UNC's offense is cooking thanks to strides made by Brice Johnson

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — When Marcus Paige throws down a dunk during a basketball game, it's usually a big deal. It's always a big deal when Marcus Paige drops 30 points during an ACC matchup on the road. 

But Monday night against Florida State, with Brice Johnson "stepping up and being a man," Paige's performance was simply an afterthought. 

"That's probably the quietest 30-point game I've ever had," Paige said in the visiting locker room of the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center after North Carolina's 106-90 victory. 

Given the fact that his roommate of four years had just turned in a 39-point, 23-rebound performance that had only been replicated twice in UNC history — both times by Billy Cunningham — that was probably OK. 

And Monday's game speaks to the fact that the 2015-16 North Carolina men's basketball team is different than some of the teams we have recently seen. 

Much different from the 2013-14 team that saw Paige lead the Tar Heels with 17.5 points per game, more than three points more than the next-highest scorer (James Michael McAdoo, 14.2 points per game). 

And different from the 2014-15 season, when Paige was the team's sole 3-point shooting threat. Paige made 94 3-point shots a season ago at a 39.5 percent success rate, while J.P. Tokoto had the next-best 3-point percentage (37.5) after making 12-of-32 shots beyond the arc.

But just 16 games into this season and three games into the conference schedule, Paige isn't North Carolina's leading scorer for the first time since his first-year season. 

For the moment, that spot belongs to Johnson, who is averaging 16.8 points per game — a half-point better than Paige's 16.3 mark. 

"We had a guy on our team that kind of put us on his back for a while — the whole game," Paige said about Johnson's performance against Florida State. "He was elite, and we needed that. And he kind of lifted us all."

Those sorts of comments have typically been directed at Paige's efforts. And while a 30-point, five-rebound, five-assist, zero-turnover game could certainly still be called elite, it is, to use Paige's word, a quiet elite.

With Johnson seemingly taking the next step forward in his game, the No. 6 Tar Heels boast the No. 1 offense in the country, according to KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency metric. 

Based on KenPom's offensive rating statistic, UNC has three of the top 15 players in the nation: Paige, No. 3, with a 141.1 rating; Isaiah Hicks, No. 8, with a 136.2 rating; and Johnson, No. 11, with a 135.1 rating. 

North Carolina also has three players (Paige, Nate Britt and Theo Pinson) shooting the ball better than 40 percent from 3-point distance, while Joel Berry has made 25 3-pointers — a marked difference from the team's efforts from behind the arc just a year ago. 

But the biggest difference-maker in Coach Roy Williams' offense has been Johnson, who leads the team with 268 points and has accounted for about 19 percent of the team's total points while being on the court for about 13 percent of the team's total minutes. 

"That is what we know he's been capable of doing, and he just took a huge step (Monday). Really, he was phenomenal," Paige said, as Kennedy Meeks actively campaigned for a Johnson presidency. "I've got no complaints. I'm really proud of him."

@CarlosACollazo

sports@dailytarheel.com