University of North Carolina Athletics
Woody: Not In The Polls, But Moving Up
February 19, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2000
Carolina has been out of the national rankings for four weeks. The second longest run on record--172 weeks--came to an end January 24th. At that time, the Tar Heels had lost four straight for the first time since 1964, and two of the losses had come in the Smith Center. They were 11-8, and just about everybody was suggesting that most of their impressive streaks were about to end.
Streaks such as 20-plus wins for 29 consecutive years, 35 years in a row finishing no lower than third in the ACC standings and 25 straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament were in jeopardy.
There's always been a lot of interest in Carolina basketball, so much so that every fan seemed to have an opinion as to what was wrong and how to fix it. Critical e-mails filled the internet sites, a couple of prominent newspaper columnists used their computers as shovels to throw some dirt on the struggling Tar Heels. In the Triangle, a TV sportscaster used a newly acquired Saturday morning radio gig to call for a change in coaches. Coaching, lack of effort, even the new uniforms right down to the baggy shorts were being criticized.
So the critics surely must have snickered when Bill Guthridge kept saying just how much he liked his team. He lauded the players' effort and insisted they were improving despite the losses. What else could he do in the face of such adversity, but it turns out the 62- year-old head coach knew his team better than anybody.
Guthridge didn't campaign to have the media pick Carolina as the heavy pre-season favorite in the ACC race. They did so because of four returning starters which accounted for 73% of last year's scoring and 65% of the rebounding. But when he put together the nation's 10th toughest schedule, he did it expecting a healthy Kris Lang, he was counting on Brian ersticker to be the first reserve in the frontcourt, and he thought Ronald Curry would be available to complement the pressure defense.
Expectations got out of whack when Carolina won the Maui Invitational. The Tar Heels shot well, played good defense and took reasonable care of the ball. But as Michigan State, Cincinnati and other good teams appeared on the schedule it became difficult to stop them. Guthridge finally gave up on the pressure defense, but while the players were trying to learn again what they had done over the last few years, rebounding problems developed along with lots of turnovers.
Then came the turnaround against Maryland. Over the last six games, the Tar Heels have won five times and taken third-ranked Duke to overtime before losing. Thirty-two percent loss of ball in the first half--the Tar Heels expect between 12-and-15%--put them in a 17-point hole in the first half against Duke. They climbed out of it, but didn't have enough left in the extra period to get over the top. Other than a huge rebounding deficit at Georgia Tech, everything else has been pretty good during this recent stretch. Guthridge says improved defense has been the key, but the Tar Heels have shot and rebounded very well, and their loss of ball has been less than 20% in every game.
Center Brendan Haywood and point guard Ed Cota have gotten much of the credit for the resurgence, although it has been a total effort right down to the "Blue Team." Haywood, who leads the nation in field goal percentage at .733, has recorded back-to-back double-doubles. He's averaging better than nine rebounds over his last eight games. Meanwhile, Cota, with 954 career assists, has become a scorer in recent games. "A lot of it has to do with the defense," claims Guthridge. "If the defense is dropping off when he drives then he is knocking down the shot."
As much as the Tar Heels have improved, they spent this past week trying to get better. "We spent the first part of the week going over a lot of things," said Guthridge, "and, at the end of the week we'll concentrate on Virginia." Despite shooting 59% and winning the rebound- ing battle last month in Charlottesville, the Tar Heels lost 87-85 to the Cavaliers. They turned it over 21 times, and the Cavaliers scored 29 points off those miscues, a difference of 18 points which decided the game.
There's a lot of talk about Clemson never winning in Chapel Hill. Well, Virginia hasn't won at UNC since 1981. That's 18 losses in a row. However, Sunday's game won't be a walk over. Pete Gillen put together an easy non-conference schedule--it's rated 135th--to give his young, talented team a lot of confidence. Three straight road defeats took away some of that confidence, but the Cavaliers come to Chapel Hill after back-to-home home victories over N.C. State and Clemson.
A fourth straight win might lift Carolina back into the Top 25. Thirty-nine teams have been ranked this winter, and eight have managed to climb back into the Associated Press poll after falling out. However, the weakness of the ACC with a 7-13 record against ranked non- conference opponents could keep the Tar Heels out for a fifth straight week. That doesn't matter. All they want to do is beat Virginia.
E-mail Woody at wdurham@tarheelsports.com
