ROBERT WILLETT-rwillett@newsobser
Tar Heels Leslie McDonald, left, Dexter Strickland (5), Ed Davis (32), Marcus Ginyard (1), and Deon Thompson (21) gather following a time-out in the first half, after falling behind 29-11 against Georgia Tech.
CHAPEL HILL -- These are strange days for North Carolina basketball.
The Tar Heels' 73-71 loss to Georgia Tech Saturday afternoon in the Smith Center came within an eyelash of being a great escape but North Carolina isn't in a place right now where it makes enough good things happen to offset the bad.
It was the Tar Heels' third loss in four games, dating back to their surprising splat at the College of Charleston 13 days ago. That's where coach Roy Williams senses his team's confidence took an uppercut and hasn't recovered.
With most of their national championship team picking up paychecks for their hoops these days, this figured to be a young and impressionable North Carolina team. It didn't, necessarily, figure to be one that would stall or backslide as this one seems to have done.
With a solid dose of exasperation in his voice, Williams was talking about his team's fragile confidence Saturday, saying he's not accustomed to coaching teams that lack a little swagger. He's getting a taste of it now, though.
"In the ACC, people don't give you wins," Williams said. "You have to play, you have to take things..."
Right now, all the Tar Heels are taking are their lumps.
Georgia Tech figured to be a problem for the Tar Heels inside where the Yellow Jackets' strong and aggressive big men, particulary Gani Lawal and Zach Peacock, could muscle North Carolina's collection of tall, thin youngsters.
There was some of that but the larger problem was in the backcourt where the Tar Heels' point guards - Larry Drew II and Dexter Strickland - combined to make just two of 10 shots, nine assists and six turnovers. On the other side, Georgia Tech's Iman Shumpert gave a 30-point demonstration of why Williams recruited him aggressively three years ago.
Though there were reasons for encouragement - Will Graves shot the Tar Heels back into the game in the second half and for stretches North Carolina played with the sense of conviction Williams wants - but the reality remains a gray area.
When you watch North Carolina play, you're not sure where to look or whom to look for. It's clear the Tar Heels are still searching for their identity. If they have a guy who will grab a team by the waistband and pull them where they need to go, that guy hasn't done it yet.
Maybe he will. But who?
And when?
The Tar Heels are 12-6 overall, 1-2 in the league and, for the moment, moving in the wrong direction. If there's such a thing as an easier part of the schedule, North Carolina is in it. Starting with Georgia Tech, the Tar Heels play three of their next four at home (Wake Forest and Virginia) with a visit to N.C. State tucked inside.
The long-term view is more ominous. North Carolina has seven ACC road games remaining and considering the Tar Heels are 1-5 away from the Smith Center this year, the challenge increases. Granted, four of the Tar Heels' road losses have been to ranked teams (Syracuse, Kentucky, Texas and Clemson) but there aren't any easy ones left.
Williams said the only thing he knows to do is to work his team through this. There's no magic formula. The Tar Heels aren't going to instantly be world beaters.
In an ACC that lacks a great team but may have plenty of good teams, North Carolina remains an enigma.
"Another day of soul searching," North Carolina senior Marcus Ginyard said after the game.
That's strange at North Carolina.
