CHAPEL HILL — Hubert Davis had a particular pregame message for UNC basketball ahead of its matchup with North Carolina Central.
Before the Tar Heels throttled the Eagles in a 97-53 rout at the Smith Center, Davis highlighted N.C. Central’s top scorer Gage Lattimore, a player who entered the game averaging 24 points. “Coach Davis harped on it in the pregame: ‘When he comes here, he’s gonna have an off night,’ ” freshman guard Derek Dixon said. “That’s something we keyed in on, making sure we take away his looks and make his game hard.”
Sophomore wing Jonathan Powell confirmed the pregame moment that occurred with UNC’s fifth-year coach. “Coach Davis emphasizes: Whoever the other team’s main guy is, I mean, no matter what they did the game before or the other games, when they come into here and they play against us, that’s gonna be their off day,” Powell said. Mission accomplished, even with premier defender Seth Trimble watching from the sideline in a cast.
Lattimore finished with 12 points on 19 shots, with the left-handed scorer making four shots and logging a game-worst four turnovers against the Tar Heels (4-0), who used a 58-29 second half to blow away the Eagles (1-4).
“We highlighted Gage. He was averaging 24 (points), but he had 38 (against Bluefield State), shooting 62% from 3-point range heading into our game. When we switch a lot, it wasn’t just one defender, it was a number of guys on him,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said of the defensive performance on Lattimore.
“I felt like everyone had their antennas up when he had the ball, and knew that a lot of their actions ended with him getting some type of screen to get free from (3-point range). He got a couple of clean looks, but pretty much he had to work hard and they were contested. Overall, I thought we did a good job on him.”
“We highlighted Gage. He was averaging 24 (points), but he had 38 (against Bluefield State), shooting 62% from 3-point range heading into our game. When we switch a lot, it wasn’t just one defender, it was a number of guys on him,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said of the defensive performance on Lattimore.
“I felt like everyone had their antennas up when he had the ball, and knew that a lot of their actions ended with him getting some type of screen to get free from (3-point range). He got a couple of clean looks, but pretty much he had to work hard and they were contested. Overall, I thought we did a good job on him.” The 6-foot-10 forward, had 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals against fellow freshman star Darryn Peterson and the Jayhawks. So what is his source of motivation?
“I put stuff on my wallpaper before I play to make sure I’m pissed,” Wilson said.
His wallpaper ahead of the Kansas game was a reminder of his feeling after the McDonald’s All-American game. Wilson “didn’t touch the ball” in that showcase and was on the same team as Peterson.
Throw in the fact that UNC hadn’t beaten Kansas in 23 years and that’s all Wilson needed to get him going in front of a crowd of nearly 22,000 people. “It was personal for me. … We hadn’t beaten them in 20 years,” Wilson said. “I wasn’t even born. … I want to impress my coach, I want to impress the world. I want to let the world know who I am for sure.”
With ESPN televising the game, Wilson let the world know with what he did against Kansas, starting things off with a putback dunk in the opening minute before putting an exclamation point on his performance with a steal and open-court dunk in the final minute. “I mean, we see it every day, so it’s not as crazy to us. But I mean, for him to come out and perform like that – just a young dude like he is – is special,” said UNC guard Kyan Evans.
Evans went on to say how “extremely serious” Wilson is about getting better. The rookie also led UNC in the plus-minus stat with a mark of plus-21 against the Jayhawks.
