I am not sure what to do with this.
This game, taken by itelf is not a huge deal. Heading into this season most everyone expected this game to be a problem for UNC. Playing a road game versus a top five team in the ACC is harder than nailing Jello to the wall. In many respects this is not a horrid result, especially when you consider the 2005 team lost at Wake Forest by 13. At that point people questioned whether that team had the toughness to win against good teams on the road, something that was reinforced when they lost to Duke. Unfortunately we cannot take this game in a bubble and it does get viewed in concert with the loss to Boston College. When that happens you worry about the commanlities and the fact that teams like Clemson are on the schedule with the same mix of a physical inside game and good guard play. So in that respect I think it is not out of line to have concerns.
This game came down to making shots. And for now I am setting aside the defense. Yes it is a problem but just as there are some games you need a stout defense to win, in some games you simply need to post a bigger number on your side of the scoreboard. In this game the only Tar Heel that bothered showing up was Danny Green who played the game of his life on both ends of the floor. Green scored 22 points, had six board and five steals. Green hit 3 of 4 from three point range. Why Danny Green was not setup to take more shots is a genuine mystery. Aside from Green there was not much else. Tyler Hansbrough played what may have been one of the worst games of his career. Ty Lawson got shown up again by another high caliber scoring PG. Wayne Ellington found his shot a wee bit too late. Deon Thompson played soft. On and on and on.
If I had to name one concern it is the fact this team has, in two games, failed to make shots. Wake Forest is very good on defense and in a game that was very tightly called by the officials the flow gets really disupted. Still UNC had open looks, they had shots at point blank range they could not make. Like the BC game UNC did not break 40% from the floor and had some atrocious shooting going in the 2nd half. The bottom line is there is a celing for the level of defense this team can play. Even if Marcus Ginyard comes back at top form, there is only so good this Tar Heel team can be on defense. So if that is the case the offense needs to blow the doors off people. We know it is possible because it happened in Maui and versus Michigan State. The difference is Ty Lawson was not challenged the way he has been in the two losses and to no surprise the offense has suffered.
In some respects to only lose by three given the poor nature of UNC’s play might be a silver lining. However there are no moral victories and the reality is UNC is in an 0-2 hole in the ACC with a boatload of hype burning like a pile of old tires that can be smelled 10 blocks away. Questions aplenty with no clear answers in sight. Roy has his work cut out for him.
On a side note: Props to Jeff Teague for playing a big time game. And the officiating was inconsistent, screwed with the general flow of the game and really could have been better.
