North Carolina Tar Heels: Breaking the Danger Zone
Isaiah Hicks’ 21 points were key in the North Carolina Tar Heels’ victory over the Syracuse Orange.
The North Carolina Tar Heels were on hand to welcome Syracuse Orange coach Jim Boeheim back to the land of the not suspended. That meant a tough matchup against an Orange who employs that 2-3 zone that teams all love. It was tough too as the Tar Heels had to learn to swim against the zone before getting out to 84-73 for the win.
The key was an old Roy Williams turn of phrase. Williams was always a believer in doing what you wanted to do, and not what the opponent wanted you to do. For the first few minutes of the game, the Tar Heels passed around the outside and shot hard looks and missed. Syracuse would come down the court and Trevor Cooney would make some circus shot and the Heels would be behind.
The Heels gathered themselves throughout the first half and managed to keep pace as they became more accustomed to the zone. By the end of the first half, the Tar Heels were having greater trouble keeping Syracuse off of the offensive boards than they were with the Syracuse defense alone.
In the second half the Tar Heels finally broke the zone. They did it by being the Tar Heels, looking to get the ball inside to their big men for easy buckets or fouls. This had a wrinkle. Isaiah Hicks played behind the zone while Brice Johnson had the high post. When the ball got to Johnson, the zone would sag onto him, so he dished over to Hicks.
More from Old North Banter
- Carolina Panthers: Secondary battles to watch in training camp 2020
- Carolina Panthers: 2020 training camp kicks off on Tuesday
- NC Colleges Provide Coronavirus Results from Athletic Departments
- Court alleges Zion’s Stepfather received $400k
- UNC Football gets Commitment from Top Cornerback
Hicks would attack the basket and as a result he scored 21 points, but scored a majority of those at the foul line. After he had scored something like ten straight points, the Heels began to vary the theme. Now Hicks became a decoy for Justin Jackson or Johnson had room to attack on his own. Despite Cooney’s three point shooting, the Tar Heels had the game in hand once they had broken the zone.
Brice Johnson may have had sixteen points, but his eight assists were worth far more to effort than they were. They enabled the Heels to win a game where Trevor Cooney outscored Marcus Paige 27-3. They are also a tribute to the team ball that these Heels need to win down the road.
The Tar Heels play the Wolfpack a week from today.