North Carolina Tar Heels: Game May Turn on Hicks
The North Carolina Tar Heels could end any hopes of the Syracuse Orange by opening up Isaiah Hicks.
The North Carolina Tar Heels played Syracuse twice during the ACC regular season. They are now set to play them again. The first game was an eleven point victory. The second game was only five points. The first game was Jim Boeheim’s return from suspension, the second was North Carolina’s senior night.
Joel James started both games. In fact the Tar Heels effort in both games was eerily similar. Brice Johnson went for sixteen in the first and fourteen in the second. Marcus Paige was held to below seven points in both games. Joel Berry had thirteen in the finale after fourteen in the first game. The same could be said of Justin Jackson. Or Kennedy Meeks.
If those things were the case, why did the margin shrink by five points while the overall points scored shrank by nine? The answer is Isaiah Hicks.
Hicks was the secret weapon against the Orange in game 1. With the ball having trouble moving through the zone, the Tar Heels used Johnson or Justin Jackson to set up the high post and then dumped the ball inside to Hicks, who beat his one-on-one matchup to score.
The results caught Syracuse by surprise and it was personal fouls and not adjustments that shutdown Hicks in that game. Of course shutdown would not be best term, Hicks had his best scoring night of the season with twenty-one points. He also demonstrated the strength that has become so important to his game.
More from North Carolina Tar Heels
- NC Colleges Provide Coronavirus Results from Athletic Departments
- UNC Football gets Commitment from Top Cornerback
- Four North Carolina players selected in first round of MLB Draft
- UNC Destroyed by Coach Duggs and Tennessee in NCAA Football 14
- UNC Basketball: Former Tar Heel star calls out Roy Williams
In the second game, Syracuse handled that better. Hicks contributed ten points, but the missing eleven accounts for the difference in the two final scores. The pace of the second game was more to Syracuse’s liking, but they scored three fewer points.
So can the Heels uncork the Hicks that had in game 1? Not directly. The Orange will need something else to think about before Hicks could be sprung on them again. That is where the usual suspects step in. A big game for either Johnson or Paige could force the defensive focus to switch and that is where Hicks could swoop in.
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
Johnson could force them to collapse on him with some big baskets, revealing Hicks. Alternatively Justin Jackson could try to draw zone defenders by attacking toward the basket from the wing. Then he could dump the ball off to Johnson or Hicks.
Syracuse cannot afford to let a big Tar Heel scorer make an impact from the bench. This is partly due to limitations of their own bench. The Orange can try to match five-on-five, but not five-on-eight.
Other than Hicks, the Tar Heels need to remember the good defense they have played. Trevor Cooney, Michael Gbinije, and Malachi Richardson won’t be shy about taking three point shots. The question will be how contested those shots will be.
Game time is just ten hours from now. All questions will be answered then.