Why UNC’s Roy Williams was the angriest he’s been all season after Georgia Tech
As Roy Williams read off the final stats from UNC’s 96-83 loss to Georgia Tech, his teeth were clenched.
He was visibly angry as he tried to describe the mistakes he and his team made. He had few answers.
UNC had looked a little better in recent weeks after wins over UCLA and Yale. But against Georgia Tech, UNC (8-6, 1-2 ACC) once again looked like a team on its way to missing its first NCAA tournament in 10 years.
The Tar Heels missed their first 15 shots against the Yellow Jackets, and did not make their first field goal until more than 13 minutes into the game.
The Tar Heels were so bad, Williams started his press conference by apologizing to UNC’s fans and former players.
“It’s the most negative I’ve ever been about myself, most negative I’ve ever felt about any team,” Williams said. “We weren’t ready to play right from the first five minutes of the game.”
Georgia Tech grabbed an early 19-2 lead after nine minutes, causing Williams to call an early timeout. He stood outside the huddle as UNC assistants Steve Robinson and Hubert Davis talked to players.
The 19-2 lead eventually became a 30-6 lead. UNC continued to miss shots, and Georgia Tech hit its shots.
“I think we were just kind of freaking out,” UNC senior guard Brandon Robinson said, “because this was a game we should’ve won and we were just trying to figure out a way to win, and we just start doing stuff out of the ordinary. We were just doing things out of character.
“Panicking.”
The panicking turned into turnovers. UNC committed nine first-half turnovers, and allowed Georgia Tech to score 13 points off those turnovers.
At halftime, the Tar Heels trailed by 20 points, the largest halftime deficit at the Dean Smith Center.
But Williams seemed most upset about his team’s effort in the first half. The Tar Heels missed 16 shots before halftime. They had four offensive rebounds, and no second chance points. Entering Saturday’s game, the Tar Heels averaged 14.38 offensive rebounds per game, which is sixth-best in the country.
“To have missed (16) shots in the first half and not have any points on second chance opportunities is just beyond belief with me,” Williams said, “because I don’t think anybody has ever emphasized rebounding more than I have my entire career.”
“It sort of sounds like I’m blaming them, and part of that is true. I know I’ve coached that part of the game. I know I’ve coached the frickin’ care about the game.”
Defense also struggled
If you compare UNC’s offensive performance in the first half to its offensive performance in the second, it’s like night and day.
In the second half, the Tar Heels scored 56 points, assisted on 14 buckets, had 15 offensive rebounds and 19 second chance points.
“If we didn’t start off them up 19-2, we would’ve won the game,” Robinson said, shaking his head in disappointment.
UNC junior forward Garrison Brooks was most impressive. He had a career-high 35 points (21 after halftime), grabbed 11 rebounds and was 17 of 18 from the free throw line.
But as good as the Tar Heels were offensively in the second half, it wasn’t enough to keep up with Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels’ defense was just bad.
The Yellow Jackets scored on multiple back door cuts. They were 17 of 27 from the floor in the second half and 3 of 5 from behind the 3-point line. All three of those 3-pointers came from Georgia Tech guard Jose Alvarado, who finished with 25 points and was 8 of 12 from the floor.
“We were letting them score however they wanted,” Brooks said. “That’s the hard part about it. Some times shots don’t fall. We can control our effort on defense and we weren’t doing a good job there.”
Georgia Tech finished shooting 59 percent. It was the second-highest shooting percentage an opponent has shot against the Tar Heels. Gonzaga shot 59.3 percent against UnC on Dec. 18.
Execution on offense
The home game against Georgia Tech was a victory the Tar Heels needed. The Yellow Jackets were struggling, having lost to Syracuse by 34 on Dec. 7, and Ball State by 18 points on Dec. 18.
Georgia Tech was one of the easiest games left on UNC’s schedule. If the season continues to go as it has, the loss may mean the Tar Heels will need at least a couple of big upsets to get into the tournament.
That’s a tough task for a team playing without its best player, Cole Anthony.
The Tar Heels are also still at least two weeks from getting Anthony back from injury. Anthony, who had an arthroscopic knee procedure performed on his right knee on Dec. 16, appeared in pain throughout the game. He grabbed at his knee a couple of times while on the bench.
UNC’s next chance to get a victory is at home against Pitt on Wednesday.
But if the Tar Heels play like they did in the first half against Georgia Tech, that won’t happen.
“The offense and system is not the problem,” said UNC forward Justin Pierce, who finished with 11 points. “Right now it’s just our execution. We’re not moving fast enough, we’re not cutting, we’re not screening for each other, and therefore we’re not getting open shots...That hurts our defense.
“I don’t know what the answer is to fix that. I just know we have to play better.”
This story was originally published January 4, 2020 at 11:12 PM.
