UNC Basketball: 2019-20 Stats in Review - Total Steals

A look back at total steals for the 2019-20 Tar Heels

There it is, smack dab in the 10 Commandments: "Thou shall not steal." Or, for us modern folk (with all apologies to King James and his version of the Bible), "You shall not steal."

The commandment is preached to us from the time we are old enough to think for ourselves. Even for those who aren't religious, stealing is frowned upon by anyone with a moral compass. 

The basketball court, however, is the exception where stealing is not only okay, but expected, and a helpful way to gain extra possessions for your team.

Unfortunately for the 2019-20 Tar Heels, they stuck to the 10 Commandments rather than the rules of the basketball court. The most recent basketball season was the third-lowest in recorded Carolina history in terms of number of steals.

© Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Over the course of the next several weeks, I’ll be reviewing the stats from the 2019-20 North Carolina basketball team, one category at a time. We’ve already looked at total points, total rebounds, total assists, total three-pointers, and total blocks. We move today to total steals.

As a reminder: while these stats won’t tell the whole story of the season, they will help provide context and insight for both the present and historical context.

The following chart lists each player, how many steals they had, and where they ranked in the Carolina history books for total steals in a single season.

Observations

• Leaky Black led the team with 40 steals. This is the fewest steals to lead the team since 2005-06 when Carolina was led in steals by....freshman Tyler Hansbrough (38).
• 40 steals is the second-fewest team-leading total in the Roy Williams era.
• The 2012-13 and 2007-08 teams had five players with more steals than Black's 40. 
• As a team, Carolina had 183 steals, the lowest of the Roy Williams era and third-lowest ever.
• This is Carolina's lowest total team steals since the 2001-02 season, when they had 167.
• Carolina started recording steals in the record book in 1975-76. Only four times in those 44 years have the Tar Heels not broken 200 steals: 1995-96 (172), 1998-99 (192), 2001-02 (167), and 2019-20 (183).
• Cole Anthony was second on the team with 29 steals. Once again, this is the lowest total for the runner-up in steals since 2005-06.
• A fun steals tidbit: George Lynch (89) and Derrick Phelps (82) are second and third on the Carolina single-season steals list. Amazingly, they achieved this feat in the same season (the 1992-93 National Championship season).

© Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Conclusions

Once again, numbers don’t tell the whole story, but they do help tell the story. So what story do these numbers help tell?

To be frank, Carolina was not very adept at taking the ball away from its opponent. Only one other time in the 2000s have the Tar Heels failed to register 200 steals as a team. Bigger still, only three other times in Carolina history have the Tar Heels failed to reach 200 steals.

We've previously noted that Tar Heel guards struggled to keep defenders in front of them last season. That translates to fewer steals. If you can't stay in front of your man, you probably aren't taking the ball away from him. 

With Leaky Black's wingspan, it's no surprise that he was the team leader. I would expect him to have 50+ steals in the 2020-21 season. 

Another factor that contributed to Carolina's lack of steals was the loss of Anthony Harris after just five games. Harris is an active defender who will cause fits for opposing guards. 

The combination of Harris (if healthy) and Black should be a boon for UNC in the steals department in 2020-21.

With those two leading the way, hopefully the thieving bug will be contagious. 

Next stat to investigate from the 2019-20 Tar Heels, on Friday, June 5: Field Goal Percentage.

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