In Hubert Davis’ first season as head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, the team has started a bit slowly. With a 4-2 record and losses to #2 Purdue and #13 Tennessee, the team’s strengths and weaknesses have been tested against top-tier competition. The Tar Heels even went to the College of Charleston to play a true road game against a mid-major school. This team has experience in big games this season already, and they have experienced scoring threats. The slow start is not indicative of the potential that this team has particularly offensively.
As a team, North Carolina thrives on post touches from its three primary big men in Armando Bacot, Brady Manek, and Dawson Garcia. In the half-court set, North Carolina runs a particular play which we used to call the “Tar Heel” offense because of its prominence in Roy Williams’ tenure that creates these post touches. Furthermore, UNC has lethal guard play with ultra-athletic and quick players in Caleb Love and R.J. Davis.
Armando Bacot #5, 6’10” Forward
Armando Bacot, a former 5-star recruit out of high school, has proven himself as one of the most dominant post forces in the country to start the year. Bacot has averaged 15.7 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game, and 1.8 blocks per game, and he leads the Tar Heels in all of those categories. His offensive rebounding will definitely be on Michigan’s scouting report since he averages almost 3 offensive rebounds a game as well. Bacot has become a force around the rim because of his improved shooting touch and court awareness.
Bacot does not display any fancy footwork or any incredible athleticism. His sheer power from the post creates space for him to create shots for himself. His positioning and transition game has been his biggest improvements and arguably are the most threatening part of his game. Bacot sprints in transition and tries to beat the other team down the floor to score early in a possession as evidenced by the photos below.
After the shot, I have circled Bacot’s positioning under the rim to show how quickly he runs in transition. Notice how Charleston has four players crashing the offensive glass.
Bacot’s first two steps after the rebound create space between him and the Charleston defenders as he cruises down the court. Charleston only has two guards that are trying to recover in transition and Bacot exploits that matchup. As a big man, sprinting down the floor will get rewarded with easy baskets.
Bacot gets early positioning and catches the ball in the paint after sprinting down the court. He scores an easy layup under the basket after he bullied his defender.
Bacot’s post threat combined with North Carolina’s transition game will be a tough matchup for Michigan.
Brady Manek #45, 6’9” Forward
Manek, a transfer from Oklahoma, has had an immediate impact on the Tar Heels and has transformed their fast pace offense with his shooting ability. Manek has plenty of experience as a catch and shoot threat at Oklahoma, but he has been transformed into a post threat as well on the Tar Heels. Manek has been the third-leading scorer this season at 14.8 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, and 41% from the three-point line. Manek has been used in the Tar Heel offense as a pop threat on screening actions.
On this out-of-bounds play, Manek and Bacot are going to set a double screen with a dribble handoff to the guard in the corner. The guard for UNC has two options to either use the ball screen or cut backdoor to force help. The guard chooses to do a backdoor cut which appears to be a call made by the UNC coaching staff.
Since #24 makes the backdoor cut, Manek’s defender is forced to help a little bit into the paint. Manek, #45, takes a step back and Bacot advances the ball to Manek for an easy catch and shoot shot.
To defend Manek, Michigan needs to be physical with him on his post touches and force him to dribble. They need to stay attached to him when he is involved in screening actions.
Caleb Love #2, 6’5” Guard
Caleb Love, a sophomore guard, has averaged 15.2 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game, and 4.2 assists per game. Love shows his incredible speed in transition and shoots quite early in the shot clock no matter what happens on the defensive end. His aggressiveness on the offensive end has led to some inefficiencies in his game with a 43% field goal percentage and a 32% three-point percentage. Even though he has been inefficient overall, Love’s quickness has created issues for high-performing defensive teams in the ball screen.
Caleb Love receives a ball screen at the top of the key from Brady Manek. Purdue guards Caleb Love with a hard hedge known as a “white”. This hedge usually provides coverage against strong downhill attacking guards. Caleb Love’s explosive speed poses a threat to these teams.
Manek’s shooting threat forced Purdue to switch on the screen which allowed Caleb Love to attack the slower feet of Purdue’s Caleb Furst. Love exploits the switch and shoots a pull-up jump shot just inside the three-point line. Although the shot goes in, Caleb Love takes tough shots but he searches for ways to exploit the defense as quickly as possible.
Summary
North Carolina’s offensive prowess cannot be understated. They have one of the best transition offenses in the country and utilize their speed to their advantage. However, their defense has been lacking since they give up 78.7 points per game primarily against weaker competition. Bacot, Manek, and Love have all been exposed defensively. They do not move their feet well on defense, and Bacot can be attacked by guards on the ball screen.
Michigan needs to control the pace of this game and make North Carolina score in the half-court. If Michigan turns the ball over at the rate that they have been, then North Carolina will create easy shots and score in transition. Michigan needs to take care of the ball, control the pace, and force tough shots to win this game on Wednesday.
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