Reaction From a Tar Heel Fan
Photo: Jim Hawkins/Inside Carolina
UNC 88
Duke 72
Last night was the first matchup between North Carolina and Duke on the basketball court and it will no doubt be a game that many people won’t forget soon. The reason for this is Duke’s Zion Williamson injuring his knee thirty seconds into the game by busting through his shoe trying to make a play on the court. He did not return to the game, leaving everyone who payed $3,000+ for a seat wondering where their money had gone. It is unfortunate Williamson got hurt and I hope he gets healthy soon. As a Carolina fan, I wanted the Tar Heels to beat Duke while they were at their best…as any sports fan should want. Without him playing, it is impossible to predict how the game would have turned out differently. At the end of the day, I am extremely happy Carolina went into the toughest place to play in college basketball, against a Duke team that was ranked #1 with two other lottery picks (after Zion), and got the win.
Photo: abc11.com
With the intensity and high-emotions of this rivalry, it makes sense that veteran teams usually have more success. That’s exactly what Carolina relied on last night, with seniors Luke Maye and Cameron Johnson coming up big. Maye had 30 points and 15 rebounds, while Johnson added 26 points. Those two did what upper classmen usually do in big-time games, and that’s stay calm and play their games. It was very much needed because Coby White, who’s had a sensational year, looked every bit of a freshman last night. I like Coby a lot, but he looked rattled. He uncharacteristically turned the ball over, missed a lot of shots, took bad shots, and made many bad decisions. Most likely it was just coming into Cameron and playing on a stage that big, against the #1 team in the country, with many famous people in the building, everyone in the nation watching on television, as a 19-year old. While Seventh Woods did “Seventh Woods-like” things that frustrated me, he provided several good minutes last night with some really good assists. I actually wanted him in the game at times over White because his two-year age difference was showing.
I was also very pleased with Garrison Brooks, once again, with 14 points on the night and 8 rebounds. After a very slow start to the year, he has been coming along real nice in ACC play. I also tend to forget he’s just a sophomore, so with two more years he could grow into a very reliable player in the post for Carolina. I do question Roy Williams’s use of Nassir Little, though. The guy is a freak-athlete and projected to be a lottery pick, yet he played just 11 minutes last night. He didn’t contribute much when he was in the game, but he doesn’t really get the chance to when he’s put in the game for just a few minutes at a time. Maybe it had to do with his ankle injury from the Virginia game, but I haven’t heard anyone mention that. It really is confusing to me, because his athleticism would have been a key asset to have in that game.
Another big takeaway from this game was poor three-point shooting—from both teams. Carolina shot just 2-20 from 3-point range. If you would have told me that before the game, I would’ve said they would lose by double digits. Duke didn’t shoot it much better percentage-wise, making 8 of 39 attempts. Overall, it was a sloppy night for both teams. If Maye and Johnson hadn’t stepped up like they did, it would have been a much closer game.
It’s yet to be known how long Zion Williamson will be out, but it looked to me that Duke doesn’t know how to play without him. While still very talented, they rely on Williamson heavily on both ends of the floor. Their post presence was very weak last night in his absence, and they had no rhythm on offense. This was evident in them taking 39 three pointers. They are not a good shooting team, and if that’s what they turn into when they don’t have Zion, then they will have a lot of trouble against good teams if he isn’t in the lineup.
It always feels good to win the first of these matchups, especially when it’s on the road. In just over two weeks, the two schools will meet again, this time in Chapel Hill. I expect both teams to shoot better and take care of the ball better in that one, considering it is the second game and the freshmen from both schools will be a little more settled down since they’ve already played once. Like always, it will be a fun one.
Garett