The North Carolina Tar Heels wrapped up their exhibition schedule with a tough, comeback win over Charlotte on Tuesday night. After falling behind to the 49ers by double digits in the first half, North Carolina had to rally.
Add in a mistake by the 49ers, calling a timeout without having one, and the Tar Heels were able to force overtime, where they eventually won the game. But it wasn't easy and had some fans feeling a little worried about the season to come.
For North Carolina, they will open up the season on Monday night hosting Western Carolina. That's when the real games begin. But before we turn the page and get ready for that, Michael Malone met the media after the game to discuss it.
All quotes via Inside Carolina.
Dynamic of Terrence Brown and Neo Avdalas on the court at the same time?
“You can’t lock in on
just one of them. When you have multiple ball handlers, you become that much harder to guard. And obviously, for Neo, 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists. He can see over the defense. They were very aggressive in their pick and roll defense. Terrence has the ability to attack the big, press his feet, turn the corner, put pressure on the defense. Obviously, did a good job of generating free throw attempts for 27. We just didn’t make as many as we need to. But everybody gets so caught up into who’s the point guard. You look in the NBA, there’s multiple ball handlers out there, and the more that you have that can play that way, is only going to help your offense. I thought Terrence was terrific tonight. By far, his best game in the preseason.”
On any Cameron Fens update?
“No update other than he’s still unfortunately ineligible at this time, and we are allowing this this process to play out. I would hope that the NCAA, at some point in time, tries to clean this up because Cameron Fens deserves to play. Cameron Fens deserves to be out there, and so all we’re doing right now is supporting him wholeheartedly, both he and his family. It’s not easy for him, you know, going through practice every day, knowing that at this point in time he’s not eligible, but we believe in this case, and we’re going to continue to fight for Cameron.”
On concerns with defensive rebounding?
“Coming off that Indiana game where we gave up 20 offensive rebounds, 17 second chance points, and then you look at tonight, overtime game, we gave up another 18 second chance points. We gave up one off of a missed free throw, and it’s not just on Sayon. To your point, as a starting five, he can’t have two rebounds in 33 minutes. That can’t happen. But we need everybody else. Jarin had two rebounds in 38 minutes. That’s your four and five at four rebounds and a lot of minutes on the floor. Granted, in Jarin’s defense, we were switching quite a bit with him, so he’s on the perimeter a little bit more. But yes, I am concerned, and it’s been a point of emphasis.”
On how to fix rebounding issues?
“Rebounding is not a skill; it’s a want to. It’s a desire. It’s a toughness. The greatest rebounders are guys that just have a relentless mindset to go get it. They understand the flight of the ball. They find bodies. They have a hit-first mentality. And I can’t make our guys bigger and stronger. I just don’t have that power. I wish I did. So this is our roster until Cameron Fens is eligible, and so we all have to share in that responsibility and continue to work on it and demand that from them.”
On the slow start?
“Our guys looked a little nervous, a little shook out there. There were some plays in that first half that looked like the Keystone Cops. I mean, we couldn’t dribble, we couldn’t pass, we couldn’t shoot. We still have not won a first half. We’re 0 for 3 in the first half. We lost to Indiana. We lost to USC. We lost to Charlotte, and the fact that we were only down three at halftime was a miracle because we played around 15 minutes of really bad basketball. We closed the half, and I like the fact that we just stayed with it. We stayed with it, and we found a way. So, but yeah, lots to clean up.”
On Terrence Brown tonight compared to previous two exhibitions?
“Tonight, I just wanted to make sure that Terrence was getting his opportunity, whether it was with Neo on the floor, or running the point when Neo was not on the floor, giving him an opportunity to make plays not just for himself but for his teammates. So, I was happy for him because I think he was feeling the weight of it, you know. But we just got to you know continue to work with him and with all of our guys, and you know, hopefully, each time you go out, you get a little bit better.”
On three-point shooting when they aren't falling?
“I just want to get a shot up sometimes, to be honest, I mean the way we turned the damn ball over. The rebounding, as somebody mentioned earlier, our inability to take care of the basketball. They scored 23 points off our turnovers. So we were 12 for 29 tonight. Not a great number. Jarin Stevenson made some big ones late. Sayon Keita found him from the pocket, which is really good spacing. But yeah, for us, you know, we have to be a lot more efficient offensively, and that starts with taking care of the basketball.”
On mood in the locker room?
“Whether you know you win by 40 or you win by seven, you’re never going to be satisfied. At least I’m not. You know, there’s always ways to get better. So, I think our guys are. Of course, you’re happy that you win, but I think we all know collectively that we can and we have to play a lot better. The season is upon us. There’s no exhibition games. We’re done, so we open up against Western Carolina next Monday night. So we have to clean things up in a hurry.”
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Michael Malone on UNC's exhibition win over Charlotte
