Thanks to Old Ball and Familiar Arena, Justin Pierce Shows His New Program What He Can Do
WILMINGTON — Justin Pierce wasn’t himself in his North Carolina debut, and he’d be the first to admit it.
“I think Wednesday I was just trying to find my spot … not trying to screw up, basically,” he said.
Rarely in that game did Pierce look like the versatile wing scorer and athletic rebounder he’d shown during his three-year stay at William & Mary, finishing with five points and seven rebounds in the win over Notre Dame.
That’s certainly understandable in transferring from the CAA to the ACC and diving head-first into conference play with no chance to get his feet wet in front of 20,000 fans and wearing the jersey of one of the sport’s blue-blood programs.
With one under his belt and away from the bright lights of the Smith Center, Pierce found himself back in a building he had once dominated in and one important reminder of his time in Williamsburg.
“It’s the Wilson NCAA ball and we played with it at William & Mary and most of the conference, our conference tournament,” Pierce said. “We use Nike balls at Carolina, so I’ve gotten used to that, but I’ve been playing with that ball for three years.”
Quickly, Pierce looked like his old self again, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds as he helped Carolina knock off UNC Wilmington 78-62.
“Today, I was like, ‘We can’t rely on Cole to have 34 every night; we need other guys to step up and make shots,’” he said. I just approached this game with a different attitude that I’m going to do whatever it takes to help our team win.’”
Four minutes into the game, Pierce had already surpassed his scoring total from Wednesday, getting Carolina’s first bucket of the game, then knocking down two quick 3-pointers.
It quickly had the feeling of one of his previous outings in Trask, when he went for 23 points and 9 rebounds in a close victory for William & Mary on Jan. 27, 2018.
“It was definitely a comfort level being back in a CAA arena,” he said. “I’ve had big games here in the past and my teammates did a really good job early on of finding me. When you see that first one go in … the hoop gets a little bigger…”
Anthony, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds, sensed a different confidence in Pierce when they arrived on Friday and he immediately pointed out UNCW using the Wilson balls.
“I think that was a little confidence boost for him,” Anthony said. “ All the credit to him, he just came in super ready to play … he felt a lot more comfortable in this game, I think, than our scrimmage and our first game, so I’m just happy for him. I’m happy he got his confidence and hopefully he can maintain this.”
Pierce asserted himself on Friday night in the role that Roy Williams envisioned for him when they first brought him for a visit this spring, with the possibility of Pierce playing both the three and four positions, as his shooting can cause matchup problems on the perimeter while he can overpower smaller defenders in the paint.
“Justin’s had good moments in practice, he really has and he’s had some good days,”Williams said. “There’s a reason we recruited him; we needed a player in that position and I think he’s getting better, getting more relaxed out there.”
His role comes with a learning curve, though, and that’s exactly what Carolina saw last season as Nassir Little switched between the three and four spots.
That’s still a work in progress, and there were a few times on Friday Pierce forgot which role he was in at a particular time.
“There are a couple times when I’m not quite in the right spot when I’m at the four versus when I’m at the three,” he said. “Coach Rob is always telling me, ‘You’ve got to know whether you’re a the three or the four in any given lineup,’ because they are completely different.”
Given Carolina’s limitations right now with a seven- and eight-man rotation, that’s something the Tar Heels are willing to work with.
“It’s more difficult for him than anybody because he’s crossing the line between a post player or wing player, and that’s difficult to do,” Williams said.
The only place Williams isn’t willing to let Pierce work through growing pains, where he inexplicably missed all four of his attempts on Friday.
Having played 33 minutes, the senior said he wasn’t getting his legs into it.
“Trust me, we’ll be in the gym … I’m going to get up 500 free throws tomorrow; I promise you that,” he said. “I’ll never go 0-for-4 again.”
