University of North Carolina Athletics
1998-99 Tar Heels Outlook
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
October 13, 1998
One year ago, head coach Bill Guthridge inherited a team that returned six experienced players from a lineup that had won 28 games, the ACC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 1997. Guthridge now embarks on his second year as head coach of the Tar Heels with what may be the most inexperienced team in recent Carolina history.
Two starters return from Carolina's squad that went 34-4 and repeated as ACC Tournament and NCAA East Regional champions - senior forward Ademola Okulaja and junior point guard Ed Cota. Okulaja has been a starter for most of his three previous collegiate seasons and Cota has posted two of the top three assist marks in school history his first two years. Beyond them, however, is a vastly unknown group of talented, yet inexperienced players.
Sophomore center Brendan Haywood and senior swing man Brad Frederick are the next most experienced players and they saw limited action a year ago. Haywood averaged just 8.1 minutes per game as a freshman and Frederick has played in 40 of the 73 games over the last two seasons.
The four players Carolina must replace are guard Shammond Williams and center Makhtar Ndiaye, seniors last season, and forward Antawn Jamison and swing man Vince Carter. Jamison was the unanimous National Player of the Year, and Carter earned second-team Associated Press All-America honors. Jamison and Carter declared for the NBA Draft after their junior seasons and were selected fourth and fifth in the first round, respectively.
Those four players, plus Cota and Okulaja, made up a six-man starting rotation which played 90.0 percent of the minutes, scored 92.2 percent of the points and grabbed 79.9 percent of the rebounds during the 1997-98 season. Williams, Ndiaye, Carter and Jamison accounted for a large percentage of those figures. The quartet played 59 percent of the minutes, scored 73 percent of the points, grabbed 57 percent of the rebounds, hit 75 percent of the three-point field goals and had 64 percent of the blocked shots.
"We are going from one of the most experienced lineups we ever had to one of our least experienced teams," says Guthridge, the 1998 Naismith and NABC National Coach of the Year. "It will be like starting over with a new group of players. We have two guys who really played a lot last year in Ed and Ademola. Still, they will have to fit in with this year's team as well as they did last year.
"Certainly, each year you have different chemistry and how things fit together is different from year to year."
Okulaja, a 6-9 forward from Berlin, Germany, is clearly the team veteran as he has played in 105 games as a Tar Heel. Noted for his rebounding, passing, clutch shooting and defensive prowess, Okulaja has averaged 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in his career at Carolina. He was recommended to UNC's coaches by former Tar Heel Henrik Rodl and made an immediate impact even as a freshman.
A streaky shooter, Okulaja made some key baskets in the 1998 postseason. He hit a pair of three pointers in Carolina's win over Maryland in the ACC Tournament semifinal and netted 12 second-half points against Connecticut in the NCAA East Regional championship.
"Ademola is a very good leader and will be an excellent stabilizing presence for this young team," says Guthridge. "He has to be careful to not feel like he has to do too much this year. That's not a burden any one player should take on himself. I think he will be a much better shooter this year because I know he has worked on that very hard in the offseason. He's a good rebounder and a tough, smart player." Cota, a 6-1 point guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., is on pace to break Kenny Smith's school record for assists. Cota has 508 assists in just 71 contests, an average of 7.15 assists per game. That is the third-highest average in ACC history behind NCAA record-holder Chris Corchiani of N.C. State and Bobby Hurley of Duke. He needs just 261 assists to set the alltime UNC record. Cota has led the ACC in assists in each of his two seasons, including last year when he had a school-record 274 assists, an average of 7.4 per game. That was two assists more per game than any other player in the ACC.
Cota, the ACC Freshman of the Year in 1996-97, earned second-team All-ACC honors last season. He played one of his finest games in the win over Duke on February 5. After the Blue Devils scored 15 straight points to pull within four points of UNC's lead, Cota scored or had assists on five of the next six possessions to put the game out of reach. He had 12 assists that night, one of eight games last year in which he had 10 or more assists. Six of those eight double-figure assist efforts were against ACC opponents.
