University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Basketball Game Notes
December 19, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2001
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Date: Friday, December 21, 2001, 9:15 p.m.
Site:Charlotte Coliseum
Series Record vs. College of Charleston: UNC leads, 2-1
Television: Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot (Jim Szoke, Dan Bonner, Gil McGregor)
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network, a division of Learfield Communications. Woody Durham (play-by-play), Mick Mixon (color) and Phil Ford (analysis) provide the call. A live broadcast also is available on the University of North Carolina's official athletic website, TarHeelBlue.com
Websites:UNC (TarHeelBlue.com), College of Charleston (www.cougars.CofC.edu)
Tar Heels Make Annual Trek to Tournament of Champions
Coming off a break for final exams, North Carolina returns to the Charlotte Coliseum for the Tournament of Champions this Friday and Saturday. The Tar Heels will face College of Charleston in Friday night's second game, scheduled to begin at 9:15 p.m.
St. Joseph's (Pa.) will face Georgia State in Friday's first game at 7 p.m. The losers of Friday's game will face off on Saturday at 7 p.m., while the winners will face off in the championship game Saturday at 9:15 p.m. The games will be televised by Raycom/Jefferson Pilot.
The Cougars are off to a 6-1 start this sesaon. In their last game at UNC Wilmington, College of Charleston came back from a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat the Seahawks, 60-58. Jeff Bolton had 16 points for the Cougars and Shannon Chambers added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Tar Heels are coming off a one-point win at home over Binghamton. Carolina led early by as many as 12 points before the Bearcats clawed back to cut it to 32-30 at halftime. Jason Capel had 10 second-half points and freshman Jawad Williams had his best game as a Tar Heel, finishing with 12 points and six rebounds in 24 minutes of action.
Carolina and College of Charleston Face Off in Charlotte for Fourth Consecutive Year
Carolina and the College of Charleston have faced each other three times prior to Friday's game. All three meetings have come in this tournament over the last three seasons, with the Cougars winning the first matchup in 1998-99 and the Tar Heels winning in 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
Last year, UNC held on for a 64-60 win in the championship game of the Hardee's Tournament of Champions. Jason Capel overcame a stomach virus to score the go-ahead basket with 38.4 seconds remaining and Joseph Forte's steal and layup with 10.9 second left preserved the victory. Forte scored 29 points on 12 of 21 shooting for UNC.
In 1999-2000, Jason Capel led all scorers with 16 points in a 72-54 Carolina win in the first round of the Food Lion MVP Classic. Kris Lang scored 15 points for UNC, while Brendan Haywood had seven blocks in the game Brian Bersticker broke a bone in his left foot during the game and missed the rest of the 1999-2000 season.
In 1998-99, Charleston pulled off the 66-64 upset in the finals of the Food Lion MVP Classic. Four UNC players scored in double figures, led by Capel with 16 and Ademola Okulaja with 15. Capel was named tournament MVP. Danny Johnson tipped in a rebound with 0.1 seconds remaining for the Cougar victory.
Tar Heels in Charlotte
The University of North Carolina is 157-17 in games played in the city of Charlotte, N.C. That includes a 2-0 record in games played in the Queen City last season. Carolina's winning percentage in Charlotte is .902.
The Tar Heels have won 20 of their last 22 games played in Charlotte. UNC is 33-7 in games played in the current Charlotte Coliseum.
Young Tar Heels Trying to Overcome Slow Start
Two freshmen - guard Melvin Scott and swingman Jackie Manuel - have been in the starting lineup the last four games and are expected to start this weekend.
This is the first time UNC has started two freshmen in the backcourt since they became eligible to play on the varsity in 1972-73. Should Manuel, Scott and freshman forward Jawad Williams all start any time this season, it would be the first instance in which Carolina started three freshmen in a single game.
Carolina avoided its first 0-4 in school history, beating Georgia Tech, 83-77, on Dec. 2. UNC began the season 0-3 at home for the first time ever after losses to Hampton (by eight points), Davidson (by four) and Indiana (by 13). It was the first time Carolina opened with four straight home games since 1952-53.
The Tar Heels are without their first, second, fifth, sixth and seventh leading scorers and top two assist men from a year ago when they went 26-7 and won a share of the ACC regular-season championship.
Doherty Gets 50th Win as Tar Heels Nip Binghamton, 61-60
Jawad Williams had 12 points and six rebounds and Jason Capel scored 10 second-half points as North Carolina edged Binghamton, 61-60, on Dec. 16 in the Smith Center. The game followed an eight-day layoff for final exams (the win over the Bearcats followed a Dec. 8 loss at Kentucky).
