University of North Carolina Athletics
View From UNC's Men's Basketball Press Box
March 1, 2000 | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2000
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - There is a scene in "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid" where Sundance is playing poker while Butch is casing a bank that the gang plans to rob.
The Kid is winning so big that someone across the table remarks, " You know you're a good poker player, a very good player. In fact, you're so good I can't tell how you're cheating."
Everyone else begins to back away from the table as Sundance stops cold as he's pulling another pot toward him. It's at this point that Butch wanders in and asks, "Sundance, are you ready to go?"
The poor guy across the table suddenly realizes who he has just accused of cheating. The scene plays out in humorous fashion without anyone getting shot.
I imagine over the last four years there have been countless times on the basketball court when opposing players have watched in amazement as Ed Cota has made some incredible play that left them wondering how he did that without "cheating " in some way. He's a better sleight-of-hand artist than David Copperfield.
The guy controls a basketball game the way a conductor handles a symphony orchestra. He doesn't have to make music himself to produce something beautiful.
No one in America knows how to run an offense any better. Sure, he can score himself. But, he's at his best directing traffic and getting the ball to his teammates in scoring position.
And when he's doing that, he actually becomes more of a scoring threat as opponents sometimes tend to forget about him.
Two weeks ago Wake Forest Coach Dave Odom saw Cota score just 10 points, but hand out 13 assists in sparking an 87-64 Tar Heel win over the Deacons.
"The thing that really makes North Carolina so dangerous," he said afterwards, "is they have the most creative point guard in America running their offense. He sees things no one else can see and does things with the ball that no one else can do.
"He was fortunate to play with some great players early in his career like (Antawn) Jamison and (Vince) Carter. He could throw the ball up near the rim and he knew they'd get it. But, they were pretty lucky to play with him, too. They're in the NBA and he's still just as spectacular."
N.C. State Coach Herb Sendak had said much the same thing in the previous game, a 70-62 Carolina victory in Raleigh.
"Cota was just dominant," said Sendak after that game. "We didn't have an answer for his penetration. We tried to trap him as much as we could to get the ball out of his hands. But, he doesn't seem to get rattled and simply controls the game. He has supreme confidence and great ability, as well."
Cota's ability to penetrate defenses has become one of his greatest strengths. Regardless of the defense he's facing, he has an amazing knack for driving into the lane.
Then if an interior defender comes over to stop him, he can dump the ball off to Brendan Haywood, Kris Lang or Jason Capel for a dunk or layup. If help comes from the outside, he will simply pitch the ball back out to a perimeter shooter like Capel, Joseph Forte or Max Owens.
If no defensive help comes, he can put up a running one-hander or go straight to the front of the rim for a layup.
Cota scored just six points in the game at State, the one Sendak said he dominated. But, he had 11 assists and broke down a second-half fullcourt press by the Wolfpack with his passing and dribbling.
The 6-2 senior from Brooklyn, N.Y. made two highlight plays in the second half of that game. State had a 29-28 lead early in the final 20 minutes when Cota slipped down the right of the lane. Forte tried to hit him for a layup, but his pass was too low and Cota had to catch it at the top of his shoes. Without looking, he simply flipped it through his legs , like a football center, to Haywood for a dunk.
Moments later with Carolina leading, 36-34, Damien Wilkins missed a jumper. After Haywood grabbed the defensive rebound, Cota was off and running. Driving down the left of the lane, Cota was being tightly defended by Anthony Grundy. So he did what only seemed natural to him to free himself, then dribbled once between his legs at full speed to cut to the right and take the defender with him. He then bounced the ball behind his back to Forte for an easy layup.
State continued to hang close and trailed only, 63-58, with 1:32 to play. The Wolfpack defense tightened and Cota found himself with the ball and the 35-second clock winding down. He was four feet behind the three-point arc when he had to toss up a shot with 57.1 seconds in the game. It had a high trajectory and appeared as if it would be short, but instead settled into the basket without touching the rim.
"I knew Justin (Gainey) thought I was going to try to penetrate, but there wasn't time so I just put it up," said Cota.
"I've developed more confidence in my outside shot, but I know that isn't my role on this team. Still, in that situation, I had to shoot."
Cota finished a competitive game against an arch-rival with only one turnover in 39 minutes of action. That came with 1.3 seconds left when he grabbed one of his five defensive rebounds and lost it out-of-bounds.
His teammates marvel at Cota's passing and say they know they need to be alert because of his uncanny ability to get the ball to them through seemingly impossible traffic. Plus, they say he's worked to improve his shot.
"He's so tough-minded," said Lang. "He's become a better outside shooter. I have confidence anytime he takes an outside shot. But, he's at his best when he's penetrating and either taking running one-handers or dishing off to a teammate if the inside defenders move over to cut him off."
Still, it's his quarterbacking skills which make him so valuable to Carolina. He has become the school's career assist leader and ranks fourth in NCAA history. He's the guy who initiates the offense and he's the best at it in the country today.
