After defeating Gardner-Webb 93-72 on Monday, Coach Roy Williams finally had his team, together and without distractions, for four consecutive days of practice before returning to game play -- today at 6:45 p.m. on Fox Sports Net against Nevada.

"I did tell the guys in the huddle one time, 'We're getting close to that point where I'm not going to play everyone just because I like their smile,'" Williams said. "You have got to produce when you get out there.

"We're going to practice Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then play again Sunday. And hopefully we'll have four good practices."

After losing for the first time this season, in New York last weekend to Syracuse, the Tar Heels slipped to 11th in the Associated Press poll.

They improved to 5-1 with the victory against Gardner-Webb. Nonetheless, with a lack of practice time hurting so many young players, the flaws in this team remain apparent.

Senior Deon Thompson said that the Tar Heels just do not have the intensity each night that is required to meet Carolina's high standards.

"We're not too into the mentality, as far as being excited to play right now," Thompson said. "We don't know why, but hopefully it will get better."

Talent is not the question.

Williams doesn't recruit bodies. He recruits players, gifted players.

But most freshmen have a learning curve to overcome, and these kids are no different.

The biggest challenge comes on defense.

As long, tall John Henson said, in high school he just had to stand in the lane and block shots. Now he has to move his feet, to guard shorter, quicker players, learn how to rotate and to play defense off the ball. He has to develop the habit of doing all this without thinking about it, but rather reacting naturally.

Leslie McDonald, a talented guard from Tennessee, is still learning to guard opponents at this level. His man regularly blows by him.

There are just so many new issues when players graduate from the high school level to college, or, even worse, from summer ball to organized collegiate ball.

Most of their heads are spinning in a dizzying fashion at the moment. With Roy Williams tossing concept after concept at them, they have not had nearly enough repetitions to learn everything.

"I think that is hard," Thompson said. "In high school you're not asked to play much defense. That was probably the biggest thing for me coming from high school to college, the defensive part of things. It's going to be a challenge for (the young guys), but the only way we can be successful is if we make that happen.

The potential of this team defensively is immense, but any coach can rush experience only so much.

Carolina's 2006 team had some similar growing pains, but from mid-February forward that team improved dramatically on defense. By season's end, it was playing about as well as it could.

If this club reaches its potential, the results on defense could be devastating for opponents. These Tar Heels just have so much size they can put on the court at one time.

"We have to be more accountable and concentrate more in the games," Thompson said." You have to have pride to want to guard somebody."

When Carolina has the ball, because this team has so many long, athletic players, virtually all opponents will present a zone defense. Those who play man-to-man will bring be begging for trouble.

This is a team with size that passes well and plays unselfishly.

It's going to take a while for the Tar Heels to get accustomed to attacking zones in the most efficient manner. And Williams may not have decided just exactly what that manner is, because Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson and Danny Green are gone.

Carolina can no longer just shoot down a zone.

To make teams pay for playing zones, these kids must learn to move without the ball and to push the ball through the air quickly -- without turning it over.

The level of UNC's competition will rise to the maximum level in the coming days as well. Michigan State, Kentucky and Texas are lined up for a murder's row of a test.

The good news is that, as long as Williams can keep his kids from losing confidence, these tough games should only help make the Tar Heels better, for the ACC schedule and whatever may come after that.