With the win, UNC head coach Matt Doherty now has a career coaching record of 50-26, including a 28-11 mark at Carolina.
Capel hit a huge three-pointer with 58 seconds to play, giving Carolina a 61-60 lead that would become the final margin when Kris Lang recorded a steal and blocked a shot in the final minute.
Fingleton Announces Intention to Transfer
Center Neil Fingleton announced on Dec. 16 that he will transfer to another school after the first semester. Fingleton, a 7-5 red-shirt freshman from Durham, England, played just four minutes in the Tar Heels' first five games this season. All of those minutes came in a loss to Davidson on November 20. He received a medical red-shirt in 2000-01 following back surgery late in the summer.
"I would like to thank Coach Bill Guthridge and the University for bringing me here," says Fingleton. "I'd also like to thank Coach (Matt) Doherty and his staff for giving me the same opportunities. I wanted to weigh my options at the end of the semester. I believe I would be more comfortable at another school, so I have decided to leave the University. Thank you for all your support."
Fingleton attended Holy Name Central Catholic High School in Worcester, Mass., for three years. He moved to the United States in August 1997.
"I'm sorry to see him go," says Doherty. "I like Neil a great deal. I think Neil will be an excellent player. I still believe Neil has a chance to play in the NBA if he continues to work hard. We wish him well and he will always be part of the North Carolina family. You never like to see people leave, but Neil feels he'll be more comfortable up in the Northeast."
Prince Powers Kentucky to 20-Point Win
Senior forward Tayshaun Prince hit five three-pointers before the first television timeout and finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four steals to lead Kentucky to a 79-59 win over the Tar Heels. The win was Kentucky's 1,800th alltime.
Kris Lang led Carolina with 18 points, 14 of which he scored in the first half. Lang became sick late in the first half, and was ill throughout intermission, but still manged to play 10 minutes in the second half.
Jason Capel had a game-high 12 rebounds and added 11 points. Capel was 2 of 8 from the floor, including 1 of 5 from three-point range.
The Tar Heels shot 48.1 percent from the field in the first half, but made just 8 of 31 from the floor in the second half (25.8 percent). It was the fourth time in five games UNC has shot less than 40 percent from the floor.
Morrison, Capel Lead Carolina Past Georgia Tech
Sophomore guard Brian Morrison hit 6 of 8 three-point field goals and scored a career-high 21 points as the Tar Heels ended a three-game losing streak with an 83-77 win over Georgia Tech on December 2.
Morrison scored 12 points in the opening half and added nine more in the second. It was the most three-pointers by a Tar Heel since Jason Capel hit six against Clemson in Atlanta in the 2001 ACC Tournament quaterfinal. The six threes were the most by a Tar Heel in the Smith Center since Joseph Forte made a half dozen against Tulsa last November.
Capel scored 18 points, had nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. He hit a huge three-pointer with 4:21 to play to cut Tech's six-point lead in half. Moments later, freshman Melvin Scott dropped in a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 75.
A pair of free throws by freshman Jackie Manuel gave the Tar Heels the lead with 2:38 left. After Tech tied the game, Lang, Scott and Manuel all made one of two from the line for an 80-77 UNC lead with 16 seconds remaining in the game. Capel and Scott forced a steal at midcourt, Scott hit a driving layup and was fouled with 5.1 seconds left to seal the win.
Great Passing Night
Carolina had 25 assists on 27 field goals against Georgia Tech, an almost unheard of ratio (93 percent of baskets had an assist). Jason Capel and Jawad Williams led UNC with five assists apiece, Will Johnson and Jackie Manuel added four each and hot shooter Brian Morrison had three.
The last time Carolina had at least 25 assists in a game was in the ACC Tournament quarterfinal win over Clemson last March. UNC had 26 assists on 35 baskets in that game. In both the Georgia Tech and Clemson games, the Tar Heels made at least 10 three-pointers.
Turnover Story
The Tar Heels turned the ball over 19 times against Kentucky and are averaging 17.8 miscues per game. That is 4.1 turnovers more than the opposition is averaging against Carolina.
UNC had a season-low 15 turnovers in the win over Binghamton. In their first victory of the year, the Tar Heels turned the ball over 19 times against Georgia Tech.
Carolina did force a season-high 18 turnovers by Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels had 15 steals in the first three games, but had 13 steals against the Yellow Jackets. Jason Capel (four), Kris Lang (three) and Brian Morrison (three) had multiple-theft games.
B-Mo Lit It Up
Sophomore guard Brian Morrison was outstanding in the win over Georgia Tech. The Redmond, Wash., native went 7 for 12 from the floor, including 6 of 8 from three-point range. Equally as important as his shooting was the fact he had three assists and just a single turnover in 23 action-packed minutes.
