UNC Basketball: Roy Williams on Theo Pinson, Grayson Allen and more
By Zack Pearson
The North Carolina Tar Heels currently hold first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference and are in the middle of a tough stretch to end their season.
After beating a previously-ranked Notre Dame team, UNC now faces their biggest rival and a trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium Thursday night.
The game is not only a big one because of the rivalry but UNC is also looking to keep first place in the ACC. They currently hold a one game lead over both Florida State and Virginia who each have three losses.
Florida State plays NC State on Wednesday and Virginia doesn’t play again until Sunday when they travel to play Virginia Tech.
Ahead of Thursday’s game, head coach Roy Williams spoke to the media in his weekly press conference and provided some valuable information.
Theo Pinson
The Tar Heels are hoping they can get junior wing Theo Pinson back after he’s missed three-straight games with a foot injury. Pinson previously missed time in the regular season due to a broken foot.
Pinson has made strides and is currently practicing with the team in hopes of getting back sooner than later.
Williams provided another update on Pinson’s status Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s the same thing I said last night at the radio show,” Williams said. “We are doing running and shooting today. We will let him do that. Let him practice some tomorrow. Then we will make a decision at that point whether he can play on Thursday or if we will hold him out anymore.”
It sounds as if Pinson is making progress by practicing all week. He’s doing drills with running and shooting but not the team stuff just yet.
Grayson Allen and the Cameron Crazies
Allen has been a hot topic of discussion across college basketball this season due to his antics. As expected, Roy wasn’t going to say anything as it doesn’t matter to his team.
But during Duke week, he was going to be asked.
Williams commented on Allen during his press conference and called him a “wonderful kid.” He also went on to say that the coverage has been “blown way out of proportion.”
As for playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium and dealing with the Cameron Crazies, Roy praised the atmosphere calling it incredible. He did say he prefers to go into there with some experience on his roster.
He’s right.
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The atmosphere is incredible especially when the Tar Heels are in town. With the student section pretty much right on top of the court, it amps up the game a little bit. Williams admitted that he loves seeing the creativity from the students.
“I like to look at the signs early to see if any of them make me laugh,” Williams said. He also went on to say that the Cameron Crazies are “sort of cute.”
Recruiting the one and dones
Duke entered the season with the top recruiting class in the nation. A few of those players are considered one and dones in Harry Giles, Marques Bolden and Jayson Tatum.
For UNC, Williams hasn’t been able to land one of those big recruits that is likely to stay just one year but he’s built his team with experience.
He commented on the recruiting battles saying that he does recruit those same top prospects.
I'd asked him about having one-and-done types vs. a more experienced group that has a chance to grow together. He'd take the talent.
— Andrew Carter (@_andrewcarter) February 7, 2017
Roy says he'd take a Brandan Wright, Marvin Williams every day, all the time, over a more experienced but less talented player.
— Andrew Carter (@_andrewcarter) February 7, 2017
The Tar Heels will bring that experience into Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday night. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET.