Will the real North Carolina Tar Heels please stand up.
Last night, despite coming off an impressive win against Kentucky Saturday, UNC laid another egg in their loss to Texas 83 – 86.
The lack of intensity on his team and their inability to secure crucial rebounds down the stretch left Williams fuming. He said he even considered a mightnight practice after the game.
H/T: Charlotte Observer
“I told them I better check the NCAA rules,” Williams said. “So we cannot practice at midnight tonight. We cannot practice until 5 a.m., and everybody’s (butt) will be in at 5 a.m. this morning. Everybody’s whole body will.”
Williams also said if his basketball team can’t crash the boards they should play soccer and brushed off questions about the Tar Heels poor free throw shooting.
At another point, he said if his guys can’t rebound – and they couldn’t on Wednesday – then maybe they should try soccer.
“Tell (UNC women’s soccer coach) Anson (Dorrance) I’m not trying to rag on his sport,” Williams said. “But God almighty.”
“I’m tired of talking about free throws,” he said. “You’ve got to be tough enough to step it up and make the dadgum thing.”
UNC has a real problem, talented enough to beat the best teams in the country, but not disciplined enough to win the games they should, and the blame for that falls on both team and coach. Good teams will the games they should first and shouldn’t second. When your coach is doing the praise dance after an early season win and the pep band is greeting the players afterward, you’re putting too much focus on the wrong thing. That display after the Michigan State win showed me a lot about this team. They aren’t the UNC team of old who walked in the gym every night knowing they can win. They aren’t the squad that crushes teams with less talent. This team and coach have it backwards and until they change their mental philosophy, they will continue to be inconsistent and disappointing.