Morrison scored a career-high 21 points. He had 14 points in his collegiate debut against Winthrop and had 13 two games later at Appalachian State. However, this was the first time Morrison reached double figures in scoring since the third game of the 2000-01 season.
His sixth and final three-pointer cut Tech's lead to one point with 8:30 to play. The other five threes kept Carolina in the game as Tech led by six, seven or nine points at the time he connected.
Morrison also sent his teammates, the Smith Center crowd and himself into a frenzy with an impressive fast break slam dunk (and three-point play) late in the first half that gave Carolina its first lead in almost 15 minutes.
Indiana Tops Heels in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Carolina turned the ball over 18 times and shot just 36.7 percent from the floor in a 79-66 home loss to Indiana on Nov. 28 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
A.J. Moye led the Hoosiers with 20 points. Indiana hit 9 of 17 first-half three-pointers and held Carolina to just 5 for 19 shooting from behind the arc for the game.
Kris Lang scored a career-high 27 points and added eight rebounds and four blocks in a losing effort for UNC. Jason Capel scored 16 points and had nine rebounds despite shooting just 4 for 15 from the floor and 0 for 7 from three-point land.
Davidson Edges Tar Heels
Chris Pearson's dunk with 31 seconds to play lifted Davidson to a 58-54 win over the Tar Heels on November 20th. The loss marked the first time Carolina had lost consecutive non-conference games in the Smith Center.
The Wildcats led by 12 early in the first half, but UNC went ahead 25-23 late in the half. The game was even at 27 at intermission. The Tar Heels led just one time in the second half - 30-29 with 15:48 to play - and trailed by as many as eight points with 2:30 remaining. Kris Lang, who made only 4 of 14 shots from the floor against 7-2 center Martin Ides, scored and converted a three-point play and then added an offensive rebound and putback to cut the margin to three. Jason Capel drilled a three-pointer with 55 seconds left to tie the game.
After Pearson scored to give Davidson the lead, Carolina committed its 20th turnover of the game with 10 seconds to play.
Carolina shot only 30.0 percent from the floor (18 of 60). Davidson made 38.8 percent of its shots from the field (19 of 49).
Freshman Melvin Scott led the Tar Heels with 15 points. He hit 5 of 9 from the floor, including 3 of 5 from three-point range. Lang added 12 points and Capel had nine points and 11 rebounds. The last a freshman led the Tar Heels in scoring was in the 2000-01 season opener when Brian Morrison shared team honors with 14 points against Winthrop.
Guard Peter Anderer led all scorers with 18 points. Anderer was 4 for 7 from beyond the three-point line.
Tar Heels Drop Home Opener to Hampton, 77-69
Hampton issued Carolina just its second loss in a home opener since 1929, a 77-69 Pirate win on Nov. 16 in the Smith Center. The Tar Heels took a school-record 34 three-pointers, hitting just six of them (17.6 percent). Entering the game, Carolina had won 71 of its previous 72 home openers. The Tar Heels' two losses in home openers since the 1928-29 season were to Michigan State two seasons ago in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and in the 2001-02 opener to Hampton.
Jason Capel had 17 points and 11 rebounds for Carolina in the loss.
Overall, UNC has a record of 85-7 in home openers. The sevevn losses came during the following seasons: 1911-12, 1912-13, 1913-14, 1918-19, 1928-29, 1999-2000 and 2001-02.
The loss was Carolina's first in a season-opener since the 1996-97 season, when Arizona beat UNC, 83-72, in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass.
Home Losses
This season marks the first time in school history the Tar Heels opened the year 0-3 at home. Carolina has not started a season 0-3 overall since 1928-29. The Tar Heels rallied to post a 17-8 record that season. UNC has never started a season 0-4 in its 92-year basketball history.
Dating back to last year's season finale, Carolina lost four straight games at home for the third time in school history, equalling the longest streak in school history (set previously in 1930 and 1943-44).
The Tar Heels are 177-30 in the Smith Center, including 77-8 against non-conference teams.
Johnson Makes First Career Starts
Junior Will Johnson had a career-high 11 points and five rebounds versus Binghamton on Dec. 16. He is averaging 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game over the first five contests. The Hickory, N.C., native attends Carolina on a Morehead Scholarship, one of the most prestigious academic and service grants a Carolina student can receive. He is technically a non-recruited walk-on, although he did receive offers to attend Princeton and Davidson.
Johnson had six points and four rebounds against Hampton and five points and eight rebounds against Davidson. His previous career high for rebounds was five last year against Appalachian State and Miami (Fla.). Johnson had six offensive rebounds against Davidson.
