After playing a string of lackluster opponents, wins against Appalachian State and Nicholls State that didn't even merit a blog post, the Heels took on - and dismantled - a legitimate basketball team tonight in Rick Barnes' Texas Longhorns.
It was great to see the Heels rise to the occasion and blow out the Longhorns - and Barnes. I know Dean would not approve, but I really like taking it to the Hickory native who was rude enough to get in Coach Smith's face a few times when he coached at Clemson. Of course, Carolina was on an 0 for 4 streak against Texas, so simply breaking that streak was good.
What made it great was how the Heels did it.
One, Harrison Barnes broke out of mini-slump, one that may have been brought on by being less than focused against those lesser opponents - though that's not excuse. Tonight he looked like an All-American, making shots from all over the floor (on 9 for 15 shooting), putting the ball on the floor, rebounding, and Barnes also dished out a nice assist to Henson, on his way to a 25 and 10 double double.
Two, despite a few lapses the Heels were solid on defense, holding Texas to 35 percent (both for 2 and 3-point shots) and out rebounding the Longhorns 49 to 34.
Three, as any Carolina fan knows when the Heels defend and rebound that translates into fast break points - in bunches. North Carolina used two such bursts, once in the first half when Texas had cut the lead to 8 at 24-16 and again early in the second half to basically salt the game away with about 15 minutes to play.
Finally, getting fast break points was not the only Carolina trademark on display tonight. The Heels repeatedly pounded the ball inside, either from passes from Kendall Marshall or Jon Henson, or thanks to drives by Barnes, or some freak nasty drives and dunks by Dexter Strickland,* Henson, Barnes and P.J. Hairston.*
It was an impressive win against an above average opponent. We saw Carolina rise to the occasion, offensively thanks to Barnes, defensively and on the boards as a team. As a result, Carolina blew Texas tonight.
GO HEELS!
Though the last few games before the tilt against Texas were not blog worthy, there was one development worth mentioning. This stretch of home games has seen ol' Roy use the vintage Dean Smith half court run and jump defense. Do yourselves a favor and check out this video of Dean talking about it.
Like getting the ball down low and running - even on a made basket - the run and jump is a central part of Carolina basketball. It's use in the last decade or so has waxed and waned, but this year Roy seems to be reemphasizing it.
There could be two reasons, one cynical and one practical. Cynically, the run and jump may be a way to hide Marshall's defensive deficiencies. Carolina's point guard has to disrupt the other teams offense by pressuring their point guard, something Marshall sometimes struggles to do. The run and jump should help Marshall.
*Extra freak nasty
