2. The Kitchen Has Gotten Crowded
Hubert Davis has a backcourt problem. Granted it's a pretty great problem to have, but it needs to be dealt with the tactical precision of a proton torpedo. UNC is the only team in the country with four top of the line offensive guards. Iowa State's fantastic trio of Gilbert, Lipsey and Jones is the only group that can truly rival them. (Although Kentucky and VCU would like to have a word about that statement). It is a wonderful luxury to have, but on certain nights you are left to wonder if it may be one too many. Tonight was one of those nights.
It was evident extremely early in the game that the Tar Heel guards could consistently score in isolation against a porous Cal perimeter defense, and so they did. But as the game tightened up a bit on both sides of the halftime break, there was a noticeable dearth of ball movement. Seth Trimble and Ian Jackson are very much attack first, attack second, pass third players, but with Elliot Cadeau finding success getting to the rim himself, it left RJ Davis with all of the distributor duties. This has been the case for weeks now, and while Davis' assist total is slightly up, he's scoring 3.4 points per game less than last year.
After the game, Hubert Davis noted that "the versatility compliments each other" and while that seems true on paper, it hasn't been reflected on the court since Jackson's emergence disrupted a set hierarchy of Davis as alpha, Cadeau as distributor and Trimble as sidekick bucket getter. That situation probably had a ceiling of barely sneaking into the NCAA Tournament, and Jackson, now oscillating between those alpha and sidekick roles, has made UNC a better team. But before the season's biggest games roll around, the coaching staff needs to find a way to get the best out of Davis again, hoping that Jackson and Trimble can still shine themselves.