University of North Carolina Athletics
Heels Preps For Food Lion MVP Classic Dec. 3
December 3, 1999 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 1999
NO. 2 CAROLINA FACES COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON IN FOOD LION MVP CLASSIC
North Carolina, ranked No. 2 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN Coaches polls this week, travels to Charlotte this weekend to play in the Food Lion MVP Classic at the Charlotte Coliseum. The Tar Heels will face College of Charleston on Friday night at 9:00 p.m. and then face either Princeton or UNLV on Saturday night.
After being ranked No. 5 by the AP and No. 6 by the coaches last week, the Tar Heels jumped up to No. 2 in both polls after winning the Maui Invitational. The last time Carolina was ranked higher than No. 2 was on March 8, 1998, when the Tar Heels were ranked No. 1 after defeating Duke and winning their second consecutive ACC Tournament. The highest ranking Carolina achieved last season was No. 3 in both polls on Nov. 30 after winning the Chase Preseason NIT.
The Tar Heels hit 11 of 23 three-pointers (.478) in Wednesday's loss to Michigan State, connecting on more threes than they did in any game last season. The last time Carolina hit more three-pointers was in a 106-62 home win over Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 2, 1996, when it hit 13.
Senior point guard Ed Cota had 11 points and 11 assists against Michigan State, extending his own school record with his 22nd career double-figure assist game.
TAR HEELS AND COUGARS
Carolina and the College of Charleston have played each other just once, with the Cougars defeating the Tar Heels, 66-64, in the Food Lion MVP Classic on Dec. 5, 1998, in the Charlotte Coliseum. After Carolina led, 33-25, at halftime, the Cougars Danny Johnson tipped in a rebound with 0.1 seconds remaining in regulation for the Charleston victory. Four Carolina players scored in double figures in the loss -- tournament MVP Jason Capel (16), Ademola Okulaja (15), Kris Lang (13) and Brendan Haywood (12).
CAROLINA'S HISTORY IN THE FOOD LION CLASSIC
Carolina is 16-2 alltime in this event, formerly known as the Diet Pepsi Tournament of Champions and the Harris Teeter Pepsi Challenge. Carolina went 1-1 in the event last season, defeating Old Dominion and losing to College of Charleston. Prior to last year, the Tar Heels won the last six Diet Pepsi Tournament of Champions titles and won both games in the Harris Teeter Pepsi Challenge in December of 1997.
Carolina's only two losses in this event came in 1990 when South Carolina defeated UNC, 76-74, in the first round and in 1998 when College of Charleston defeated UNC, 66-64.
A Carolina player has been named MVP of this event seven straight years and eight times overall. Carolina's MVPs were Rick Fox (1988), George Lynch (1992), Eric Montross (1993), Jerry Stackhouse (1994), Jeff McInnis (1995), Antawn Jamison (1996 and 1997) and Jason Capel (1998). Jamison is the only two-time MVP in the event's history.
GUTHRIDGE 19-3 IN TOURNAMENT GAMES AFTER WINNING MAUI INVITATIONAL
Carolina head coach Bill Guthridge improved his record as a head coach in tournament games to 19-3 with the Tar Heels three victories in winning the Maui Invitational championship Nov. 22-24. In 1997-98, Guthridge went 3-0 to win the Great Alaska Shootout, 3-0 to win the ACC Tournament and 4-0 at the NCAA East Regional before losing in the NCAA Final Four. In 1998-99, he went 4-0 to win the Chase Preseason NIT, 2-1 to reach the finals of the ACC Tournament and 0-1 in the NCAA Tournament.
OFFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
In the latest ACC statistics (as of Dec. 2) Carolina leads the ACC in field goal percentage (.547), three-point field goal percentage (.414) and free throw percentage (.730). The Tar Heels are second in the conference in scoring (83.3 ppg).
Carolina is averaging 83.2 points per game thus far in 1999-2000 and has scored more than 80 in three of four games. Last year, Carolina averaged 71.4 points per game and scored 80 points or more just six times all season.
Carolina is shooting 54.7 percent from the floor this season after hitting 47.1 percent from the floor last year. The Tar Heels 65.4 percent field goal percentage in the Southern California game was its highest in a single game since shooting 66.3 percent against VMI on Dec. 17, 1994.
NO. 7 MICHIGAN STATE TOPS NO. 2 CAROLINA, 86-76
'seventh-ranked Michigan State defeated No. 2 Carolina, 86-76, on Wednesday, Dec. 1, handing the Tar Heels their first loss in a home opener since the 1928-29 season. The last time Carolina had lost a home opener was a 28-25 loss to South Carolina on Jan. 17, 1929, a stretch of 70 straight wins in home openers.
The loss also ended UNC's 55-game home-court, non-conference winning streak, which was the second-longest in the country. Carolina's overall record in the Smith Center against non-conference teams is 70-3 (.959), with the only losses coming to Temple on Feb. 21, 1988, Iowa on Jan. 7, 1989 and Michigan State on Dec. 1, 1999.
