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 itkeepingitheel@gmail.com


UNC Basketball: Marcus Paige Will Get Better
We all know Marcus Paige is an extremely talented freshman. We all know that freshmen make mistakes. Why does Paige make mistakes? Lack of experience is probably the answer to that sometimes. In a majority of cases this year for Paige, it is more linked to the fear of messing up. Therefore, according to Paige, Roy Williams has recently instilled a confidence in Paige that no amount of practice can help a young player with. (KIH)

Hoopsbag: North Carolina edition
Desmond Hubert is the best defender but lacks confidence. Brice Johnson is the best on offense but still struggles on defense and aggressive consistency. Joel James boasts the most muscle, but has only been playing organized basketball for a few years and is still learning the game. Saturday’s game against UNLV will be a key (and interesting) tough test for the trio. (ESPN.com)

Tar Heels hope to shed malaise and shine as underdog this weekend
The noise has grown louder over the past 10 days. North Carolina, which unjustifiably held a national ranking even after horrid performances against Butler and Indiana, finally lost its goodwill after falling to woeful Texas last week. The Heels have faced three top-100 opponents and received a spanking from each. (Independent Weekly)

UNC Resumes Practice Before Taking On UNLV
Thursday marks the first day of practice for the UNC men’s basketball team since breaking for the Christmas holiday—and going into this weekend’s game against UNLV, junior guard Reggie Bullock says the practicing process will be more crucial than ever. “In big time games, against better teams, we’ve got to take things we do in practice and do them in games,” he says. (Chapelboro.com)

UNC Basketball: Time to Tighten Up the Rotation
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams almost always likes to experiment with his rotations a little bit at the beginning of the season. This season through 12 games the 9-3 Tar Heels aren’t much closer to having a stable rotation than they were at the beginning of the season. And that has to change. (KIH)

UNLV’s Mike Moser practices, questionable vs. North Carolina
UNLV star forward Mike Moser, who dislocated his elbow in a gruesome manner Dec. 9, returned to full-contact practice Wednesday but isn’t sure he’ll be ready to play Saturday at North Carolina. Coach Mike Rice hasn’t ruled Moser — who averaged 14 points and and 10.5 rebounds last season — out for Saturday’s game but said a more likely scenario for a return would be next week against Chicago State or Cal State Bakersfield. (Sporting News)

UNC Basketball: Is UNLV a Must Win?

A lot of times, the phrase “must win” is used in context regarding situations that a team must win because if they don’t, then they’re eliminated or going home. UNC isn’t in a do or die scenario where they must win to advance, but must win makes sense all the same. Carolina comes into their after Christmas schedule with a 9-3 record that looks a lot better than it actually is. Blowout losses to Butler, Texas, and Indiana really have drawn questions from critics and fans alike thinking that Carolina isn’t all they’re hyped up to be. Maybe they’re right in thinking so. (KIH)