Will the Tar Heels Miss the NCAA Tournament Once Again?
The UNC Tar Heels came into the year ranked number nine in the country. They had two top recruits coming in and high hopes that second-year guard Elliot Cadeau would take a massive leap as the prime ball handler on this team. They have had numerous opportunities to make their claim as a top team in the country and have continuously come up short. One example was their late-game collapse against the number-five-ranked Florida Gators. So what has gone wrong for the Tar Heels as they come into Saturday's game against their rival the Duke Blue Devils at 13-9?
On paper, the Tar Heels looked like a team that could make a final four run if their incoming freshmen could fill the void that Cormac Ryan and Harrison Ingram left on the program. Ian Jackson has played arguably above everyone’s expectations this season. He’s averaging 14.7 points per game on 48.7 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three. The other freshman Drake Powell has had an up-and-down start to his college career. He is averaging seven points on 43 percent from the field and 18 percent from three. The Tar Heels have been desperately looking for a stretch big since Brady Manek left and tried to mold Powell into one by making him sit in the corner and primarily shoot catch-and-shoot threes, but it has not worked out till this point.
When it comes to the nucleus of the Tar Heels it starts and ends with their two starting guards. RJ Davis has been one of the best players in UNC history and could have easily gone into the NBA last year before deciding to come back for his fifth year with the program. Davis was one of the best guards in the nation last year and all of his numbers have gone down drastically this season. Last year he averaged 21 points on 43 percent from the field and 40 percent from three. This season he is averaging 17 points on 39 percent from the field and 30 percent from three. With their main player struggling the load falls on Elliot Cadeau to step up and he has not. His shooting percentages are up from last year but his turnover rate has gone up almost two full points. There have been a few times this season that his late-game decision-making has cost the Tar Heels a win.
The main problem with this program all comes back to their head coach Hubert Davis. The way he implements his rotations and not having an offensive strategy besides pick and roll and isolation does not give his team the best chance to succeed. Every game no matter the opponent is always a shoot-out because of the amount of turnovers and bad decision-making. I believe that Hubert Davis should be on the top seat this season because this will most likely be the second time that the decorated program has missed the NCAA tournament under his reign. Even with a massive upset win against Duke, it may be too little too late to make a difference.
