University of North Carolina Athletics
Cedars History Report: More Sweet Than Bitter
August 9, 2002 | General
May 30, 2002
Welcome to the CEDARS of CHAPEL HILL History Report
Most North Carolina fans can remember when Dean Smith won his record-setting 877th game, primarily because of the amazing season that encompassed it.
The Tar Heels' NCAA second-round defeat of Colorado in Winston-Salem was the culmination of one of Smith's finest coaching performances.
No one doubted that Smith would eventually break Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp's record, but after the Tar Heels stumbled to a 3-5 start in the Atlantic Coast Conference, few believed it would be this season.
Carolina then reeled off 16 straight wins and advanced to the 1997 Final Four in Indianapolis.
I was working as a broadcasting intern at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and relied heavily on ESPN, the Internet and long-distance telephone correspondence to follow the Heels. I even had people back home sending me copies of the regionally telecasted games that I was unable to retrieve out West.
I no longer took for granted the abundant UNC basketball media coverage available in my hometown of Durham. In fact, the thirst for information and the difficulty retrieving it actually added to the season's personal significance.
During that mediocre beginning to the ACC season, a remarkable turnaround took place. It was not a quick one, however.
The 11th-ranked Tar Heels were 9-1 entering the ACC opener at second-ranked Wake Forest. But UNC, led by Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter and Shammond Williams, were overmatched by Tim Duncan and the Demon Deacons in an 81-57 loss.
Carolina went on to lose its next two league contests. UNC saw a seemingly insurmountable lead at home versus Maryland collapse, and was blown out at Virginia three days later, 75-63.
A Tar Heel players' only meeting ensued in the University Hall locker room. Whatever was said, it worked.
The Tar Heels slipped to 9-4 after the loss to the Cavaliers and fell to No. 22 in the AP poll. Carolina just missed losing its fourth game in a row for the first time since the 1991-92 season, after late-game heroics by Vince Carter salvaged the Tar Heels first conference win against unranked NC State.
It was the comeback win over the Wolfpack that most point to as key to the Tar Heels' impending resurgence.
After trouncing Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill 73-50, Carolina appeared to take a step back in a 13-point loss at Florida State. The Tar Heels were now 2-4 in the ACC and preparing for what would certainly be the end of its memorable home streak versus second-ranked Clemson.
It was a story that has been told many times before, and this year was no exception. The Tar Heels dismissed the upstart Tigers with relative ease, and Clemson would not be seriously heard from again that year.
That set up Duke-UNC I in Durham, in which Carolina was ranked No. 19 and Duke No. 12. The Tar Heels kept it tight until late, but the Blue Devils' Trajan Langdon got hot and led Duke to an 80-73 win.
ut Carolina was playing tough and good things were about to start happening.
The Tar Heels took out their frustrations in a 50-point whipping of Middle Tennessee State on the first day of what would become an undefeated February.
During the win streak, the scariest moment came in a slow-down game in Raleigh. The Tar Heels had to come back from double digits to win 47-45 in a game in which points were scarce.
Freshman Ed Cota's runner from the left side of the lane dropped with around seven seconds remaining, giving Carolina its first lead in the second half. State had one more chance with the clock running down, but Carter tipped Damon Thornton's jumper from the corner to seal the victory.
State's Ishua Benjamin's turnover prior to Cota's basket aided the Tar Heels.
Carolina got another scare in its next game at Georgia Tech. The Tar Heels had to erase a 16-point second-half lead in order to continue their winning ways.
Up next were the fifth-ranked Deacons. What a difference a month and a half made, because the inspired Tar Heels and their home crowd lifted UNC to a 74-60 romp over league-leading Wake Forest.
Carter's incredible slam over Duncan was spotlighted on highlight shows across the nation, and remains one of my favorite dunks in Tar Heel basketball lore.
Wake would not be the same after this one, and although the Tar Heels were yet to threaten the top of the ACC standings, most observers knew who had the best team.
Their improvement had staked the Tar Heels to a No. 12 ranking when they entered Cole Field House to face the 14th-ranked Terrapins. Carolina dominated inside en route to a 93-81 win.
The Tar Heels would end the regular season with decisive wins versus Clemson and Duke. They then swept through the ACC Tournament, handing Smith his record 13th championship.
UNC's 15th ACC tourney crown qualified Smith and the Tar Heels for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament's East Region. Bottom-seeded Fairfield put a scare in the Tar Heels with an early three-point barrage in the first round, but Carolina settled down and rode the low-post shooting of senior Serge Zwikker to hold off the Stags.
In a memorable moment caught on television after the game, the congenial Smith is seen shaking the hoof of the Fairfield mascot on his way to the locker room.
Which brings us back to my favorite UNC sports moment. Smith and the Tar Heels took an easy 73-56 win over Colorado, giving him enough wins to surpass Rupp. Smith added two more victories to that total with NCAA Regional wins over California and Louisville in Syracuse.
ut as is the case with many classic Tar Heel seasons, this one would end in heartbreak.
The stage was set for an UNC-Kentucky final, except that this was the year of Miles Simon and Arizona. Carolina looked as if it could do no wrong in jumping out to the early lead over the Wildcats, but then shut down late in the first half and could never regain its shooting touch.
I can remember my brother calling me from the RCA Dome and describing how gusts of wind were actually blowing through the stadiums portals during the game.
The Tar Heels opened and closed the season with losses to Arizona.
And then things got worse. On my return trip from Colorado later that year, a friend met me at the airport and told me that Smith had just resigned as head coach at UNC.
At the time, I didn't believe him.
