Malone and the Tar Heels have a lot to work on, but one side is more important than the other.
If North Carolina is going to have the basketball season it is hoping for next season, a lot of it will come down to the defensive side of the ball.
We all know that North Carolina brought in some guys who can score with the best of them, including Terrence Brown and Matt Able.
Brown is the one guy I'm really looking forward to watching score in the ACC, as I believe he has a real opportunity to come in and average 15-plus points per night, at the very least. I'd even go as far as to say that he could be a guy who averages almost 20 if things go as planned.
On the other side of the ball, however, North Carolina will have to ensure it stays above average.
Defense is going to be just as important as anything else when it comes to ACC play, and there's really no excuse for North Carolina not to be in a decent spot to do exactly that. Speaking to reporters about the type of play he wants to see from his team this year, head coach Michael Malone said that his defense is the biggest part of what he's looking to do.
“For the style of play, defending is going to be the most important thing,” said Malone, per Rodd Baxley.
“If you ask our players right now what they spend a lot of time on, it's defense. I'm a firm believer that defense wins championships. To play the way we want to play offensively, you have to defend, you have to rebound. I don't want to be a team that's trying to run, and you're taking the ball out of the net every time.”
"More important than the style of play is I just want to make sure every night in the Smith Center, when there's 21,000-plus in there, that everybody says our team plays hard, they play together, and they have a toughness and a discipline about them that is going to lead to great things,” Malone said.
Giving some love to the Smith Center was also important, as Malone understands he needs his fans to come out and show their support.
North Carolina fans are among the best in all of college sports, so he knows that he already has that in his back pocket.
North Carolina will always have its crowd on its side, and defensively, that can go a long way. Having the crowd get into the game when North Carolina gets a ton of stops would be a perfect outcome for all parties involved.
