North Carolina’s backcourt picture is getting more interesting by the day, and Matt Able is at the center of it.
The Tar Heels are set to bring in a guard group that already has a lot of attention attached to it, with Able and Terrence Brown giving UNC a pair of transfers who have flashed real production at previous stops. Able made an impression as a freshman at North Carolina State, while Brown emerged at Fairleigh Dickinson before moving on to the University of Utah.
Able’s path has also taken him through the NBA draft process, where some wondered whether he might be ready to jump. He eventually withdrew, and the experience gave him something to take back to Chapel Hill. The main takeaway, he said, was that he was able to show a side of his game that did not always get much exposure at NC State.
That matters because the box score last season was light in one key area. Able averaged 0.9 assists, a number that sits well below what you want from a guard, even if assists don’t tell the whole playmaking story.
“When I played in the combine, they didn’t know I could playmake as good as I did just because of my role last year,” Able said, per On3. “So I think that was a big thing and they were happy to see that.”
He expanded on that point Friday, explaining that playmaking can show up in a few different ways depending on the matchup and the coverage.
“(Showcasing my playmaking) means a lot of different things,” Able said Friday. “Depending on the situation and the matchup, certain teams are going to play different coverages, and that will have me playing a different role. So I think it’s a lot of different things: ball screens, bringing it up, pushing in transition.”
There’s already a belief around this North Carolina team that it may not be elite, but it could still be better than people expect. If Able gives UNC more of the playmaking he says he showed during the draft process, that guard room gets a lot more dangerous.
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UNC Faces A Defining Final Road Test Before Coming Home
Carolina field hockey is nearing the end of a three-week road trip, and the last stop away from home brings a useful measuring stick before the team heads back to Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels will see Saint Josephs first, then No. 17 Liberty, with the trip giving them one more chance to sharpen things after a recent 3-0 win over No. 16 Louisville showed how dangerous they can look against ranked opposition.
The timing matters because these final road games also fold into a stretch that has already featured familiar history and a chance to stack results before the schedule turns again. Carolina has leaned on players like Charly Bruder, whose career scoring total has become part of the teams offensive backbone, and now the question is whether that balance can carry over one more weekend before the Tar Heels finally come home. [Read more 🡒]
UNC May Have Found A Passing Weapon Defenses Cant Ignore
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UNC Freshman Sayon Keita Is Forcing His Way Into A Bigger Role
Sayon Keita did not arrive in Chapel Hill with much time to settle in, but the 7-foot freshman center has already made himself hard to ignore. The Mali native came over from FC Barcelonas system in Spain shortly before the semester started, then quickly began showing the kind of size and skill package that can change a frontcourt conversation for North Carolina.
Michael Malone has been encouraged enough by Keitas transition to a new country and a new college game to believe he can push for meaningful minutes right away. Keita reclassified to join the Tar Heels this season after committing on April 28, and the only real question now is how quickly his game translates once the competition for playing time tightens. [Read more 🡒]