Jan 12, 2026
3 min read
As Saturday's win showed, without course correction, No. 17 UNC is likely to lose against an opponent tougher than its talent.
The Tar Heel has far more talent than the graft.
In the definition, Merriam-Webster uses such words and expressions as stubbornness, intransigence, endurance, unity, holding together with strength.17 UNC can meet these conditions, but they have yet to show it against Power 4 competition.
Carolina has the best big man combination in the ACC and possibly the nation with Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, both averaging more than 30 minutes per game, not in the top 15 in the ACC.Head coach Hubert Davis gave them plenty of rest, rotating Jarin Stevenson and Luka Bogavac.While those two are the best free throw shooters on the team, their field goal accuracy (a combined 1-for-10 against Wake Forest on Saturday) is a big disadvantage compared to Wilson and Veesaar.Starting guard Kyan Evans shot 10 percentage points lower than he did at Colorado State.Fortunately, guard Jaden Young propelled Carolina to a tight 87-84 victory over the Demon Deacons.The Virginia Tech transfer hit a season-high three 3-pointers as he played the most minutes so far this season, more than 19.
Senior captain Seth Tremblay is an all-around vanguard — but his offensive stats are also part of poor outside shooting when opponents like 10-7 Deacon get hot and blow a 15-point lead into a game, or a close game becomes a blowout like it did at SMU.Junior and fellow rookie Jonathan Powell knocked down 5 of Carolina's 9 3-pointers on Saturday, but Bogavak, Stevenson and Trimble made six attempts.
Davis also expressed his displeasure with the inconsistency, which — if not changed — could end the postseason early.
"It's our growth for us as a team," he said, because heck, it's at a high level."And we don't need to rest during the lift."They agree on their qualifications.
Without a fix, the heels may fall to a fraudulent opponent rather than a malicious talent.HDOt, but trust is an important part of his job.
"After the game, I was really proud of the guys," said Davis, as UNC marked its 500th win named after its college coach and mentor."It wasn't perfect, obviously -- but when we needed to make a play, we did it. Whether it was free throws, stops, box-outs, nets, getting the ball in the hands of our great skill-wise, our great free shooters ... all these little things play a role in doing great things.
“But,” he added, “this is conference basketball.It doesn't matter whether you're on the road or at home.Every game is a challenge and you have to accept it."
It's almost unimaginable that a team can shoot 53 percent from the floor, 35 percent from beyond the arc, and have a 15-point lead with less than 10 minutes left before finding themselves in a dogfight until the final buzzer.Hales made it possible by scoring a point in about five minutes.It also happened because Wilson made just two free throws in the game's final 11 minutes and took just two shots in the second half.When Davis was asked how that was possible, he responded by pointing out that teams were "throwing too many guys at him" — a two-pronged strategy that Wilson would have to deal with for the rest of the season.
The great Wilson still finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, his eighth 20/10 game of the season and 11th double-double.Veesaar was the real savior with 25 points, a career-high 9-of-10 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from the arc, which won't happen in every game.But the seven-footer, despite the versatility he has shown this season, cannot be the only player he can turn to.
Carolina outshot junior Wake Forest 35-27 and 13-10 on the offensive glass, which led to another 10 points in the paint and second-chance points.28 of the Deacons' 84 points came from Juke Harris and Nate Calmese, who drained 12 of the team's 14 3-pointers.Harris is fifth in the ACC with a 20-point average and Calmese is second in three-pointers, though not on the top 20 scorers list.He went 5-of-7 open looks on the long ball in the second half.
"Can we maintain the level that allowed us to lead the whole match?"Davis said."This has been consistent all year where we've had big leads and then we've sacrificed [them].] Whether it's attention to detail, effort, things like box-outs, defending without mistakes, mixing coverages, [poor] shot selection and turnovers ... those are the things that allow teams to get back into the game. And that's something we have to work on."
If recent media reports are any indication of locker room talk, the UNC coach continues to home in on the lack of discussion of his team's attitude that he wants to see.
"We've got to be a good, consistent defensive team," Davis began. "That's it. There's no other way. We've got to be a good counter-attacking team. Our number one way to score is turnovers. So once we get a rebound or a turnover, we've got to run because the numbers show we're more effective at transitioning quickly in the offensive phase."
"We have to execute — we have to be in the right places, we have to set the right screens, we have to go at the right time," he continued.“The bottom line is you have to care about basketball.And most years we've been good at it.We had 14 turnovers tonight and that can't happen.So... these five things have to be who we are, who we are, to be the best team we can be.And we have no other way or way."
Carolina went 14-2 in 2016, when the Heels lost the NCAA title game to Villanova.The Final Four is three months away, but sometimes it seems longer.
Photo submitted by Todd Melet / Chapel Hill Media Group.
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