UNC Basketball: Grades for Tar Heels’ game against UNC Asheville
Leaky Black
Black doesn’t usually put up eye-popping numbers, and Tuesday night’s game against UNC Asheville was no different. What he did do, though, is stay within himself and play the style of basketball that makes him valuable within the Tar Heels’ system.
Black only put up five shots, but he hit two of them, and he also converted 5-of-6 attempts at the free throw line. On top of that, he led all players with a career-high 11 rebounds, and committed just one turnover in 24 minutes. Leaky Black did a nice job of being Leaky Black against the Bulldogs, and that’s really all the Tar Heels need him to do.
B+
Brady Manek
Manek had two three-pointers in the first seven minutes of the game, and then he virtually disappeared for the rest of the game from an offensive standpoint. He had just two points over the game’s final 33 minutes, a layup at the 14:26 mark of the second half. On the other hand, he did so on just five total shot attempts, and he hit two of his three takes from beyond the arc. He also tied his season-high nine rebounds to go along with two assists, two blocks and one steal. He may have disappeared in the second half, but he did have an efficient performance, even if it wasn’t the 24-point, six three-pointer effort we saw two nights prior against Tennessee.
B
Dawson Garcia
Outside of his 26-point explosion against the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday, Dawson Garcia simply hasn’t been the potent scorer that we thought he’d be to begin the season. He’s had just two double-digit scoring games over his first six, and Tuesday’s game against UNC Asheville wasn’t one of them. He scored eight points on a 3-for-9 shooting performance, hitting both of his three-point attempts. He pulled down five rebounds and dished out two assists while turning the ball over just once in a modest 21 minutes of play.
At this point, simply not turning the ball over or making multiple mental mistakes results in a passing grade. We’re obviously grading on a curve.