Garrison Brooks gave two short answers to questions Carolina fans are asking after their basketball team matched their school’s worst loss in NCAA tournament history.
Question: They outrebounded you 37-34 . . .what did they do to have that kind of success?
Brooks: “Box out.”
Question: Have you given any thought to returning next season?
Brooks: “A little bit.”
The questions addressed the two most salient results of the 85-62 defeat to 9th seeded Wisconsin, which was by 10 points UNC’s worst loss of the 2021 season and snapped Roy Williams 29-0 record in NCAA openers. The answers also represented how tight-lipped the Tar Heels are.
Those familiar with Wisconsin basketball know the Badgers play as aggressively as any team in the country, especially in the paint. While they had a minus-rebound differential for the season, using their guile and senior depth to match Carolina on the boards and shooting a higher percentage from outside was their best chance to win the game.
Remember the Wisconsin-Duke national championship game in 2015, when Mike Krzyzewski basically admitted at halftime that his team could not win unless the officials called more than two fouls on the rugged Badgers led by Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker? Perhaps intimidated by Coach K, the refs had the Blue Devils in the bonus after 10:53 of the second half on the way to Duke’s 68-63 win.
Wisconsin’s Greg Gard was on Bo Ryan’s staff in 2015, and in his 5-plus years as head coach his team has played the same way. When Brooks said “box out” he could have elaborated by saying the Badgers do more than box out; they physically displace their opponents who have to literally fight back and turn the game into a brawl to get some whistles blown.
The Tar Heels needed to come out like they did in the last Duke game, taking complete control of the paint from the opening tip. But they didn’t, as Armando Bacot went 0-1 from the floor and had one rebound and while Brooks had five rebounds, he missed 6 of his 7 shots.
Certainly, Brooks isn’t going to say the Badgers manhandled him and his mates in the post. But the truth is they did and the more attention Carolina paid to the in-fighting, Wisconsin started getting open outside shots and widened a close game to a near blowout at the half that got worse. In size, weight and depth, UNC had the edge. In toughness, however, it was no contest and something the Tar Heels must develop as they get older.
Brooks’ second answer speaks to where they go from here. He has three choices: take a COVID-induced super senior year and return for one more season, or he can transfer to another school and play there. He can also turn pro, which means becoming an undrafted rookie and try to make an NBA team as a free agent or have what would be a nice career in Europe.
Playing a fifth year at Carolina could be good news or bad news. Right now, Day’Ron Sharpe is the only Tar Heel who shows up on mock NBA draft boards. When assessing the freshmen in another question, Brooks mentioned Cale Love, RJ Davis and Kerwin Walton, omitting Sharpe and sophomore Bacot, the leading scorer and rebounder. Maybe he knows they are entering the draft and, if they do, it may factor into his decision to come back because that would leave virtually all of the post playing time to him and emerging star Walker Kessler.
When asked about the future, Roy Williams said he will have to “see how all that pans out,” referring to guys going pro and others possibly transferring in or out. If all four “bigs” returned, the Tar Heels may have the same problem of minutes to go around, which can stunt the growth of both physical specimen Sharpe and the skilled-but-skinny Kessler.
Without Bacot, Sharpe and Brooks, Kessler would be all alone inside and could force Ol’ Roy to change his offense to more of a 4 around 1, with the next-biggest forward 6-8 Puff Johnson who was sidelined by a toe injury since late January. If only two of them come back, that’s a depth and foul problem, although offers more versatility in style of play. Three returning would be perfect, but beyond offering advice Williams has little control over that.
So, a season unlike any other (and hopefully never again) ends at 18-11, only the fourth time in a 33-year coaching career that Williams failed to win 20 games. And, hopefully, he gets a chance to start another NCAA streak after a truly forgettable loss.
His team did sweep Duke, which has now happened four times in Roy’s 18 seasons back.
Photo via the Maui Invitational.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
The Future: Roy has definitely ruined that for us and all because he just can’t change his coaching style. Just some minor changes would have been a huge lift for this team but I am feeling sorry for the players left holding the bag after Roy’s terrible coaching and his not rewarding the better players sitting on the bench. If Brooks comes back that will still mean disaster for this team unless he can improve tremendously during the off-season. I would also like to mention the fact that Leaky Black was a bust and if he doesn’t improve 1000 percent in the off-season then he should be on the bench most of the time next year. Come on Roy, pay attention to facts and stat sheets. Let’s see some actual coaching going on next year instead of just run and gun basketball with wholesale substitutions.