After scoring a season-high 19 points and playing almost 36 minutes in UNC’s 79-65 win against Pitt Saturday at the Smith Center, forward Jarin Stevenson walked into the interview area with a heavy ice wrap on his right elbow.
“I fell on it. It’s like a golf ball in there almost, it’s a little swollen,” Stevenson said with a smile. “But I should be good.”
That’s what it’s going to take for the Tar Heels right now, who enter the home stretch of the season as bumped and bruised as any team in the country. Star freshman Caleb Wilson’s fractured left hand sent shockwaves across college basketball, though Wilson has vowed he will return this season. Then just before tip-off Saturday, center Henri Veesaar was ruled out. A program spokesman said Veesaar had been ill since the team returned from Miami earlier in the week and is also dealing with a lower extremity issue. The seven-footer dressed out Saturday but did not go through normal warm-ups with his teammates. He appeared to be wearing tape on the back of his left ankle.
The stunning Wilson injury and the uncertainty around Veesaar’s status leading up to tip-off had head coach Hubert Davis and his staff flying by the seats of their pants. Davis told reporters after the game he had built two different game plans: one with Veesaar and one without him.
Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, UNC’s two leading scorers, both sat out Saturday’s game vs. Pitt. (Image via Todd Melet)
Davis also called a last-second audible, bringing his team together for a shootaround at the Smith Center early Saturday morning. Normally for afternoon starts, the Tar Heels head straight for their pregame meal. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
“We met here early in the morning just to talk over stuff,” Davis said, “so everybody’s on the same page. Just to make sure everybody was clear in what was happening.”
Davis’ wheeling and dealing resulted in UNC’s sixth different starting lineup combination of the season, and surely the most unexpected: Stevenson moved into Veesaar’s spot, while redshirt sophomore Zayden High inherited Wilson’s. Prior to Saturday, High had as many games in the ACC season where he didn’t play at all as games where he played five minutes or more.
Against Pitt, he logged 32 minutes, scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in his first ever start. All of those were career bests.
“That first four minutes, I was gassed,” High admitted afterward. “But I was good. I wanted to play.”
Throughout his head coaching career, Davis has developed several clichés. Chief among them is him telling players that when, not if, their numbers are unexpectedly called, it is their responsibility to be ready. On Saturday afternoon, High fulfilled that mandate.
“I’m just really happy for him,” Davis said of High. “So many people stepped up, but Zayden has waited his turn. And he took advantage of it.”
Davis’ unusually tight substitution rotation saw four of his five starters play at least 32 minutes. Only three reserves saw playing time, and the highest usage among them was Jonathan Powell’s 14:44. Unsurprisingly, Carolina’s eight bench points marked one of its lowest totals of the season.
At least for now, that’s one stat category Davis will happily sacrifice if it means winning games. While it’s true Pitt is one of the ACC’s worst teams, the Panthers only have one fewer league win than Wake Forest, which took the Tar Heels to the wire in January. The Carolina team which took the court that day very clearly played down to its competition. On Saturday, the Tar Heels were more than the sum of their parts.
“Tonight,” Davis said, “was a clear example of what Carolina Basketball is about.”
Featured image via Todd Melet
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