Perhaps one of the more intriguing storylines this season for the Tar Heels is the usage of guard Jaydon Young, who has started the last four games for North Carolina.
Despite starting for UNC, Young only averages about ten minutes of play per game, which makes his starting role that much more interesting.
This may just be a situation of “if it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it,” as the Tar Heels have won the last four games with Young in the starting rotation. Despite his limited minutes, Young is playing well for the time he is on the court, for the most part. Against Syracuse, Young put up two points, two rebounds, and two assists in only eight minutes, giving him a +11 for the game.
A couple of weeks ago, against Notre Dame, he put up three points, three rebounds, and one assist, making the most of his 13 minutes in the win.
While it is strange and unseen across the country for a starting player to average ten minutes a game, it’s working for the Tar Heels, who are 4-0 when Young has started. The benefit it potentially offers is to ease some nerves for players like Jarin Stevenson, Luka Bogavac, or Jonathan Powell, who all average more minutes and would otherwise usually be starting in Young’s position.
At the beginning of the season, it became obvious that the rotation was off, which caused problems within the first quarter of the season. North Carolina had too often gotten off to slow starts, resulting in playing from behind, and Young being put into the starting lineup has seemingly solved that issue for the most part. This rotation may have finally been the answer for Hubert Davis, and we have yet to see it fail.
With Duke on the horizon, it is expected that we see Young remain in the starting lineup for that game as well, and hopefully push his starting record to 5-0.