Holliday: It's great to be back in the building for big games

By Bob Holliday, WRAL Sports contributor

Since the pandemic began, I’ve been covering ACC basketball strictly through television. My last time seeing a game in person came at the ill-fated 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. But with both Duke and UNC hosting important conference contests, Saturday seemed like the perfect time to get back into the building and visit both schools. My experience was spectacular.

Press row is not nearly as comfortable as my recliner. But there are so many superlatives from covering games in person. Feeling the energy in the building, having the visual freedom to scan the entire court (can’t do that watching TV), hearing fans prod their favorite players while of course hurling insults at the refs, watching the end- to-end skills of so many gifted athletes who glide majestically up and down the court on offense and defense – these are all things I’ve been missing.

Schools often have special halftime moments the networks don’t show. Former Duke star J.J. Redick shot a free throw for charity during Duke’s halftime; Redick, a 91% career free throw shooter during his days in Durham hit the left back rim. UNC paid tribute to Danny Green, who last spring gave the university $1 million for an endowed scholarship. Green is one of just three Tar Heels to have won an NCAA title and an NBA Championship (James Worthy and Michael Jordan are the others). In-person coverage means being able to hear the schools’ beloved up tempo songs, “Every Time We Touch” at Duke and “Jump Around” at UNC, which ironically, “Dancing Danny” Green helped make popular in 2009.

Covering a game in person is not just an assignment, but an experience. At Duke that means sitting courtside with the Cameron Crazies pressed tightly against you. Saturday for me that meant negotiating for work room with “Cookie Monster,” “Hanes Underwear Man,” “Mr. Krzyzewskiville,” and countless others who were decked out in resplendent but space-eating costumes, making their presence felt in this remarkably compact area (you can’t be claustrophobic) in a manner that cannot adequately be described in print. The students were all very nice to me, but wow, you have no idea what sitting press row at Duke is like until you do it.

Stunning setback for Duke

Another thing about being there: You see the unbridled joy of underdog Miami celebrating an unlikely victory in the middle of Coach K Court, then hear the disappointment in the voice of the man himself as Mike Krzyzewski describes “a very tough loss for us.”

Duke appeared to be in control after Paolo Banchero’s dunk put the Blue Devils up 74-71 with 45 seconds left, though it had been an uphill climb for sure. But then Charlie Moore, a game-long thorn in Duke’s side at both ends of the floor, slipped past Jeremy Roach with just enough separation to put up a scoop shot. It rolled in and Roach was whistled for a foul. Moore missed the free throw. Duke, which out-rebounded Miami 44-30, had two big men with inside position to clear the board. Somehow, the Hurricanes’ Jordan Miller leaped, got a hand on the ball, and tipped it to himself. Moments later Kameron McGusty drove the lane and put Miami back on top. For me, this was the game’s critical play.

If the Blue Devils had secured that rebound, they would have had a one-point lead with 33 seconds left, and Miami probably would have fouled to get the ball back. Instead, Duke played from behind during those final 33 seconds and never made another shot, though Krzyzewski thought both Wendell Moore and Trevor Keels got good looks at the basket in those frantic final seconds.

Here are the two main takeaways from Saturday night in Cameron:

• Duke, because of the Covid pause, is not the team we saw in late December.
• Miami, which leads the ACC at 5-0 is a force; “the quickest team we’ve seen,” according to Mike Krzyzewski.

As to the Covid pause, Duke was better against Miami than it was against Georgia Tech but showed “rust and fatigue” in Krzyzewski’s view. Case in point: The Blue Devils outscored the Hurricanes 18-2 midway through the first half, pressuring the Canes into repeated missed shots. At one stretch, Miami came away empty on 10 straight possessions. A.J. Griffin’s transition three put Duke up 26-18 after the Devils had trailed 16-8.

But the Blue Devils could not sustain this level of defensive intensity. Over the course of the game, the Canes attacked the basket, rolling up 52 points in the paint. Particularly vexing were Miami’s five back door plays. “We’re playing half a man low and they still backdoored,” Krzyzewski observed. “That shows you’re tired.”

Duke compounded its halfcourt defensive woes by turning the ball over 13 times in the first half, 17 for the game. The Canes capitalized, scoring 17 points off turnovers, some of them collected in the paint as the Devils were trying to get back defensively.

The turnovers weren’t all on Duke though. Krzyzewski acknowledged that Miami’s quickness had an impact on the Blue Devils’ ball security. Miami made 11 steals in the first half alone. “Moore was the key to the game,” Krzyzewski said. “Those seven steals were huge.”

Miami, meanwhile, committed just five turnovers. The Canes also did a good job getting back defensively, practically neutralizing the vaunted Duke fast break.

Duke hit six more free throws than Miami and fashioned a six-point edge in points from beyond the arc. The Blue Devils held the Canes to 35% shooting in the first half. However Miami shot a blistering 58% in the second half, negating Duke’s other advantages.

Which brings us back to fatigue and conditioning. Krzyzewski feels his team desperately needs to run some sprints. But first it needs time for recovery after games. And playing against a team like Miami, in Krzyzewski words, “empties the tank quicker.”

