CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the past month, stringy-but-stringent University of Washington senior Justin Holiday has shut down UCLA swingman Tyler Honeycutt, banged with beefy USC big man Nikola Vucevic and scratched and clawed to stay in front of 6-foot-10, 265-pound Georgia star Trey Thompkins.
Today, the 6-6 Holiday may as well be facing all three of them.
When the Huskies return to the court for a third-round game of the NCAA tournament, they’ll be facing one of the most formidable frontlines in college basketball. North Carolina boasts a rising star in freshman small forward Harrison Barnes, a 7-foot behemoth in Tyler Zeller, and a 6-foot-10 shot-blocking prodigy named John Henson.
College basketball fans and NBA scouts know all three players well, and — just in case — the trio reminded people of their potential by combining for 84 points and 36 rebounds in Friday’s win over Long Island.
“That’s as good a frontline as there is in the country,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose Blue Devils faced the trio three times this season. “And (North Carolina coach) Roy (Williams) does a great job of using them.”
The Huskies, who had 68 points and 29 rebounds as a team in Friday’s win over Georgia, know all too well what kind of a challenge Carolina’s big men present.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re real focused,” Holiday said. “It’s got to be all of us making sure we’re stopping those three guys, or at least slowing them down.”
Unlike the Long Island team that didn’t play anyone taller than 6-7 Friday night, the Huskies have some “bigs” that can match up — height-wise, anyway — with the Tar Heels.
In 6-9 Matthew Bryan-Amaning, 6-8 Darnell Gant and 7-footer Aziz N’Diaye, all of whom have started at times this season, the Huskies have some length at their disposal.
“Washington’s got some great bigs, and we’re going to have to work a lot harder against them to be able to do things,” said Zeller, a 7-foot junior who joins Henson and Barnes as projected first-round NBA picks over the next two drafts. “They can block shots and change shots, and it will be more of a struggle.”
But the key to UW’s success may well be the 6-6, 185-pound Holiday.
While the senior is going to start off guarding Barnes, he could be called upon in the event that Henson and/or Zeller are taking it to the UW big men. And Holiday said he’ll be ready.
“It’s something I’m comfortable with now,” said Holiday, who could also see time at power forward if the fast-paced Huskies try to out-run North Carolina today. “It’s something that gives our team a little different look and creates mismatches.
“It might seem weird to some people who look at my frame and don’t think I’d be able to do it, but I’m just trying to help my team. So that’s what I do.”
By all accounts, Holiday will open against the 6-8, 210-pound Barnes. The UNC freshman can score like Arizona All-America candidate Derrick Williams — another player against whom Holiday saw time this season — but has more of an inside-outside game. Barnes hit just under 34 percent of his 3-point shots and had a season-high 40 points in a win over Clemson 21/2 weeks ago.
But the guys in the UNC paint are just as important. Zeller and Henson combined for 60 points in the Tar Heels’ win on Friday night.
“The Carolina bigs, they’re more explosive than the Pac-10 bigs like Vucevic and (UCLA’s) Josh Smith,” said the 260-pound N’Diaye, who was in junior college last spring when the Huskies got overpowered by a bigger West Virginia team in the Sweet 16. “They’re more explosive than any bigs we’ve seen. But we’re going to do the best we can and try our best to slow them down.”
It’s a challenge that the Huskies’ big men embrace.
“We’re real eager,” said Gant, who made only his second start since Dec. 11 in Friday’s win over Georgia. “You always want to play in games like this.
“You look at them, and they’re the best bigs that were recruited. When you were getting recruited, you felt like you were one of the best, and you got overlooked by schools like this. That’s why you want to play in these kinds of games.”
Matching size has been the common thread to North Carolina’s few losses this season. In six of their seven defeats, the Tar Heels have faced a starting lineup that included at least one player 6-10 or taller — something that could make a good case for UW starting N’Diaye over Gant in today’s game.
Duke big man Miles Plumlee, a 6-10 junior, said part of the key to facing North Carolina’s big men is keeping an eye on their release when opponents’ shots go up. Zeller and Henson have both been known to create fast-break opportunities by getting up the floor while the other corrals a rebound.
“The talk you have to have (as defenders) in transition, not letting them get layups and still (rebound with them), it takes a lot of practice to get used to that,” Plumlee said Saturday.
The Huskies have had only one practice day, but it won’t take a lot of time in the film room or staring at the chalkboard to figure out what the key to today’s game will be.
If UW is going to stay with the Tar Heels, the Huskies can’t allow one of the nation’s best frontcourts to combine for 80-something points and 30-something rebounds.
“If we shut those guys down,” Holiday said, “we have a pretty good chance of winning.”When: 9:15 a.m.
Where: Charlotte, N.C.
TV: CBS (Ch. 7); Radio: KJR (950 AM)
Three keys for Huskies
1. Crash the boards
Against a much smaller Long Island team, the Tar Heels looked at times like a father tipping the ball away from his young son. North Carolina’s big men have the size and ability to kill a team on the offensive boards, so the Huskies will have to work to limit the Tar Heels’ scoring opportunities.
2. Rattle the freshman
Kendall Marshall, UNC’s freshman point guard, struggled to beat pressure in the ACC tournament earlier this month. While the Tar Heels did a much better job against Long Island’s full-court press, it’s an area the Huskies could try to exploit today.
3. Run, run, run
Both teams prefer to get up and down the court, but the Huskies might have a slight advantage in this one. If UW mixes in a smaller lineup that includes Justin Holiday at the four and just one big man, the Huskies might be able to wear down a bigger UNC team.
Scott M. Johnson, Herald writer
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