University of North Carolina Athletics
Underclassmen Step Up Fast In Preseason NIT
November 29, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Nov 29, 2002
By HAL BOCK
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Preseason NIT finalists Stanford and North Carolina are two exceedingly young teams, both 4-0 and both progressing faster than anyone could have imagined.
The Tar Heels are the youngest team in the country with three freshmen starters led by Rashad McCants, who scored 25 in the semifinal upset of No. 2 Kansas.
The Cardinal have just one starter, Julius Barnes, back from last season's team but still showed a steel will in overtaking No. 7 Florida to reach the Friday night title game.
So how did these young teams get so good so fast?
The answer is one word: summertime.
"We spent a lot of time together playing pickup games in the summer so we feel like we have played more than four games together," North Carolina sophomore Jawad Williams said.
"We try not to think of ourselves as freshmen." Raymond Felton said. "I think we are a pretty mature group who are ready to play. I felt good that we would be able to put it together this year. We played together all summer so that was a great start."
"I think we are playing well because we are such a close team," sophomore Melvin Sanders said. "We are just enjoying playing better this year and playing as a group. The players and coaches are enjoying the experience together."
Nobody at North Carolina enjoyed last season's 8-20 season. That's why coach Matt Doherty is savoring this turnaround.
"They are a confident group," Doherty said of his underclassmen. "They are a very poised group. Rashad said at one time that being a freshman is just a label. They are poised, confident and talented."
That said, Doherty isn't fitting the Tar Heels for championship rings quite yet. "One game, four games do not make a season," Doherty said. "Coaching is a very fragile thing."
That means anything can happen. Stanford coach Mike Montgomery can testify to that. With only one returning starter, he was not sure what to expect from the Cardinal.
"I just thought we were awful young," the coach said. "I put freshmen in, and really, I don't think they know what they're doing. We need to improve offensively, shot selection, execution."
Barnes has been a steadying influence at point guard, providing senior leadership and leading the team in scoring. Like his coach., he is a bit surprised the Stanford's new cast has played so well so quickly.
"We came together in such a short time," he said. "I thought it would take longer. The time we spent together over the summer helped."
So did having Barnes at the point.
"I've got to get the guys on the same page, be a, leader out there," he said. "I think I lead by example. I'm a lot more vocal out there."
None of the youngsters seem awed by Madison Square Garden. Many of them played there before, some in the McDonald's All-American game for high school stars.
Kansas coach Roy Williams thought underclassmen come in far more prepared for the pressure cooker of big time college basketball.
"I've said the last three or four years, freshmen in college basketball are not like they used to be," he said. "They are more worldly, they are more traveled. It's not like 15 or 20 years ago when freshmen came in and were scared to death. It's not even like 10 years ago. They are very gifted."
Kansas (2-1) faces Florida (3-1) in Friday night's consolation game.
