Turnovers and who commits them are something most teams would just as soon forget – except when the lost possessions prove crucial and the head coach decides to verbally flog his team to underline the importance of solid execution.
Over the years some ACC programs – Georgia Tech, UNC, NC State – glibly deleted turnovers from accounting team statistics. One sports information director frankly admitted he left out turnovers because they’re a “negative statistic”. As if they didn’t exist if left unacknowledged.
Retired UNC coach Roy Williams was particularly fond of taking players to task for losing turnovers, although his preferred uptempo offense inherently produced a plethora of possessions that allowed leeway for mistakes.