Joel Berry stood out in UNC’s win over Memphis during Friday’s secret scrimmage in Memphis.
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We are just a week removed from the annual Late Night With Roy event where fans got their first look at the North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball program.
With the season just a few weeks away, the Tar Heels have been practicing as they hope to repeat as national champions this season. Part of those practices includes a “secret scrimmage” game for the Tar Heels as they take on a Division I opponent in a scrimmage game.
These secret scrimmages have become increasingly popular over the years and the Tar Heels have continued this trend into 2017.
For their game this season, UNC traveled to Tennessee to take on Memphis Friday afternoon as they played against actual competition other than themselves.
The Tar Heels came out on top in the scrimmage beating the Tigers 70-64.
While the media and fans were not permitted to attend, UNC sent out a release detailing what happened in the game and there’s some good news for Tar Heels fans.
Senior Joel Berry led both teams with 14 points in the game, adding four assists and four steals in his 21 minutes. He drained 4-of-6 three-point attempts, a good sign going into the season.
The point guard appears to be picking up right where he left off as he won the Final Four Most Outstanding Player award back in April. Berry is undoubtedly the leader of this team and UNC’s success will often hinge on his game.
As a team the Tar Heels shot 40.4 percent from the field including 7-of-20 from beyond the arc.
Junior Luke Maye finished with 11 points and freshman Garrison Brooks grabbed 10 rebounds in the win.
UNC did struggle taking care of the basketball, something we saw at times last season. They committed 21 turnovers against the Tigers but still managed to win the game.
It’s still early and just a scrimmage game, so it’s not surprising that they were just a little sloppy against the Tigers.
The Tar Heels will now prepare for an exhibition game against Barton on Friday night. They open the season on Nov. 10, hosting Northern Iowa in the Dean Dome.
