Carolina basketball may have to win with a different formula.
Roy Williams was on edge after his team’s third straight win of the young season over Gardner Webb last Friday night. Why? Presumably because the media was asking him about the number of shots and points Cole Anthony has been putting up so far in his freshman year.
With the Tar Heels having lost their top five scorers and four starters, from last season, maybe this is the way they have to play until some others step up and take the load off Anthony, who has attempted 31 more shots than the next highest team member.
Having hoisted up 65 shots so far, Anthony is on pace to shoot more than any UNC point guard in the past – more than Phil Ford, Jeff Lebo, Raymond Felton, Ty Lawson or Coby White. While he is shooting only 40 percent overall, Anthony is making nearly 45 percent of his 3-pointers.
So without doing any advanced analytics, Carolina might be just fine if Anthony continues to shoot a low percentage but makes more three-pointers. Hitting four of nine from behind the arc is the same as shooting six of nine from closer in.
At least until Brandon Robinson comes back or Christian Keeling, Justin Pierce and Leaky Black improve their shooting percentages. And Anthony becoming a record-breaking shooter and scorer could also work if Carolina keeps dominating offensive rebounding numbers, which has always been an ultra-important goal for Williams’ teams.
So while Ol’ Roy stays uncomfortable playing outside of his comfort zone, the real answer will be if his Heels can beat the tougher opponents to come by doing it that way; in other words, get way more possessions by pulling down missed shots or tapping them back out.
At least to this point, Anthony is more of a pure scoring point guard than White or any other quarterback who has played here. Yes, he looks to set up the free-lance game but doesn’t wait long before he begins attacking himself if there is no better shot on the horizon.
The media and fans will keep discussing it, because Carolina basketball has had a special way of playing for decades. But Williams has established, the last few years especially, that he is now a far more flexible coach.
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