CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- When the preseason polls finally come out, North Carolina is going to be ranked pretty high. They've been getting a lot of buzz since the end of last season, which ended in the second round against Iowa State in a close loss, as they return most of their pieces from last season. Including All-ACC guard Marcus Paige.
But if they needed any reminder of what made last season so frustrating for them, they got it early in this off-season.
North Carolina took a trip to the Bahamas for a few exhibition games, and they lost the opener.
It's just an exhibition, right? So it's meaningless anyway, right?
Not to them.
"You never want to lose, no matter what the situation is," UNC's lone senior, Jackson Simmons, said. "It really drove home the point again that, like we experienced last year sometimes coming off big wins, that anybody can beat you and no one cares if you beat whoever you beat the game before. It just reiterated a lesson and a demon that we have to face. We're looking forward to that challenge, along with trying to see where we're at at year's end."
Last year, the Tar Heels would alternate wins over ranked opponents with inexplicable losses. Things evened out over the course of the year, but it was still a bit of a roller-coaster.
Whether the 2014-15 Tar Heels will be ready to steady the ride this season reminds a mystery, but UNC's annual Late Night with Roy festivities wouldn't necessarily be the best place to gauge their sense of seriousness and focus, anyway.
During the annual Late Night with Roy festivities, the team shows off its fun side. They do skits, videos, dance, sing, etc. -- there was fun had by all. Head coach Roy Williams' young grandchildren did their best imitation of him in a funny video, and sophomore forward Kennedy Meeks lip-synched Whitney Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You", complete with rolling around on the floor.
After the fun, the teams scrimmaged. And one thing was clear right away -- the incoming freshman class is going to contribute, and quickly. Last year, without wing P.J. Hairston, they lacked a dynamic scoring option and had very few options at the two-guard and wing spots. There was also no depth at point guard, and so Paige had to stay on the ball as freshman Nate Britt wasn't ready and there were no other options.
Problem solved, seemingly.
One of the three freshmen is Joel Berry, a point guard that seems like he'll be a third option at that spot, and sophomore Stilman White (back from a Mormon mission) will provide even more depth there.
But the difference at wing is obvious. Freshman Theo Pinson, a 6-6 wing, is comfortable with the ball in his hands and has a great court vision, if his nifty assists in the scrimmage were any indication. The other freshman wing, Justin Jackson (a lanky 6-7) is a natural scorer, seemingly, finishing with a game-high 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting.
And it was a quiet 17, if a freshman scoring 17 points (even in a scrimmage) is possible. He just made shots around the basket, a few jumpers too, but he attacked, and that is something the Tar Heels certainly need from that spot. (Paige was the only other Tar Heel in double digits with 10 in a game that ended 41-40.)
Meeks said that's frequently Jackson in practice, too -- when games go to seven, they will look up and all of a sudden Jackson has had a quick four himself.
The extra time practicing in the off-season has helped the freshmen integrate themselves into the team, Simmons said.
"Defensively, they're really good. It helps that we've had almost 8-9 practices with the Bahamas and with the NCAA letting us do stuff in the summer," Simmons said. "They're all full of energy, and that's a good thing to have. They all can get to the rack and shoot. When you have three identical pieces like that to mesh in with everything that we have, that's tough to beat."
