In 2013's loss to University of Alabama-Birmingham, the No. 20 North Carolina men's basketball team lacked in three major areas: 3-point shooting, rebounding and effort.
The statistics deserved to be thrown into a trash can. In the 2013 loss, the Tar Heels shot just eight percent from behind the arc, were outrebounded 52-37 and as many players stated, the mindset was all wrong.
But in UNC’s (9-3) 89-58 victory over UAB (4-9) Saturday night, those areas were rectified. And to sophomore forward Kennedy Meeks, the first step was having more tenacity on the court.
“I just feel like we weren't into it emotionally (last year),” Meeks said. “Coach (Hubert) Davis said at halftime that you can’t play basketball without having any emotion and we didn't have any emotion back in Birmingham.”
Fast forward a year and a couple weeks to Saturday’s game, and the energy on the court became palpable.
The Tar Heels opened up the game on a 15-2 run and forced six turnovers during that stretch. Coach Roy Williams knew his team would come out with energy because of a reduced holiday practicing schedule.
“We should have (had energy) because we had so much time at home,” Williams said. “We haven’t practiced. They were shocked because the first night, Christmas night, at 9 o’clock, they probably thought I was going to kill them but I told them that wasn't the sensible thing to do.”
Second step: Improve the three-point shooting.