2023-10-06 14:02:59
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It was a normal Tuesday practice at the University of North Carolina, which is to say that watching from the sidelines were a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, an NCAA national champion assistant coach, one of only 50 20,000 point scorers in NBA history, and an Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year.
That’s a halftime ceremony at most programs. At Carolina, though, it’s just Tuesday. That’s when Larry Brown, Dave Hanners, Antawn Jamison and Tyler Zeller watched the Tar Heels practice from the sidelines, taking in every drill during one of this week’s spirited sessions.
After practice, Hubert Davis walked his team over to the quartet and asked each of the Carolina alums to address the current team. Davis has been effusive with his praise for the 2023-24 group early in the preseason, saying, “The greatest compliment I could give them is that I would love to be a player on this team. I would love to be in that locker room with them.”
But he also wanted opinions from other members of the Carolina family. So he stood before the alums with the current team and simply asked, “What did you see?”
The responses were a mix of Tar Heel basketball history—Hanners told the group, “Coach Smith used to say that the greatest listener he ever coached was also the greatest player, and that was Michael Jordan, because he was always listening”—and insight for the season. Jamison reminded them of the wisdom that has been handed down to Tar Heels ever since the Smith era: “Play hard, play smart and play together.”
“You didn’t just come here to get a great education,” Brown told the Tar Heels. “You came here to win a championship. That takes a lot of little things. Ultimately, if you care enough about your teammates to do the right thing every time you step on the court, you have a chance to win. The best teams I have ever been around were the most unselfish teams.”
“It means so much to get feedback like that from the alums,” said Jay’Len Withers. “Most places don’t have alumni coming back, especially greats like that who are giving us feedback on how practice went.”
Brown’s final advice was the same insight that has been delivered ever since Frank McGuire was encouraging his teams to feed Lennie Rosenbluth.
Gesturing at Armando Bacot, Brown added, “When the big guy is open, throw him the ball.”
Practice notes: Friday afternoon is Carolina’s annual media day. Davis and all players will address the media. The best reminder to keep in mind: one practice is not always reflective of all practices. The conference-wide ACC media day is later this month in Charlotte…RJ Davis stopped by the basketball office early Wednesday afternoon to grab a piece of candy from the desk of staff member Maggie Hobson. “Got to get a little energy,” he said while perusing the day’s practice plan. “Going to need it with this practice.” He was right. Wednesday was by far the most competitive practice of the preseason, with virtually every drill featuring some sort of competitive element. Losers of each period were doomed to run a 22, which means two full-court down-and-backs. “The competitiveness has been through the roof,” Withers said. “We compete as much as we possibly can in everything, and I love it. It reminds me of that Dream Team documentary, where they’re going back and forth with each other.”…
The competitiveness has been accompanied by a hyper-focus on attention to detail. In addition to giving his team a written test on this year’s standard of play, Hubert Davis at one point Wednesday penalized the Blue team for huddling in the wrong spot on the court…The head coach debuted a new drill that requires his team to make 80 passes in a minute, combining cutting and moving without the ball with crisp, on-target passes. It’s more difficult than it sounds, and the Tar Heels managed just 79 the first day they attempted it. The second time, they hit 80 with an RJ Davis-to-Paxson Wojcik pass as time expired, and celebrations ensued…
It’s hard not to enjoy the first few days of new staff addition Marcus Paige being able to work with the Tar Heel guards and offer notes on the nuances of playing the position in the ACC…Harrison Ingram might not wow you in a seven-basket pickup game. But upon repeated viewings in practice, it’s noteworthy how many different things he does well, and how eager he is to soak in instruction. Carolina needed to raise the level of grit and overall team basketball savvy, and transfers Withers and Ingram, plus Paxson Wojcik, James Okonkwo and Cormac Ryan check that box, as do freshmen Elliot Cadeau and Zayden High…Other alums who have attended practice during the preseason include Marcus Ginyard and George Lynch, plus frequent attendee Eddie Fogler.
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