In the NCAA Tournament, Cota compiled 35 assists and committed just 12 turnovers in five games. He had 11 points and eight assists and held Big 10 Player of the Year Mateen Cleaves to seven of 21 shooting in the East Regional semifinal win over Michigan State. In the regional title game against Connecticut, Cota had eight points, eight rebounds and nine assists and held National Freshman of the Year Khalid El-Amin to just two assists in a 75-64 Tar Heel triumph.
"Ed has done a terrific job the last two years getting the ball to the right scorers at the right time," says Guthridge. "He plays with a great deal of confidence and poise and truly is an extension of the coaching staff out on the floor. This year he will probably score more because we are without our top three scorers from a year ago. Hopefully, that additional scoring will come naturally within the offense. Some people question his scoring ability, but he has scored some big baskets for us."
"He really improved his defense last year and I think he will continue to improve as a defender this year. He's going to be a good leader for us as well."
Haywood and Frederick are among a group of players from which several must make immediate and significant contributions if the Tar Heels are to extend their NCAA record streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to 25. Those returning players include forward/center Brian ersticker, swing men Michael Brooker and Max Owens, forwards Orlando Melendez and Vasco Evtimov, and guards Terrence Newby and Scott Williams. Carolina has three incoming freshmen - forward Jason Capel of Chesapeake, Va. (attended St. John's Prospect Hall in Frederick, Md.), guard Ronald Curry of Hampton, Va., (Hampton High) and forward/center Kris Lang of Gastonia, N.C. (Hunter Huss High).
"It will be interesting to see which players worked hard to improve their games in the offseason," says Guthridge. "Obviously, some players need to really step forward for us to be a good basketball team. It will be an entirely different way to coach this team compared to last year. We will have to go slower at first. Last year, we had six veteran players and we went quickly, which was a detriment to the younger guys. By the time they started to play well in practice on a more consistent basis, it was late February and we were already set with our lineup.
"Cota and Okulaja are proven players. We don't know what to expect from the three freshmen or Evtimov. The freshmen are good prospects, but it's tough to win playing a lot of freshmen."
Evtimov is a 6-10, 225-pounder native of Sofia, Bulgaria, whose parents currently live in Lyon, France. He was recruited by UNC after playing three years at Long Island Lutheran High School in Brentwood, N.Y. Evtimov scored 34 points and had 31 rebounds in 22 games as a Tar Heel in 1996-97, but spent last year serving a mandatory one-year military commitment in the French army.
Haywood, 7-0, 265 pounds from Greensboro, N.C., was the seventh man in the rotation last year. He tied a UNC record by playing in all 38 games, made 35 of 66 shots from the floor (53.0 percent) and blocked 33 shots. He scored eight points and grabbed five boards in a win over Georgia Tech, blocked two shots and scored eight points in a win over Clemson, had seven points, three rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal in the February 5th win over Duke, and seven points and five caroms at Duke in late February. He provided a big lift in the ACC Tournament semifinal win over Maryland with six points, four rebounds and a blocked shot. His 110 points accounted for 45.5 percent of all the scoring outside the six starters last year.
Bersticker is a 6-11 post/perimeter player from Virginia Beach, Va., who has shown an ability to run the floor, hit the 15-footer and block shots. He worked hard in the offseason to get stronger and will need that added muscle to become a force inside. Last year, he played in 19 games and would have gotten an opportunity to play more, except he played the same position as Jamison.
Bersticker made 20 of his 36 field goal attempts and was nine for 10 from the free throw line. He scored 49 points, grabbed 25 rebounds and blocked 12 shots. He had 16 points and nine rebounds at Bethune-Cookman and made three of four shots and totaled seven points in the ACC Tournament first round win over N.C. State.
Frederick, a 6-5 forward/guard from Lawrence, Kan., has played two years with the varsity after a season on the junior varsity squad. He is a good defender, does a lot of the intangibles that don't appear on the stat sheet and has good basketball instincts. Frederick has not been a big scoring threat, although he is capable of hitting the mid-range jump shot.
