The rage that roared in Roy Williams’ voice four days ago was replaced with cheer and pomp.

On Monday, the North Carolina head coach growled and grumbled through his 10-minute section of the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches’ teleconference. But by Friday, the storm of anger brought on by 15 games of inconsistency, and capped by back-to-back losses to Wake Forest and Miami, had blown over.

Williams smiled and reminisced through most of his press conference. He remembered a statement from former UNC forward Deon Thompson in 2010 that resonated with him strongly: “Everybody was about ready to pack it in and coach Williams came to work every day and tried to convince us that we could turn this thing around.”

“You go home and you’re mad,” Williams said, “and I don’t have a dog or a cat and I don’t kick (my wife) Wanda, for sure. You just go home and put it behind you and come back the next day and try to do the best that you can at practice. That’s the way I’ve been my entire life. I’ve played terribly on the front nine before and said, ‘By God I can birdie every hole the rest of the way.’”

In 2009-10, there was no happy ending — Williams said he has yet to shoot one-under the full back nine. But in 2013, there could be. North Carolina (10-5) has defeated three national title contenders in No. 5 Michigan State, No. 12 Louisville and No. 14 Kentucky and looks for a fourth resume-building victory when it enters a jam-packed Carrier Dome to face undefeated No. 2 Syracuse (15-0) on Saturday at noon.

It’s that Tar Heels team — the one that’s played up to its opponent, not the once that’s lost to five unranked teams — that SU head coach Jim Boeheim and Co. should expect to play against. A dangerously athletic team that can beat you in transition, take the ball back and beat you again. North Carolina is fully capable of beating Syracuse, and if the Orange comes out expecting the second-grade Tar Heels, but gets first-grade, it’ll mean loss No. 1 for SU.

“They’re one of the scariest teams in the country,” Syracuse forward C.J. Fair said. “They play up to the competition. They show their weaknesses in games they’re favored to win, so North Carolina’s one of the scariest teams. We’ve got to take care of business early in the game. Can’t let them stick around.”

The Tar Heels’ play has waxed and waned through 15 games this season as the team’s energy, pace, rebounding and secondary scoring have been inconsistent. And the unpredictability has driven fans and media members to utter confusion and Williams to sheer fury at times.

He called the moments after the team’s 63-57 loss to Miami (Fla.) on Wednesday the lowest point mentally in his 40-year coaching career.

“Around here if you lose a couple games, people think you should go jump off the top of a building,” Williams said Friday.

The two UNC teams that have showed up this season have been starkly different.

The bad Tar Heels also soften up their presence in the paint and fail to get out in transition. In their 73-67 loss to Wake Forest on Jan. 5, the Demon Deacons registered more fast-break points (11) than UNC (8).

But the good Tar Heels won the transition battle against Michigan State and Kentucky by a combined margin of 26-14.

Sophomore forward J.P. Tokoto said the difference is in effort and motivation, and North Carolina has every reason to play hard against the Orange on Saturday. An 0-3 start in conference play would be disastrous for a program with such high standards.

“We have great ACC teams – like Miami, like Wake Forest. They’re not pushovers. They came out and played harder than us,” Tokoto said. “Fortunate enough for us, that’s an easy fix.”

Syracuse has gotten a top-notch performance from just about every team this season. It’s inevitable when you’re No. 2 with multiple NBA prospects.

But none of those opposing best efforts, save maybe Villanova, compare to North Carolina’s. There might not be another team in the country with a more impressive victory list.

And Syracuse will have to fight to avoid becoming the next victim.

Stephen Bailey is the sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at sebail01@syr.edu or on Twitter at @Stephen_Bailey1.

Published on January 11, 2014 at 1:46 am