University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels' Cota Reaches Third Final Four
March 27, 2000 | Men's Basketball
March 27, 2000
Send A Postcard
Complete NCAA Tournament Coverage
By JIM VERTUNO
AP Sports Writer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A season of frustration has turned into Ed Cota's greatest satisfaction.
North Carolina's senior guard is going to his third Final Four in four years after the Tar Heels extended their amazing run through the NCAA tournament with Sunday's 59-55 win over Tulsa.
The previous two trips, when Carolina boasted talent like Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison, were expected. This time, some didn't even believe the Tar Heels belonged in the postseason with an 18-13 record and a first-round loss in the ACC tournament.
Maybe that's what makes this time around so satisfying.
"This team is in a class by itself," said Cota, the Tar Heels' only senior starter.
"It took us a while to get used to each other to find a way to win and learn how to win," he said. "The teams I was on in the past, the guys knew what it took to win. This team kind of got it done late in the season, but it couldn't have come at a better time for us."
As a No. 8 seed, North Carolina (22-13) was a long shot to get this far. But after beating top-seeded Stanford in the second round, Cota personally felt the pressure to produce one more run at a national championship. The Tar Heels flamed out of the 1999 tournament with a first-round loss to Weber State.
"This is business," Cota said when North Carolina first arrived in Austin.
Cota came through in the final minutes of a 74-69 victory over Tennessee when he hit the tying and go-ahead baskets in the final two minutes.
Against Tulsa, the Tar Heels counted on him to control the tempo against a Golden Hurricane team that won 25 games this season by double-figure margins.
And at one point, it looked like it might cost North Carolina.
The first player in NCAA history with 1,000 points, 1,000 assists and 500 rebounds was just was 2-of-6 shooting Sunday and committed seven turnovers. Tulsa stripped him of the ball twice in the final two minutes to cut Carolina's seven-point lead to 55-52.
Cota played all but one minute of North Carolina's four tournament victories and was wearing down.
"I was tired at the end. It's kind of hard playing 40 minutes all the time," he said. "I could have let Joseph (Forte) take it up, but I wanted to take control."
After Tulsa closed to 57-55 on a 3-pointer, Cota hit one of two foul shots to give Carolina a three-point lead with 20.8 seconds left.
A couple minutes after the game was over, Cota's teammates were still mugging for the television cameras while he hung back, looking like the pressure was finally off.
During the postgame net-cutting ceremony, he was the last player to snip the first net and wore it around his neck in postgame interviews.
"I know this means more to Ed than anybody," Heels forward Julius Peppers said. "When he came in, they went to two Final Fours, and then they didn't. He has to feel great right now."
