Although there are certainly kinks to work out for the No. 6 UNC men’s basketball team following its 95-75 season-opening win over Tulane on Friday night, junior wing Justin Jackson provided plenty of reason for optimism.
Not only did Jackson lead the way with a career-high 27 points, he also displayed a shooting touch that Tar Heel fans have been desperately waiting for since he first set foot on campus two years ago.
The wiry, 6-foot-8 native of Tomball, Texas came to Chapel Hill as a McDonald’s All-American out of high school and immediately entered head coach Roy Williams’ starting lineup. Since then, Jackson has been a solid player but he has yet to truly break out in the way many expected he would coming into college.
Williams has pushed the naturally quiet Jackson to be more aggressive out on the floor, while continually swearing that the career 29 percent three-point shooter is deadly from that range in practice.
Jackson made all five of his first half field goal attempts, helping the Tar Heels open up a double-digit lead early on. (Todd Melet)
That vision came to life in New Orleans on Friday, as Jackson drilled four of his five three-point attempts on the way to the best scoring night he’s had as a Tar Heel.
Both he and senior forward Isaiah Hicks each made all five shots they took in the first half, as the Tar Heels didn’t show much rust offensively—converting on nearly 50 percent of their 69 attempts.
“We hope we’re taking really good shots all the time,” Williams said after the game. “You can shoot a high percentage if you take really, really good shots.
“We work on shooting a lot in practice, and shooting the shots that they’re gonna get in the game,” he continued. “We work on shooting and those guys can shoot.”
Jackson obviously didn’t get the win by himself, as the Tar Heels showed they have plenty of firepower to replace Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige.
Junior point guard Joel Berry put up a career-high 23 points, while also adding six rebounds and four assists—showing a multi-layered game that will allow him to have a major impact on a consistent basis.
Three UNC big men—Hicks, senior Kennedy Meeks and freshman Tony Bradley—each scored at least nine points as well.
Perhaps the most important development down low, however, was Hicks’ ability to keep himself out of foul trouble—a problem throughout his career to this point.
“Today is a very good sign,” Williams said, with a bit of a laugh. “I mean, we’ve worked on it for three years. If you go over his whole career, he’s probably committed more fouls than anybody in Carolina history per minute.
“But it was important for us today to get him the game, and [have] him do those kinds of things.”
Most of Williams’ frustration was saved for Meeks, who finished with nine points and 15 rebounds—but struggled to get into a rhythm offensively. Meeks connected on just four of his 13 field goal attempts, and earned a good portion of his rebounds off of his own misses.
While the freshman, Bradley, made quite the introduction with his smooth debut, the senior stalwart left his coach wanting more.
Joel Berry and Justin Jackson combined for 50 of UNC’s 95 points on Friday against Tulane. (Todd Melet)
“I was really mad at him,” Williams said of Meeks. “I want him to get the ball and shoot it quicker instead of holding it so long and drawing a crowd.
“In the second half on the defensive backboards I thought he did a really nice job,” he continued. “But I was not pleased with what he did offensively.”
Tulane—which was picked to finish last in the American Athletic Conference this season–kept the game from becoming too much of a blowout by hitting 11 three-pointers and grabbing 17 offensive rebounds.
Williams credited the Green Wave’s new head coach Mike Dunleavy for having his team ready to play, but the Tar Heels simply overwhelmed their opponents with talent as the game wore on.
“On the road, it’s a win, and we did some good things,” Williams said. “We’ve got some things we can learn from.
“We’ll grade the tape–let them see the tape tomorrow–then have a short practice and try to get ready for Chattanooga on Sunday.”
Up Next:
UNC will play its home opener on Sunday against Chattanooga, a team that pulled off a shocking 82-69 victory over Tennessee earlier on Friday.
Game Notes:
- Sophomore guard Kenny Williams made his first career start as a Tar Heel, taking over for senior Nate Britt at the shooting guard position. He scored just two points on 1-for-5 shooting, however, in his 21 minutes of play.
- Assistant coach Steve Robinson was not on the bench as he is unable to travel at this time due to a blood clot in his right leg. Director of Operations Brad Frederick moved into an assistant coach’s role for Friday’s game. Robinson will be on the bench for Sunday’s game vs. Chattanooga.
- It was the first time Jackson and Berry each scored 20 points in the same game.
- Tulane was led by a career-high 21 points from Cameron Reynolds–who made five of his six three-pointers.
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