Joel James gives Tar Heels much-needed lift in season opener

Joel James?

Kennedy Meeks leans in a little closer, just making sure he’d heard correctly.

“Oh, Joel James?” says the sophomore forward. “Oh yeah. Oh yeah.”

He had a pretty good game, huh?

“I mean, I always said he had it in him. I feel like sometimes he gets down on himself, but when he’s really playing hard, really giving the effort — I think he’s unstoppable.”

Maybe not unstoppable, but in the No. 6 North Carolina men’s basketball team’s season-opening 76-60 win over North Carolina Central Friday night, James was a difference maker.

Next up: Nate Britt.

“We want to get the ball inside to the bigs so they can score easy baskets,” the sophomore point guard says. “Anytime we can get them the ball, that’s what we want to do.”

Usually, James is the guy on the bench waving his towel — tonight people were waving for him.

“Joel’s always our energy guy. Even before the game he gets everyone hyped for the game,” Britt says. “I feel like everyone’s glad that he got to have a little bit of success tonight, and we see the work that he’s putting in and how it’s paying off.”

A little bit of success may be understating it.

James’ statline may not show much — seven points, two rebounds and a block in just seven minutes — but his impact went beyond the scoresheet.

Here’s how it goes:

With 9:54 left in the second half, UNC leading by just 12 points, 52-40. James, who had been in for less than two minutes, catches the ball a few feet away from the basket and shoots.

He’s fouled. The shot, though, still goes in. Here, UNC’s entire bench, including Coach Roy Williams, erupts in cheers.

“You know, you don’t have to duck your head and skip to my lou and dribble it 17 times — just shoot the daggum basketball,” Williams says.

James makes his free throw. Back on defense.

A steal. Justin Jackson bounces the ball to James.

Another foul, this time as he’s shooting. James falls to the court headfirst, diving like a kid on a Slip ‘N Slide. He picks himself up — all 280 pounds on his 6-foot-10 frame — and heads to the charity stripe.

Both free throws fall down. Five points, less than 20 seconds. Williams calls him back to the bench.

“It’s hard because in the first half, the shot clock is winding down, we run a switch and the guy dribbles right to the basket and lays it up because he doesn’t get out and switch,” Williams says, “But yet he’s got an ability to shoot the ball as long as the shots are simple.”

He takes a breath and smirks.

“That’s the shots that he made tonight.”

James walks to the bench and is hounded by teammates. Butt slaps, fist pumps, the whole shebang.

A few seconds later, Marcus Paige drives to the basket. He’s fouled, but the ball finds the bottom of the net anyway.

James leaps to his feet, waving his Gatorade towel like a pom-pom. He doesn’t notice his coach walking by. He whacks him in the shoulder — not hard, but still.

It’s okay.

He just got a little excited.

sports@dailytarheel.com