UNC Basketball: The trend when Joel Berry struggles
By Alec Lasley
There’s a trend going on with the North Carolina Tar Heels. We dig into it and what it means for the rest of the year
There is no doubt Joel Berry has proven to be UNC’s most valuable player this year. If you disagree, this article should change your mind.
Sitting at 19-4 on the season and continually a top 10 team in the country, Carolina has looked like the best team at times and other times not a top 25 team.
Lets look at their losses: at Indiana, vs Kentucky (neutral site), at Georgia Tech, at Miami.
One can say that the one constant is all being on the road. Yes, that is true but lets look at the more eye popping numbers concerning those losses all surrounding Joel Berry.
In those four losses, Berry is averaging 10.3 points per game and that includes his 23-point performance against Kentucky.
You take that scoring night away and he is at 6 ppg.
In the other three losses besides Kentucky, he only connected on 6-of-34 shots. That is 17.6 percent…. 30 percent lower than his season average.
Not only is he struggling with his shot, he is also turning the ball over at a much higher rate than normal. His season average sits at 2.2 TO/gm but in the losses, it is up to 3.3 a game, and only the Indiana game does he have higher than a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio.
One of the biggest takeaways I’ve seen in Berry’s performances in the losses is his shot selection.
Berry is at his best when he is attacking the rim, finishing strong, and getting fouled, thus setting up his three point shot.
Two UNC players have gone 0-8 or worse in a game in the last 5 seasons. Nate Britt and Joel Berry
— Bryan Ives (@awaytoworthy) January 28, 2017
In their losses however, Berry has been settling for more and more threes and not getting to the foul line.
Against IU, Georgia Tech, and Miami, he attempted more than half of his shots from beyond the three point line.
With that, his free throw attempts decreased drastically. Only making one trip to the line per game in those losses, he seemed to bail out the defense by settling for long distance jumpers.
The main theme here is that Carolina’s performance goes hand and hand with Berry’s performance.
In order for the Tar Heels to continue to be considered a National Championship contender, Joel Berry’s play will be at the center of their success or struggle.