UNC Basketball: 5 Early Adjustments Tar Heels Should Consider

The North Carolina Tar Heels are off to a 5-1 start to the season, and while that is a good beginning, the team is far from perfect. There are always ways to improve as the year continues.

UNC will face its biggest test of the year Tuesday in the form of a home game against No. 2 Maryland, one of the few teams in the nation that can match the Tar Heels' starting lineup. The good news for the home team is that this game will represent the season debut for Marcus Paige, according to the team's official site.

Paige will mask a number of problems that have been limiting the Tar Heels to this point, but there are still ways to improve going forward by making a few adjustments. This doesn't mean simply hitting more shots or playing better defense but rather tweaking the game plan a bit.

Not all of these will come to fruition, but here is a look at some suggestions for North Carolina that the team can put into practice right away.

This is usually a hallmark of head coach Roy Williams' teams, but the current squad hasn't caught up to the new pace of college basketball.

According to KenPom.com, North Carolina hasn't finished lower than 27th in the nation in adjusted tempo in 12 years under Williams. This year, the team ranks 76th in the country.

For the most part, the Tar Heels are still playing fast on offense, but they have allowed opponents to control the tempo and slow things down on the other end of the court. This has not only allowed teams to get comfortable, but it also limits what UNC can do offensively.

Marcus Paige will likely help push the pace in his return to the lineup, but the entire team has to look to speed things up on both ends of the court. This has been a positive factor for the program over the years, and it shouldn't stop now.

Some key stats, courtesy of TeamRankings.com, tell a lot of the story for North Carolina defensively this season. The team currently ranks 228th in the country in turnovers forced per game, 269th in opposing three-point percentage and 317th in opponent three-pointers attempted per game.

Basically, this shows the Tar Heels have been sitting back and allowing teams to shoot without much resistance.

North Carolina has gotten away with some poor perimeter defense this season, but this will be exploited by better teams. The players have to do a better job of creating pressure by getting up on their man and either forcing a bad shot or a bad pass, anything to prevent an easy look at the basket.

While this puts the team at risk of fouling more, the Tar Heels are not going to beat elite opponents the way they have been playing. This needs to begin against a quality shooting team in Maryland.

North Carolina has proved over the past three games that this is a quality free-throw shooting team. Now the key is using this to its advantage.

In the loss to Northern Iowa and the two wins over Northwestern and Kansas State, the Tar Heels shot a combined 43-of-52 (82.7 percent) from the charity stripe. Big men like Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks were making their shots while the guards helped seal games late with their free throws.

With a team that shoots this well, it's important to keep getting as many opportunities as possible.

Each player has to remain willing to drive into the paint and not be afraid to shy away from contact. Specifically, Brice Johnson and Meeks could stand to be more aggressive offensively to either finish easy shots or get to the free-throw line. This will also help get the opposing team into foul trouble, which could make a big difference in close games.

Adding in Marcus Paige's shooting ability, this could be a real strength going forward.

It is still early in the season, but it seems clear the Tar Heels are not a good three-point shooting team. Through six games, they have made only 32.1 percent of their attempts, with only four different players making a single shot. 

The return of Marcus Paige will obviously help, but outside of the All-American candidate and some rare looks from Nate Britt and Theo Pinson, this team should not be shooting.

Justin Jackson (6-of-23) looks like his shot is broken at the moment, while Joel Berry (9-of-29) just can't get anything to fall from deep. Until this changes, neither player should be even attempting shots from beyond the arc unless they are wide open.

While you can't just give up on three-point shooting for the entire season, the Tar Heels should be doing what they can to force the ball inside and work for better, closer looks at the basket.

Through the first six games, the Tar Heels have mostly been relying on seven players. It could be a long season if this keeps up.

With Marcus Paige back in the lineup, Roy Williams will have eight players he can truly trust in the rotation. While this is enough for many teams and plenty during the stretch run, now is the time to expand the bench and give everyone a chance to show what they can do.

Joel James won't turn many heads with his play, but he can provide quality minutes with his defensive work in the post. Kenny Williams and Luke Maye have struggled to get onto the floor this year but have plenty of potential if they are able to develop their games. 

Even if all three of these players are drop-offs from the starters, putting them on the floor would still keep the top players fresher late in games and the the season. Considering the poor ending in the loss to Northern Iowa, this could be valuable.

With a deep lineup, the Tar Heels can be more aggressive and run more to create a quicker pace. This would allow them to wear opponents down by the last few minutes. The slight drop in production earlier on might be worth the change.

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