By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — It’s a time of adjustment and growth for Ian Jackson.
That’s how UNC coach Hubert Davis described what the freshman guard has gone through over the last two games.
After scoring at least 20 points in six of seven games with a scoring average of 27.7 during that stretch, he’s combined for 13 points on 4 of 19 shooting in one-point losses to Stanford and Wake Forest.
Davis said that Jackson has gone to or near the top of opponent’s scouting reports. That’s changed the sort of defense he’s having to deal with as UNC (12–9, 5–3 ACC) heads into Saturday’s 2:15 p.m. (The CW) home game against Boston College (9–10, 1–7).
“I told him it’s his time to adjust to how they’re playing him, and that’s the growth of a player,” Davis said. “Everyone goes through it. RJ [Davis], had to go through it. Seth [Trimble] has gone through it. Everyone has to go through it. And now Ian is going through it.”
Among other differences, Coach Davis said, was that teams are being more physical with him, and that’s taken away one of Jackson’s valuable weapons — his ability to take just about any defender off the dribble to create interior points and chances at the free throw line.
Davis has chatted about that with Jackson since he scored seven points and failed to get to the free-throw line for only the second time since mid-December.
“For him not getting to the free throw line, that’s something that just can’t happen,” Davis said. “And I think that’s one of the things that makes him such a gifted scorer is his ability to score at all three levels, but also be able to get to the free throw line. That’s just something that has to change moving forward.”
Davis stopped short of saying that Jackson was settling for perimeter shots lately, but said he’s talked with Jackson about creating better opportunities.
“We talked about where he could have put the ball on the floor and attacked the basket — having a choice of shoot the three or attack the basket,” Davis said. “There are opportunities to be able to do that. You want to mix that up. You want to have diversity in your game offensively.”
Davis explained to Jackson that although he wasn’t as gifted when he played, he always wanted to make sure that 50% of his shots weren’t 3-point attempts unless he was hot.
Here’s what Davis had to say on other topics:
— On navigating his mental approach with the team after the close losses:
“I think that comes from knowing your players and knowing the team. I think every team has a different personality. I think this team’s personality — we’ve watched more tape than any other previous years as me as head coach, because they need to see it. I think holding them accountable to it, but also a balance of encouraging them as well. There has to be a balance there because [I] always tell them either side of the floor, I want them to play fast and free.
“As a player, I’ve been in a situation where I felt like, if I missed a shot or turned the ball over, I was on the bench, and it was an awful feeling. I don’t want them to feel that as players, and I want them to feel confident. I always tell them this — I don’t mind mistakes, as long as it’s made with effort and concentration, that’s the only time [I get mad] in practice, is when a mistake is made when there is no effort and there’s no concentration.
“Other than that, everybody makes mistakes. I know they don’t want to miss a shot, and I know that they don’t want to turn the ball over, and I know they want to be in the right spots defensively. But if you do it with effort, and you do a concentration, that really cuts down those things.”
— On whether he tries to balance accountability with encouragement:
“I think you can do both. I’m straightforward in directing my communication in regards to this is what we’ve practiced and practiced. This is what you’ve been told and taught and are talented enough to do, and this is your job and a responsibility, and you did it well, or you didn’t do it well. And if you continue not to do it well, then those are things that are going to hurt your playing time.
“I’m direct and definitive in my communication with them, but I also am very direct in regards to encouraging them, understanding that my belief in them to be able to do it, my belief in them to be able to do it at a high level and consistency, and that I’m in their corner, and that’s my job, is to help and encourage them to be the best that they can be.”
— Is there more encouragement after the two close losses?
“Oh, I might check the temperature of the team, knowing the team and knowing the personalities. There are times this year that I’ve been more direct. I’m always direct, but I’ve been louder. I’ve been more firm. And other times that I feel like what the team needs is still the directness, but less firm.
“And that’s me knowing the team. That’s me knowing the individuals, and that’s why I spend so much time with them. There’s some guys that I can I can be more firm with, and they can get it, and there’s some guys that I have to go five miles out to be able to get my point across, because ultimately, I just want them playing at their best. So, I don’t care how it comes across. I just want them to understand where I’m coming from and what they need to do out there on the floor.”
