Brendan Maloney-USA Today Sports
After an uncharacteristic 5 losses and an 0-2 start to the ACC basketball season, many had started to think doom for the Roy Williams coached North Carolina basketball team. We know UNC has superior talent and we see the physical specimen that has become typical of an average Roy Williams basketball team. However, we just haven’t seen it add up in wins and losses.
North Carolina didn’t necessarily dominate their early season non-conference schedule, and began to seemingly fall apart at a time when most expected the Tar Heels to begin to band together and make a run.
Granted, their early non-conference losses are to some respectable programs who know how to win, but you usually see North Carolina on the prevailing end of those games. But as Roy Williams troops had their backs against the wall going into the Leon County Civic Center this past week to face a Leonard Hamilton Florida State team, we were able to see their first signs of fight in the team wearing Carolina blue.
As FSU and UNC went back and forth, basket for basket, UNC had every opportunity to quit and falter under the pressure of the opposing arena. But they didn’t. They fought and executed, and emerged victorious.
Leaving Tallahassee with a huge win could mean momentum for the Tar Heels going forward. Have their found their mojo as a basketball club? Have they faced their toughest test and overcome the adversity needed to develop a new identity as a basketball club?
I’m not quite ready to anoint them as “back”, but they’ve sure taken a giant step forward and will be a fun team to watch and the season progresses.
