By Andrew Jones
FOXSportsSouth.com
February 6, 2011
Chapel Hill - Whatever the reasons were that led to Larry Drew's abrupt departure from North Carolina's basketball team Friday, one thing is for certain: The Tar Heels don't appear to miss him one bit.
There might be a time or two in the near future when UNC coach Roy Williams would rather have Drew's defensive prowess on the floor, but overall, the Tar Heels were a better team Sunday in clobbering Florida State 89-69 than at any time this season. And that Drew and the problems that came with his connection were nowhere near the Dean Smith Center isn't just a coincidence.
Carolina was extremely efficient in dispatching the Seminoles, a team regarded by most pundits as one the top defensive teams in the nation. Marshall will absorb most of Drew's 20 minutes, but some will also go to wings Leslie McDonald, Reggie Bullock and Marshall. Thus, UNC is simply more explosive because McDonald and Bullock are effective perimeter shooters whose whole games are beginning to take shape.
But with Marshall getting additional minutes from the 21 he had been averaging for the last few weeks, expect UNC to function at a higher and more consistent level for the rest of the season than it has.
Marshall is better than Drew, much better. This is no secret, of course, to those who have even casually followed the Tar Heels. But his nine-point, 16-assist performance
