Nov. 30, 2009
by Nathan Thorp, UNC Athletic Communications
CHAPEL HILL -This summer, as Tar Heel fans everywhere mulled over the North Carolina men's upcoming basketball season for 2009-10, their thoughts and discussion inevitably turned to the need for point-guard, Larry Drew, to step up. No doubt, the Tar Heels had been spoiled with the likes of Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson running the point for much of the past seven seasons; both of them becoming NBA first round picks after their respective junior seasons.
Fortunately, as Tar Heel faithful worried and speculated this off-season, Larry Drew II was hitting the gym three times a day, with his father in Los Angeles during the second session of summer-school. Drew would rise each day between 6:30 and 7 a.m. and head to the gym, where he would attempt between three to four-hundred shots. After a quick lunch, he would play pick-up with friends, to be followed by conditioning. Finally, after dinner, he would hit the gym, once again, to attempt three to four-hundred more shots before calling it a night.
Drew believes the most important element of his game that these workouts improved was his confidence, which he now attributes to his on-the-court success, "I think [the workouts] brought out the confidence factor. It was just going to take time as I gained in-game experience. Just being out on the court and having the ball in my hands, has boosted my confidence. And as far as my shot goes, it just feels a lot smoother. Every shot that I shoot now feels like it's going to go in."
Indeed, shots have begun to fall for Drew through the Tar Heels' first seven games. He is averaging 7.2 points a game while shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range. However, perhaps more importantly, the confidence Drew acquired through his summer workouts has translated into an assist to turnover ratio of better than 2 to 1.
Each game Drew looks more and more like he is coming into his own; running the Heels primary and secondary breaks with precision and aplomb. Sunday night may prove to be a turning point in Drew's career, as he led the Heels to an 80-73 victory over the University of Nevada. His 12 points were only one off his career high and he tapped into his new-found confidence, as he drilled two three-pointers in the closing minutes of what proved to be a close game with the Wolf Pack.
Drew referenced those summer workouts when asked to describe how he felt about nailing those decisive jumpers from long-range, "I just stepped into my shot, did all the things that I worked on over the summer. It felt good from the time it left my hand. And the second one felt even better than the first one."
Along with the critical points Drew provided the Tar Heels with Sunday, was an even more impressive stat line: 10 assists to 1 turnover in 32 minutes. Undoubtedly, it was a career-game for Drew and hopefully a leap forward in his overall progress. Judging from the roar of the crowd in the Smith Center tonight and the chants of "Drewww" that echoed to end the game, North Carolina fans are starting to realize they may have yet another, very special point-guard in the line-up.
