University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels 1999-2000 Hoops Preview
July 15, 1999 | Men's Basketball
July 15, 1999
One year after fielding one of the most inexperienced teams in school history, the University of North Carolina returns four starters and 10 lettermen for the 1999-2000 basketball season. Senior point guard Ed Cota leads that group of returning players, along with junior center Brendan Haywood and sophomore forwards Jason Capel and Kris Lang.
Last season, the Tar Heels overcame the losses of four starters from back-to-back Final Four teams to post an impressive 24-10 record. Carolina won the Preseason NIT, finished third in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the regular season and advanced to the championship game of the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels received an NCAA Tournament bid, extending their NCAA record to a remarkable 25 consecutive seasons. Carolina accomplished that despite losing National Player of the Year Antawn Jamison and NBA Rookie of the Year Vince Carter to the professional ranks after their junior seasons.
This year, Carolina must replace seniors Ademola Okulaja, Brad Frederick and Scott Williams plus rising junior Vasco Evtimov, who opted to play professional basketball in Greece.
Okulaja earned first-team All-ACC honors after leading the squad in scoring (13.9 points per game), rebounding (8.4 per game), three-point field goals (59) and steals (46).
"We will miss all the seniors because of their leadership and Vasco's hustle and enthusiasm, but we will especially miss Ademola because of all the things he did for our team," says Bill Guthridge, who enters his third season as UNC's head coach with a 58-14 record. That is the best two-year mark for a head coach in NCAA history.
"Ademola was our best rebounder and three-point scorer, and he provided so much determination and hustle. That type of unselfish play is something people identify with Carolina basketball and certainly no one demonstrated that more than Okulaja. We will need other players to fill the void he left in those areas."
Cota and Okulaja were the only players going into last season with extensive collegiate experience. Haywood was the next-most experienced player, but he had averaged just eight minutes a game as a freshman. This year, beyond Cota, Haywood, Capel and Lang are a number of players who saw extensive action in reserve roles last season. That group of players includes junior center/forward Brian Bersticker, junior swing man Max Owens, senior guard Terrence Newby and sophomore guard Ronald Curry. Swing men Michael Brooker and Orlando Melendez round out the 10 returning lettermen.
"We are more experienced than a year ago, but people do need to remember that outside of Cota, most of our players have played just one year," says Guthridge. "We were typical of an inexperienced team last year in that we had lots of ups and downs through the course of the season. We would play really well one night and then not be able to repeat that level of intensity or performance in the next game. I hope we will be more consistent this year."
Cota, a 6-1 Brooklyn, N.Y., native, has continued the long and outstanding tradition of New York point guards that have played at Carolina. That list that includes Tommy Kearns (1957 NCAA championship team), Larry Brown, Eddie Fogler, Jimmy Black (1982 NCAA championship team), Kenny Smith, King Rice, Derrick Phelps (1993 NCAA championship team) and Cota.
The senior is on the verge of breaking the UNC record for career assists. He has 746 assists in 103 games, an average of 7.2 per game. Cota already owns the career assists-per-game record at UNC and has the third-highest mark in ACC history. Kenny Smith holds the UNC record with 768 assists and current UNC assistant coach Phil Ford is second with 753. Cota's 746 assists are the eighth-highest figure in ACC history.
Last year, Cota averaged 10.5 points, 7.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds per contest en route to earning second-team All-ACC honors. He was named Most Valuable Player of the Preseason NIT after a 17-point, 11-rebound, five-assist performance against second-ranked Stanford in the title game in Madison Square Garden.
Cota has led the ACC in assists in each of his first three seasons, a feat no other player in ACC history has accomplished (three other players, including Ford, have done it three years in a row, but not their first three years). Since the ACC began recording assists in 1973, no player has ever led the league four times.
He averaged 9.7 assists in the three ACC Tournament games and became the alltime assist leader in ACC Tournament history with 67 in nine games. Cota has led the Tar Heels to two championships and a finals appearance in his three seasons. He matched his career scoring high with 20 points and added 10 assists in the season-ending loss to Weber State in the NCAA Tournament.
"We are fortunate to have an outstanding senior point guard like Ed Cota," says Guthridge. "I think he is one of the best point guards in the country. Certainly, he is one of the most experienced college basketball players in the country with two Final Four appearances and three times in the ACC Tournament final. I look for Ed to continue to be a leader. Because of the position he plays, Ed has been a leader for us throughout his career. I look for him to have a special senior season."
Haywood, a 7-0, 261-pound junior, should benefit from his gold medal-winning experiences with the United States World University Games Team. The Greensboro, N.C., native earned a spot on the U.S. roster with solid play in the trials in Colorado and continued that outstanding play in the World University Games in Spain. He started all eight games for Team USA and averaged 10.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. He had 17 points in the quarterfinals against Canada.
Last year, Haywood averaged 12.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per contest. He was the Tar Heels' second-leading scorer and rebounder and led the team with a field goal percentage of .648. That was the third-highest single-season percentage in UNC history. Only Bobby Jones (.668 in 1971-72) and Rasheed Wallace (.654 in 1994-95) have exceeded Haywood's percentage (Brad Daugherty also shot .648 in 1985-86.) In the last 11 games, Haywood made 69.0 percent from the field. He made at least half of his shots in 28 of the 34 contests. He scored 20 or more points three times as a sophomore, including 24 at California and 21 against Purdue. Overall, Haywood scored in double figures 22 times, had 10-plus rebounds 10 times and posted nine double-doubles.
"Playing with the United States Team for a month will certainly help Brendan," says Guthridge. "He played well and should gain a great deal of confidence from his international experience. He is a low-post presence for us. It will be important for him improve his endurance, which will allow him to be dominant for longer stretches. He showed flashes of that capability last year."
Lang, 6-11, 235 pounds, was one of the most pleasant surprises on the team last year. The Gastonia, N.C., native made an immediate impact and earned a spot on the ACC's All-Rookie Team. He was the fifth Tar Heel in the 1990s to make that squad, joining Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Jamison and Cota. He also gained international experience in the summer as a member of the NIT Touring Team that was led by former St. John's coach Lou Carnesecca.
Lang averaged 10.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game and made 57.8 percent of his field goal attempts. He scored a season-high 21 points in the win over Georgia that sent Carolina to New York for the NIT semifinals. He also had 20 points and 10 rebounds at Dartmouth, 21 points and six rebounds in a win over Florida State and 17 points and 11 boards in a win over Georgia Tech. In one four-game stretch against Duke, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Florida State, Lang was 28 for 36 from the floor and averaged 16.5 points per contest.
"We knew Kris was a fine player when we recruited him, but the extent to which he made an impact on our team as a freshman surprised everyone," says Guthridge. "He's a good rebounder, can shoot that jump hook with both hands and has a great work ethic. Kris needs better endurance so he can play more minutes without hitting the wall, physically. He works so hard in the offseason, I am confident he will be able to improve in that area this year."
Capel, 6-8, can play both small forward and off guard and that versatility helped him make significant contributions last year as a freshman. The Chesapeake, Va., resident averaged 9.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and led the squad at the free throw line with a percentage of .854. That percentage was second-best in the ACC behind only Donald Hand of Virginia.
Capel's freshman season was hampered by back problems and an illness that caused him to miss a number of games. He missed six games in late-January/early-February because of mononucleosis and missed the ACC Tournament quarterfinal against Georgia Tech because of a sore back. He returned to the lineup against Maryland in the semifinals and was brilliant with 13 points (including three three-point field goals in 15 minutes), but fell hard on his back and missed the rest of that game. He was limited to 10 minutes against Duke in the ACC finals and four minutes against Weber State in the NCAA Tournament.
Capel had surgery to remove two herniated disks in his back the week after the season ended. He began playing basketball in mid-June and is playing without pain for the first time in years.
"I am encouraged about Jason's recovery after surgery," says Guthridge. "He was a valuable contributor for us last year, despite playing in pain for much of the season. Being able to practice each day, something he could not do a year ago, will undoubtedly help him and our team. He should move to small forward where he can defend, rebound and still hit the outside shot."
Capel shot 41.1 percent from three-point range and made 76 of 89 free throws. He scored in double figures in 12 of the 26 games in which he played, including a high of 16 on consecutive nights in Charlotte, N.C., against Old Dominion (coached by his dad, Jeff) and the College of Charleston. Haywood and Lang anchor a sizeable frontline that also includes Bersticker. The Tar Heels can play 6-10, 6-11 and 7-0 across the frontcourt, although Guthridge says he will likely play just two big men at one time.
"Brian Bersticker improved a lot last year and helps us with his ability to score and block shots," says Guthridge. "Haywood and Lang both need to impove their shot-blocking abilities, but our frontline did a good job overall defensively and our rebounding margin was outstanding."
ersticker, a 6-10, 227-pound junior from Virginia Beach, Va., made a late-season rush for playing time. He scored 11 points against Duke in the regular-season finale and played key minutes in ACC Tournament victories over Georgia Tech and fifth-ranked Maryland. Against the Yellow Jackets, Bersticker scored six of his season-high 12 points moments after Tech cut UNC's second-half lead to a single point. Then he scored two baskets in the final 3:24 of the semifinal round win over the Terrapins. ersticker made 16 of 27 field goal attempts in those final five contests. He blocked 30 shots during the season, including five in the season opener against Appalachian State.
