The UGLY loss to Duke on Saturday night was simply the icing on the cake to what has been a very disappointing season for the UNC basketball program.
Currently sitting with a 13-10 record, not much has gone right for the Tar Heels this season. North Carolina was completely dominated by Duke, a game that showed the Blue Devils are on a whole other level, while the Tar Heels still don't have an identity 23 games into the season.
Don't worry, though. Hubert Davis keeps repeating the same things he's been saying to the media essentially all season long.
"The thing that I've been proud of with this team is its fight. It stays connected. It stays together."
I'm starting to think that we're not watching the same games...
North Carolina went down by as much as 32 points on Saturday evening, as the score (which ended up being a 17-point margin) doesn't tell the true tale of how embarrassing the loss was for the guys in Carolina Blue.
Duke essentially took their foot off the gas, allowing North Carolina to spark a little bit of a rally down the stretch.
Other than MAYBE the first couple of minutes, this team didn't show much fight, if any. From careless passes to stagnant offense (don't ya just love the good-ole "iso ball"), Duke took control right out of the gate and North Carolina didn't even "fight" back until the game was totally out of reach.
Heading into the final month of the regular season, Davis believes his team has yet to reach its full potential...
"Well, obviously we're not where we want it to be. But I go back to how do you react and how do you respond? And you move forward, you continue to competitively fight, and there's so much of a season still left to get better and to improve. The one encouraging thing for me is that I don't think we've reached our full potential, and that's out there. I've seen how good we can be on both ends of the floor, the consistency is the thing that is needed from this group. And we have time, and we have the opportunity to move forward to be able to do that, and we're very thankful for that last one. I love this team here. I love coaching this group, and I believe in this team. I think we can be really good."
Sure, no one is telling Davis to stand up by the podium and bash his team. However, We're 23 games into the season- if this team hasn't reached its "full potential" up to this point, what makes you think that:
1) they will even reach that level of potential Davis is referring to or
2) they haven't already peaked and are what they are: a mediocre at best basketball team
Say what you want and blame who you want, but listening to Davis speak to the media makes this whole season even more frustrating than it has been. If this team isn't reaching their full potential, that's on the coaching staff and the players, as someone has to step up and right the ship.
Enough with the talking- if this team has such potential, find a way to get it out of them.
The clock is ticking.