Brooker, a 6-6 guard/forward from Sandersville, Ga., may hold one of the keys to Carolina's outside scoring attack. Brooker saw limited action last year in 22 games and did not show in games the shooting touch he has demonstrated in practice. He must show the ability to consistently knock down the three-point shot. Much of what hampered his early development were the effects of an anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in the spring of his senior year in high school. That injury forced him to receive a medical red-shirt in 1996-97.
Owens, a 6-4 perimeter player from Macon, Ga., played his final two years of high school at Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham. He saw action in 22 games as a freshman and netted 30 points. Owens hit 12 of 31 shots from the floor and had 18 rebounds and five assists. He had a season-high four points against UCLA, Chattanooga and Appalachian State. His ability to give Carolina scoring and defense from the two-guard position will also be essential.
Melendez, a 6-7 forward from Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, is a medical red-shirt freshman. He played his final season in high school at McDowell County High School in Marion, N.C. An excellent athlete with tremendous leaping ability, Melendez played in the first three regular-season games last year, but suffered a soft tissue injury in his left foot just before the team left for Alaska at Thanksgiving. He was never able to overcome the effects of the injury and decided to seek a medical red-shirt in January. Melendez scored four points and had a rebound in his three games.
Newby, a 6-2 point guard from Siler City, N.C., must step forward and show he is ready to contribute in the backcourt since Cota is the only returning guard with extensive experience. Newby has played in 31 games in his first two seasons. He has shown the ability to score, but must show improvement in ball handling and distribution. An excellent multi-sport athlete in high school, Newby is one of the fastest players on the squad.
Williams, a 5-11 point guard from Lawrence, Kan., earned a spot on the varsity roster after two years with the jayvees. He is one of the top hustlers and most savvy players on the roster. The son of Kansas head coach and former UNC assistant Roy Williams, Scott does an outstanding job applying pressure on the ball and pushing the ball upcourt after a missed basket. He scored three points last year in the home win over Florida State.
Capel averaged 20.2 points and 12.0 rebounds per game and led St. John's Prospect Hall to an undefeated record and No. 1 final scholastic national ranking by USA Today last year. He scored 22 points in leading the East to victory in the 1998 McDonald's High School All-Star Game. Capel, a second-team Parade All-America, is the son of Old Dominion head coach Jeff Capel Sr. His brother, Jeff, played at Duke from 1993-97. Curry will play both football and basketball at Carolina. He earned the unique distinction of being named the Parade National High School Football Player of the Year and the McDonald's National High School asketball Player of the Year. He averaged 21.9 points, 5.7 assists and 5.5 rebounds a game in leading Hampton High School to the Virginia state semifinals. As a junior, Hampton won the state title. Curry scored 19 points and added 13 rebounds, nine assists and four steals in earning MVP honors at the McDonald's All-Star game.
Lang is a former AAU teammate of Brendan Haywood. He also played in the McDonald's All-Star Game. He averaged 21 points and 14 rebounds at Hunter Huss High School in Gastonia.
Guthridge says without a proven scorer and with an inexperienced team, the Tar Heels will likely simplify their offense and try to apply more pressure on defense.
"We go into each season with a philosophy of how we want to play," Guthridge says. "Last year we were building toward applying more pressure on defense, but we couldn't get there because we only went six deep. We would like to get back to our pressure defense this year. That will be one of our primary goals.
"We will be without Jamison, Carter, Shammond Williams, our three primary scorers, and Ndiaye, one of our top rebounders and shot blockers. We knew going into the season what they could do and we had some things lined up for them. This year, we really don't know what these guys can do to score, so early on we will have to be more basic. And we will play a deeper lineup. That doesn't mean we will be better, just deeper." In addition to the always rugged ACC schedule, Carolina will compete in the Preseason NIT, opening the event with a home game against Florida International; battle the College of Charleston and Old Dominion in the Food Lion MVP Classic in Charlotte, N.C.; plays host to the University of Louisville; and play at the University of California in the Pete Newell Classic.
The 1999 ACC Tournament is scheduled for March 4-7 in Charlotte.
