Can UNC basketball win Maui Invitational, contend for a national title with 6 freshmen?

North Carolina coach Roy Williams may still work the sidelines in a Hawaiian shirt even though the Maui Invitational relocated to Asheville due to COVID-19 concerns. Williams said it’d make him “think of the good times” from previous appearances he’s had in the three-day tournament.

Each time North Carolina has won the Maui Invitational under Williams (2004, 2008, 2016), it finished out those seasons winning the national championship in 2005, 2009 and 2017.

As the No. 16 Tar Heels (1-0) open with UNLV (0-1) Monday at 7 p.m., no one is calling them a title contender just yet. Williams said he didn’t think he’d ever had six freshmen among his top 10 rotation – until now.

“Fear, if you want to use that word, or anxiety or whatever it is, but not having those exhibitions or not having the scrimmages has put us behind,” Williams told reporters Sunday on a video call. “The fact that you have six freshmen in your top 10, that also puts us behind where we want to be. But I still have those big-time expectations of wanting to be a great team and expecting us to get better quickly.”

Because the Tar Heels are playing so many freshmen, Williams expects he’ll have to accept rookie mistakes as they get acclimated to playing major college basketball. As good as freshman forward Day’Ron Sharpe looked while posting a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in their season-opening win over College of Charleston, the fouls he committed were a warning sign.

Williams said Sharpe was supposed to replace Armando Bacot in the starting lineup for the second half. But Williams didn’t trust how Sharpe picked up two fouls in just 11 minutes of play, including what he called a “completely unnecessary” foul away from the ball, Williams decided to keep bringing him off the bench.

“What he did Wednesday, the activity and rebounding and those things, he’s done almost every single day at practice so nothing surprised us,” Williams said. “We do expect it now because we’ve seen it for one game and 32 practices, but he’s got to get much better being able to play the game without fouling.”

Coronavirus and basketball

The Runnin’ Rebels lost their opener to Montana State 91-78 despite guard Bryce Hamilton scoring 27 points. UNLV allowed the Bobcats to make 10 3-pointers and shoot 55 percent from behind the arc. The Heels will face either Stanford or Alabama on Tuesday win or lose on Monday.

The ability to play three games in three days should not be taken for granted with many schools, including Duke and N.C. State, already having to cancel games due to COVID. Virginia Tech’s upset of Villanova on Saturday was a game that wasn’t even scheduled until early morning on Friday because Nova needed an opponent after having a game canceled.

Williams said he hopes to play the games as scheduled, but wouldn’t hesitate to improvise if needed.

“If something were to happen, you’re darn right we’d try to put something together because there’ll be other people in that same scenario,” Williams said. “But right now, we’re not talking to anybody (or doing) anything, because we have a schedule and we’re going to go ahead and try to play it and see what it looks like.”

Davidson used to relocating

The Wildcats (1-0) are making their first appearance in the Maui Invitational since the tournament’s inaugural event in 1984.

It’s actually the second time they’ve played in a tournament relocated due to an outbreak. The Zika virus in 2016 forced the Puerto Rico Tip-off to be moved to the Wide World of Sports Complex, yes, that same one of NBA bubble fame, outside of Orlando, Florida. Davidson finished fifth in that tournament, losing to Clemson then beating Missouri and Arizona State.

Davidson and No. 19 Texas tip off Monday at noon in the Harrah’s Cherokee Center, followed by Indiana versus Providence at 2:30 p.m. Stanford and Alabama conclude the first day at 9:30 p.m.

Davidson coach Bob McKillop enters the tournament with 595 career wins. But inching closer to 600 will be a tough task starting with the Longhorns and freshman Greg Brown, who has already made the best highlight of the season.

Maui Invitational

Texas vs. Davidson

When: Noon, Monday

Where: Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville

Watch: ESPN2

UNLV vs. UNC

When: 7 p.m., Monday

Where: Harrah’s Cherokee Center, Asheville

Watch: ESPN2

This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 9:25 AM.

C.L. Brown

The News & Observer

C.L. Brown covers the University of North Carolina for The News & Observer. Brown brings more than two decades of reporting experience including stints as the beat writer on Indiana University and the University of Louisville. After a long stay at the Louisville Courier-Journal, where he earned an APSE award, he’s had stops at ESPN.com, The Athletic and even tried his hand at running his own website, clbrownhoops.com.