North Carolina’s slow start has a simple explanation: this group is still learning how to play together.
The Tar Heels needed the full 40 minutes to get past Western Carolina in the season opener, and the uneven performance fit what Michael Malone and Matt Able described after the game. In their postgame pressers, both talked about an offense that has already shown flashes, but also stretches where it stalls out.
That kind of inconsistency makes sense for a roster that was rebuilt almost from the ground up. North Carolina added 11 players through the transfer portal and recruiting class this offseason, and outside of last season’s returnees - Jarin Stevenson, Jaydon Young, and Isaiah Denis - this is basically a brand-new team. Chemistry doesn’t show up overnight, and right now the Tar Heels are still in the part of the process where the good possessions and the clunky ones live side by side.
There are moments when the offense looks like Malone’s vision is starting to take shape. Then there are possessions where everything bogs down. That’s the reality of a team with this many new pieces, and the growing pains are part of the deal.
The good news for North Carolina is that there’s time to sort it out before the schedule tightens up. The Tar Heels have nearly a month to settle in before Arkansas comes to Chapel Hill on Dec. 1.
Even so, there’s plenty for Malone and his staff to clean up as the season moves forward. The biggest issue right now is all the movement on the roster, and that’s a big reason the start to the Malone era has been so sluggish. Against Wofford, the coaching staff will likely keep experimenting with rotations and different personnel combinations to figure out which groups actually click.
At this point, the lineup that stands out most is Neoklis Avdalas, Terrence Brown, Matt Able, Maximo Adams, and Jarin Stevenson.
In Other News...
UNC Just Lost A Key Path To Cameron Fens Help
The latest legal turn around college basketball eligibility has put Cameron Fens in a precarious spot, and North Carolina is watching closely. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and vacated the nationwide injunction in Wisne v. NCAA, a ruling that had been part of the broader fight over fifth-year players seeking another season of eligibility.
For Fens, the impact is immediate because he is still tied up in a separate Tennessee case, where the state Court of Appeals stayed his injunction and left him ineligible for now. His path back onto the court now hinges entirely on how that Tennessee lawsuit plays out, leaving UNC with one fewer avenue for help and another unresolved eligibility question hanging over the roster. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Just Got A Real Shot At A Five-Star Guard
Brady Pettigrews recruitment is starting to take shape, and North Carolina is firmly in the mix. The five-star guard has trimmed his list to 10 programs, putting the Tar Heels alongside a heavy group that includes Duke, Kentucky, Florida, Illinois, Michigan and others, and he recently wrapped up an official visit to Chapel Hill.
Pettigrew is currently ranked No. 9 overall in the Class of 2028, which already makes him one of the most coveted guards in the country. There is also growing speculation that he could reclassify into an earlier class, a possibility that would only heighten the urgency around his recruitment, even if no decision has been confirmed yet. [Read more 🡒]
UNC Delivered The Response Fans Needed After Early Criticism
After an uneven opener, North Carolina answered with the kind of complete effort fans had been waiting to see, rolling past Wofford 109-70 in its second game of the season. The Tar Heels looked far more connected on both ends, and the box score reflected it, with five players finishing in double figures and Terrence Brown pacing the way with 21 points.
Maximo Adams added a double-double as UNC controlled the glass and showed the depth that had been missing a game earlier. It was the sort of response that does not erase early questions, but it does give the Tar Heels a much better baseline to build from as the schedule starts to tighten. [Read more 🡒]