Garrison Brooks, Sterling Manley and Brandon Huffman had been putting up solid numbers for fifth-ranked North Carolina in the first three games of December.
Tar Heels coach Roy Williams still wasn't quite impressed.
"Check their numbers against Michigan State," Williams said. "That's the scary part."
Then came Sunday's trip to Tennessee. Brooks and Manley combined for 19 points and 16 rebounds in a 78-73 road win over a top-25 RPI team.
"Our freshmen had to grow up some," Williams said after the Tennessee win. "I think Sterling and Garrison really did."
Manley, the tallest of the three freshmen at 6-11 and 240 pounds, had 10 points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench and helped control Tennessee's leading scorer, forward Grant Williams (15 points).
Brooks, who is 6-9 and 215 pounds, added nine points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes. Huffman, who is 6-10 and 250 pounds, only played three minutes.
Williams will occasionally refer to the freshmen bigs as the "Three Musketeers." After the trio combined for 24 points and 14 rebounds (in 42 minutes) in a 97-73 home win over Tulane on Dec. 3, that's when Williams referenced their numbers against Michigan State.
Nothing went right for UNC on offense in the 63-45 loss to the Spartans on Nov. 26 in the "PK 80" tournament in Portland. The Heels had their worst shooting performance in school history and were out-rebounded 52 to 36.
Brooks, Manley and Huffman combined for two points and nine rebounds in 34 minutes. Brooks had six rebounds in 20 minutes in the neutral-site loss to the Spartans.
"We've got to be able to rebound against those kind of (teams) because that's who we play in our league," Williams said earlier this month.
Tennessee was the first test away from home against a "Power 5" conference team since the Michigan State loss. UNC ended up with a 44-39 edge on the glass against the Volunteers.
Junior forward Luke Maye, who has been the team's top rebounder, added eight rebounds in 29 minutes and senior wing Theo Pinson matched his a season-high with nine in 35 minutes.
After losing bigs Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Tony Bradley from last year's national championship team, Williams had been concerned how the new crop of forwards would be able to hold up.
UNC, which led the country in rebounding margin (12.3) and offensive rebounds (15.7) last season, remains among the national leaders, despite the roster turnover. The Heels rank No. 2 in the country in margin (13.1) and No. 27 in offensive rebounds (13.4) this season.
Brooks has started every game with Maye at the two forward spots. Manley has been the first big off the bench while Huffman's minutes have fluctuated.
Productive bigs have been a trademark of Williams' UNC teams. The primary forwards on Williams' first 14 UNC teams averaged of 35.7 points and 21.2 rebounds per game. Last year's quartet (Meeks, Hicks, Bradley and Maye) averaged 36.9 points and 24 rebounds per game.
The season averages aren't eye-popping for Brooks (6.5 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game), Manley (7.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg) or Huffman (3.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg) but when combined with Maye's numbers (19.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg), they're in line with the frontcourt production of Williams' other UNC teams. The group has combined to average (through 11 games): 36.4 points per game and 23.1 rebounds per game.
Not bad given what was expected coming into the season. Maye had only averaged 5.5 points in a reserve role as a sophomore. Brooks (No. 215), Manley (No. 230) and Huffman (No. 250) were all ranked outside the top 200 in the recruiting class, according to 247 Sports.
Williams is more difficult to impress. He has wanted to see more out of the freshmen on the defensive end.
"I'm worried to death about how post players in our league can really score," Williams said earlier this month. "You've got to be able to guard the guy in the post."
After Wednesday's home game with Wofford, UNC will only have "Power 5" teams left on the regular-season schedule. The Tar Heels face Ohio State on Saturday and then ACC play begins on Dec. 30.
Maybe the freshmen bigs aren't ready but they took a step closer with their performance at Tennessee.
