Wade Moody is back
North Carolina’s point guard rotation is deprived. Joel Berry pulled his groin, Luke Davis reaggravated his foot, Stilman White has a stress reaction in his foot and Marcus Paige is banged up on the entire right side of his body, but he’s powering through. Not only does this complicate UNC’s strategy at game time, but it throws practice for a loop as well. Coach Roy Williams has admitted that he’s turned down the intensity somewhat to compensate for his players’ propensity for injury and some players have said change has affected their gameplay.
How did he solve this conundrum? By bringing in Wade Moody. The former walk-on guard joined UNC for practice last week, said Brice Johnson. The result? The team’s next game, against Virginia Tech, was UNC’s second-largest margin of victory in ACC play.
Payback time
UNC opened ACC play during the 2013-14 season with a 73-67 loss in Winston-Salem before a redeeming 105-72 win in Chapel Hill on Feb. 22.
The loss in Winston-Salem marked the second consecutive season in which UNC fell in its ACC opener and put the team in an early hole in conference play.
But this season, the Tar Heels head to Wake Forest riding a sizzling start to ACC play. With a 4-1 record thus far, UNC is off to its best conference start since the 2011-12 season.
With road wins over Clemson and N.C. State, the team is pursuing a 3-0 start away from the Smith Center in conference play. A win over the Demon Deacons will give the Tar Heels their best start on the road in ACC play since the 2007-08 season.