Freshman guard Joseph Forte led Carolina in scoring for the third time in four games, tallying 19 points on 6 of 15 shooting, including 3 of 7 three-pointers. Max Owens hit 5 of 9 shots, including two three-pointers, and hit all six of his free-throw attempts to finish with 18 points. Jason Capel had 14 points, nine rebounds and three steals for UNC.
The Spartans out-rebounded Carolina, 43-28. Including the Maui Invitational final win over Purdue, the Tar Heels have now been out-rebounded by an 86-60 margin in their last two games.
COTA BREAKS UNC RECORD FOR CAREER ASSISTS
'senior point guard Ed Cota dished out seven assists against Purdue on Nov. 24 to pass Kenny Smith (768 career assists) and move into first place in Carolina history in assists. Cota had 11 assists versus Michigan State and now has 781 for his career, tied for fourth place alltime in Atlantic Coast Conference annals with Wake Forest's Tyrone Bogues. Clemson's Grayson Marshall is third in ACC history with 857 assists.
Cota led the ACC in assists in each of his first three collegiate seasons and is vying to become the only player in conference history to lead the ACC in assists four times. Virginia's Ralph Sampson and Wake Forest's Tim Duncan both led the ACC in blocked shots four times and are the only players in ACC history to lead the league in a statistical category four times.
A preseason candidate for the Naismith and Wooden Awards, Cota needs 32 points to become the 49th player in UNC history to score 1,000 career points.
TAR HEELS WIN MAUI INVITATIONAL TITLE
North Carolina outscored Purdue, 56-26, in the second half and defeated the Boilermakers, 90-75, to win the 1999 Maui Invitational on Nov. 24 in Lahaina, Hawaii. The Tar Heels earlier had defeated Southern California, 82-65, and Georgetown, 85-79, to advance to the finals.
Ed Cota had 15 points and seven assists in the Purdue game and broke the UNC record for career assists in the contest. Cota now has 770 career assists, topping the old school record of 768 previously held by Kenny Smith (1984-87), and ranks fifth in Atlantic Coast Conference history. Tyrone Bogues of Wake Forest is fourth in ACC history with 781 career assists. Cota averaged 16.7 points, 8.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds in three games in Maui and was named to the all-tournament team.
Freshman guard Joseph Forte was named MVP of the Maui Invitational and to the all-tournament team after averaging 20.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in the three Tar Heel wins, hitting 22 of 39 field goals (.564) and 7 of 10 three-pointers (.700) in the tournament. Forte led Carolina in scoring against Southern California (24 points) and Purdue (21 points) and scored 17 in the semifinal win over Georgetown. His 24 points in his collegiate debut against USC were the most ever by a UNC freshman in his first college game and the most by any Tar Heel in his first game since Lennie Rosenbluth scored 30 in the first game of his sophomore year in 1954-55 before the days of freshman eligibility.
Junior center Brendan Haywood was named to the Maui Invitational all-tournament team, averaging 14.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in three Tar Heel wins. Haywood had 15 points and five rebounds against USC, 20 points and seven rebounds versus Georgetown, and eight points and six rebounds in the win over Purdue.
Carolina won the Maui Invitational for the first time in three appearances at the tournament, having lost in the finals to Missouri in 1989 and Villanova in 1995.
FORTE NAMED MAUI INVITATIONAL MVP AND ACC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Forte was named MVP of the Maui Invitational and ACC Rookie of the Week (Nov. 30) after averaging 20.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in three Tar Heel wins Nov. 22-24. He shot 56.4 percent from the floor (22 for 39), 70.0 percent (7 for 10) from three-point range and 91.7 (11 for 12) from the free-throw line in the Maui Invitational.
He scored 24 points versus USC, the most ever by a UNC freshman in his first college game and the most by any Tar Heel in his first game since Lennie Rosenbluth scored 30 in the first game of his sophomore year versus Clemson on Dec. 4, 1954. Rosenbluth's 30 points came in the era before freshman eligibility.
He ranks second in the ACC in scoring, sixth in field goal percentage, second in three-point field goal percentage, second in free throw percentage, first in three-point field goals per game and third in steals (as of Dec. 2).
Forte became the 15th Tar Heel player overall and fifth in the last four seasons to start his first career game. Ed Cota, Brendan Haywood, Kris Lang and Jason Capel all started their first career games as well.
HAYWOOD IS CAROLINA'S CAREER FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE LEADER
Junior center Brendan Haywood has shot 19 for 22 from the floor thus far this season and would lead the ACC in field goal percentage (.864) if he had enough attempts. His career field goal percentage is now .639, the best in Carolina history. Rasheed Wallace held the old record with .635.
Haywood is fourth in the ACC in blocked shots this season with 2.8 per game.
