University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Set to Host Vermont on Thursday Night
December 18, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2002
North Carolina (5-2) will return to the hardwood after a 12-day break for final exams when it plays host to Vermont on Thursday night in the Smith Center.
"I'm looking forward to getting back on the court Thursday against Vermont," UNC head coach Matt Doherty said during a media teleconference on Tuesday. "It seems like it's been forever since we played."
Gametime is 7 p.m., and the game will be televised regionally by Fox Sports South and the Sunshine Network (Mike Hogewood and former UNC player and assistant coach Eddie Fogler will have the call).
Carolina is playing its second consecutive home game but are in the midst of a 10-game stretch during which eight games are away from Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels won at Old Dominion (Nov. 24), beat Kansas and Florida in the Preseason NIT in New York City on (Nov. 27 and 29, respectively) and lost at Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge (Dec. 3). Next on the schedule were the two home games - a loss to Kentucky (Dec. 7) and Thursday night's game with Vermont.
After playing Vermont, Carolina will play four more games away from the Smith Center, beginning with the Atlantic Coast Conference opener on Sunday night at Florida State. Then UNC will return to New York City for two more games at Madison Square Garden in the ECAC Holiday Festival and will play at Miami on Jan. 4.
The Tar Heels have had few full team practices since the Dec. 7 Kentucky game because of final exams. Further hindering practice efforts has been a slew of minor injuries over the last week.
Five UNC freshmen - David Noel, Raymond Felton, Sean May, Damion Grant and Rashad McCants - have missed practice time of late. All are expected to be available to play against Vermont.
"We've just tried to make due with what we have, and it's been tough," Doherty said. "We've not had a lot of practice time, and the time we have had, we haven't had all the players and obviously there is a lot of emphasis on exams."
Noel suffered a concussion in practice on Dec. 12. Noel and Felton were involved in a minor traffic accident on Dec. 13 when the car they were riding in was rear-ended. Felton missed some practice time following the accident but has returned to practice.
Sean May was elbowed in the nose by Grant during a practice drill. Grant later suffered a mild sprain of his right ankle in practice. McCants, who sprained his left ankle against Kentucky, participated in about half of the Tar Heels' practices on Dec. 14 and 15.
