Behind Enemy Lines: 5 Questions For Heels Maven's Brant Wilkerson-New

It's the first game of the new decade for both teams.

Playing in their first game of the new decade, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are concluding a 5 game road trip with a matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill tomorrow at 6:00pm.

Ahead of tomorrow's conference matchup, SI's Jackets Maven sat down with SI's Heels Maven's Brant Wilkerson-New to find out more about UNC.

1. Being out of the Top 25, what is the overall vibe/mood of the team?

It’s been a strange season in Chapel Hill, but I guess this is the price you pay to become a football school.

Things were decidedly negative for the first month of the season, whether that be from fans or Roy Williams himself. At various times, Williams has referenced this being his most offensively-challenged team he’s had, the hardest time he’s had getting a team ready for the season and alluded to the fact that his team wasn’t doing what coaches wanted.

Things have gotten a little better in recent weeks with the emergence of Jeremiah Francis, but the mood took another hit on Monday night when Anthony Harris was lost for the season with a torn ACL.

2. How has Cole Anthony's absence affected UNC in ways other than scoring?

The loss of Anthony hasn’t necessarily been the worst thing that could have happened to this team, as it’s given opportunities for Williams to find out what else he has on the roster.

That’s led to Brandon Robinson playing the best basketball of his career, Garrison Brooks becoming a consistent double-double threat and, in general, better ball movement within the offense.

With that said, Carolina would certainly be happier to have Anthony on the floor for his scoring, rebounding and defensive ability.

When Anthony does return, it figures that the Tar Heels will be a better all-around team.

3. Why has UNC's shooting been subpar at best so far this season?

It’s not that the Tar Heels don’t have good shooters, because Anthony, Robinson, Justin Pierce and Christian Keeling have proven that they are.

The issue has been that, at least for the first 10 games or so, the Tar Heels really struggled to get good shots within the flow of their offense.

One particular point that players made was that Carolina was setting poor screens, meaning timing is off, shots aren’t nearly as open as they should be, and often, Carolina was hoisting bad looks late in the shot clock.

Things have gotten better over the past three games, hitting 18 of 56 from beyond the arc.

4. What makes Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot so dominant on the glass?

Aside from natural size and talent for both, it’s because Williams makes it such a priority for his big men to hit the boards. If you don’t rebound your position at Carolina, you don’t play.

With that focus instilled in players from Day One, it makes it a little easier to tap your potential. For Brooks, there’s never been a concern about effort, and given the fact that he’s generally the smartest player on the floor, he uses his instincts and basketball savvy to make up for the fact that he isn’t necessarily the biggest or most athletic player on the floor.

It’s a little more complicated for Bacot, who has all of the potential in the world, but can occasionally be thrown off his game by more experienced big men that get physical with him. Bacot has excellent hands, moves his feet well and gets creative around the basket. The difference of when he’s playing well and not is when he tries to rely on that stuff too much, rather than just imposing his size and (improving) strength on opponents.

5. What does it mean to Roy Williams to tie Dean Smith in all-time wins?

It means a great deal to Williams, but in a deeply personal way.

Williams is never one to talk about his own accolades or even celebrate those accomplishments. He was noticeably uncomfortable on Monday night after the game, and on Friday, confirmed that he wanted to just get back to the locker room to check on Harris.

Outside of his immediate family, there’s no one that had a bigger impact on Williams’ life than Smith. He doesn’t like to be compared to his mentor, because in his mind, there’s no comparison between the two, on either the basketball court or in life, where Williams was a major figure in the civil rights movement in North Carolina.

Regardless of what Williams thinks, though, the record books say otherwise about his basketball accomplishments — he’ll just never admit it.

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