UNC Basketball: Five Takeaways from the Tar Heels in November

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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 12: Seventh Woods #0 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drives against KZ Okpala #0 of the Stanford Cardinal during the second half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on November 12, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 90-72 (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Seventh Woods is crucial for the Tar Heels’ success

Yes, North Carolina left the Sin City with a 1-1 record, including a good bounce-back win against No. 17 UCLA, but it was quite evident that the Tar Heels struggled on both sides of the ball in the Vegas Invitational when Woods was out with a concussion.

We saw the emergence of Coby White as a scorer, but we also saw the offense stall at times as there was a lot of ball watching. As good as White is as a scorer, he is a pass second guy, whereas Woods’ ability to get others involved first is what makes the Carolina offense roll.

Leading the team in assists (4.8/gm), Woods mentioned how the game has finally slowed down for him, thus the calming influence he has had for the Tar Heels so far when he is on the floor.

Defensively, his ability to disrupt the tempo of opposing backcourts was really missed, especially in the Texas game. The Longhorns’ backcourt of Kerwin Roach and Matt Coleman combined for 48 points, while shooting 62 percent, and 12 assists.

Woods effects the game on both ends, and with White starting to show his scoring potential, it is important to have Woods on the floor as much as possible to make things easier for his teammates and take the pressure off White to be a distributor as well.

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