rooker, a 6-6, 218-pound junior from Sandersville, Ga., Melendez, a 6-8, 190-pound sophomore from Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, Will Johnson, a 6-7 freshman from Hickory, N.C., and Jason Parker, a 6-8 freshman from Charlotte, N.C., add depth in the frontcourt.
rooker missed most of last season after re-injuring his knee. He scored 10 points in the season opener against Appalachian State. Melendez has excellent athletic ability and continues to develop his all-around skills. He scored 27 points last year, including 11 against Buffalo. Cota, Curry and Jon Holmes will handle point guard duties. Holmes is a 6-1 freshman from Bloomington, Ind.
Curry, Carolina's starting quarterback, played in 26 contests last year. He joined the basketball team fulltime after UNC's Las Vegas Bowl victory on December 19th in which he was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player. Curry scored 73 points, grabbed 39 rebounds and handed out 43 assists in 26 games. He made his first collegiate start against Georgia Tech because of an injury to Cota and responded with 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds in a Tar Heel victory. He later hit a critical three-pointer in the 59-56 win at NC State and was Carolina's defensive player of the game in the 62-53 win over the Wolfpack.
The off guard position is up for grabs between Owens, Newby and freshman Joseph Forte.
Owens, a 6-5 Macon, Ga., native, blossomed in the ACC Tournament as he replaced an injured Capel in the starting lineup. Owens earned All-ACC Tournament honors after helping UNC past Maryland in the semifinal with 23 points and adding 22 against Duke in the championship game. Prior to the Tournament, Owens was scoring 6.7 points per game.
Overall, Owens averaged 7.8 points per game, made 85.1 percent from the free throw line and was 25 for 70 (.357) from beyond the three-point line. He netted 10 or more points in eight games. He hit several big shots at Duke, scored 16 in a win over Georgia Tech and made six of eight shots from the floor in a win over Florida State.
"Max gained some confidence with his play in the ACC Tournament and hopefully that will carry over into this season," says Guthridge. "He is a good shooter who needs that confidence to be able to knock down shots in games as often as he does in practice every day. He can be a good defensive player, but needs to improve his ball-handling and overall defensive play."
Newby, a 6-2 senior from Siler City, N.C., has played point guard for much of his first three seasons at Carolina, but will compete for playing time more at off guard this season. He made eight of 19 three-point attempts last year, a percentage of .421. He had a career-high eight assists at Dartmouth as he started in place of Cota, who was injured. "I think we will be a better outside shooting team this year," says Guthridge. "Max feels more confident coming into this season and that is a key with shooters.
"Our philosophy will still be to get the ball inside and get easy baskets. But if that inside attack is not there, I expect the perimeter players to make shots."
Defensively, the last several years the Tar Heels have been forced by a lack of depth to get away from their preferred style that consists of traps, denying passing lanes and putting pressure on the ball. Carolina has played primarily a straight man to man and an effective zone. Last year, UNC's opponents shot just 39.3 percent from the floor and averaged 64.9 points per game. En route to the Final Four in 1997-98, the Tar Heels limited opponents to 38.4 percent shooting and 65.6 points per contest. However, Carolina forced only 13.2 turnovers per game in 1997-98 and only 11.1 turnovers last year. By contrast, Carolina forced 15.3 and 14.5 turnovers per game when it won NCAA titles in 1992-93 and 1981-82, respectively.
"We have some good athletes on the perimeter and I feel better about our depth this year so we will get back to our pressure defense," says Guthridge. "We tried to revert back to that style the past two years, but we were not successful. However, our depth should allow us to provide pressure again, so we are going to do that. But we will still be a team that plays multiple defenses. Our defense the last few years has not been bad. In fact, our field goal percentage defense has been among the best years in school history and we won a lot of games playing solid defense.
"Last year especially, however, we did not generate easy baskets from our defense. We did that two and three years ago with Carter and Jamison, but last year we were unable to get easy scores forced by turnovers. We hope to be able to force turnovers and score off transition this season."
A grueling schedule includes games against Michigan State, the College of Charleston, Miami (Fla.), Indiana, Louisville and UCLA and could also feature regular-season tournament games against Purdue, Florida, UNLV or Princeton.
"I think I over-scheduled," says Guthridge. "We have one of the toughest non-conference schedules in school history and that's saying a lot because Carolina has traditionally played a quality schedule.
"Going into the season, I would say our strengths include having Ed Cota back as a senior point guard, an experienced frontline and a healthy Jason Capel. It should be an exciting team to be around. One thing is for sure, they will work hard and have fun."
