Williams calls for UNC to increase intensity

On his weekly radio show Monday night, North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams lamented that if there’s one thing currently lacking amongst his players, it’s intensity.

The coach’s sentiments came a day after UNC fell in its ACC opener to Wake Forest 73-67 last Sunday.

And as UNC (10-4, 0-1 ACC) looks to avoid dropping to 0-2 after its second conference matchup against Miami tonight, Williams knows he’ll have to adjust his coaching method by doing a little more motivating.

“Someway, somehow Roy Williams has got to do a better job of getting the kids more fired up and more enthused,” Williams said on his show. “I’ve always said I shouldn’t have to coach effort. I shouldn’t have to coach interest. I shouldn’t have to coach desire.

“I should coach the execution of what we’re trying to do but I’ve done a poor job getting these kids fired up to play and it better change. That’s the bottom line.”

Days after being challenged by their coach, the Tar Heels will take on a Hurricane squad that had no problem playing with intensity against them last season.

Miami defeated North Carolina three times, including a 87-77 victory in the ACC Tournament title game.

But tonight, the two teams may barely recognize each other.

Miami (8-6, 0-2), which heads into the game after a close loss to No. 2 Syracuse in its first ACC game of 2014, lost its top six players from last season, including the ACC Coaches Player of the Year Shane Larkin and ACC Defensive Player of the Year Durand Scott.

The Tar Heels have also bid farewell to two of their offensive spark plugs from last year’s three matchups in P.J. Hairston and Reggie Bullock.

This season, sophomore guard Marcus Paige has taken the reins to lead the Tar Heels offensively, but is coming off of the Wake Forest game in which he shot just 3-for-12 from the field and failed to score in double figures for the first time this season with just eight points.

Sophomore forward Brice Johnson said other players need to pick up the slack when the team’s leading scorer is struggling, especially as the team moves forward in ACC play.

“People are going to key in on him,” Johnson said Sunday. “Some nights he’s not going to be able to score, like tonight. Everybody’s going to have to chip in and help him out.”

As North Carolina has yet to forge an identity this season while failing to play with intensity on a consistent basis, Williams believes the task of ushering in change falls upon his shoulders.

But Paige disagrees.

“At the end of the day, there’s only so much he can do,” Paige said. “We have to make the decision to change — change our behavior, change our habits, change our effort. Otherwise, he’s preaching to the choir.

“It’s up to us. It’s our responsibility to take action and change if we want to be a good team.”

sports@dailytarheel.com