Voltar
The North Carolina Tar Heels needed a second-half surge to power through Wyoming, 76-63.
Nonetheless, North Carolina earned its third win of the season and showed improvement in several areas. With that in mind, here are report cards for each Tar Heel who played substantial minutes on Tuesday night. For the first time this season, Michael Malone shrunk the rotation. We didn't see all 10 players on the floor for substantial minutes.
The Virginia Tech transfer was disappointing, producing a single point, and was really a non-factor in the win. Even more concerning, Avdalas went 1-of-5 from the free-throw line. The 6-foot-9 guard was passive and didn't assert himself enough.
There were times he delivered beautiful passes to Sayon Keita for multiple dunks and layups, but other than that, he was underwhelming, to say the least.
For the second straight game, Brown took over, driving downhill and creating issues at the rim. The Utah transfer is playing to his strengths and isn't forcing shots from the perimeter. Brown was a major factor in the Tar Heels creating separation out of halftime, scoring their first eight points of the second half.
It wasn't the most efficient shooting performance, as he went 6-of-16 from the field, but again, he was the driving force in unlocking North Carolina and one of his teammates, who we'll talk about in a second. With Avdalas dormant, Brown took matters into his own hands. When all else fails, Brown will create offense out of thin air.
Able didn't score his first points until the two-minute mark in the first half, which was disappointing. However, the sophomore guard produced a solid night, recording 11 points, three rebounds, and three assists, while shooting 4-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
The efficiency will be a constant, consistent variable of Able's game. His ceiling and impact come down to how aggressive he is early in games. That's been non-existent in the last two games, but I'm not concerned, as Able has shot 50 percent or higher in every game.
Malone challenged Stevenson to be more aggressive this season. The skill set is there for the veteran forward to embody that, but he's struggled to establish himself in the last two games.
Similar to Able, the former Alabama forward wasn't poor from an efficiency standpoint, as he shot 3-of-5 from the field en route to scoring seven points. For the Tar Heels to improve in rebounding and hit their ceiling, Stevenson has to be more assertive on both ends of the court.
It took a while for Keita to find his footing in this game, as he only made two shots in the first half. However, as alluded to earlier, Brown's downhill aggression opened up opportunities for the freshman center off the glass.
For the first time this season, Keita didn't look sped up, and he played off his teammates, playing within the pace of the game. That contributed to him scoring 13 points, eight rebounds, six blocks, and three steals while shooting 6-of-9 from the field. This performance proved why NBA scouts view Keita as a potential first-round pick in the upcoming draft.
Adams has been the Tar Heels' best player this season. Tuesday night further proved this sentiment, as he produced 13 points and nine rebounds while shooting 4-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range. The former 4-star recruit wasted no time making an impact, as he recorded a block and two consecutive threes moments after entering the game, after the first media timeout.
The 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward's ability to be a high-level player on both ends of the court isn't typical for an incoming freshman. Adams is a potential superstar, and having that caliber of player off the bench is monumental for Malone.
This may seem like an outlandish grade for Denis, but the sophomore guard was instrumental in the win, keeping the team afloat in the first half. With the offense stalling out in the first half, Denis scored 11 points while shooting 4-for-4 from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
Denis was quiet in the second half, but he played with a different level of confidence that hadn't been there in the first two games.