RALEIGH - North Carolina coach Roy Williams gave his ACC champions the day off Monday and Tuesday, but Deon Thompson was hard at work in the weight room and in the gym, trying to get his game back.

During the ACC Tournament at Charlotte, the Tar Heels' sophomore forward, in his own words, "didn't play well at all."

In three games, he scored a total of eight points on 3-for-15 shooting and grabbed just 10 rebounds. He also saw more pine time than usual.

This led to a player-coach chat with Williams, who needs both Thompson and Alex Stepheson, who scored just 12 points with eight rebounds in a reserve role in the ACC Tournament, to accelerate now.

"Without being specific, I said he [Thompson] had to play better," Williams succinctly explained. "If your shots are not going in, you are not rebounding and not doing it on the other end -- I don't have much to hang my hat on and give you the opportunity to play more."

In all fairness, Thompson, averaging 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds overall, has been slowed by back and knee injuries. Refusing to make excuses, he insisted Thursday that his back is fine and that his knee is not a significant issue now.

"It's more a mind-set, more a mental thing," Thompson said. "This is big-time now, and me and Alex need to step up and do well."

That, of course, would give the Tar Heels another force inside and take some of the stress off Tyler Hansbrough.

THOUSANDS WATCH PRACTICE: About 4,000 fans showed up for North Carolina's practice on Thursday afternoon, all of them getting in free.

They watched a 30-minute workout that included some big dunks. One mother brought her 16-week-old boy to take it in, decked in Carolina blue.

MOUNT ST. MARY'S GOODE EAGER FOR HEELS: Of all the Mount St. Mary's players, perhaps none is looking forward to playing the Tar Heels more than Jeremy Goode.

Goode averaged 27 points a game at Charlotte Providence Day High and scored more than 2,000 points in high school.

A 5-foot-9 guard, Goode made the NEC All-Rookie team last year and is leading the Mountaineers in scoring this season with a 14.5 average. He also is coming off a 21-point, five-assist game in the play-in game victory over Coppin State.

It will take a Mountaineers miracle to beat UNC, then win a second-round game Sunday. But Goode will go to Charlotte, the regional site -- eventually.

HOYAS' HIBBERT ENJOYING SENIOR YEAR: While many players these days leave early for the NBA, Georgetown's 7-foot-2 center Roy Hibbert is glad he came back for his senior year.

"I've loved every minute of it," Hibbert said. "There's nothing like playing in the NCAA Tournament your senior year. It's the way to go out."

Georgetown takes on UMBC today in the second game of the Raleigh subregional.

The college experience also has helped Hibbert mature.

"He came in as a young kid, unsure of himself," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "Now he's ready for graduation and to go into the work force. He's grown up."