Some random observations since the Tar Heels will not play this weekend:
Here's to Wake Forest: Lost in all the hand-wringing about Carolina and the performance against Wake is how well the Deacons played. Could Wake have played any better? UNC hung around, but when Wake caught fire from 3-point land, including one shot C.J. Harris buried from around Manteo on the state outline on the floor, the Heels just couldn't keep up. Did that team really lose to William and Mary?
Does it puzzle anyone else that teams wet the bed against Duke and then bring their A++ game against UNC? (Clemson, I'm looking in your direction) At least State gave Duke a taste of that on Wednesday night.
Can't blame the turnovers: UNC matched a season-low with only 9 turnovers against Wake. But the Heels also had their second-worst shooting night of the season at 36.6% while the Deacons shot an even 50% from the floor, including 9-16 from three. Not going to beat much of anybody shooting like that. And how may points did the Heels have in transition on Wednesday night? Four. Four points in transition. Wow.
Thanks a lot, NCAA: How much would Bobby Frasor have helped this team? Frasor, who was denied a 5th year of eligibility by the NCAA three times because he played one half of one game beyond the limit allowed for medical hardships, would have been another experienced guard in a position where the Heels really need some help.
Getting Ginyard up to speed: After missing half a season to injury, it really took Bobby Frasor until late February last season to get back to full speed. Prior to that, there was buzz about a disappointing senior year. Sound familiar? And Marcus Ginyard missed basically an entire season last year. Maybe he will yet blossom as Frasor did down the stretch.
More Ginyard expectations: There has been some debate as to whether or not it was fair to expect so much on both ends of the floor from Ginyard. But sometimes we have a short memory, and we forget that in 2007 and 2008 there was a lot of debate as to whether or not Ginyard should start over Danny Green. So it's not like questions about Ginyard are new.
Meet Travis Wear: In his first career start, Travis Wear posted 13 points and six rebounds against Wake, matching Deon Thompson in points and doubling his rebounding total. He did yeoman's work in filling in for Ed Davis and while the Heels undoubtedly missed Davis, his absence is not why Carolina fell to the Deacons.
New territory for Roy: The loss to Wake marked the first three-game losing streak in the Roy Williams era at Carolina. UNC has not lost three games in a row since 2003. Roy has taken a lot of message-board ribbing for the 12-7 team effort so far, but credit must be given for Roy venturing outside his comfort zone. Roy has played a lot more zone, including on almost every baseline inbounds play. He has also allowed switching on screens, which he used to never do, as well as calling time-outs to try to blunt opponents' runs.
As for line-up changes and offensive continuity, there are certainly things I would like to see Roy try, but without the benefit of being in practice and seeing these guys every day, I can only defer to the Hall-of-Famer with 600+ wins. Roy is putting the lineup on the floor that he thinks gives him the best chance of winning each game, and I can promise you there is no way he would rather play someone than win a game.
Maybe the week's break is what the coaching staff and team needs, in that they can get back to the practice floor and do some tinkering. It will be interesting to see what the Heels look like next week as they face a State team in their basketball Super Bowl.