‘We’re not finished yet.’ With each win, the Tar Heels are gaining momentum
When the game was over and North Carolina’s seniors had finished giving their speeches Tuesday night, Roy Williams grabbed the microphone to express his gratitude.
He thanked players like Brandon Robinson and Shea Rush, who spent four years at UNC, and have been with the program through the ups — a national championship — and the downs — the 17 losses this season.
And then he turned to the few fans still in the arena to deliver a message that appeared to be weighing on him.
“We love you, we appreciate you, and yes,” Williams said, before pausing while the crowd cheered. His voice began to crack. “I feel that you guys meant so much to us.”
He explained how tough the season had been for them, to lose so many close games in the way that they have this year.
But he was adamant in his last statement to fans:
“We’re not finished yet,” Williams said, after UNC’s 93-83 win over Wake Forest.
While the Tar Heels have no chance to earn an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament, there is still an opportunity to earn an automatic bid if they win the ACC tournament.
Against Wake Forest on Tuesday night, the Tar Heels looked like a team that, if healthy, can make a run there. This season, they’ve shown that they can compete with the best teams in the conference. They just had to learn how to finish games.
And over the past three games, they have.
The Tar Heels have won three consecutive games, and have scored 85 or more points in each of them. They’ve also shot 49 percent or better from the field, and have made at least 10 3-pointers in the last two games.
A big reason for their recent uptick, is the play of freshman guard Cole Anthony, who is producing a lot more by doing a lot less.
Over the past three games, he is averaging 24 points per game, and has shot better than 50 percent in all of them.
Before this three-game stretch, Anthony hadn’t shot 50 percent or better since the season-opener against Notre Dame on Nov. 6.
Because the ball is often in Anthony’s hands, his lack of efficiency was hurting the Tar Heels. There were times when a play was broken, the clock had wound down and Anthony hoisted up a wild shot. He often tried to dribble through double-teams.
But it is apparent that over the last few games, he is deferring to his teammates more — especially Garrison Brooks — and is taking more quality shots.
Williams said he told Anthony a few games ago, that he wanted his point guard to be more efficient. He also wanted his assists to go up and turnovers to go down.
“We put him in a spot a couple of games ago where he felt like he had to score every possession himself and his shot is much better than his percentage had been,” Williams said, adding that he grabbed Anthony at shootaround Tuesday and reminded him to be more efficient.
Anthony listened.
When asked what he changed, Anthony said he started playing for the team more.
“Just getting everyone involved, watching film,” he said. “I feel like I’ve always had the ability to do this. It was just a matter of watching the film and getting better. Pretty much just polishing the mind.”
Against Wake Forest, Anthony finished with a team-high 28 points and 7 assists. He also had only one turnover.
Anthony’s propensity to get others involved has also benefited his teammates. Brooks, who finished with 25 points, has scored 25 or more for the three straight games. Robinson scored 18 points on his senior night. And Keeling, who had been on fire recently, added 9 points.
On Saturday, Brooks said the reason the Tar Heels are having success is because of “the way Cole is out there moving the ball, and we’re making shots.”
Because Georgia Tech dropped its appeal to the NCAA, UNC would be a No. 14 seed if the tournament started today. However, it still has a slight chance to rise to a No. 10 seed with a win over Duke, and the help of others.
And if Anthony and the Tar Heels can keep this up, they would be a dangerous matchup for any team in the tournament. They certainly believe that.
“We don’t think ‘maybe we can do it,’” Robinson said of running the table in the post season. “We know we can do it.”
Current ACC standings (ACC records)
1. Louisville (15-4)
2. Florida State (14-4)
3. Duke (14-5)
4. Virginia (13-5)
5. Syracuse (10-9)
6. Notre Dame (9-9)
7. Clemson (9-9)
8. Georgia Tech (9-9)
9. N.C. State (9-10)
10. Boston College (7-12)
11. Miami (6-12)
12. Virginia Tech (6-12)
13. Pittsburgh (6-13)
14. Wake Forest (6-13)
15. UNC (6-13)
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "‘We’re not finished yet.’ With each win, the Tar Heels are gaining momentum."
