Lucas: Furman Rapid Reactions – University of North Carolina Athletics

By Adam Lucas

1. Too much size for Carolina in a 74-61 win over Furman.

2. That felt very much like an old school Carolina game in which the Tar Heels pounded it inside (owning the points in the paint at 44-24 and the rebounds at 43-23) while the opposition bombed away from three-point range. It worked in the first half, when Furman went 8-for-15 from three and had a 39-39 tie at the break. But the Paladins eventually cooled off, finishing 9-for-31, and Carolina’s size was just too much for them to overcome.

3. Dawson Garcia had a terrific first half on his way to 16 points. The Tar Heel big man scored inside and outside, made six trips to the free throw line, grabbed five rebounds and led the team in assists with three. Two of those assists were of the gorgeous variety–the first coming when he loaded a three-pointer but then instead found Armando Bacot inside, and the second when he was double-teamed and fired to Leaky Black for a dunk late in the half. Garcia finished with a double-double, scoring 20 points to go with his ten rebounds.

4. That was one of two Tar Heels with double-doubles, as Armando Bacot added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Both Bacot and Garcia had four offensive rebounds apiece as Carolina held a 19-0 edge in second chance points. 

5. Quietly, the other Carolina big man, Brady Manek also had a good game. Manek’s outside shot hasn’t fallen at the rate he would like in the last couple games, but he was very good around the basket on Tuesday, racking up 13 points (with just one three-pointer) to go with his six rebounds.

6. Furman did a good job of making the Tar Heels play offense in the halfcourt. Carolina manged just nine fast break points, but they were much more efficient offensively in the second half, consistently getting the ball inside in good scoring position.

7. Kerwin Walton really needs something good to happen. The sophomore played six first half minutes and did not scratch in the box score. Carolina has other players who can shoot from the outside, which was the major weapon Walton added last year. He needs to find another way to contribute until he’s able to find the outside space to shoot.

8. Picking up some good minutes in the rotation spot sometimes held by Walton has been Anthony Harris. The guard got some minutes guarding the hot-shooting Alex Hunter in the second half and was aggressive offensively, providing some needed drives to the rim. Hunter had just four points in the second half after scoring 17 in the first half; most of the second half defense against him was handled by Caleb Love and Harris. The Tar Heels still need to force more turnovers defensively–they coaxed Furman into just seven.

9. Fun fact about Furman head coach Bob Richey, who seems to be a rising star in the coaching business and is doing a great job with the Paladins: he went to two years of basketball camp at Carolina, where his counselor was former Tar Heel point guard Jeff McInnis. Richey vividly remembers staying at Granville Towers with the other campers, watching Jerry Stackhouse play one-on-one on the Granville courts, and staring up at the Smith Center banners during camp sessions.

10. You had to be at the Smith Center to get this, but that was some of the best in-game dancing by fans–especially the younger variety–in quite some time. And kudos to the GoHeels Productions crew for capturing it in a fun way.