Marcus Paige leads UNC over Georgia Tech
Marcus Paige got his first career double-double against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the first game the Tar Heels played at home since the death of former coach Dean Smith. The Heels won in a runaway 89-60 against a Tech team that had been working its problems out until tonight. The lessons of the Duke loss and the other close losses seem to have been learned for one night anyway.
Those lessons were displayed by a roster of guys that was still shrinking before and during the game. Joel Berry missed the game with an illness and Brice Johnson’s stamina was also affected by an illness. Kennedy Meeks missed some time during the game to deal with a blow to his nose. The person who hit him was JP Tokoto’s mohawk.
Coach Smith memorials were everywhere, including the opening set of offense for the Heels. Coach Roy Williams sent his team into the four corners. That moment, with the Heels wearing 1980s throwbacks, using the four corners, and with Wes Durham (son of long time Tar Heel announcer Woody) on the Raycom call it would not have been hard to think we had been taken back to Smith’s heyday.
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The homage almost ended badly as Marcus Paige ran into trouble at the foul line, but he found a cutting Brice Johnson for the bucket. It was the first of ten assists that Paige would hand out over the course of the game.
A Tar Heel team who had let Louisville and Duke back into games applied a solid Heel to the neck of Georgia Tech in this one. The team showed improved aggressiveness as JP Tokoto and Isaiah Hicks made sure to finish plays with dunks. There were no close blocks of compromised layups.
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Not every question was answered. Georgia Tech’s attempt to get back into the game after half time consisted of trying to drive on Nate Britt and shooting threes. Both areas were never fully capitalized on by Tech, but are areas that still need work for the Heels.
The Dean Smith memorial tour will probably continue in every arena the Tar Heels visit this year, including the ACC and NCAA tournaments. It remains to be seen if the Heels can handle that emotional baggage. Their next chance will come against NC State on Tuesday night.