By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Neo Avdalas gave North Carolina more aggressive guard play Friday, but Michael Malone wants better decisions to accompany it.
The sophomore who many see as having a high ceiling finished with 14 points, three assists and four turnovers in UNC’s 78–70 loss to Georgia at the Smith Center. His difficult first half and heavy involvement in the stalled late-game offense showed the balance he must find as a primary ball handler.
Avdalas had no assists and three turnovers before halftime. One was a careless pass that led to a Marcus Millender layup and a 24–20 Georgia lead with 7:13 remaining, prompting a Malone timeout. Avdalas went to the bench shortly afterward.
“He’ll bounce back,” Malone said. “He knows that for him to be a primary ball handler, he can’t have a negative ratio like that.”
Malone’s frustration with UNC’s first-half ball security extended beyond Avdalas.
“Some of our turnovers in the first half were comical in nature,” Malone said. “We actually just literally threw the ball to the other team. It wasn’t a steal.”
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Avdalas answered after halftime as part of the surge that put UNC in command. He finished a transition layup off a long Matt Able pass, and Terrence Brown scored on a layup off an Avdalas feed during a 12–3 run that gave the Tar Heels a 45–43 lead with 16:21 left. Malone said he liked how the team came out of the locker room, and Avdalas was a big part of that.
The trouble came late.
Over the final 8½ minutes, Avdalas was 2-for-8. On six of those possessions, he shot in the half-court offense without passing after receiving the ball. Brown attempted two shots during that stretch and none in the final 5:17.
Georgia switched screens on and off the ball, and UNC tried to exploit the mismatches that resulted.
“They were switching everything on the ball, off the ball, making it hard, and so we were trying to attack the mismatch at times,” Malone said. “At times, I thought it yielded positive results.”
Other possessions ended with what Malone called “tough mid-range contested twos, which is not the shot that we’re trying to get.”
Avdalas hit a step-back jumper with 6:04 left that ended a 4½-minute UNC scoring drought, but Georgia pulled within one on its next possession. He missed a 3-point attempt in the final minute after Cain’s 3-pointer gave the Bulldogs a five-point lead.
Malone said he did not question the intent behind the late shots.
“He was trying to create something,” Malone said. “It was coming from a place of, ‘Let me try to create a good look for my team,’ and this will be valuable learning.”
Isaiah Denis described the plan on those possessions the same way, saying the Tar Heels were “obviously trying to expose the mismatch… just got to make the right reads from there.”
Brown said he had no problem with how the offense ran through Avdalas. Asked whether Georgia was doing anything to keep him from getting open, he said it wasn’t.
“I don’t think they’re really doing anything to not get me open or keep me from getting open,” Brown said. “I’m just proud of [Avdalas]for being more aggressive than last game. He wasn’t as aggressive, so it just made me happy seeing him be more aggressive, getting up more shots at the end of the game.”
Brown said he told Avdalas the same thing in the locker room, and that the loss shouldn’t rest on any one player.
“It’s not on him why we lost,” Brown said. “I feel like a lot of guys try to put it on themselves, but it’s really not on them. It’s on us. We’re all for one, and we’re one for all.”
For UNC (3–1), the challenge is turning Avdalas’ aggression into better possessions. Malone wants him to attack mismatches while protecting the ball and recognizing when to find teammates.
The Tar Heels have a week to work on that balance before hosting Marshall on Friday.
Avdalas shot charts
Data courtesy of Hudl Instat data
Photo by Smith Hardy
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