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North Carolina Tar Heels: Lessons from a Successful Maui

By John Woodcock

Nov 23, 2016; Lahaina, Maui, HI, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels celebrate with the Wayne Duke Championship Trophy after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the Championship Game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 23, 2016; Lahaina, Maui, HI, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels celebrate with the Wayne Duke Championship Trophy after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers in the Championship Game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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The North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team won an impressive Maui Invitational Tournament earlier this week.

Today was not as kind to the North Carolina Tar Heels as was Wednesday night. The football team could not awake from their stupor soon enough to defeat the NC State Wolfpack on the gridiron. The 28-21 result will certainly mean the team is sent to one of the mid-tier ACC bowls depending on negotiation. When that late December game is played, the season will be over.

That means that the other event that occurred this week will start to be more important. The basketball Heels took their 4th Maui Invitational crown and their veteran unit received a lot of praise in the process.

Do not discount the early season Hawaii tournament, each time the Tar Heels have won it has preceded a Final Four appearance. The last two Carolina wins in Maui match up with their two national championship victories.

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Those are just dry Almanac facts. What did Carolina’s four day experience really mean?

First, Joel Berry emerged as a real guard and a true prime time player for the team. His scoring was in the twenties in most of the games. He had no fear taking shots and made a fair share of them. He became the face of this team, something that the team needed after the departure of Marcus Paige.

Second, hustle and work made appearances. The Tar Heels went after every loose ball and got offensive rebounds. While not the only player to demonstrate this, sophomore Kenny Williams seemed to everywhere at times. Kennedy Meeks retrieved a number of rebounds in the first half of the Wisconsin game to deny the Badgers second chance shots.

Team defense is also along these lines.

Third, the Heels demonstrated depth even without Theo Pinson. It still remains an open question as to how much Seventh Woods can handle off the bench, but the Heels rarely used senior Nate Britt in that spot. Britt instead took a lot of minutes at the two and had his big game against Oklahoma State.

This is true for the front court as well. Tony Bradley finally did not reach double figure scoring against the Badgers, but the three post rotation was consistent. Justin Jackson provided the extra minutes at the four, but the team is looking to get Luke Maye back for those limited minutes.

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Fourth, the Tar Heels showed poise. Oklahoma State tried to run them. This was a terrible idea that played right into their hands but they played the game and won by thirty. When Wisconsin was next with their plodding Big Ten style, the Tar Heels held the Badgers back. They got to sixty first and had a twenty point when they emptied the bench.

All of these things are good and the Heels will need to hold on to them down the road. As a veteran team it is not likely for them to improve too much as younger teams around them begin to gel. Yet their experience can be their edge to take them where they want to be.

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