— On the mood of the team:
“I’ve said before that I love coaching this team. I love being around them; they’re a great bunch of kids, and I believe in this team. I believe that we’re nowhere close to reaching the full potential of what I think this team can be and become and I really believe that the guys are starting to see it and starting to understand it.
“My hope is that they do. Practices have been good the last couple days … film sessions. I’ve been meeting with a number of the players. Those conversations have been good. The confidence and the spirit and the enthusiasm is there. They just want to play well, and I just want to see the benefits of playing well out there on the floor, and I want that for them. I like them with smiles on their faces, as opposed to them crying in the locker room.”
— On the importance of the team being disciplined and attentive to details to keep bad things from happening:
“It goes back to the consistency of being able to do those things. And it’s coming, I think, in a couple different parts. At the beginning of the year, the reason why we were getting down by double figures is because we weren’t consistently doing those things, and then we were coming back because we were consistently doing those things. Now, since coming back from Christmas, I think it’s played a huge part putting us in those situations where it’s a one-possession game. We’ve played nine of them thus far.
“And the reason that we’ve come out and won some of those has been because of the consistency of those little things — the box outs, the free throws, of taking care of the basketball, taking good shots. And the reason that we haven’t come out on top on those other games is the lack of consistency on that.
“As a team, we have to do somehow become more consistent at those little things. So we’re not in one-possession games and we can sustain leads because that’s something else that we’ve done.”
— On how to get the team to be more consistent with the details:
“I always tell them, a mistake is good if you recognize it, admit it, learn from it and grow from it. And that’s something I got from Coach [Dean] Smith and Coach [Bill] Guthridge when I played here. We watch a ton of film so that they can recognize it, so that they can admit it. The next step is to learn from it and grow from it.
“I think it’s more than just one person. I think it’s collectively as a team — the consistency. When you say a full 40 minutes, it’s not being perfect. I always talk to them about we have to be a disciplined team. My definition of discipline is not being perfect, but it’s being committed to doing the right things the right way. And so that’s something that this team continues to grow with about being more consistent — not perfect — but consistent for a full 40 minutes to put ourselves in better situations out there on the floor.”
— On Elliot Cadeau balancing scoring and distributing after scoring 10 points early against Wake Forest and only finishing with 14 points while dishing out 13 assists:
“He had it going in terms of getting to the basket and being able to score. One of the many things that I love about Elliot is his ability to understand when to do both. And he is such a gifted passer.
“I think some of those times, he maybe even could have taken a layup, but he passed it out to a teammate, and that’s the gift that he has. Yes, he can score. But, instinctively, he really wants to pass. And so finding that balance of being aggressive and when to get his teammates involved, which he just naturally does, that’s something that he continues to grow with and continues to get better at.
— On the challenges Boston College will present:
“Their physicality on defense — very physical, and their physicality can dictate and decide how efficiently you run on the offensive end. From an offensive standpoint, they can shoot the 3. They don’t shoot a high volume of 3s, but they want to score consistently in the paint, through post and penetration. So, that’s a huge emphasis for us is protecting the paint.
“A huge emphasis for us is defending without fouling, because we’ve struggled with that at times. And a huge emphasis for us is boxing out, not allowing teams second-chance opportunities, especially at important times. Those are three things defensively that we’ve talked about in regards to Boston College. But just overall, the improvement for us defensively as a team.”
— On facing 6–9 BC center Chad Venning:
“He’s really talented. He’s big. He does a really good job working hard to get his position close to the basket, and when he catches it there, it’s very difficult to keep him away from the basket. He’s a gifted scorer, and he’s very skilled there.
“For us, we’ve played a number of post players throughout this season, and we’re going to have to do a really good job, not just specifically on him, but for the entire team. But, in regards to him, make him work to get that position, try to keep him out of the middle, defending him without fouling, because they use him also to be able to get into the penalty where they can get to the free throw line and shoot. And so it’ll be a test for us in the paint [Saturday], but we’re excited about that challenge.
— On open shots and shot selection:
“I don’t care how good a shooter individually you are, how well you shoot as a team, there are going to be days, they’re going to be nights, where that shot is not falling. That wasn’t the difference-maker for us not coming out on the win side versus Wake Forest. We took the lead at 54–53. The next possession, we had a missed box out. They scored. We came down, missed a 3. We came back down, and we messed up on our defensive assignment, and they got another dunk. Now we’re down three.
