Tar Heels moving past NIT year

This story appeared as part of the 2010 Year In Review issue. The Daily Tar Heel resumes publication Jan. 10.

The year 2010 was not quite the worst calendar year in North Carolina’s storied history on the hardwood — but it was close.

Dating back to 1954, there has only been one turn of the calendar as rough on the men’s basketball team as 2010, and that was the year 2002. If the Tar Heels lose two of their next five games of the season, they will have the most losses in a year, including 2002.

If the Tar Heels win out, they would surpass the years 1962 and 1964, which would make it the fourth-worst year in the last 57 years of UNC basketball.

Even so, the year had its bright spots.

The team visibly jelled in the NIT Tournament, turning around from winning five of its previous 18 games to make the NIT final. The failure and disappointments of last season are being used to propel the current edition forward.

Even after this season’s big win against Kentucky, the team is still talking about what happened to end last season.

“I think this win is different because of the season we had last year,” sophomore guard Dexter Strickland said. “We always build from it. We get a sense of how (winning) feels, and we want to have this feeling after every game.”

The gangly John Henson has matured into a defensive force, and his offensive game only figures to become more polished.

“What I wanted to do with John was, ‘You don’t have to create things. You don’t have to manufacture things,’” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “That’s one of the things with our team. We have such good kids that when things don’t go well, they say ‘I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to do that.’ It doesn’t have to.”

Henson emerged in the NIT, averaging nine points and seven rebounds and displaying a hint of what a summer of hard work could do for him.

“It’s still my role to play tough D and grab rebounds, and I just have to keep doing it,” Henson said.

It was an eventful offseason for the Tar Heels, as they watched three players — David Wear, Travis Wear and Will Graves — leave the team before their eligibility was complete, leaving holes in the roster. They also welcomed one of the top recruiting classes in the country, as Kendall Marshall, Harrison Barnes and Reggie Bullock joined.

So far this season, the team has had some growing pains. UNC has dropped three games, and Barnes, who was selected as a preseason first-team All-American as a freshman, has struggled mightily with consistency. Not uncommon for any freshman, regardless of how touted they were coming out of prep school.

“Three losses is not where we want to be,” forward Tyler Zeller said. “I think we’re making good progress and we’re well on our way to being a good team, but at the same time we have a long ways to go. We’ve got to continue to work and get better.”

The team seemed to refocus after calling a players-only team meeting following its inability to remain competitive against Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Nov. 30. The result was a strong 75-73 win against Kentucky in which the team seemed more expressive than it had looked all season.

So as the Tar Heels wave goodbye to 2010, they can hope 2011 will not be quite so unkind.

“We are developing,” Williams said. “I honestly believe, I’m not giving everybody a line here, that this team will get better and better as this season goes along.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.