UNC to polish rotation against N.C. Central

By: By Bill Cole | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: November 11, 2009

CHAPEL HILL --

The Smith Center in Chapel Hill will be the site of a historic basketball game today when North Carolina hits the playing floor for the second time this season.

N.C. Central, UNC's neighbor in Durham, will be the opponent in the Coaches Vs. Cancer Tournament second round at 9 p.m. NCCU, a historically black college, has never played North Carolina in basketball, despite the schools' proximity.

UNC is 1-0 after debuting with an 88-72 win over Florida International Monday in the tournament's first round, but Coach Roy Williams said he hopes that his team can play much better after committing 26 turnovers in the opener.

"Basically what we faced (against FIU) is what we'll face a lot this year," Williams said. "A team played zone on one end and tried to spread and drive our big guys on the other. It was great experience for us. They played so much zone that it helps us in the long run."

The game will give North Carolina a second chance to work on its rotation. Williams played 12 players in the first half against FIU, putting all five of his prized freshmen into the game early and constantly changing the lineup.

The freshmen were tentative and sometimes shaky in front of a Smith Center crowd. The precise execution that the Tar Heels developed in the previous three seasons is absent, but Marcus Ginyard said he's confident that the team will polish its play in each game.

"There's really no telling when we're going to get to that point where we're really meshing together out there on the court and really starting to get a feel for each other and building great team chemistry," said Ginyard, a senior swingman.

"There's no question that we're working toward that right now. These young guys are really doing the best that they can and are trying to grab anything that they can. Coach always talks about throwing a lot of stuff at them. They're going to get hit with a lot of stuff."

Sophomore Larry Drew will play his second game as the point guard in taking over the position from Ty Lawson. Drew had six assists and two turnovers in 21 minutes against FIU. Williams said that he would take that kind of production in every game. Ginyard thought that Drew had a solid game and added that further such production is crucial for a growing team.

Drew thought his game acceptable but wants to make improvement in every game.

"I can play way better than this," Drew said. "I would give myself probably a ‘C' if I had to give myself a grade. We played solid as a team but I think the more comfortable we get with each other the better we'll play."

bcole@wsjournal.com.