Heels have some needs

North Carolina is getting a little tired of hearing that "young" word thrown around.

"We're basketball players; age doesn't matter in anything you do,'' said senior Deon Thompson, the lone returning starter left from last year's national title team. "If we weren't talented, guys would not be here and coach wouldn't bring them here."

But if they're going to bounce back from Friday's 87-71 loss to Syracuse - and start preparing for a brutal stretch of games against top-25 foes Michigan State (Dec. 1), Kentucky (Dec. 5) and Texas (Dec. 19) - they're going to have to start growing (up) fast, beginning tonight against Gardner-Webb.

A few keys:

Thompson needs to score. His 11-point output against the Orange might be an anomaly - and it needs to be. Coach Roy Williams has said he doesn't want to put pressure on the senior by saying he must record a certain amount of points, but on a team where outside shooting is going to be off and on, at best, his swishes need to be a constant down low.

John Henson needs to make an appearance. Despite standing 6 feet 10, one of the top recruits in the nation has virtually disappeared as a reserve small forward, averaging only three points and 2.8 rebounds. It could be nerves, could be playing among a rotation of so many big guys, could be that he's not quite ready to play the "3" at this level. But he and the sixth-ranked Tar Heels need to find a way to use his wingspan and athleticism.

The defense needs to be consistent. It's obvious that Williams is still playing with rotations and figuring out just who can give what, when. But even if the timing of alley-oops is off and the guards are throwing up airballs, a constant could - and should - be the defense. Syracuse shot 62.9 percent in the second half, an unacceptable stat for a team that is going to need to count on defense when its shots aren't falling.

Even if it is young.

"People say that, but Coach doesn't want to use that as an excuse,'' point guard Larry Drew II said. "Experience, yeah, you could use that as an excuse - but we're all ballplayers, and we know what we're supposed to do out there."

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