University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Basketball Looks To Avoid 0-3 Start
November 28, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2001
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - Matt Doherty handed out turkeys at a homeless shelter and played with his children during the Thanksgiving holiday - anything to take is mind off of basketball for an hour or two.
ut North Carolina's 0-2 start was never too far from his mind.
"There are people who can put things in perspective for you, but this is my life and it is important to me," Doherty said Tuesday. "This university is important to me and all the former players who played at this place are important to me. I want to put a team on the floor that people can be proud of."
The Tar Heels will try to avoid their first 0-3 start in 73 years when they take on Indiana (3-1) in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday night.
North Carolina's problems so far have centered on poor shooting and turnovers. In stunning home losses to Hampton and Davidson - teams that played zone defense the entire game - the Tar Heels have shot 34.6 percent and coughed it up 36 times.
Fans are anxious for a win, but Doherty would just like to see his team play better, saying many of his players were jolted by the embarrassing upsets in the Smith Center.
"Our guys are still fragile," Doherty said. "They need to get more comfortable. They have over the last few days and hopefully that will show on the court. We have to just go out and play and have fun and lose ourselves, but it's easier said than done.
"As a player I went through problems with confidence and it's not fun."
The matchup with the Hoosiers should be interesting since Indiana plays man-to-man defense 95 percent of the time. However, coach Mike Davis may consider more zone, which has given the Tar Heels fits so far.
"I'm sure it has crossed his mind to play zone so I have to be prepared if he plays 40 minutes of zone or two minutes of zone," Doherty said.
Doherty will stick with seniors Jason Capel and Kris Lang, and freshman point guard Melvin Scott as starters Wednesday night. But the coach plans to insert Brian Morrison as the shooting guard and Will Johnson as his small forward.
Morrison has struggled so far, going 4-for-16 from the field with nine turnovers.
The 6-foot-8 Johnson has played as consistently as any North Carolina player in the early going, but the junior took just 35 shots the last two seasons in his limited role as a reserve.
"Will has played extremely hard," Doherty said. "Will is a very good outside shooter. Will does the little things that you appreciate as a coach - setting screens, diving on loose balls. He is a team player and a capable scorer."
Doherty said he's impressed his team has remained determined to pull out of its slump and doesn't see anyone hanging their heads.
ut it won't be easy. After the No. 13 Hoosiers is a date at Kentucky on Saturday.
"We need to look in the mirror and we need to get better and we need to stay the course," Doherty said. "We will stick together."