He made his first career start against Indiana and played well, scoring nine points on 3-for-4 shooting (3-for-3 three-pointers). Against Georgia Tech, Johnson scored just one free throw, but he had four assists and only one turnover in 25 minutes.
Capel Among National Candidates
Senior forward Jason Capel is one of 50 preseason candidates for the Wooden Award, presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club to the National Player of the Year. He is one of eight preseason candidates from the ACC, joining Lonny Baxter (Maryland), Carlos Boozer (Duke), Juan Dixon (Maryland), Chris Duhon (Duke), Mike Dunleavy (Duke), Roger Mason (Virginia) and Jason Williams (Duke).
Capel was named a 2001-02 preseason second-team All-ACC selection, joining Duhon, Mason, Josh Howard (Wake Forest) and Travis Watson (Virginia).
Capel Among Senior CLASS Nominees
Jason Capel is among 30 seniors nominated for the first Senior CLASS award, presented by the Kansas City Club. The award will be presented to the top senior basketball player in the country.
Capel Moves Past Three in Career Scoring
Jason Capel has scored 1,139 points as a Tar Heel. He is 43rd alltime at Carolina. He has passed Jerry Stackhouse (1,080), Bill Bunting (1,069), Dante Calabria (1,098), Brian Reese (1,113) and Jeff McInnis (1,128) this season. Pete Chilcutt is 42nd with 1,150.
Kris Lang has 1,113 points and is tied for 44th alltime at Carolina with Reese.
Capel on the Boards
Jason Capel leads the team in rebounding at 10.3 per game. He has grabbed 10 or more rebounds four times this year and 21 times in his career. Last year, he was in double figures in rebounding eight times.
He shared team rebounding honors last year with 7-0 center Brendan Haywood with 7.3 boards per contest.
Slow Start Shooting the Ball
Carolina is shooting just 38.0 percent from the field, a remarkable statistic given the Tar Heels' first priority continues to be getting easy shots around the basket. Senior center Kris Lang is shooting 49.3 percent from the floor, under the percentage he shot in his first three seasons (54.6). From three-point range, Carolina is shooting only 27.4 percent. The Tar Heels have made 37 of 135 three-point tries. Brian Morrison leads Carolina with 10 three-pointers, but six of them came in one game against Georgia Tech. Morrison is 4 for 21 from three-point range in the other five games.
Senior Jason Capel, a 40.2 percent career three-point shooter coming into the season, is 5 for 35 from three-point range, a percentage of .143. Capel missed much of the latter part of preseason, including both exhibotion games, due to a hamstring injury. Last season, Capel made at least two three-point goals in 17 of the 33 games. He made 4 of 5 3FGs at home against Maryland and was 6 for 6 against Clemson in the ACC Tournament.
Freshmen Jackie Manuel, Melvin Scott and Jawad Williams are a combined 15 of 53 from outside the arc (.283).
Carolina also shooting just 63.4 percent from the free throw line.
Lang on the Glass
Senior Kris Lang is averaging 8.2 rebounds per game over the first six contests. That includes a career-high 13 rebounds in the Dec. 1 win over Georgia Tech. Lang is averaging three rebounds more per game than his previous best rebounding season. Last year, he grabbed 5.7 rebounds per contest. Of course, Lang is playing the "5" spot this year and his low-post sidekick for three seasons, Brendan Haywood, is now in the NBA.
Field Goal Defense
Carolina's opponents are shooting 40.8 percent from the floor. That includes a a season-high 45.6 percent shooting effort by Georgia Tech. In Carolina's first 39 games under head coach Matt Doherty, only one team has shot at least 50 percent from the floor (Kentucky, 50.7 percent, last year).
The Tar Heels have limited their opposition to less than 40 percent shooting from the floor in 21 of those 39 contests.
Williams Second in Preseason Rookie of the Year Voting
Freshman forward Jawad Williams finished second in the voting for preseason ACC Rookie of the Year honors at ACC Operation Basketball on Oct. 28, 2001. Julius Hodge (NC State) received 40 of 74 possible votes to earn the honor, while Williams got 20 votes. Anthony Richardson (Florida State) was third with five votes.
Slam's Top Slammers
Slam Magazine ranked the Top 50 dunkers alltime and the top two are a pair of famous Carolina alums - Vince Carter and Michael Jordan. Jerry Stackhouse and Billy Cunningham are 28th and 29th, respectively, and Rasheed Wallace is No. 50.
700th Win for Long-Time Secretary Kay Thomas
The Dec. 16 win over Binghamton was the 700th as a member of the Carolina Basketball family for long-time secretary Kay Thomas, a who joined the Carolina Basketball office staff in June 1975
