North Carolina coach Hubert Davis can no longer look to his bench and know he's putting in a proven scorer now that Dawson Garcia announced he would not return this season for the Tar Heels.
Davis doesn't have the luxury of tapping Anthony Harris either anymore, as a veteran who was a top defender and whose energy was generally a spark to the lineup.
According to Ken Pomeroy, UNC's bench minutes are at 21.6 percent, which is well below the national average of 31.8 percent and ranks 341 among 358 NCAA Division I teams. Only Miami, Virginia and Syracuse have used their respective benches less than the Tar Heels.
That may not change as Carolina closes out the regular season and prepares for the ACC tournament and beyond. But the Heels are aiming for the quality of minutes off the bench to make an impact.
"I was really happy (against Florida State) with the production off the bench," UNC coach Hubert Davis said. "We had with the combination of Puff (Johnson) and Kerwin (Walton) and Dontrez (Styles). Those three scored 22 points off the bench. And so that type of production, not just in points — Puff Johnson stepped up and took a charge — just the offensive rebounding and second chance opportunities. The energy and effort off the bench really helps out our starters that, for the most part throughout the entire season, they've played a lot of minutes."
That's a far cry from being outscored 44-0 in bench points in their overtime win at Louisville. Carolina's bench won't need to score 20 points every game, but Davis is starting to trust his reserves more.
Sophomore guard Kerwin Walton has had many games earlier this season where he disappeared. He scored double figures in two of the first three games this season but hasn't since netting 14 point in UNC's win at College of Charleston on Nov. 16.
Walton is averaging 3.9 points, after averaging 8.2 as a freshman. That wasn't expected from the same guy who led the team in both 3-point shooting percentage (42.0) and in made 3s (59) last season.
Davis tried to warn Walton before the season began that he'd be treated differently this season.
"I told Kerwin that last year, he wasn't on anybody's scouting report so he was getting wide open, spot up 3s anytime that he wanted to," Davis said. "Towards the latter part of the season, teams started playing a little bit differently. But going into the season this year, I told him rarely will he ever be left open."
Walton scored a total of six points in six games in December including four games where he didn't attempt more than one shot. But the message seems to have gotten through recently.
Walton has actively hunted his shot instead of waiting for a clear look at the basket. He scored seven at Clemson and nine against Florida State. That's his highest two-game total in points since November.
"For him to be effective on the offensive end, he had to be aggressive," Davis said. "He's got to move without the basketball. He's got to aggressively come off of screens, put the ball on the floor. He's got to attack the basket. He's got to get to the free throw line. Over the last couple games, he's been doing that more and as a result he's been better offensively."
Johnson, the younger brother of Phoenix Suns forward and former UNC standout Cameron Johnson, has been injured much of the season. But since he's been healthy, he's been a regular in the rotation over the past 10 games.
Johnson isn't going to come in the game scoring in bunches, but his play is infectious. Against N.C. State for a stretch it seemed like he was coming up with every loose ball. He had career-highs with eight points and six rebounds in 17 minutes.
Virginia transfer Justin McKoy still hasn't been consistently good for the Heels. But with Garcia out and the team having to play with a smaller lineup when Armando Bacot or Brady Manek need a break, McKoy will have his chance to shine.
The most intriguing of Carolina's potential impact players off the bench is freshman Dontrez Styles. The 6-foot-6 Kinston native is one of the more athletic players on the roster.
He didn't play much earlier in the season. He'd come in at the end of blow outs for a minute or two to finish off games. But he didn't have much experience playing while the game's outcome was still being decided.
That changed in the Heels' 79-77 win at Clemson. Styles logged four minutes in the first half. And although he did not appear in the second half, he played well enough to earn another chance against Florida State.
Styles played a season-high 16 minutes against the Seminoles and scored a career-best eight points with four rebounds. UNC sophomore guard R.J. Davis called Styles' performance "tremendous" and said he did the things "that don't even show up on the stat sheet."
"I was really, really happy for him for how he played against Florida State and we really needed it," Hubert Davis said. "His level of athleticism is something that we don't have a lot of and against Clemson and also against Florida State he played extremely well."
