North Carolina coach Roy Williams has wanted James Michael McAdoo to play more aggressively. It was easy to see why Sunday, when a more assertive McAdoo took it right at Florida State and sparked the Tar Heels to an easy win.
McAdoo scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half to help UNC build a big lead on the way to beating the Seminoles 79-58, its fifth straight victory.
“I really just felt really confident coming into this game,” McAdoo said. “I just felt a good vibe, even during warm-ups.”
It was the kind of performance that many expected on a consistent basis from the 6-foot-9 sophomore from the start of the year, though McAdoo has been up and down. But with the Tar Heels (21-8, 11-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) playing a smaller lineup that leaves McAdoo as the de facto 5-man, it’s given him the chance to use his speed to attack the rim against bigger defenders.
McAdoo did exactly that against the Seminoles (15-14, 7-9), scoring 11 during a 20-3 run that helped the Tar Heels build a 19-point halftime lead.
