By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Michael Malone has said North Carolina will lean on multiple ball handlers this season, and play-type data from three exhibitions and Monday’s season opener show his three point guards have played.
Terrence Brown Jr. carries the heaviest load of tracked offensive possessions among the three, according to Hudl Instat data.
The tracking data credits him with 12.2 offensive possessions per game, and more than half come in two situations: as the pick-and-roll ball handler (31.3% of his possessions, 3.8 per game) and in transition (22.9%, 2.8 per game). He has scored a point per possession as a pick-and-roll handler, but only .73 in transition and .86 on catch-and-shoot attempts (14.6%).
His efficiency was uneven in Monday’s 80–72 win over Western Carolina, when he shot 3-of-11 overall and 0-of-3 on 3-pointers but still scored 14 points by making 8 of 10 free throws.
“I never question if Terrence Brown is going to compete and play hard because that’s just how he’s wired,” Malone said of Brown, who had two steals and a block.
Neo Avdalas has been more efficient on tracked pick-and-roll possessions. He averages about 11 tracked offensive possessions per game, with 22.7% as the pick-and-roll handler (2.5 per game), where he has produced 1.4 points per possession, the best mark of the three guards in that play type. He is also at 1.67 points per possession on handoffs (.8 per game) and 1.0 on both catch-and-shoot and transition possessions.
The numbers are less favorable on isolations and catch-and-drives. Avdalas is at .33 of a point per possession on isolations (1.5 per game) and .57 on catch-and-drives (1.8 per game), and he is the only one of the three with tracked post-ups (one per game). Against Western Carolina, he had 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists, with three turnovers.
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Malone said having multiple initiators makes UNC harder to guard. For Brown, that means trusting that he can still get opportunities when Avdalas starts the action.
“I think for Terrence, him trusting in the fact that if Neo’s initiating, that may mean he might be getting the ball on the second side or on the backside of an action,” Malone said.
When Avdalas sits, he added, the ball is in Brown’s hands.
Angelo Brizzi has had a smaller role in the tracked offensive possessions. The data credits him with about 2.5 per game (roughly 10 across the four games), and the largest share are catch-and-shoot attempts (30%, 0.8 per game) at 1.0 point per possession. He has been the pick-and-roll ball handler on 10% of those plays, which amounts to one possession in all.
His defensive tracking also offers a small sample. Brizzi has been tested most often on catch-and-drives (28.6% of his defensive possessions) and has allowed .5 of a point per possession on them.
For Avdalas and Brown, opponents have scored more efficiently on transition possessions than against them as pick-and-roll defenders.
Avdalas has allowed .78 of a point per possession against pick-and-roll ball handlers and .75 on catch-and-shoot attempts, but 1.14 in transition. Brown has allowed .88 against pick-and-roll handlers, .86 on catch-and-drives and 1.25 in transition.
The rebounding concerns Malone has stressed add another challenge. Jarin Stevenson and Sayon Keita each had two rebounds Monday, while Avdalas had seven and Brown five. Malone pointed to the guards’ totals while asking for more from his frontcourt.
Avdalas said the Tar Heels have to tighten up their transition defense after a game in which Western Carolina cut into the lead.
“We let teams run,” Avdalas said. “We have to limit that.”
The pairing of Avdalas and Brown has been a constant in several productive UNC lineups. Both are in the unit that is +11 in 7:41 (with Stevenson, Keita and Jaydon Young), the group that allowed only 2 points in 5:16 (with Matt Able, Stevenson and Maximo Adams), and the most-used lineup, which is +2 in 22:13 with Stevenson, Keita and Able.
The samples remain small, but those combinations offer an early indication of how Malone can use his two primary ball handlers together.
Point guard data
Available at this Google doc (tables too wide to display here)
| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | W, 88–70 | Friday | vs. No. 21 USC in Greensboro | |
| 18 | L, 76–58 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | |
| 27 | W, 89–82, OT | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | W, 80–72 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | 1–0 |
| 6 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Wofford | ACCN |
| 10 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | ACCN |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 12 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. No. 23 Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at No. 11 Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 9 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 3 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 11 Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 2 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 14 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 2 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photo by Drew Horwitz
