A Freshman Steps Up

The North Carolina Tarheels crushed Georgia Tech again last night for the second time in two weeks, this time on the road by the score of 81-49. The Tarheels only had two players in double figures, Joel Berry II with 15 and Justin Jackson with 13.

The play of the Tarheel Freshmen has been inconsistent this season as it is with most Freshmen. Joel Berry II has earned more playing time over the past couple of weeks and his play has been much improved. He has battled illness and injury the majority of the season but his 15 points included 3 of 5 from beyond the arc and the Tarheels need to add another consistent outside scoring threat. His improved play has bumped him ahead of Nate Britt on the depth chart.

The Tarheels bench is also finally getting healthy as Freshman Theo Pinson saw action for the first time in 12 games. He only played 3 minutes but scored 5 points and it was more important for him to see some court time. The Tarheels also got some playing time in for backup Point Guards Stillman White and Luke Davis and it is good to get the starters a little bit of rest and the players on the bench a little bit of playing time.

On To The West Coast

The 'Heels finished off Florida Atlantic yesterday afternoon 80-56 and some roles are already starting to take shape. Joel James will be the starting Center by the time the 'Heels get to Hawaii because his offensive game is already more advanced than current starting Center Desmond Hubert. The Tarheels need to find some outside scoring to go with James Michael McAdoo's inside game. Reggie Bullock was able to provide that against Florida Atlantic with 16 points and 3 of 4 from the three-point line. Dexter Strickland is more of a slasher and Marcus Paige has not demonstrated the ability to hit from the outside in the first two games. P. J. Hairston and Leslie McDonald are the most likely candidates as outside scorers off the bench. Hairston's slump from last season has carried over to the first couple of games this season and McDonald missed the entire season last year with an ACL injury. Brice Johnson has been solid off the bench providing some inside scoring punch and J. P. Tokoto will be important as a swingman and I see his minutes growing as the season progresses. I see the same thing happening with backup Point Guard Luke Davis.

The Tarheel Freshmen

The North Carolina Tarheels unveiled their four freshmen and a transfer last night in their opening game against Gardner Webb. Point Guard Marcus Paige was the only one that got the start but the rest of them got plenty of playing time as Roy Williams tries to get his rotation sorted out. The Freshmen came in with plenty of accolades and are put under a microscope as soon as they step on the UNC campus. None of them really had an impressive debut. Big men Joel James and Brice Johnson showed a little bit of offensive polish, scoring 6 points a piece, but it looks like James is going to be the type of player that picks up about a foul a minute until he learns the Tarheel way of playing defense. Brice Johnson has been physically compared to John Henson but his game has more offensive polish than Henson's did but he is going to be nowhere near the defensive presence Henson was. J. P. Tokoto's athleticism has been compared to Vince Carter's but his skills are still pretty raw. He also scored 6 points in 10 minutes of playing time but had a breakaway dunk and made an athletic move to the basket. The potential is there. The comparisons between Marcus Paige and Kendall Marshall are inevitable but there is a big gap in the floor leadership abilities between the two. Paige's offensive game is more developed at this stage of his career than Marshall's was but he did post a stat line of 6 points, 0 assists, and 4 turnovers. Sophomore transfer point guard Luke Davis only logged 3 minutes of playing time and had 1 assist on the night. I believe his minutes will grow as the season progresses.