The Blue Devils should be able to do some conditioning work before Wednesday’s game at Wake Forest, and then a little more before Duke’s Saturday afternoon game against NC State.

“The interruption really set us back,” Krzyzewski says. The Covid pause only lasted a week or so, but it may take a fortnight before the Blue Devils again look like one of the nation’s best teams.

Heels finally beat Virginia

The last time UNC beat Virginia Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks all scored in double figures. Every Tar Heel fan remembers what those three, along with Theo Pinson, Joel Berry, Luke Maye and Nate Britt ultimately did. But even in that national championship season, the Tar Heels lost to the Cavaliers in Charlottesville. And then the Carolina program lost six more times to UVA after that. So that’s a total of seven straight losses and five years separating February 18, 2017, from last Saturday afternoon.

There wasn’t much mystery in how Tony Bennett’s teams won all those games, most by substantial margins. Guys like London Perrantes and Kihei Clark would attack a UNC defense that struggled to stop dribble penetration. They would often dish to shooters like Kyle Guy, De Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome. Virginia would play patiently, usually running 20-25 seconds off the shot clock before scoring. The UNC offense, frustrated by the Cavs’ efficient point production and the slow pace of the game, would quickly try to push the ball inside to one of Roy Williams’ two big men. Tough defenders like Mamadi Diakite and Jack Salt would then quickly double team the ball. That made it extremely difficult for the post player to score or even pass the ball out. Virginia not only clogged the lane but usually also managed to jump out and defend three point shooters. UNC typically shot a low percentage in these seven losses and almost always lost the turnover battle.

Saturday brought a much different result. In truth, Virginia doesn’t have as much talent as those Cavalier teams that won the seven straight against the Tar Heels. At the same time, UNC Coach Hubert Davis tried some new tactics against the Cavs. Davis, who of course was at Roy Williams’ side during all those losses, really doubled down on stopping dribble penetration. Caleb Love, Leaky Black and R.J. Davis really contained UVA’s experienced backcourt of Clark, Reese Beekman and Armaan Franklin. Clark, especially struggled, hitting just one of seven two point shots and getting just two assists.

Post game, Davis also praised the defense of Armando Bacot on Virginia wing Jayden Gardner. Gardner drove past Brady Manek for a layup in the first half and stuck a couple of jumpers over Manek early in the second. Gardner scored 10 of UVA’s first 29 points. But then Bacot took on the task of guarding Gardner. Bacot blocked Gardner’s shot on his first attempt to drive the basket. He then held Gardner scoreless for the game’s final 17 minutes.

Bacot’s offense was even better than his defense; much better, in fact, historic. Bacot scored a career-high 29 points with 22 rebounds. In the storied decades of Carolina basketball, only Lennie Rosenbluth, Billy Cunningham, Mitch Kupchak and Brice Johnson have topped the 20-20 mark in a single game. Bacot is just the second Tar Heel to pull down 20 rebounds in the Smith Center. Assistant Coach Sean May is the other.

Bacot was dominant, because once again, Davis and company changed tactics. UNC still plays with two big men, but now one of the bigs, usually Manek, spends much of his time on the perimeter. This provides much better spacing against Bennett’s pack line defense. With just one big man in the post instead of two, Love and Davis had room to attack the basket, and either dish to Bacot, kick the ball out to a three point shooter, or finish the drive.

Davis said after the game he was pleased with the spacing but noted “the spacing doesn’t matter if you don’t’ knock down the shots.” Love hit two threes in the first half but the game plan hinged on Manek having a big day from beyond the arc. The Oklahoma transfer made just two of his first six threes, part of the reason UNC led just 31-25 at half and just 36-29 when Manek missed his fourth three point attempt. Anthony Harris hit a three and Love buried two more to give the Tar Heels some breathing room. Then Manek swished his final three treys, and that broke the game wide open.

Manek also played passer, finishing with 19 points and 5 assists. UNC as a team hit 11 of 25 from three, 44%. This prevented the pack line from just packing the paint. Virginia’s defenders had to spread the floor to cover an offense that was well-spaced and making shots both outside and in. Result? Bacot faced fewer double teams and often could attack one on one. And Bacot’s great hands were on full display. In addition to grabbing all those rebounds, Bacot committed just one turnover against a defense that often devours big men for dinner.

Bacot’s dunk with 2:10 to go gave UNC a 74-49 lead, though the final margin of victory was 74-58.

Once again, I had a great experience covering a game in person. Media seating at UNC is quite high. One climbs a lot of stairs to get to Section 212. But that part of the building is angled so there are no visual obstructions, and one can watch play from the near end to the far end without have to rotate eyes from one side to the other – very neck friendly.

I saw things I would not have seen on TV: Manek’s struggles defensively, Bacot’s freedom in the post and UNC’s spacing, which again spread out a defense that does everything it can to “pack it in.”

I also could hear the crowd much more prominently than I would have heard it on television. In the second half, the Dean Dome was rocking! Here’s to covering more Triangle basketball in person!