By R.L. Bynum
SALT LAKE CITY — Arizona transfer Henri Veesaar wasn’t ready to hand out compliments after No. 25 North Carolina’s 78–76 exhibition loss to No. 8 BYU on Friday night.
The 7-foot center put up 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block — but his focus was squarely on what went wrong, not how close the game was.
When asked if the intensity felt like a March-caliber matchup, Veesaar didn’t hesitate.
“That was not March level,” he said flatly. “We need to pick it up in terms of competitiveness. Obviously, the performance wasn’t March level, but it looked like [we played with] competitiveness. There were moments where it felt like that.”
He pointed to the Tar Heels’ sluggish start as the biggest disappointment.
“We definitely felt like we needed to win this game,” Veesaar said. “Day one, first game is the one where you start building your identity as a team and just building the trust that every time at the end of the game you can execute.”
Veesaar said that while the game had flashes of intensity, the Tar Heels’ performance fell far short of their own standard. The Tar Heels showed life late, trimming an eight-point deficit and even taking a brief lead before BYU closed it out. Still, Veesaar said UNC’s energy and execution were inconsistent.
What bothered him the most?
“I feel like just our sloppiness on the court. That’s something that comes with intensity and effort, that we play with,” he said, frustrated by UNC’s 19 turnovers. “It was way too much. That’s unacceptable, no matter what.”
He pointed to rebounding as another issue. He had eight rebounds, but only two were on the defensive boards.
“We did — me personally, the whole team — we did a pretty bad job of boxing out,” Veesaar said after BYU’s offensive rebounding percentage was better (51.4%–44.4%) on a night that UNC won the rebounding battle 40–38. “They got a lot of rebounds. I think at one point it was like 50–50, their offensive to our defensive rebounds, and that’s just something that players have to execute. We get told that every day.”
Still, Veesaar’s individual play and growing chemistry with his new teammates were among the many bright spots. His on-court connection with freshman phenom Caleb Wilson was evident.
“He’s an amazing player,” Veesaar said. “Sometimes it doesn’t even really feel like chemistry, because if you get him the ball, he will make the right moves. He’s just incredible that way.”
He said their connection comes down to instincts and shared basketball IQ.
“I feel like we’re both pretty smart players,” he said. “Whenever he makes the right cuts, I hope I make the right reads. Whenever I make the right cut, he makes the right read. So, we didn’t get much at a high level today, but that’s something we got to work on and be more aggressive with.”
Veesaar also highlighted point guard Kyan Evans, who helped spark a second-half rally.
“Kyan is an awesome player,” he said. “He’s a good shooter. First couple of possessions, we were just sloppy as a team, and it didn’t go exactly how we needed to. But in the second half, we picked it up and we tried to come back.”
That comeback fell short, but Veesaar said it offered a glimpse of what UNC could become if it plays with consistent energy.
“We had a moment where we all went together and wanted to win,” he said. “But we can’t wait that long to play like that.”
Late in the game, Veesaar was seen directing traffic and talking to teammates during stoppages, something he said comes naturally to him.
“We just have got to be vocal,” he said. “That means everybody, one through five, everybody on the bench had go to talk.”
Even after the loss, Veesaar said he was encouraged by what’s ahead.
“We can definitely tell this game didn’t go exactly how we wanted, and there’s a lot to build on,” he said. “We saw that if you play that sloppy and still have so much more to improve, that shows if you play your own way, you can be right there. That’s something we can definitely build on. Next time — I know we’re winning.”
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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