University of North Carolina Athletics
View From The Press Box
March 19, 2000 | Men's Basketball
March 19, 2000
By Rick Brewer
A bandwagon started forming in Birmingham last Friday night.
By late Sunday afternoon, it had developed into a wagon train.
North Carolina, whom some people did not even think belonged in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, knocked off Missouri in its opening game Friday of the South Regional. Then on Sunday the Tar Heels eliminated top-seeded Stanford, 60-53, in a physical showdown of teams which both preferred to pound the ball inside.
The Cardinal continually tried to work the ball to 6-9 Mark Madsen, 6-6 Casey Jacobsen, 6-10 Jarron Collier and 6-11 Jason Collier. Carolina looked to 7-0 Brendan Haywood, 6-11 Kris Lang and 6-8 Jason Capel for scoring. Haywood had been sensational in the win over Missouri with a career-high 28 points.
However, it was freshman guard Joseph Forte who scored eight straight points to put Carolina ahead to stay in the final eight minutes.
Stanford, ranked number one in the country for much of the season, had a 47-43 lead with less than nine minutes to play. But, the Tar Heels tied the score on a hook shot by Haywood and driving layup by Forte.
Moments later with the shot clock about to expire, Forte drilled a long three-pointer from the top of the circle for a 50-47 Carolina advantage with just 4:17 to play. After Jacobsen missed a three-pointer of his own, Forte fired another shot from behind the arc on UNC's next possession. It rimmed the entire basket before it fell, expanding the Tar Heel lead to 53-47 at the 3:35 mark.
But, Carolina advanced to the South Regional at Austin, Tex. with its defense. Stanford shot just 34.5 percent from the field. Haywood blocked four shots and altered several others. In fact, the Cardinal's three starting frontcourt players hit just seven of 29 shots (24.1 percent).
A key player for the Tar Heels was 6-7 Julius Peppers, the star defensive end on the football team, who came off the bench to score six points and play sensationally on defense. He blocked three shots and had a pair of steals. His 270 pounds made up for his lack of height inside against Stanford's taller players.
Ed Cota had 10 assists and made just four turnovers in running the offense. The unsung hero may have been Capel, who played brilliant defense on Jacobsen.
"Jason gets overlooked a lot, but he contributes so much to our team," said Coach Bill Guthridge afterwards. "He does the little things that most people don't notice. He can score, plays tough defense, rebounds and does a great job setting screens."
It seemed early last week that indeed the only thing anyone had noticed about the Tar Heels was an unusual 18-13 regular-season record. Despite the team's difficult non-conference schedule, there were plenty of people who questioned whether the Tar Heels should have even made the NCAA field.
Several newspaper writers in this state, as well as national publications like Sports Illustrated, did not even believe Carolina would get past its first-round game with Missouri.
Some local newspapermen, as well as writers for Internet websites, have been indicating for the last month that there has been great disenchantment among Tar Heel fans about the team's play this season.
Actually, no one was more disappointed with the team's record heading to Birmingham than Guthridge, his coaching staff and players. They're the ones who have been working since mid-October for what they anticipated would be another great season.
But, for a number of reasons things had not worked out as had been hoped. First, Lang was slowed by a viral infection and later shin splints. He's still not as strong or fluid as he was a freshman, but he's improved as the season has progressed. When 6-10 Brian Bersticker broke a foot after just five games and was lost for the remainder of the year, that gave Guthridge fewer options inside. Teams began to double-team Haywood. The arrival of Peppers after the football season ended was a big help. But, the Tar Heels simply did not have the usual inside depth of past years.
The loss of Ronald Curry to a torn Achilles tendon on the football field was a major blow to the backcourt. Cota ended up playing the majority of every game. In fact, he played all 80 minutes in the two games at Birmingham.
Plus, a 9-7 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference was not what had been expected. Despite the talent at Duke and Maryland, the team had been chosen to finish first in the league in most pre-season prognostications. Because of the school's great basketball tradition, many fans were undoubtedly unhappy.
But great disenchantment?
Radio talk shows and Internet chat rooms are probably where one could get that feeling. But, generally, the most vocal people on any subject are in a minority.
When you consider the number of Carolina alumni in the world, people across the state who are Tar Heel fans since this is the state university and others throughout the country who follow the team because of the school's incredible athletic success, the Basketball Office would be flooded with mail daily if there was widespread disenchantment.
Disappointment?
Sure. Tar Heel fans are used to winning and get discouraged with every loss. Now with a 20-13 record, the Tar Heels have posted a record 30th straight 20-win season. Carolina is in the NCAA's final 16 for the 17th time in 20 years.
Next up for Carolina is a Tennessee team that is talented and well-coached by Jerry Green. Amazingly, the two schools have not met on the basketball court since 1949, but Green probably knows as much about the Tar Heel style of play as anyone after serving as an assistant to Roy Williams for four years at Kansas.
As for any disenchanted fans who have spent too much time listening to talk shows and getting into chat rooms, many are now checking flights to Austin and are scrambling for South Regional Tickets.
Like fans at any school, they've jumped back on the bandwagon. Guthridge and his players are hoping to keep them there for a couple weeks longer.
