University of North Carolina Athletics
Competitive Fire Brought Lang Back To The Court
January 11, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2000
By Mike Sudheim
Athletic Media Relations Student Assistant
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Only a few months ago, there were serious doubts as to whether Kris Lang would ever see action in a North Carolina uniform this season. Lang was laying in a hospital bed, suffering from a mysterious virus that was putting his season in serious doubt.
"Basically all I can do is describe it," Lang said. "We still don't know what it is."
The illness, which began after Lang returned from a trip to Europe, caused Lang's joints to swell to the point where it was difficult for him to move. The virus also caused a severe rash and a fever of 104 degrees. Lang's doctors believed those were the symptoms of meningitis, but a spinal tap and various other tests failed to reveal the cause of his ailments. To this day, doctors still do not know exactly what was wrong with the sophomore forward.
"It started about a week after I got back from Europe," Lang said. "They think that maybe I got a bug from over there and it didn't hit me until I got back here."
Lang ultimately spent four days in the hospital as doctors pricked and poked in search of a solution.
"I just couldn't stand it there," Lang said. "They kept taking blood from me in the middle of the night -- two in the morning, five in the morning. It's aggravating when you are trying to sleep and you can't even sleep."
His aggravation continued, even after the virus had apparently subsided.
The process of rehabilitation was painstakingly slow for Lang - so slow, in fact, that he could not restrain himself to stick to it. The competitive fire that helped Lang earn ACC All-Freshman Team honors last season made him push himself more than doctors had advised.
While such desire is usually an asset, it backfired for Lang during rehab. He developed severe shin splints from pushing his body to do too much too quickly, further slowing his return to the basketball court.
"The frustrating thing is I had to come back slowly," Lang said. "I had to get on the treadmill and walk for crying out loud. You feel like a little kid, having to learn to crawl before you walk. But that's how I had to start off and I couldn't handle it, so I started running a little bit more and I got some real bad shin splints."
While the virus itself is believed to be long subsided, Lang will likely feel the aftereffects of the illness - whether they be in the form of shin splints or just fatigue, for much of the season. Nevertheless, Lang has refused to let his ailments ruin his second season in a Tar Heel uniform. Lang is again feeling that competitive fire, and it is helping him overcome the hurdles he has faced this season to piece together a fine sophomore campaign.
Last season, Lang established himself as one of the ACC's finest young forwards, utilizing an outstanding hook shot to present a constant inside threat. Lang averaged 10.6 points per game for UNC to become the fifth UNC player to be named to the ACC All-Freshman squad since it began in the mid-1990's, following in the footsteps of past Tar Heels Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Antawn Jamison and current point guard Ed Cota.
This season, Lang has returned as a more well-rounded player, having spent what healthy time he had in the offseason polishing various aspects of his game, especially defense and rebounding. Lang also worked on expanding his arsenal of low post moves to compliment his hook shot.
"When he first got here, the only shot he had was the hook so you could just sit back and wait on it and try to block it and sometimes you could affect it," said fellow UNC post player Brendan Haywood. "But now he has the left-hand hook and he tries to pump fake with it sometimes. He makes it real hard to defend it."
Lang's on-court presence continues to be a major factor for UNC this season. The Hickory native says he tries to inspire his teammates with his own desire.
"I feel like I'm more or less the crazy guy," Lang said. "I'm the tough one who shows a lot of intensity out there -- the guy who will drop in and set a hard screen or throw and elbow on somebody and get the team fired up. Maybe every now and then go dunk on somebody. I just go out there and play with a lot of intensity and hopefully the team feeds off that."
Still, the jump hook remains Lang's bread and butter. Utilizing surprising quickness and a 6-11 frame, Lang's greatest weapon is nearly impossible to block.
"Even if I'm not playing well at all on the offensive end, I still feel confident on the hook shot," Lang said. "I can keep going to the hook even if I miss three in a row. The only way you can really stop it is by fronting me. But really the only person that can really stop it is myself, if I lose confidence in it."
Lang perfected his hook shot when he was in high school at Hunter Huss in Gastonia. His coach, Butch Blalock, believed Lang needed a go-to move. Blalock would have Lang put one of his arms at his side, and then Blalock would wrap a belt around the arm so Lang could only use one hand. Lang would spend hours practicing in that manner, switching arms periodically so he could perfect both his left and right hook shots.
The frustrating work paid off as Lang was named Mr. Basketball in the state by the Charlotte Observer, and was offered a scholarship to play at UNC.
"It's a dream come true and a big honor to come play here," Lang said. "I'd never trade it in for anything. It's just a great place to be."
Lang said he was particularly attracted to UNC by both the style of play and the tradition.
"The transition and the style of going inside-out first - the ball has to go into the big guys before the guards can shoot," Lang said. "I like that. Also the statistics on getting big men to the league [NBA] is very high. I feel privileged and honored. They have had such a great winning tradition here for a very long time. It's great to play here."
Along with his offensive skills, Lang brought some rather odd superstitions to Carolina. Lang's pregame routine involves a game of one-on-one with one of the ball boys, and strange gum-chewing habit.
"Before the game I go to the locker room and I always grab a certain kind of gum. I'll chew on that during warmups. After that whenever we come to sit back down, I take my piece of gum and I stick it on the bottom of the chair. That's everywhere I go, that's what I always do."
"I haven't even found the same chair yet."
Personal superstitions aside, UNC is glad to have Lang's intensity and offensive presence on its side.
"It helps a lot because now we're not just looking for one player on the post," said Haywood, who has been playing with Lang since he was 16 years old when they played on an AAU team together. "A team can't approach it like 'We can just play Haywood.' Now they have to defend myself and Kris Lang and try to box out both of us. It definitely gives us an edge.
"Down the stretch having his big presence in there is definitely going to help us. He's a bona fide scorer in the post, a good foul shooter and a good rebounder."
Lang hopes he can improve his skills and compliment those of Haywood and the rest of his Tar Heel teammates as the 1999-2000 season moves on.
"Individually, I'm just trying to learn how to rebound a lot better," Lang said. "That and defense are the only things I'm worried about. I really want to be a great defender and a great rebounder.
"Team wise I just want to win the ACC championship first. Then from there, go on to Final Four and win the national championship."
If Lang can help make that happen, those long nights in that hospital bed will be nothing but a distant memory.
