The Tar Heels suffered their first loss of the season Friday night against Georgia, 78-70, in a matchup that went back and forth for the duration of the 40 minutes. The report cards from the contest are in, and very few Tar Heels received high marks in the loss.
Terrence Brown: A
Terrence Brown was the best player in this game, and he didn’t have a ton of help scoring the basketball efficiently. The Tar Heels shot 32.9% from the field, and Brown pulled his weight, scoring 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting; he was also only player to shoot 50% or better from behind the arc.
Neo Avdalas: D
It was a rough night for Neo Avdalas. Particularly in the first half, Avdalas played very sloppily, turning the ball over three times with no assists as the primary ball handler. His overall game seems too slow for this North Carolina roster, as it’s filled with faster-paced players who seem not to mesh well so far this season.
Matt Able: C
It was a very rough shooting night for Matt Able, as he failed to find any momentum throughout the night, ending with eight points on 2-of-12 shooting, including a 2-for-11 run from deep. Able managed to make plays in the game elsewhere, but for a player who was brought in to be a primary three-point shooter, the inefficiency could be alarming moving forward.
Jarin Stevenson: C
I would have liked to see more from Jarin Stevenson on the offensive end. However, I thought he did well as a rebounder in this one. Stevenson grabbed seven rebounds, which is a major improvement over the production we’ve seen him put up in the past. He did shoot 2-of-7 from the field, including a 0-for-3 mark from beyond the arc, which was typical for Carolina just about all night.
Sayon Keita: B
Keita’s night wasn’t anything outstanding, but it certainly wasn’t bad. He continues to get better as the season goes on, and his growing presence as a rim protector is becoming increasingly valuable for North Carolina. He only took two shots all night and ended with four points, six rebounds, and two blocks.
Maximo Adams: B
Adams has consistently been one of the best players for the Tar Heels this season, if not the best. Coming off an 11-rebound game last week, Adams matched that exactly with 11 more. The issue with Adams’ night was his inefficiency from the field, as he shot 1-of-8 overall and went 0-for-4 from beyond the arc. Adams was just one of many players to have a rough night from three.
Isaiah Denis: B
Isaiah Denis has the ability to become this team’s starting point guard. In transition, I was very impressed with Denis’ ability to get the ball up the floor and allow this UNC team to score on fast breaks, something we have not been getting a steady diet of this season. I would encourage Denis to keep shooting the ball, because I believe if he is able to tune up his overall confidence, I think he can be an excellent player for this team moving forward.
Alexandros Samodurov: B
Samodurov’s role shrank in this game, but he was still able to make some solid things happen despite the usage decrease. He ended the night with only 10 minutes, but put up four points on 2-of-4 shooting.
Jaydon Young: C
Jaydon Young was a complete non-factor in this game. He only played 10 minutes, as Malone seemed to shrink the rotation in this game. Young shot the ball three times, missing all of them, including an open dunk that should have been an easy two points for the Heels in the first half. Young gets a boost on his report card for his ability to grab two rebounds and three assists in his limited time on the floor.
