J.P. Tokoto is another Tar Heel that needs more time on the court for Carolina to be at its best. He possesses elite athleticism, impressive lateral quickness, and competes with great energy and effort — playing with a confidence and aggression that inspires his teammates, and he thrives on physical play.
Tokoto has a Vince Carter-like feel to his game. He has good hands, a very nice mid-range game, and explosive elevation. He makes tough mid-air adjustments, and he’s starting to finish well around the rim. His long range shooting needs a lot of work, but that will come over the next few years. Tokoto takes the talent level up a notch when he steps on the floor, and he gives the team options it doesn’t have when he’s on the bench.
Tokoto is a solid defender, but he has the potential to be great. He’s phenomenal when pressuring the ball, but struggles in the help position and when he’s screened. He’ll make drastic improvements with more experience, and it’s time to give him those extra reps. The best players need to be on the floor as much as possible, and there is no doubt that J.P. is one of the six best players on the team. If the object is for UNC to perform at its best in every game, Tokoto should be playing at least 25 minutes per game.
J.P. Tokoto had his best game of the season against N.C. State, finishing with 10 points on 5 of 7 shooting, two rebounds, and three assists in only 17 minutes. Tokoto does have a tendency to make a few bad turnovers, but Roy seems to punish his inexperienced players much more for these than his veterans. This would be fine if UNC was stacked with the talent of years past, but unfortunately that’s not the case. Williams is going to have to be a little more tolerant of mistakes from his young players if he wants to get the most out of this team. He seems to enjoy benching these guys for minor mistakes, but has no problem leaving in less capable players when they aren’t producing at all. This doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but then again I’m not a Hall of Famer…yet.
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