Isaiah Hicks records first career double-double, helps lead UNC men's basketball to ACC Tournament championship

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The joking started on the North Carolina bench and carried into the locker room.

After Isaiah Hicks went 5-for-12 from the field in Thursday's game against Notre Dame, Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks started teasing the junior forward as soon as he exited the contest.

“Your field goal percentage was terrible,” yelled Brice Johnson across the Tar Heels’ crowded, jubilant locker room following their 78-47 romp of the Fighting Irish in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

But despite his poor shooting performance, it was Hicks who had the last laugh.

With 11 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, the junior recorded the first double-double of his career, helping UNC advance to Saturday’s ACC Tournament championship at the Verizon Center.

“For him to have his first double-double with 15 boards, it’s tremendous,” Meeks said. “And what better player to do it than him, because he doesn’t complain about anything, he’s focused and he’s a great teammate.”

And late in the first half, Hicks provided his teammates a much-needed lift.

With 6:55 left in the second half and Notre Dame trailing by three points, Johnson and Meeks exited the game with two fouls apiece. In came Hicks.

Tabbed the ACC’s Sixth Man of the Year earlier this week, the junior received a pass along the baseline and sprung into the air for a two-handed dunk on his first offensive possession.

The dunk sparked an 18-0 run by the Tar Heels to end the first half, and the forward entered the locker room with seven points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

“I knew I was going to be in there for a while and we were going to go small,” said Hicks of his mindset when he subbed in. “Coach (Roy Williams) wants to save Brice because he wants Brice in the game.

“It’s just the same thing I always go in the game with, just be aggressive and do everything I can to help this team out.”

And with his team leading by 19 points at halftime, Hicks’ contributions kept coming in the second half, as he helped put the Fighting Irish away.

Johnson committed his fourth foul with 11:48 left. But like he did in the first half, Hicks assumed the rebounding load, hauling in eight second-half rebounds — including four offensive.

Playing behind Johnson — who entered Friday’s game ranked 15th in the country with 10.8 rebounds per game — Hicks typically watches the senior dominate the glass. But Hicks’ performance on the boards wasn’t a rare occurrence.

“That’s what he does every single day in practice,” Justin Jackson said. “So to see him finally translate that into a game, it was really good. Me and him missed a whole lot of chippy ones, a whole lot of easy ones. But for him, most of the time he went in and got his rebounds.

“It was good to see that. We need to see him do that every single game.”

Prior to Friday’s game, Hicks had never secured more than nine rebounds in a game during his three-year career. But as he’s done all season, when his team needed an extra boost, he elevated his play.

“Isaiah is a beast,” Marcus Paige said. “He would start for any other team in the country, but we happen to have the best low-post scorer in the country at his position in our starting five. So he gets to come off the bench and be a spark, and he was terrific today.

“He’s always giving us something. As long as he stays out of foul trouble, I think he’s one of the 10 or 15 best big guys in the country.”

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