Written by MICHAEL KOH
With no Caleb Wilson for the remainder of the season, it’s up to UNC’s supporting cast to carry the water for the Tar Heels.
Eagle-eyed Carolina fans may have noticed something peculiar at the beginning of the season. Normally, UNC’s roster splits in two in pregame warmups, with one group stretching out at midcourt and the other going through shooting drills. The big men shoot while the guards stretch, and then vice versa. The unusual thing this year was that Jarin Stevenson, standing at six-foot-ten, would be grouped with UNC’s backcourt.
Stevenson is truly a unique player, with the body and build of a big man but someone who entered this season with the tendency to play on the perimeter. That can make him a matchup problem at times, but only if he’s making his shots. Early on this season, Stevenson wasn’t doing that: in UNC’s non-conference games, he was shooting a paltry 17.6 percent on three-pointers.
The outlook of Stevenson’s season changed radically with the injuries to Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar. Suddenly the six-foot-ten wing was needed under the basket. After starting several games at the 3 this season, Stevenson has migrated to the 4 to accompany Veesaar. And that has seemingly unlocked a new version of the player we thought we knew.
Stevenson has embodied the “superutility” role for the Tar Heels, using his varied skillet to do whatever Hubert Davis asks of him. If he needs a pick-and-pop three, Stevenson can oblige. After his ice-cold non-conference performance, Jarin is up to 37.8 percent from downtown in ACC games. If Davis wants Stevenson to be physical in the post, Jarin has shown that’s in his bag, too. He’s averaging more than six rebounds per game in his last seven outings, including a career-high 10 in a rough-and-tumble win against Clemson.
Stevenson’s collegiate odyssey is well-known to UNC fans plugged into recruiting news. The son of a UNC women’s basketball player and a star at Pittsboro’s Seaforth High School, Stevenson was viewed as Carolina’s prospect to lose. But he spurned the Tar Heels by reclassifying up a year and signing with Alabama, then added insult to injury by helping the Tide beat UNC in consecutive seasons.
When Stevenson came back home to Chapel Hill in the offseason, he spoke of fitting in better with Davis’ system, as opposed to Alabama’s unique brand of offense. But it’s hard to imagine Stevenson saw himself filling this particular role in March, with a thinning roster and a battered and bruised frontcourt.
In a season where multiple contenders have suffered devastating injuries, no one will shed any tears for the Tar Heels, especially when they have a former five-star prospect waiting to fill in. And if Carolina is to accomplish its goals in the next month, Stevenson will have to live up to those lofty expectations.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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