After winning six in a row, the Tar Heels have lost three of their last four games. There have been a lot of lessons hidden in those losses. A lot of lessons unearthed through film.
“We’ve probably showed this team more clips from games than any in the last three or four years at least,” said Coach Roy Williams.
It’s games like Saturday’s at Pittsburgh that keep the team in the film room for hours on end. For the fans, watching the game once was enough. Their team has been on the wrong end of upsets too many times for their liking.
The No. 15 Tar Heels (18-7, 8-4 ACC) can’t shy their eyes though. They need to see it.
“I was not alarmed,” Williams said. “I didn’t go off the deep end throwing chairs or anything like that. It was more of matter-of-factly that we’ve got to play better. But when I showed them yesterday the tape, I showed them some good plays. There just weren’t enough of them.”
The film session is a necessary evil for the next game’s preparation, but for UNC’s current roster, film study for tonight’s game against No. 4 Duke (22-3, 9-3 ACC) has been going on for quite some time.
“I was a Carolina fan growing up. I watched quite a bit of those games,” said junior forward Brice Johnson. “One that always stuck out was the one time when Tyler (Hansbrough) got elbowed in the face here. That really set the tone. It was like, ‘Woah, this game is really serious.’
“It’s an honor to be playing in this game.”
