Heel Tough Blog: Navy Recap

David Jensen- Getty Images

It wasn’t the type of performance coaches or players could be, or should be proud of, but the Tar Heels managed to win 73-61 last night over Navy, to complete a five-game homestand to begin the season, with a perfect record. After the win, the assembled media had to wait nearly 30 minutes to have access to the players, as there was a team meeting called after the game to address the lack of energy, effort, and concentration against an overmatched but quality mid-major opponent. Caleb Wilson led the way with another double-double, posting 23 points on 9-13 shooting and grabbing 12 rebounds. He had a span of three dunks in 1:19 in the second half, which brought life and energy to the team and the arena, which had grown sleepy amidst the uneven play at times. Additionally, Luka Bogavac added 16 points on 4-10 shooting, including 3-6 from behind the arc. Jarin Stevenson added 11 points, on 4-6 shooting, with 8 boards, and Henri Veesaar rounded up the double-figure scorers, adding 10 points, on 4-9 shooting, to go with his 7 rebounds. For the game, Carolina shot just 43% from the field and 35% from deep, as Navy’s multiple defensive looks confused Carolina and kept the game played at a slower pace. 

Carolina held Navy without a field goal for over 8 minutes in the second half, and that allowed Carolina to build a 24-point lead, and it looked like Carolina was well on their way to a blowout win. But a 15-0 Navy run put game pressure back on UNC, who had to work harder to close the game out than they should’ve when the scoreboard looked the way it did at the under-8 media timeout. The way that Carolina didn’t close out the game triggered the post-game meeting, called by Seth Trimble, to address the way that they didn’t the game. 

Believe it or not, this was just the seventh time that Carolina has beaten the Naval Academy, improving their record to 7-14 against the Midshipmen. It also concluded their longest season-opening homestand since the 1918-19 season, Now the Tar Heels have a week off before their next game, and as Hubert Davis expressed in his postgame press conference, he’s excited to get back on the practice court and work on themselves, which last night would suggest isn’t the worst idea. 

1. Learning How to Win: It’s important to remember that this is a new team, which features 11 new players, and is currently without its senior leader, Seth Trimble. With that being said, it’s natural that the players, and the coaches were upset with how the game ended, after Carolina didn’t put Navy away like they should have. This is part of the new era of college basketball, where continuity is rare, as rosters overturn on an annual basis at the power conference level, while mid-major programs are able to keep their rosters together, especially at the Patriot League level. The best part about the struggles last night? It appears there is the right kind of leadership in the locker room, which can call into question how the team played and hold players accountable, after not playing to the standard they’ve set for themselves.

2. Caleb Wilson Dunk Show: Caleb Wilson leads the country in dunks, and he added 5 more last night, including three in a span of 1:19 in the second half, which injected life into his team and the arena. Hubert Davis even addressed why the team reacts differently to his dunk as compared to others, but after sitting for an extended period of time in the first half, he took his frustrations out on the rim early in the second half. All of those are in response to a demand from his head coach, if you’re close, dunk it, and dunk it he has. His dunks fueled his third straight double-double, as he posted 23 points, on 9-13 shooting, along with 12 rebounds, and three blocks. Wilson has scored 20 points or more in four of his first five games as a Tar Heel. 

3. Kyan Evans Struggles: The Kyan Evans roller coaster continued last night, as the Colorado State transfer experienced his worst game as a Tar Heel so far. Evans only scored 3 points, on 1-9 shooting, including 1-8 from behind the arc. He did grab 5 rebounds and dish out 6 assists, against 3 turnovers, but he certainly didn’t look comfortable. Part of that was Navy, who threw the kitchen sink at Carolina defensively, including a full-court press, 2-3 zone, 2-2-1 zone, man-to-man, and much more. I’ve asked Evans to be more aggressive, so it’s hard for me to be critical of his aggressiveness from last night, but there’s no doubt Carolina needs him to be better. Without Seth Trimble, the burden is on Evans and freshman Derek Dixon to carry the scoring load for the backcourt. 

4. High Level Defense: While Carolina was struggling offensively, they didn’t let that impact their defense, holding Navy to just 30% shooting from the field and 29% from behind the arc. Carolina entered the game, top-10 nationally in two-point field goal percentage, and they held Navy to 15-48 shooting from inside the arc, which equates to 31%. Navy did a great job spreading the floor and working the clock, but Carolina, for the most part, it did a tremendous job losing out possessions and limiting Navy to just one shot. There was a stretch in the second half where Navy didn’t score for 8 minutes, before ripping off a 15-0 run, after trailing by as many as 24. Carolina has won 20 straight games when holding their opponent to less than 40% shooting. 

5. Jarin Stevenson: I did want to point out another solid night for Stevenson, who scored 11 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, on 4-5 shooting, in 34 minutes. His role may eventually end up being the backup 5 man to Henri Veesaar, but he has bought into his current role as a starter, and is providing quality minutes on both ends of the floor. 

6. Off Night for the Bench: Hubert Davis boasted about playing 11 players last night, but only two reserves played double-digit minutes, led by Derek Dixon, and Jonathan Powell. Dixon scored 8 points, and the only other reserve to score was James Brown, who made two foul shots. The lack of bench production forced Hubert Davis to play all of his starters at least 27 minutes, including Jarin Stevenson’s team-high 34 minutes. Powell played 16 minutes, but took just one shot, the same for Zayden High, who played 6 minutes. It makes you wonder where Carolina’s second unit would be without Dixon, who scored 8 points. As the schedule begins to heat up next week in Florida, Carolina does need more from their bench than they’ve gotten here recently. 

Up Next: Carolina returns to action next Tuesday in Fort Myers, when they play St. Bonaventure at 6 PM on FS1. 

The Four Corners Podcast: