UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Spontaneity quite often is the key ingredient to a good victory celebration. North Carolina coach Roy Williams has been around long enough that he knows how to dance, bump and jump with a group of players.
But rest assured Williams and his young Tar Heels had not rehearsed their moment for accepting the Hall of Fame Tip-Off championship trophy at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday.
Only one week earlier, the Tar Heels had been hanging their heads after a home loss to Belmont. They arrived in Connecticut as an incomplete team, leaving behind guards P.J. Hairston and Leslie McDonald as their NCAA eligibility investigations continue on. North Carolina showed up still ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll — but written off by most of the college basketball world.
That’s why the Heels had all the reason in the world to celebrate after a 93-84 victory over No. 3 Louisville. They are relevant again.
“There’s no question it’s satisfying to be able to have some good things to think about,” Williams said after the game Sunday. “Since June 5, it’s not been a very pleasant time. It’s been probably the most difficult time I’ve ever had as a coach, but maybe that shows what a blessed life I’ve lived, too. It has not been fun in every way, shape or form.
“But today out on the court, watching those kids, seeing their excitement, bumping around with them out there, going in the locker room and celebrating — that’s what I coach for.”
Before boarding the team bus with his wife Wanda and his team, Williams said his players were departing with a feeling they had accomplished something.
“We just wanted to come here and give better effort,” said guard Marcus Paige, who scored a career-high 32 points to spark the Heels. “We had a bad taste in our mouth cause we had to watch the whole film of the Belmont game. We had to hear people talking about it on campus and talking about us maybe having to play Louisville this weekend.
“We wanted to come here with the mindset that we can change our season and get back in the right mind frame that we’re one of the best teams in the country if we play together and hard.”
Williams wants to believe that he will coach Hairston and McDonald again. But there’s no way to know. June 5 was the night Hairston was arrested on charges of marijuana possession and driving a vehicle without a license. That started a string of incidents and questions about improper benefits that have served as clouds hanging over the North Carolina program.
Officials at UNC don’t have any idea when they are going to get a final determination from the NCAA. Louisville coach Rick Pitino said its one of the toughest things a coach can experience. There are rumors and reports, but the truth of the matter is no coach knows the outcome until notification comes from the governing body.
So Williams has to keep adjusting and keep reminding his players not to look over their shoulders. As he puts it, they can’t be wondering “if the cavalry is going to come back.”
Just to get through this, Williams is teaching more zone defense than he ever has during his years at Kansas or North Carolina. With limitations on his perimeter players, Williams is relying more on big men James Michael McAdoo, Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks.
Williams even resorted to a rare pep talk during the team snack Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun hotel. He told Meeks, a 6-9, 290-pound freshman forward, that he had been “one of the worst players on the planet” Saturday when he recorded one point and three rebounds in five minutes of Carolina’s 82-72 victory over Richmond.
It’s safe to say that ruined snack time for the big freshman.
“It was [in my mind all night],” Meeks said. “I couldn’t go to sleep. I couldn’t go to sleep.
“I think that was just motivation for me. I think he did it on purpose. He knows what kind of player I am and that I take challenges. I appreciate it and I played good today.”
Indeed he did. Meeks posted career highs with 13 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. His passing over the top of the Louisville press was a big key. The Cardinals had not prepared for that and didn’t react.
“College basketball is what Kennedy Meeks did,” Williams said. Yesterday he was one of the worst players on the planet. Today he was unbelievable. I told him last night at snack, ‘You just weren’t ready to play. You didn’t have the intensity. You’ve got to be into it tomorrow, this is big-time college basketball.’ Look at those 13 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and only one turnover. That’s really big for us.”
Williams was still smiling long after the game was over. The Tar Heels may have saved their season, gambling with some new ideas on a trip to an arena in the middle of a casino in Connecticut.
“It’s a completely different feeling than it was seven days ago at the end of the Belmont game when we didn’t play,” Williams said. “We feel 180 degrees from what we felt last week. We didn’t talk too much about winning. We talked about playing a heckuva lot better.”
Said Meeks: “This gets our confidence back. It allows us to be a better team. It allows us to work hard in practice; allows us to listen to what Coach says because everything he said worked today.”
And that allowed for a celebration with a little jumping and bumping. The spontaneity of it all made it very special for a team that has been in a funk since way back in June.
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