Heel Tough Blog: USC Exhibition - What 2 Watch 4
The Michael Malone Era unofficially gets started tonight, as Carolina Basketball takes the floor in preseason exhibition play against the USC Trojans in Greensboro. This is the first time we’ve seen the Tar Heels since they blew a 19-point lead to VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which ultimately led to the firing of Hubert Davis and the hiring of Malone, a former NBA champion with the Denver Nuggets. As is the case after a coaching change, UNC’s roster looks completely different than it did after the VCU loss, as 11 new players have joined the program, led by a trio of guards, the perceived strength of the team entering the season, in Terrence Brown, Neo Avdalas, and Matt Able. The big question mark that exists on the roster lies in the frontcourt, where Jarin Stevenson returns for his senior season, but not alongside Caleb Wilson or Henri Veesaar, both of whom left Chapel Hill for the NBA, with Wilson being a lottery draft selection of the Chicago Bulls. Malone replaced those two with international talents, Sayon Keita and Alexandros Samodurov, two talented players who have to adjust not only to the American game, but also to life as a student-athlete as well.
When the preseason AP Poll drops next week, USC will be a ranked team, and could be as high as a top-15 team when it’s all said and done. Eric Musselman, who has underdelivered in his first two seasons in Los Angeles, has put together his most talented roster yet and is poised to lead USC back to the NCAA Tournament. USC returns three key players from last season, in Rodney Rice (20.3 PPG), Alijah Arenas (14.1 PPG), and Jacob Cofie (9.9 PPG). To further bolster the roster with talent and depth, Musselman added two key transfers, KJ Lewis from Georgetown (14.9 PPG) and Eric Reibe from UConn, who averaged just 5.9 PPG but was highly sought after in the transfer portal by many high-profile programs. An update from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein this morning indicated that Lewis, Reibe, and reserve Christian Collins won’t play tonight.
While the result tonight doesn’t count in the record books, it’s a great indication of where Carolina finds itself in the preseason, with two more exhibitions to go, against Indiana and Charlotte. Last year, UNC learned a lot about itself in an exhibition loss to BYU, and that’s the goal tonight: find out the areas you feel confident in, while also learning where you need to improve the most before the games count. With that in mind, here’s what to watch for as Carolina takes the floor for the first time under Michael Malone.
Minutes at the 5: Michael Malone said on Wednesday at ACC Tip-Off that Cameron Fens won’t play tonight, as he’s still seeking eligibility for a 5th season. That severely lightens the depth in the frontcourt, as behind Keita and Samodurov are only Jarin Stevenson and Northwestern transfer Cade Bennerman, who is believed to be a project for the UNC staff and not expected to impact the rotation this season. Like Hubert Davis did last season, Malone is open to playing a big lineup, with Stevenson, Samodurov, and Keita all on the floor at the same time, but with little depth behind those three, he’ll have to be creative with his lineups to keep his bigs both fresh and out of foul trouble.
Who Runs the Show?: When asked who will bring the ball up in half-court situations, Malone has stated that Terrence Brown and Neo Avdalas will share that role, and that he’s not overly concerned about identifying a true floor general for this season. That sounds good in theory, but Carolina does need to identify who will initiate the offense, especially in crunch time, when possessions are at a premium. Both struggled with turnovers at their previous stops, and that’s been a major teaching point in the summer and fall practices leading up to tonight’s exhibition. One of the many goals this preseason is to identify a lead ball handler for the starting five, as well as a backup point guard.
Perimeter Shooting: Matt Able arrives in Chapel Hill as the best shooter on the roster, after a strong showing in that department last season at NC State. But who is going to emerge as a consistent and efficient outside shooting threat? It’s not the strength of either Brown or Avadals’s game, leading to the bench, where UNC will look for either Jaydon Young, Angelo Brizzi, or true freshman Kevin Thomas to impact the game in that department. Last season, Carolina’s half-court offense got bogged down because they lacked multiple perimeter options; right now, that is on the table for this season, unless they can identify a second option, outside of Able.
What Can Maximo Adams Bring as a Freshman?: There is a palpable buzz around Maximo Adams, who stayed committed to North Carolina after the coaching change in the off-season. Multiple members of the national media who have seen the Tar Heels practice have raved about Adams, and that could be a sign of things to come this season. If Adams can be a consistent member of the rotation, as a freshman, he’ll offer Michael Malone lineup flexibility, because at 6-7, he can play both the “3” and the “4”, which could cause matchup problems for the opponent. With a pressing need for reliable depth behind Jarin Stevenson, if Adams proves he’s ready for life in the ACC, it’ll make life easier on Michael Malone, as he looks to navigate a frontcourt that is set to be without Cameron Fens for the foreseeable future.
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