John Henson is three blocks shy of setting a new North Carolina single-season record with 121 swats.
He averages 3.2 a game, and so win or lose against Kentucky on Sunday, the sophomore should get the record.
Well, maybe not if Terrence Jones has learned anything.
In the last UNC-UK meeting on Dec. 4, Henson rejected three shots and Jones went 3-for-17 from the field with only nine points.
“When a player has length, you usually have to go right into their chest and shorten their length and make them back up a little bit and I just settled for jump shots,” Jones said after the Wildcats’ 62-60 win against Ohio State in the Sweet 16 on Friday.
“It was a lot of going to me and I wasn’t really finishing. I started off with two bad threes and they should have been drives. I really take the blame for that game. Everyone stepped up. Everybody showed a lot of effort but me.”
Henson’s length disturbed Jones, who was playing in just the seventh collegiate game of his career. The 6-foot-10 Henson surprised the bulkier, 6-foot-8 Jones and altered many of his shots, including his first two 3-point attempts.
Also against the Wildcats, Henson grabbed 12 rebounds to Jones’ six. Not to mention Jones was one of four Wildcats who fouled out in that game.
“Hopefully I’ll have a better night than what I had there,” Jones said. “I’m not going to sleep. Just play my best rebounding and scoring.”