“My communication with the team has been this: We lost another game by one. And just look at the little plays on offensive end, little plays defensively and say we do things a little bit the way we were supposed to do them on one or two possessions on both ends, then we’re not there. It’s never about a missed shot. It’s about plays, and that’s what I look at in regards to the outcomes lately and us moving forward [Saturday] against Boston College.”
— On his philosophy about when to attempt a 3-pointer:
“When an open shot is created, I want all of our guys to be able to take it. There’s not a formula in terms of turn down this shot, wait two minutes before you take a three. And this is for all the players. I want them taking good shots. And everybody knows what a good shot is. A good shot is something that is not just what you want, is what the whole team wants, including the coaches. It’s a shot where the board is covered and where we can get offensive rebounds, where we drastically need to improve.”
UNC season statistics
Boston College season statistics
KenPom comparison
| Category | UNC | BC |
| Overall ranking | 32 | 219 |
| Offensive efficiency | 114.9 (49) | 105.0 (200) |
| Defensive efficiency | 96.2 (31) | 109.4 (236) |
| Effective FG% | 52.5 (102) | 48.7 (264) |
| Turnover % | 15.0 (36) | 18.1 (225) |
| Offensive rebound % | 27.2 (263) | 31.5 (141) |
| FTA/FGA | 35.8 (106) | 33.7 (167) |
| Strength of schedule | 4 | 160 |
Series: UNC 23, BC 6
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Duke | 0–0 | 11–0 | 2 |
| California | 0–0 | 10–1 | 63 |
| No. 12 North Carolina | 0–0 | 10–1 | 15 |
| No. 23 Virginia | 0–0 | 9–1 | 21 |
| Miami | 0–0 | 10–2 | 33 |
| Virginia Tech | 0–0 | 10–2 | 55 |
| No. 11 Louisville | 0–0 | 9–2 | 17 |
| SMU | 0–0 | 9–2 | 43 |
| Stanford | 0–0 | 8–2 | 97 |
| Clemson | 0–0 | 9–3 | 31 |
| Notre Dame | 0–0 | 9–3 | 64 |
| Wake Forest | 0–0 | 9–3 | 59 |
| N.C. State | 0–0 | 8–4 | 34 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–0 | 7–4 | 188 |
| Syracuse | 0–0 | 7–4 | 95 |
| Pittsburgh | 0–0 | 6–6 | 152 |
| Boston College | 0–0 | 5–6 | 185 |
| Florida State | 0–0 | 5–6 | 149 |
* — Through Thursday games
Friday’s games
Mississippi Valley State at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Morgan State at California, 10 p.m., ACCN Extra
Saturday’s games
Montana at No. 11 Louisville, noon, ACCN Extra
Lafayette at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Elon at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Ohio State vs. No. 12 North Carolina at CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, 3 p.m., CBS
Northeastern at Syracuse, 4 p.m., ACCN Extra
Maryland at No. 23 Virginia, 6 p.m., ESPN
No. 3 Duke at No. 16 Texas Tech, 8 p.m., ESPN
Stanford at Colorado, 8 p.m., ESPNU
Sunday’s games
Penn State vs. Pittsburgh in Hershey, Pa., noon, Big Ten Network
Ole Miss vs. N.C. State in Greensboro, 1 p.m., ESPN
No. 13 Vanderbilt at Wake Forest, 1 p.m., The CW
Purdue Ft. Wayne at Notre Dame, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Central Arkansas at SMU, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Cincinnati vs. Clemson in Greenville, S.C., 3 p.m., ESPN
North Florida at Miami, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Columbia at California, 5 p.m., ACCN Extra
Monday’s games
American at Virginia, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Jacksonville at Florida State, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Stonehill at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Fairleigh Dickinson at Boston College, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
East Carolina at No. 12 North Carolina, 8 p.m., ACC Network
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 17 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 9 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | 3 p.m. | vs. Ohio State | CBS |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | 8 p.m. | vs. East Carolina | ACCN |
| 30 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Florida State | ESPN2 |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 23 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 3 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Smith Hardy
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