CHAPEL HILL -- After his team's 83-60 victory against Boston College here on Saturday, North Carolina coach Roy Williams spent more time in the Tar Heels locker room, talking to his team, than he had after any other game this season.
It might have been easy enough to discern his message after a victory that was, at times, sloppy. Still, Williams played coy when asked what he told the Tar Heels (14-2, 1-0) following their first ACC victory.
"It's like Vegas," Williams said, pausing for effect. "Things you say in the locker room need to stay in the locker room. But we've got to be better. And we talked about some of the mistakes."
The Eagles, who entered the Smith Center with an RPI well into the 200s and with losses against the likes of Holy Cross and Boston University, never seriously threatened No. 3 UNC. But Boston College successfully frustrated the Heels to the point that Williams spent a good portion of the second half stomping about in front of his team's bench.
Williams became particularly animated during a six-minute stretch in the second half when the Eagles (5-10, 0-1) trimmed UNC's 21-point lead to nine with about nine minutes to play. At the next media timeout, the Tar Heels surrounded Williams while he emphatically made his points.
"I jumped them pretty hard," Williams said.
Leading into the start of ACC play, Williams and his players often spoke of the importance of raising their level of intensity and execution. But UNC started sluggishly on Saturday, and led 15-14 midway through the first half before using a 10-0 run that helped build a 40-27 halftime lead.
The Tar Heels were sharp at times. Harrison Barnes, for one, made 10 of his 15 shots and finished with a game-high 25 points. And, similar to that key run in the first half, UNC began the second with a 10-2 spurt.
But then it got sloppy. Amid the Heels' shrinking lead, point guard Kendall Marshall at one point attempted a lob pass to Barnes. The pass deflected off Barnes' hand, over the backboard and out of bounds. Williams immediately benched Marshall.
"He got after me," Marshall said. "... He told me that maybe he recruited the wrong player to make that pass. And you know, when you attack me as a passer, I take that to heart. Because I feel that's what I do well.
"So I just wanted to go out there and make it right."
Marshall returned about 30 seconds later and finished with 11 assists. UNC senior forward Tyler Zeller, meanwhile, finished with 20 points and missed just four of his 12 field goal attempts.
The production from Barnes and Zeller - and Marshall, outside of that one mistake - pleased Williams. But there were enough negatives to make him yell plenty, too, and for him to spend extra time with his team after the game.
"You've got to accept that Coach is trying to make you a better player," Zeller said. "When he is yelling at you, he cares. My dad used to always tell me that when they quit yelling at you, you need to worry about it."
