Tar Heels win, continue as a work in progress

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina freshman Dexter Strickland was 0-for-2 with one assist during two stints at shooting guard Monday night. The missed shots weren't all that important, considering the 11th-ranked Tar Heels easily topped Gardner-Webb 93-72 at the Smith Center.

What was key was that he was playing shooting guard at all.

Three days after UNC lost its first game of the season, coach Roy Williams continued to tinker with lineups in anticipation of a brutal stretch against top-25 foes Michigan State (Dec. 1), Kentucky (Dec. 5) and Texas (Dec. 19).

Strickland, a more natural shooting guard who has been playing backup point guard because there aren't that many ballhandlers on the team, played with starting point guard Larry Drew II for the first time in a game this season. Starting shooting guard Marcus Ginyard spent a bit of time at both small forward and point guard. Sophomore Justin Watts played some shooting guard in a big lineup. The Wear twins were on the court together on a more consistent basis.

"I think, right now, [Coach] is still trying to find out what he has with his players," said senior Deon Thompson, who tied his career high with 22 points. "He's definitely trying to find that right rotation, and who can play together, who meshes well together. Coach is still trying to find what this team's about."

What the team was about against the Bulldogs (3-1) was dominating down low. Although the Tar Heels (5-1) were tight to open the game - missing multiple layups and dunks around the basket - they converted 29 of their 47 shots in the lane, while making only 1 of 4 3-pointers.

Forwards Tyler Zeller (16 points) and Ed Davis (15) also finished in double figures. And in the end they needed that production, as Gardner-Webb guard Grayson Flittner, a former walk-on, buried nine 3-pointers and finished with 32 points.

"Congratulations to Grayson," Williams said. "Coach [Steve] Robinson said that he had tied the record for the most 3-pointers by an opponent in the Smith Center [with Georgia Tech's Drew Barry and Dennis Scott], so I told him that at the end of the game and congratulated him."

Leading 23-17, Carolina pulled away using a 12-0 run that included Strickland's first stint playing beside Drew.

Then Strickland was back on the floor at point guard when, with about 2:30 left in the first half, freshman John Henson blocked C.J. Hailey's shot on the perimeter and saved the ball from going out of bounds by bounce-passing it between his legs. Davis picked it up near midcourt and missed a 5-footer, but then Strickland put it back to give Carolina a 47-33 lead

Asked if he found some things he liked in playing different combinations, Williams replied: "I'm not willing to say that, but you know you're not going to know unless you try."

And he needed to try something, considering he's still not getting a lot of output from Henson (3 points, 13 minutes) off the bench, Strickland hasn't looked particularly comfortable at point guard, and the team often looks more like a bunch of talented individuals rather than a cohesive unit.

Williams noted that Sunday marked only the 24th practice for Tar Heels, while last year's 24th came before that team had even played its first game.

"We still have a lot of teaching to do, and we're still trying to give some guys some opportunities to decide whether they're going to be a player or not - whether they're going to be one [of the guys] in the main rotation or not," Williams said.

No. 11 North Carolina 93, Gardner-Webb 72

Three-point goals: 15-36, .417 (Flittner 9-16, Silver 2-3, Engelken 2-4, Staton 1-2, McNair 1-5, Hailey 0-1, Moore 0-1, Brown 0-4). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 2 (Johnson, MacMillan). Turnovers: 22 (McNair 5, Hailey 4, Flittner 3, Henley 3, Engelken 2, MacMillan 2, Staton, Brown, Moore). Steals: 8 (Flittner 4, McNair, Johnson, MacMillan, Hailey).

Three-point goals: 1-4, .250 (Thornton 1-1, Strickland 0-1, Ginyard 0-1, Graves 0-1). Team rebounds: 0. Blocked shots: 3 (Davis 2, Henson). Turnovers: 16 (Drew II 3, Graves 2, Thompson 2, Ginyard 2, Davis 2, D.Wear 2, Strickland, Campbell, T.Wear). Steals: 11 (Ginyard 3, Thompson 2, Drew II, Zeller, T.Wear, Gallagher, Graves, Davis).

Att.-17,005. Officials-Mike Wood, Bernard Clinton, Jerry Heater.