UNC seeking to tighten up its defense

Credit: AP File Photo

Coach Bobby Cremins has led Andrew Goudelock and his College of Charleston teammates to a 10-2 record.

By: By Bill Cole | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: January 07, 2009

North Carolina will welcome an old adversary back to Chapel Hill today as it tries to recover from its first loss of the season.

Coach Bobby Cremins will bring his College of Charleston team to the Smith Center for the first time, but he was a regular visitor to the arena for 15 of his 19 seasons at Georgia Tech. Tipoff will be at 9 p.m.

UNC, playing its last nonconference game of the season, is 13-1 after Sunday's 85-78 loss to Boston College. College of Charleston is 10-2 and has won all five of its road games.

"We've got to get some things going again; we've got to get them going, period," Coach Roy Williams of UNC said.

Last season, UNC responded to each of its regular-season losses with long winning streaks, and forward Danny Green is confident that this team can do the same. Green said that the Tar Heels were shocked by Sunday's loss but that they're eager to get back on the court and correct their problems.

"Life goes on; we'll practice and we'll bounce back," Green said. "It's part of life. Nobody is incapable of losing. We're human, too. We're allowed to lose and do things of that nature. We'll bounce back and become a better team."

Recovery will hinge on better defense and rebounding. Boston College shot 45.7 percent from the field, the fourth time in five games that UNC allowed an opponent to shoot at least that well.

Williams wants UNC to hold opponents to less than 40 percent from the field. Point Guard Ty Lawson said that the loss to Boston College should prove to any doubters on the team that defense is the key to success.

"For the last three games, we haven't played well on defense," Lawson said. "We haven't rebounded that well, especially against Nevada. Coach was telling us that we have to rebound better.

"It took a loss for us to realize how much we need to rebound better. This is the second phase of the season. It does feel like a bigger loss than preconference or something like that."

The defensive lapse began about the time the Tar Heels took breaks for first-semester exams and then for the Christmas holiday. Williams has bemoaned a lack of practice time, but center Tyler Hansbrough is not convinced that there is a connection.

"Yeah, but that's not an excuse," Hansbrough said. "We can say that, but we haven't been going to class (while on semester break). We've been here playing basketball, and that should be our No. 1 priority."

Cremins last coached in the Smith Center on March 1, 2000, when Georgia Tech pushed UNC into overtime before losing 74-72. Cremins had a 12-32 record against UNC when he coached at Georgia Tech, including 4-16 in Chapel Hill.

Williams said that his friendship with Cremins led to games between the programs. Cremins had hoped that UNC could play the inaugural game in Charleston's new arena, but a date couldn't be worked out. UNC will play at College of Charleston next season.

"Bobby thought it would be nice for their program and nice for him," Williams said. "I'm dumb enough to play a home-and-home at Princeton several years ago when I was at Kansas and take a team to The Palestra just because our radio announcer had never done a game at The Palestra, so I'm dumb enough to do a lot of things."

■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.