Reeling Heels getting outworked

CHAPEL HILL -- Not that it’s particularly surprising, but things have gone from bad to bleak in the North Carolina basketball camp.

With Ed Davis sidelined by a left-ankle injury, there was every reason to suspect the Tar Heels would have trouble Wednesday night against a Wake Forest team that was still smarting from a 20-point Sunday loss at Duke.

But what actually unfolded in the Smith Center - Deacons 82, Carolina 69 - was worse than most people expected and certainly the Tar Heel players.

“Everyone in the locker room is speechless. That’s the best way to put it, I guess,” said freshman Travis Wear, who started in Davis’ absence.

Senior Deon Thompson wasn’t exactly flabbergasted, but he was plenty irritated.

“Around here, winning is the only thing and it’s up to us to get back to doing that,” Thompson said. “We’ve just got to make ourselves play a lot better.”

Through four ACC games, only one of which has resulted in a win, Carolina hasn’t been a good defensive team by anyone’s measurement. Against Wake, that defense went solidly sour.

Not only did the Heels (12-7 overall) have the predictable amount of trouble with Wake playmaker Ishmael Smith, they were at a loss to contain Chas McFarland and Al-Farouq Aminu inside. Heck, reserve Tony Woods even had his moments, finishing with six points in a limited role.

A perfect example of how it went inside for Carolina was the fact that McFarland was able to dodge foul trouble. Normally, the 7-foot, 245-pound McFarland is the sort of guy who can pick up a couple of personals during the pre-game lay-up drill.

“They missed not having Davis, that’s obvious. But at the same time, we came in here determined to make the best of this opportunity,” McFarland said. “They’re still a big team and this is never an easy place to play. We knew we had to make a stand. “

The Deacons (3-2 ACC, 13-4) stood alright. They stood on Carolina’s chest and knocked a lot of air out of a program that won the national championship last season and was ranked No. 6 in early season.

Much has changed since Carolina defeated Ohio State and Michigan State and lost by two points at Kentucky.

Roy Williams has cited a loss of confidence, but the team’s problems are not confined to its mental state.

That much is apparent in the lack of defensive effort. Smith (20 points, six assists) sliced through Carolina’s defense with such ease that the Heels at times resembled a summer AAU team. And with seven rebounds, the 6-foot, 175-pound guard rounded up more than any Carolina player except Will Graves, who had eight.

And even without the 6-10 Davis and 7-footer Ty Zeller, the Heels still should have had enough size to at least worry McFarland and Aminu. Instead, Carolina went perimeter-happy almost from the start, eventually firing off 3-point attempts 26 times with miserable results (six conversions).

“I don’t know if I can live through this,” Williams said. “Our starting post players get nine rebounds and their starting post players get 21 ... In the second half, they killed us on the boards.”

Which goes directly back to the tenacity issue. Right now, Carolina isn’t rebounding well for the same reason the defense is slack. The Heels simply are getting outworked.

“It’s up to us,” Wear said. “We can go belly-up or we can go back to playing the way we were earlier.”

One place the team for sure is going is on the road. With three away games among the next four, any improvement is going to have to be made amid difficult circumstances.