There was a time that even Jerry Stackhouse had to wait.
You know Stackhouse primarily as the reverse dunking, Cameron strutting, tomahawk blasting superstar of his sophomore season, of course. But there is another version—the freshman from the 1993-94 season, the player who started exactly one out of Carolina's 35 games that season and averaged approximately the same minutes per game as Dante Calabria.
Dean Smith was the head coach of that Tar Heel team, and while today he's considered untouchable, let me tell you a little secret—in those days, it had been several months since Carolina last won a national championship, and so the Tar Heel fan world was very concerned about Smith's use of timeouts, and some perplexing ACC losses, and especially how many (or how few) minutes he was giving to the freshmen. If any of us had known how to invent Twitter at that point, we would have lit it up with talk about Stackhouse's minutes and wondering when ol' Dean was going to take off the handcuffs.
Yes, it was a different era. But it still sounds kind of familiar, huh?
Which leads us to Saturday afternoon in the Smith Center, when Carolina led Florida State 24-1 in the first eight minutes of the game and then cruised to a 94-74 win over the Seminoles.
When the lead was 18-1, Hubert Davis inserted freshman Dontrez Styles, sending a murmur through the Smith Center crowd. It was the second straight game in which Styles saw first half minutes.
The Kinston freshman responded by grabbing an offensive rebound and later scoring through contact for a would-be three-point play (he missed the free throw). By the time he exited after five minutes of action, he received a huge ovation from the Smith Center crowd, which was suitably impressed by his solid performance.
Styles is still in the honeymoon phase of his Carolina career, in which the fact that he committed three turnovers in those five minutes is largely and blissfully ignored. After all, why would you want to spend time thinking about turnovers when you could watch Styles soar over even a typically athletic Florida State squad and dream about what might be if only ol' Hubert would take off the handcuffs.
The only two people who seem to be largely unaffected by the constant urge to assess the freshman's play on a possession-by-possession basis are Styles and Davis. Both agree the rookie has had his best practices of the season over the last two weeks.
"I'm just being me," Styles says. "At the beginning of the year, I wasn't being me. I'm trying to do what I do best—be athletic and do the small things."
Styles, as you have no doubt noticed, is incredibly athletic. It stands out even against a team like the Seminoles. It is also not enough, simply by itself, to qualify for substantial minutes. Hubert Davis is trying to win basketball games. That means he needs certainty. Right now, the starting five give him the most surety, and that's why they're playing the most.
But that doesn't mean there's no development. Remember that Davis is likely the first coach in Styles' life who needs Styles less than Styles needs him. Styles has always been the star, which comes with substantially more freedom and substantially more tolerance for mistakes. This is the first time in his life he's been on a team in which he is not one of the five most productive players. Turning it over at Kinston High isn't quite as big a deal when you come back down the court and score 20 against the rest of the East Central Conference. That isn't a knock on Styles—at some point in their lives, every single player has been in the exact same spot he's in today.
And this is not to say that it has been easy. Quite the opposite. "It's been tough," Styles says. "I've learned to trust Coach Davis and what he is telling me—keep working hard and it will come. And that's what is happening now."
That's a big quote. Every player has at some point heard the message Davis has given Styles over the last few months. The successful players have persevered and at some point seen that encouragement turned into production.
That includes his Kinston brethren Stackhouse and also Reggie Bullock, who started zero games as a freshman and less than half the games as a sophomore. That duo has a combined 27 seasons of NBA experience between them.
"Dontrez has continued to work hard and get better every day," Davis says. "At times it's been really hard. For a lot of these guys, this is the first time they've actually had to work at something. Everything has been so easy for them because they are so gifted. Everyone reaches a level where everyone can do the same things you can do. The question becomes how you are going to differentiate yourself when that happens."
This is the kind of wisdom you get from a head coach who played 12 seasons in the NBA, who constantly watched players move on and off a professional roster while struggling with the idea that suddenly, everyone was good.
What's encouraging about Styles is that there is no sign that he has reached his ceiling. He didn't suddenly arrive in college basketball and discover he has no hope of contributing. In fact, it's virtually the opposite—everyone involved agrees he will play a major role for Carolina. Davis says it, current and former pros who played against him this summer say it, and his play on Saturday seemed to say it, also.
We are nowhere close to the end of the Dontrez Styles story. But we've seen enough of these Kinston tales to know how this is likely going to happen. There's just something about those homegrown Tar Heels…even when they have to wait.
"I've been waiting on this my whole life," Styles says. "Reggie went here, Jerry went here. Playing on this court is a dream come true, and I'm thankful to be here."
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February 13, 2022 at 07:10AM
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Lucas: The Wait - UNC Athletics
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