UNC Basketball: Biggest Lessons Learned in ACC Play so Far

With a 4-1 conference record, the North Carolina Tar Heels are in the mix near the top of the ACC.

The team's lone conference loss came in a nail-biter versus Notre Dame. With four wins already secured, there has been no lack of wild ups and downs to the season, though. Up until a relatively easy handling of Virginia Tech, UNC went through two weeks of heart-wrenching action.

In games such as these, and even in less competitive contests, the best teams learn and take away something of import each and every time out. It's how the nation's top teams get better throughout a long season on their way to playoff basketball.

For North Carolina, there have been a few weighty lessons learned in just the first handful of ACC games it's played.

Chemistry Takes a Long Time to Build

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It isn't easy to acclimate a trio of new players seamlessly into a collegiate roster. This is especially true when the newcomers are freshmen experiencing Division I athletics for the first time.

Entering the year, hopes were high for North Carolina because it was expected that a superb recruiting class would mesh with the returning players to form a supremely talented roster.

Thus far in ACC play, results have been mixed.

It has taken time for the returning players to develop any kind of chemistry with the freshmen. Even while Justin Jackson has played and performed well, his production still seems to be generated off of free space around the paint rather than through connections with teammates through an offensive system.

As for Theo Pinson and Joel Berry, they haven't played enough to create a camaraderie with their teammates just yet.

The one exception to this occurred during the Notre Dame game. Coach Roy Williams went a long stretch of the second half with a small lineup that included all three freshmen. The group performed very well, sparking UNC in its comeback.

It may have been the first signs that these guys are getting the hang of things.

There Is No Rush to Limit a Rotation

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With freshmen entering the fray, many fans were hoping for a younger, fresher rotation. Instead of settling on a group of seven or eight guys though, Coach Williams has been happy to play those youngsters as well as everyone else. As many as 10 players have entered every game this season.

There is no rush to set his tournament lineup at this point, and if he ends up trusting this substitution pattern all the way through March, then there may be no reason to deviate from it anyways.

Common basketball refrain says that a rotation too deep means a coach doesn't have a group he can rely on. This could still be the case with Carolina, but Williams was in no hurry to prove or disprove the theory by the start of the new year.

And his reliance on a deep bench has paid off.

With the injury to Joel Berry, UNC has given enough playing time to other backcourt players that it can handle the void. If Williams had previously attempted to set a point guard rotation of Berry backing up Marcus Paige, then Nate Britt would not be as prepared as he is to play increased minutes now.

Seasons Swing on the Smallest Events

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Three consecutive conference games found UNC in the midst of down-to-the-wire finishes. First was a one-point loss to Notre Dame.

This was followed by a one-point win over Louisville.

Next came a two-point win over NC State.

In each of these games, one possession here or there was enough to swing the outcome. Over the course of a season, these individual moments add up to make a team's record what it is.

If Marcus Paige's last-second layup against the Cardinals rims out, suddenly the Tar Heels' slate looks rather barren of impressive wins.

If NC State manages to hit one more three, Carolina adds another questionable loss to its resume. If the opposite happens against Notre Dame, suddenly UNC is in first place.

Shooting Is Still the Ultimate Equalizer

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Despite great performances in the paint and on the offensive glass for Carolina, games are still decided by players hitting shots.

The blowout over Clemson to begin ACC play was a perfect example of one team simply being unable to hit shots. A 17-point first half for the Tigers meant it didn't really matter what UNC was doing elsewhere. A big enough lead was built up that the Heels could cruise to victory.

But shooting has been even more important in those close games that followed.

Team leader Marcus Paige finally got his own shot going against NC State last week. He hit season highs in points (23), made threes (5), free throws without a miss (6-of-6) and field-goal percentage (66.7), not to mention his nine assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Paige's coming-out party of 2014-15 was certainly a sign that this team has a different ceiling when its preseason All-American plays up to his potential. It also showed that Carolina will be really hard to beat when it shoots well.