The North Carolina Tar Heels hosted the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Saturday evening.
It was an important game for the Tar Heels after falling to SMU in their previous matchup. North Carolina did pull out a win, but it was not pretty, and a large part of that can be attributed to its guard play.
Let’s take a look at how the Tar Heels continue to struggle in that area and whether it can be fixed.
Defensive Struggles
The defense from the guards has been extremely poor, especially over the last two conference games. It was a red flag when SMU guard Boopie Miller dropped 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field. That was his most efficient game of the season, but somehow, it got worse.
When the Demon Deacons rolled into town, their guards completely took over. Nate Calmese and Juke Harris scored 28 points apiece on just 34 total shots. That cannot happen on a game-to-game basis if North Carolina wants to compete in the ACC this season. The Tar Heels are fortunate to be sitting at 2-1 in conference play. This team has not yet reached its most difficult stretch of ACC play, and all of the top teams feature stellar guard play.
Now that the defensive struggles have been addressed, the next question is whether they can be fixed. The answer is yes, but it will require accountability not only from the players, but also from the coaching staff.
Head coach Hubert Davis said after Saturday’s game that the team needs to improve its ball pressure.
“Whether it was off ball screens, just allowing Wake Forest to get into the middle, they can make plays or throw it out for three,” Davis said. “In the first half, I felt like our defense struggled transition-wise, even after made baskets, not getting picked up.”
Ball pressure and getting back in transition come down to effort, which can be fixed, but it is still a major concern to monitor.
Unfortunately, the issues are not limited to the defensive side of the ball, as the struggles carry over to the offense. Kyan Evans and Luka Bogavac have combined for just 15 points over the last two games. Not only are they struggling defensively, but they are also failing to make up for it by scoring.
Bogavac is 2-for-13 shooting over the last three games, while Evans is 2-for-8 over his last two. Something has to give, whether that means they begin producing consistently or see their minutes reduced for this North Carolina team to be successful.
Guard play will be under close scrutiny over the next few games to see whether any improvement is made.
