University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Williams Quietly Contributes To Big Win
December 3, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2001
By Adam Lucas
TarHeelBlue.com
Throughout North Carolina's preseason basketball media day, Jawad Williams followed Kris Lang around.
"He's trying to learn," Lang said with a smile.
He was learning for a moment just like Sunday night in the Tar Heel locker room. Williams had just completed his best game in a Carolina uniform, following a solid first half in which he didn't take a shot with a nine-point, two-rebound second half. With that in mind, he was asked if earlier in the season he might have phoned it in after failing to score in the opening half.
"I would have continued to work hard," he said, before pausing briefly and, like many of his shot opportunities so far this year, having second thoughts. For just a moment, he forgot his Kris Lang training and the party line. "Nah, let's be real, no I wouldn't have. But we really needed the victory and ACC basketball has always been a dream of mine."
The game went like a dream for a Tar Heel team that desperately needed a splash of history. On Sunday night, the entire building reeked of tradition. Marty Brennamen used to broadcast Atlantic Coast Conference basketball games. Against Tech, his son Thom was on hand to handle the television chores, along with a pair of pretty fair former Carolina point guards, Phil Ford and Kenny Smith.
Capel ending the game by tugging on his uniform, accentuating the "North Carolina" on his chest and gesturing to Ford's courtside location.
"That was just pride," Capel said.
His team had something to be proud of in a game in which the officials earned their paycheck for weathering two youthful coaches trying to coax maximum performance out of their young teams. Brian Morrison went nuclear, hitting 6-of-8 three-pointers and scoring a career-high 21 points. Capel and Melvin Scott hit back-to-back three-pointers after Tony Akins had seemingly applied the dagger with a trifecta of his own to give the Jackets a 75-69 lead with less than five minutes to play.
All of those big plays were duly noted in the post-game press conference. What wasn't highlighted was a fantastic sequence by Williams early in the second half, when it looked like Tech might stretch their lead substantially after halftime. First, he back-tapped a missed Capel free throw. Then, he hit a layup and followed with a three-pointer. To cap things off, he forced a turnover and dunked at the other end to bring Carolina within 54-50.
Unfortunately, the rookie then made his only mistake of the night--he was so fired up that he slapped the floor on defense. Wrong team, Jawad.
"At first, everything was moving so fast this year, and I didn't have time to think," he said. "Now, I'm more relaxed and I see the floor. I see situations better."
One situation he saw came late in the game, when Matt Doherty utilized a lineup of the three freshmen and two seniors for the game's final two minutes. Scott made one of two free throws, but Williams tipped the miss back to the perimeter to create a scoring opportunity for fellow freshman Jackie Manuel, who sank both his charity tosses.
"I don't think anybody will remember the tip-outs," Williams said. "They'll just remember the free throws after the tip-outs...It's been an adjustment. You're used to going out there and being a player who shoots all the time. I'm accepting my role, and just trying to go out there and continue working hard."
For now, his role doesn't have to be scoring a bucketload of points. If he can contribute offensive rebounds or steals, he won't have to duplicate the disappointing early-season games that saw him latched to the bench in the second half.
It's a role that at least one current Carolina captain can relate to.
"Jawad needed this game a lot," Capel said. "He tipped the ball out, kept the ball alive, made the right pass, and did a lot of things people don't pay attention to. It decided the game, really. That gave us another possession to go to the foul line and knock in the foul shots.
"That's the story of my life, and that's what it takes to be a good player," Capel said. "You have to crawl before you can walk."
"We had two young teams out there playing hard," Doherty said. "We're fortunate the ball bounced our way."
It might have appeared to bounce Carolina's way. But maybe that was just Jawad Williams tipping it in that direction.
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Adam Lucas is the co-publisher of Basketball America. He is a lifelong observer of UNC sports and can be reached at JAdamLucas@aol.com.
