will be offensively, because their one regular season game was against Tennessee, who held them to just 31% from the field and 22% from deep. Rick Barnes has always had really tough defenses, but let's hope those numbers are more of who the Terriers are and that they do not shoot anywhere close to 50% against the Heels.
As mentioned earlier in this article, there are layers as to why the rebounding has been poor, but one of the reasons the Heels struggled in that department against Western Carolina was Sayon Keita picking up two fouls early in the first half. He finished the game with four fouls total, and he also only had four points off 1-2 shooting (add two points for free throws). Needless to say, it wasn't a great night for the talented freshman.
Keita will almost certainly run into foul trouble in more games throughout the season, which again goes back to how important it was to get Cameron Fens eligible. But the cold hard truth is that Fens may never get to play, so Keita will have to find a way to stay on the floor while also being effective on defense. As far as his offense goes, it would be good to see Malone find ways to get him more shots near the rim, but that'll only be possible if he can find a way to create breathing room in the paint.
