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Pre-Final Four Notebook

Perimeter shooting at NRG Stadium was one of many topics covered in Tuesday's press conference.
Perimeter shooting at NRG Stadium was one of many topics covered in Tuesday's press conference. (Bruce Young, THI)


CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina celebrated its East Region championship for just a few hours after defeating Notre Dame on Sunday night in Philadelphia, but it wasn’t the same as it was after winning the ACC Tournament two weeks earlier.

The difference is simple: One championship was at the final point of that specific journey, the one the Tar Heels captured two days ago is part of an on-going process.

“We celebrated in the locker room, we were really excited and happy and stuff,” Marcus Paige said Tuesday at the Smith Center. “We’re still in the middle of the tournament, it’s a little bit different. There’s some finality for the ACC Tournament championship.

“We understand it’s probably a lot more fun if we can win on (next) Monday night after winning two more games, that would be a little bit better of a time to celebrate. We’ve still got some work to do.”

Paige did later admit he allowed the internal celebration to linger maybe a bit longer than what he originally said, but by Tuesday that was well in the past for the Tar Heels.

Roy On How Paige Handled His Rough Stretch

Paige hit a real rough stretch that began with UNC’s win at Syracuse on Jan. 9. Paige then spent the next 6 weeks not really connecting games that were more the norm the previous two seasons.

Over the last six weeks, however, dating back to Carolina’s home loss to Duke, Paige has been increasingly more comfortable where he now plays stress free each time on the court. To get to this point, though, the senior from Iowa had to obviously work through what ailed him and find a measure f comfort in his play.

“I think he handled it possibly better than any other I’ve ever seen,” UNC coach Roy Williams said about Paige. “It was bothering him, and he has a very much an analytical mind about how he’s playing and what his value is; he sees his value everywhere. But we need the ball to go in the basket, it’s called a scoreboard.

“But I think he’s handled it better than anybody I’ve ever seen. He believed in what the staff was telling him how he could still help us and what was doing to help us. It was tougher on him than anybody. He’s a perfectionist in about everything he does, and when the ball was not going in the basket it bothered him greatly, and he did a great job hiding it from his teammates.

“We had some conversations, I told him to ‘Just keep playing.’ I still have confidence – every time he goes up to shoot the ball I believe it’s going in. That’s a pretty good feeling to have as a coach.”

Syracuse’s Zone In The 2nd Game

The Heels had a lot of success using the high post against Syracuse in the first matchup between the teams on Jan. 9. That night in the Carrier Dome, Brice Johnson set a career-high with 8 assists, 5 of which were feeds to Isiah Hicks on the baseline for baskets. Johnson could have had 10 assists, but Hicks was fouled twice and went to the line. UNC converted 52.5 percent from the floor that night.

In the second game at the end of February, the Heels had less success using the middle of the Orange’s well-known 2-3 zone. Syracuse force UNC to beat it going elsewhere against the zone and ended up shooting just 41.2 percent overall. What were some of the differences in the two games?

“The tried to not let me get it. In the first half, I don’t think I touched it in the high post,” Johnson said. “Eventually, they double-teamed me in the high post in the second game… I do remember not touching it in the high post.”

In the first game, in which UNC won, 84-73, Hicks had 22 points but scored just 10 in the second matchup, which was a 75-70 Heels’ victory on Senior Night in Chapel Hill. But it was a 69-68 game with 2.24 remaining. Johnson had 1 assist in the second game, as well.

Shooting At NRG Stadium

Reports suggest NRG Stadium in Houston, site of the Final Four and also where the Houston Texans NFL team plays, has between a 4 and 9 percent negative effect on shooting. With UNC being less reliant on 3-point shooting than the other three teams in the Final Four, does that mean the Tar Heels may have an added edge this weekend?

“It might possibly give us a slight advantage because we get so many of our points at the basket,” Paige said. “I think it’s easier to make a layup in a different environment than it is to make a 3, I guess. Since we get so many of our points from around the basket – a lot of dunks and easy transition baskets – that should help us.”

On the flip side, as a shooter how does Paige see the potential of being in a building that has a negative effect on perimeter shooting?

“As a shooter, you just try to get used to the background in shoot arounds and stuff,” he replied. “It’s weird, even playing at Duke is different than playing here because it’s a smaller setting, you have to get used to the lighting…

“The only thing that helps you not worry about it is that they have to shoot in the same environment as you. So, if it’s going to affect us it’s probably going to affect them, too.”

Brice Johnson On Being Named 1st-Team All-America

“I’ve still have two more games to play,” he said, though after pausing Johnson continued. “It’s great to do all of that, But I can’t take all the credit for that, I’ve got to give my teammates some credit, too, because if I don’t get the ball from them I wouldn’t be able to do any of the things I did.

“I just try to do everything I can to help my team win. If that’s what it takes, hey, I’ll take it.”


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