Nov. 24, 2009
by Ivan Corriher, UNC Athletic Communications
CHAPEL HILL‒ As the 2009-10 campaign began, many Tar Heel fans expected sophomore Ed Davis to play the biggest role in replacing the offensive firepower lost from last year's national championship team. As a freshman, the 6-foot-10 forward was a key cog as North Carolina's sixth man and coming into this season, he was the lone Tar Heel listed on the Naismith preseason watch list. Davis, however, entered the season with more tempered expectations.
"I knew coming into the season that we weren't going to replace Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, or any of those guys. It was going to take a joint effort," Davis said. "I just know that when I get in, I have to do what Coach (Roy Williams) wants me to do and what it takes for us to win."
In the early part of this season, that has meant increased offensive production from Davis. Last year, the big man scored in double figures only eight times. Through this year's first six games, he has already reached that mark four times, including posting a career-high 16 against both Valparaiso and Syracuse.
In Monday's 93-72 win against Gardner-Webb, Davis continued to assert himself offensively. He recorded his second consecutive double-double and third of the season, dropping in 15 points and collecting 13 rebounds, After UNC shot just 38 percent and launched 16 three-point attempts in Friday night's 87-71 loss to Syracuse, it was clear that Carolina's game plan revolved around getting the ball inside to Davis, Deon Thompson (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Tyler Zeller (16 points).
"We knew coming into the game that this team was going to be undersized," Davis said. "We knew it would be difficult for them to cover me and Deon and Zeller and all the guys we have because we have a big lineup."
The plan worked, as UNC controlled the game despite making only one shot from beyond the three-point arc. Behind Davis and the rest of the Tar Heel big men, the Tar Heels scored 58 points in the paint and outrebounded the Runnin' Bulldogs 50 to 32.
Nevertheless, Davis' increased activity on the offensive end has not changed his role on defense, where he led the team in blocks a year ago. After two more rejections Monday, he has swatted away 15 shots, nearly as many as the rest of his teammates combined. Though those stats are impressive, Davis knows he has room for improvement as a defender.
"I'm really trying to improve by sliding my feet and fronting the post and not letting my man have easy baskets," he said.
After three games in five days, Carolina now has a day of rest followed by four days of practice before Sunday's 6:45 p.m. home tilt with Nevada, which can be seen on Fox Sports Net. The Tar Heels have struggled with turnovers and outside shooting thus far in the nonconference slate, but Davis is confident they will turn it around.
"It's a long season. I'd rather have a slow start now than finish slow," he said. "We're a young team, but we have a Hall of Fame coach. He's going to get everything together. We're kind of out of synch now, but we got Coach Williams on our side, so we'll be fine."
