Morning Heel: UNC Tar Heels Daily News Links

Welcome to another edition of the Morning Heel, a daily feature here at Keeping It Heel.  Along with The Hub we want to bring you not only our original content but a collection of all the best UNC news.  Have a link to suggest?  Send it keepingitheel@gmail.com

ECU, Lebo test Tar Heels, Roy Williams’ patience
Before Saturday’s game, North Carolina honored East Carolina coach Jeff Lebo, one of the most accurate shooters in UNC history. Then the Tar Heels made the Pirates look like a team of Jeff Lebos. ECU scored 61 second-half points and cut a 16-point halftime deficit to four before the 21st-ranked Tar Heels came away with a 93-87 win. (Durham Herald-Sun)

UNC 93, East Carolina 87: The look back
Might Dexter Strickland be best equipped to handle the team’s point guard duties? It’s a question worth asking, especially after Strickland finished Saturday with 12 points and a career-high 10 assists. Williams believes Marcus Paige, the freshman who has started at point guard since the first game, will be very good. And there’s little reason to doubt that. Paige, though, isn’t there yet. (Raleigh News & Observer)

Tar Heels win, but it feels like a loss
After a win that in some ways felt more like a loss, North Carolina coach Roy Williams entered the interview room in the depths of the Smith Center, sat down and said, “Don’t know where to start.” Few things about the Tar Heels’ 93-87 victory against East Carolina pleased him. Several things about it bothered him, and he didn’t know where to focus his frustration first. (Raleigh News & Observer)

A lot of frustrations in UNC victory
North Carolina coach Roy Williams’ message to his team after its 93-87 survival against East Carolina on Saturday was succinct: The way we played is unacceptable. It will not be allowed anymore. Prepare for a tough practice, fellas. Williams said he was more frustrated than he’s been in a long time after watching his 21st ranked team allow ECU to score 61 second-half points. (ESPN.com)

UNC hangs on to beat East Carolina 93-87
North Carolina overcame 20 very shaky minutes of play after halftime on Saturday to barely hang on and top hard-charging East Carolina. Getting clutch free throws from Dexter Strickland at the finish and big baskets from P.J. Hairston and J.P. Tokoto throughout the second half, the Tar Heels won 93-87 at the Smith Center in front of 19,147 to stay unbeaten at home in five games. (Winston-Salem Journal)

Roy Williams anything but ecstatic over ‘different’ kind of game
Roy Williams had any number of reasons to be unhappy with his Tar Heels after watching them squeak by East Carolina 93-87 at the Smith Center on Saturday. Among the most glaring were the 61 second half points they allowed to the Pirates and the fact that big men James Michael McAdoo, Brice Johnson, Joel James and Desmond Hubert didn’t get a single offensive rebound between them. (Wilmington Star News)

Tar Heels not quite ready for ACC rigors
The Tar Heels aren’t a bad basketball team by any means. They are talented, have depth, have loads of long-term potential, and can be quite entertaining in stretches. They are also 8-2 and ranked No. 21 in the nation, after all, but they have some major issues, and without significant improvement the trek through the ACC could be a difficult one. (Fox Sports Carolinas)

UNC signee Nate Britt currently sidelined with a torn meniscus
North Carolina recruit Nate Britt, a Class of 2013 point guard at Oak Hill, is expected to miss four to six weeks with a torn meniscus. The left-handed Britt, who is from Washington, D.C., is ranked the No. 52 senior in the country, according to ESPN. He transferred from Gonzaga College High School to Oak Hill for his senior year, and the Warriors are 14-1 this season. Britt, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks have all signed with the Tar Heels. (Fayetteville Observer)