Haywood was named to the Maui Invitational all-tournament team, averaging 14.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in three Tar Heel wins. Haywood had 15 points and five rebounds against USC, 20 points and seven rebounds versus Georgetown, and eight points and six rebounds in the win over Purdue.
INJURY UPDATE
Carolina has been hampered by injuries throughout the preseason. Sophomore guard Ronald Curry ruptured his right Achilles tendon in a football game at Georgia Tech on Oct. 9 and is expected to miss the 1999-2000 season.
Junior center Brendan Haywood tore a ligament in his left thumb in offseason workouts and had surgery in late August.
Junior forward/center Brian Bersticker suffered a stress fracture in his left foot over the summer. The bone is healed, but Bersticker still is bothered by soreness in the soft tissue surrounding the bone. He did not practice Thursday.
Sophomore forward Kris Lang missed most of preseason workouts while suffering from a viral infection and has been bothered by shin splints that have caused him to miss practice time, including Thursday's practice prior to the Food Lion MVP Classic.
Junior swingman Michael Brooker twisted his right ankle in Carolina's first practice in Maui on Nov. 20 and did not see action in any of Carolina's first three games. He did dress for the Georgetown game but did not see action. He returned to action against Michigan State.
Freshman forward Will Johnson sprained his left ankle in practice on Nov. 28 and did not play versus Michigan State.
TAR HEELS PICKED TO WIN ACC IN 1999-2000
Carolina received 74 of the 90 first-place votes and 792 points overall as it was picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1999-2000 in a vote of ACC media. Duke finished second with 16 first place votes and 712 points. Wake Forest (577 points) was picked third, followed by Maryland (481), NC State (442), Georgia Tech (396), Virginia (358), Florida State (179) and Clemson (113).
COTA NAMED PRESEASON ALL-ACC
Point guard Ed Cota was named to the preseason All-ACC first team along with Maryland's Terrence Morris, Wake Forest's Robert O Kelley, Duke's Shane Battier and Georgia Tech's Jason Collier. UNC center Brendan Haywood was named to the second team while Kris Lang and Max Owens were honorable mention all-conference. Cota was the fourth-leading vote-getter for preseason ACC Player-of-the-Year honors.
Cota is a preseason candidate for the John Wooden Award and the Naismith Award, both of which are presented to the nation's best collegiate player.
Cota enters the 1999-2000 season third in school history and eighth in ACC annals with 746 assists. Phil Ford is second at UNC and seventh in ACC history with 753 assists and Kenny Smith holds the Carolina record and is fifth in ACC history with 768.
HEAD COACH BILL GUTHRIDGE
Guthridge is 61-15 as the Tar Heels' head coach. He is in his third year as head coach, but 33rd as part of the UNC program. He was an assistant coach for Dean Smith for 30 seasons before taking over in 1997-98 following Smith's retirement.
Guthridge, the 1998 National Coach of the Year, has won a total of 846 games as a member of the Tar Heel staff. Including 93 wins as an assistant coach at Kansas State, Guthridge has been on the sidelines for 939 collegiate victories.
Guthridge won more games (58) in his first two seasons than any coach in NCAA history and reached 50 wins faster than any coach in Carolina history.
In 1997-98, Guthridge set the NCAA record for most wins by a first-year head coach with 34.
IN THE POLLS
Carolina is ranked second in this week's Associated Press poll and second in the latest ESPN/USA Today poll (as of Nov. 29).
The Tar Heels have been ranked by the Associated Press in 165 consecutive polls. That is the longest active streak in the country and is the fourth-longest overall streak. Marquette has the third-longest poll streak with 166 weeks in the AP rankings.
TAR HEELS ON TV
North Carolina annually is one of the top draws on college basketball television broadcasts. This season, all but two of the Tar Heels 30 regular-season games will be televised. All of UNC's Atlantic Coast Conference games will be broadcast. Only the Buffalo (Dec. 7) and Howard games (Jan. 2) will not be televised this season.
THIRTEEN FORMER TAR HEELS IN THE NBA
Thirteen former Carolina players were on 1999-2000 NBA opening day rosters: Vince Carter (Toronto), Pete Chilcutt (Utah), Hubert Davis (Dallas), Rick Fox (L.A. Lakers), Antawn Jamison (Golden State), George Lynch (Philadelphia), Eric Montross (Detroit), Sam Perkins (Indiana), J.R. Reid (Milwaukee), Jerry Stackhouse (Detroit), Rasheed Wallace (Portland), Scott Williams (Milwaukee) and Shammond Williams (Seattle).
In addition, seven former Tar Heels are in NBA administration this season: Larry Brown (Head Coach, Philadelphia), George Karl (Head Coach, Milwaukee), John Kuester (Assistant Coach, Philadelphia), Mitch Kupchak (General Manager, L.A. Lakers), Bob McAdoo (Assistant Coach, Miami), Mike O Koren (Assistant Coach, New Jersey) and Donnie Walsh (President, Indiana).
