The North Carolina Tar Heels will wrap up their non-conference schedule over the next five days. They travel to Atlanta to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CBS Sports Classic before taking on East Carolina on Monday at the Dean Dome.
At 10-1 between those two games, the Tar Heels are getting to know their roster better and better. But a big question remains. Who should be the primary and backup center? With Henry Vissar off to a stellar start this year, UNC ultimately needs to find someone behind him who can also contribute in crunch time.
advertise
One of those players is second-year center James Brown. After a down year for Brown, the departures of Vin-Alan Lubin and Jaylen Washington now create an opportunity for him to earn critical playing time. What stands out most about Hubert Davis’ performance so far is his energy.
“Like I said before, I don’t want Henry to play 40 minutes,” Davis said after Tuesday’s game. “(Brown) came off the bench and gave us good minutes at that position, which was really big for us.
“I love the energy. One thing I highlighted in the last game (against USC North) was his diving on the floor. He’s active, he’s chasing it. We can talk about the fouls, but the energy he brings off the bench is what I’ve loved the past few games.”
Brown is averaging 5.4 minutes per game, up from 2.9 minutes a year ago. He was competing with Zaden High School for key moments in support of Vissar.
advertise
While the stats aren’t great, they don’t need to be right now. Brown’s development will continue throughout the year, and he still has the opportunity to step into a backup role.
follow us @TarHeelsWire Follow our Facebook page on X (formerly Twitter) for ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: James Brown gets shot to earn key backup role
