Improved depth, camaraderie on display in No. 19 UNC men's basketball season-opening win

In Tuesday’s season-opening 83-67 win over Loyola Maryland, the North Carolina men’s basketball team got a full team effort. 

It wasn’t always pretty in Hubert Davis’ debut as head coach, but the well-rounded performance from his young group was enough to give the team some early confidence.

Davis spread out the minutes in the opening contest, with every rotation player seeing playing time and seven players seeing 10-plus minutes. Four players also registered double-digit points in UNC’s victory, further showcasing the depth and versatility this year’s team has to offer.

“We’ve just got a lot of guys – we’ve got a lot of players,” graduate forward Brady Manek said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can stop the ball and a lot of guys that can score the ball. We’ve got a lot of lineups and a lot of threats on offense and just a lot of good basketball players – a lot of guys who know how to play.”

Davis made a point during the offseason to improve the roster’s versatility and that was on display Tuesday evening. As Manek said, the Tar Heels have a lot of bodies in the rotation this year, and it will be interesting to see how the team gels as the season progresses.

Coming off a disappointing campaign — at least by UNC’s standards — that resulted in a first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament, as well as a year where COVID-19 made a tough impact on many teams, the group looked to gain more chemistry over the offseason. 

Although it was just the first game, the Tar Heels looked more comfortable, especially on the offensive end, and sophomore guard Kerwin Walton said the increased familiarity with a full offseason has paid dividends. 

“I feel like I can play with anybody and I feel like we are all comfortable with each other,” Walton said. “It kind of shows since we can play all of these guys that we have a lot of people who can play. I think that every single guy that we play has the ability to start.”

Along with the increased production from his teammates, sophomore guard Caleb Love also stepped up in the first game of his second season. 

Love finished the night with 22 points, shooting 7-13 from the field while grabbing two rebounds and tossing two assists. After a rough first collegiate season, Love flashed his potential to lead the group of UNC scorers and his team to victory.

The guard’s stat line was impressive, but arguably the most important aspect was the zero he put up in the turnover column. Love said he worked hard this offseason to improve his ball security and his improvements were on display in his stellar opening performance. 

“Coach Davis makes me average six assists in practice so just him setting that bar for me and me trying to reach that is great for me in making me a better player,” Love said. “Just watching a lot of film on the mistakes I made last year and coach Davis staying on me about not turning the ball over and reading the floor – knowing where my teammates are in practice and holding me accountable.”

Love’s opening performance, combined with the help across the board from his teammates, ended up being all that was needed to seal the deal against the Greyhounds.

The Tar Heels will need to continue to get equal contributions throughout the lineup in order to reach their full potential, but so far they are on the right path. 

Only time will tell if this trend will continue, and with the season now in full blast, it won’t take long to see just how much Love and his supporting cast have grown.  

@austinb_unc

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com