North Carolina’s preseason has left plenty to clean up, and the biggest issue is staring right at the Tar Heels: the slow starts.
That problem showed up again Tuesday night in an 89-82 overtime win over Charlotte, and the game was far closer than North Carolina would have liked. In fact, the Tar Heels were fortunate to survive long enough to get to overtime at all. What should have been a more comfortable final exhibition instead turned into another reminder that this team is still searching for rhythm.
The opening minutes told the story. North Carolina missed eight of its first 10 shots and went five minutes without a made field goal, a rough stretch that helped keep Charlotte in the fight throughout the night. It was the same kind of sluggish beginning that has haunted the Tar Heels in all three preseason games.
After the game, head coach Michael Malone was asked in his postgame press conference what caused the slow start and why it has to be corrected right away.
There is some context here. North Carolina is working with 11 new players and a new head coach, so this kind of unevenness is not exactly shocking.
Chemistry takes time, and preseason is often where those growing pains show up. Still, the Tar Heels can’t afford to let this linger once the games start counting.
These issues need to be ironed out during the non-conference schedule before ACC play arrives.
The encouraging part for North Carolina is that, based on the personnel, there should be a point where this group settles in and starts looking more like the team it’s supposed to be. The urgency is obvious, too, with the Tar Heels having been bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons.
For this team, offense is going to drive everything. That’s especially true if rebounding remains a problem.
But before any of that matters, North Carolina has to stop digging itself early holes. That trend has to go.
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There was one bit of good news for the Tar Heels, with defensive lineman Zavion Griffin-Haynes now considered available. Miami will also be short-handed, with six players out for the game, but the biggest update for UNC may still be coming later, when the final availability report is released two hours before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]