Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Drew Passes the Test

Carolina got it's opening night jitters out of the way last night in defeating Isaiah Thomas' Florida International Golden Panthers 80-something to 60-something.

The new-look Heels looked sloppy at times and committed 26 turnovers.  But like I said, for opening night with a slew of new players that is to be expected.

The good points far outweighed the negative ones.  Including:
  • The Heels shot the ball very well, and finished at 56 percent for the game;
  • Deon Thompson finished with 20 and 10 in only 20 minutes; he was a aggressive and dare I say "Brad Dougherty-esque?"
  • Marcus Ginyard made two three-pointers on his way to 12 points; overall the Heels went 4-13 from three (12 points on 13 shots, so respectable but not great);
  • Tyler Zeller looked good as he netted 12 points in 20 minutes.
But best of all was the soothing play of Larry Drew II.  He looked great running the offense, whether he was running the break or feeding the post.  It was a reassuring night from the biggest question mark on this year's Carolina team.   His final line was 7 points, 6 assists, and one three-pointer, against only two turnovers. 

If Drew finishes the season with a 3-1 assist-to-turnover ratio the Heels will make some serious noise in the ACC and NCAA tournament.

The other thing that stood out was the defense.  The Heels rotated pretty well last night, and the bigs especially did a good job moving their feet and staying in front of FIU.  And Ed Davis took up where he left off, with four blocks.

Granted, it is just one game against a pretty inferior foe.  Nonetheless, Larry Drew reassured many a Heels  fan in Tar Nation last night.  I know my anxiety level dropped quite a bit last night.

A Few Random Thoughts Then It's Back To Work
  • How about the throw-back unis? No one was expecting RED trim; all the shots I've ever seen of the undefeated 1957 national champs were in black and white.  Who knew?
  • I loved Deon's hustle play in the second half when he made a steal, then fell on his back side before making a bad pass that was intercepted by FIU.  However, instead of sulking he jumped up and challenged the ensuing lay up, a shot FIU missed thanks to Deon's hustle.
  • Isaiah Thomix Sux!
Go Heels!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Two reviews of Drew II:

Drew II looks good: Sophomore point guard Larry Drew II looked good in his debut running the show for North Carolina. Drew has a good handle and passes well. North Carolina will not have a point guard that can take over a game in Drew, but he is more than capable of running the team efficiently. With all of the understandable hand wringing over the loss of Ty Lawson to the NBA, North Carolina will be just fine with Drew II. – Jay Bilas

But the best news for the Tar Heels was the steady play of Drew, who can't be compared to the speedy Ty Lawson but is handling himself quite well. Drew scored seven points, set up his teammates with six assists and had only two of the team's alarmingly high 26 turnovers. – Andy Katz