Deon Thompson, UNC Take Care of Florida International

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It wasn’t the greatest game for North Carolina, but the Tar Heels were able to spoil Isaiah Thomas’ head coaching debut at Florida International.

The 2009 National Championship banner was released prior to the tip and the Tar Heels got up early and never looked back.

Deon Thompson led the way for the Tar Heels offensively, recording a game-high 20 points to go along with nine rebounds (six offensively).

Sophomores Ed Davis (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Tyler Zeller (12 points), along with senior Marcus Ginyard (12 points) joined Thompson in double figures offensively.

Florida International juniors and former JUCO teammates Marvin Roberts and Antoine Watson led the way for the Panthers with 18 and 16 points respectively.

Despite the 16-point loss, Florida International played a feisty game and continued to fight even down to the final buzzer. For a team with not many expectations heading into the Sun Belt Conference this season, Isaiah Thomas appeared to have a decent group of young players.

Even with a double-digit lead for much of the way for North Carolina, there were a few things that Roy Williams may have to address as the season continues.

First off, the highly touted recruiting class that Roy Williams brought in this past off-season did not show much. Each of the five members of the freshman class played in the game, yet combined for only 13 points in a total of 51 minutes between them.

Secondly, although it is tough to tell in a game against a team like Florida International, Roy Williams may have his hands filled with trying to find a solid rotation and enough minutes for many of his players. Obviously, things will change as the season continues or as the games get more difficult, but Roy Williams concluded by playing 16 different players, 12 of which played at least eight minutes.

North Carolina also finished with 26 turnovers in the game, a stat that will need to be lowered considerably.

There are plenty of shoes to fill in Chapel Hill this season, and this young Tar Heels squad may have been just feeling some early-season nerves; I mean it was only the first game of the year. In all, North Carolina should be just fine this season.

On a positive note, Larry Drew played particularly well for the Tar Heels in 21 minutes, and big men Deon Thompson, Ed Davis, and Tyler Zeller provided a solid core inside for UNC.

Senior Marcus Ginyard is finally healthy and it was clear he can still get up, throwing down a nice dunk on what appeared to be a simple lay-in with a defender on his side.

North Carolina (1-0) will play again this Wednesday at 9 p.m. against North Carolina Central. Florida International (0-1) will take on Monmouth on Friday at 7 p.m

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