CHAPEL HILL — There are times when Terrence Brown has to tell Maximo Adams to calm down. 

“Yeah. I actually do,” Brown said with a smile after UNC basketball’s 109-70 win against Wofford on Nov. 6 at the Smith Center. “Like, ‘bro, chill a little bit, bro.’ ”

But not on Roy Williams Court, or any other court for that matter. Brown knows Adams only knows one way to play.

“He always has high energy, no matter the circumstance,” Brown said of Adams.

When asked to recall one of those Maxi moments, Brown “couldn’t even name one, because it’s every day.” But he did say “the best one was probably in practice.” 

Brown is referring to a video UNC shared on its social media accounts on Oct. 21 with the caption “Maxi’s energy >.” In the clip, Adams grabs an offensive rebound, misses a putback layup, tips it back toward the rim, and grabs it again before finishing the layup. 

As the ball falls through the net and hits the floor, it bounces back up toward his head, and he meets it like a soccer player, firing his head toward the ball to bounce it off the ground toward assistant coach Brandon Robinson, who catches it. Adams then presses against the ball to keep it between him and Robinson before turning away. Robinson pulled him back with a calm-down motion before the two smiled at each other. 

That same energy and effort was on display for Adams against the Terriers as he finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the first double-double performance of his freshman season. 

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound rookie showed up in the players’ lounge with a silver chain that features a Rameses emblem and "DPOG". Playing possessed on the glass seemingly every possession earned him the defensive player of the game chain from coach Michael Malone. 

UNC posted the presentation on social media, with Malone addressing the team and saying Adams had “a lot of plays where he just outworked people out there.” It was something the Tar Heels needed to see after being beat on the boards by Western Carolina in the season opener. 

UNC still has work to do on the glass, but it improved with a 49-42 advantage against the Terriers, including a 27-19 edge in the second half of the blowout win.

“Maxi was great. … Just relentless pursuit. And we’ve seen that every day in practice,” Malone said 

“(Against Wofford) wasn’t just a one-off. This is something that Maxi prides himself on – attacking the glass, working the (offensive boards), getting us extra possessions. He was our defensive player of the game. … I thought he had a huge impact and imprint on the game.” 

Wearing a white Jordan Brand headband for the first time this season, Adams had a putback dunk in the second half that pushed UNC's lead close to 30. He let out a scream as he ran back on defense. 

“It’s just the way I play – with intensity,” Adams said during his first preseason media availability, giving credit to his father for teaching him to play hard and “never take any plays off.” Following an 11-point, 6-rebound performance against USC in Greensboro, Adams had a similar message. 

“It’s just the intensity I try to play with every time I step on the court,” he said. “Me being labeled for having a high motor, I have to live up to that.”

Through two games, Adams is living up to that reputation, producing a 13.5% offensive rebounding percentage and 22.2% defensive rebounding percentage per KenPom. Armando Bacot, UNC’s all-time rebounding leader, averaged a 13.5% offensive rebounding percentage and 24.9% defensive rebounding percentage across five seasons. 

It's a small sample size for Adams, but it's clear Malone needs that consistent relentless energy and pursuit on the glass to maximize the potential of the team.

“The last couple of games, we haven’t played our best,” Adams said. “So I think we came into the game with a chip on our shoulder. That’s what set the tone for us.” 

And Brown doesn’t ever want to see Adams calm down in that area. Neither does senior guard Jaydon Young, who isn’t surprised by what he saw from the youngster in the second game of the season. 

“He brings so much, because he’s a big, physical guard that can battle with anybody. He has the heart of a lion,” Young said. 

“Just going out there giving us everything that he has in the tank, whether that’s scoring, rebounding, guarding. Everything he has, he gives it every single day. … We already knew that was coming from Maximo.”