bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668
CHAPEL HILL -- After North Carolina's 75-60 loss to Virginia at the Smith Center on Sunday, Coach Roy Williams had to stop and collect himself a few times during his postgame news conference.
The Cavaliers' first win in Chapel Hill since Jan. 12, 2002, gave the Tar Heels a 2-5 record in the month of January and put UNC 10th in the conference standings.
"How can we go any lower?" Williams said. "I mean, be honest. How can it be any worse than it is right now?"
UNC (13-8, 2-4 ACC) seemed to be back on track after beating N.C. State in Raleigh to end a three-game losing streak, but now it looks like the Tar Heels are in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2002-03 season. UNC needs to win at least five of its remaining 10 ACC games to have a shot at making the Tournament, and six of those games are on the road.
Sophomore Larry Drew II said the Tar Heels are not playing like an NCAA Tournament team, but he thinks the potential still is there and the team is not going to give up.
"I think it's clear that we took a step back from when we played against State," Drew said. "It's just frustrating. It's like we're taking one step forward and making three steps back. We take another step and make two more steps back."
Williams took most of the blame after the loss to Virginia, saying he has gotten "dumber" the past six months and is not coaching well. The Tar Heels turned the ball over 17 times against the Cavs and allowed them to shoot 51.9 percent from the floor compared to UNC's 35.7 percent.
"We're not playing very well right now, so I've got to do a better job," Williams said. "Things that I've always done my entire life are not working with this group, so I've got to find something different to do."
Seniors Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard, who appeared just as despondent as their coach after the game, said they never have seen Williams like this before. Ginyard said Williams is equal parts angry, upset, disappointed and perplexed.
"He tries to put a lot on himself, but it's not him at all," Thompson said. "He wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame and have such a record that he has if what he teaches wasn't true. It's us, and we have to make a change and buy into what he's trying to teach us."
Thompson said the players need to care more, and Drew said the heart is missing from the team right now.
Everyone also agreed that the practices leading up to the Virginia game did not have the same intensity as the workouts before the N.C. State game, and that lack of focus translated onto the court.
And this isn't the first time the Tar Heels have talked about their lack of focus.
"I'm pretty sure Coach will be up all night trying to figure out what is next," Thompson said after the game. "I'll be up all night trying to think what is next. I've got four more home games. ... I really don't know what is next."
