University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Terps' Experience Prevails
January 22, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2003
By Adam Lucas
Over three times as many leads protected. Over three times as many hostile road crowds silenced. Over three times as many key plays executed.
Coming into Wednesday night's game at the Smith Center, Maryland's five senior starters had played over three times as many collegiate games (456 to 133) as Carolina's starting five made up of three freshmen and two sophomores.
It showed.
The Terps claimed an 81-66 decision that was, strangely, both closer and not as close as the final score indicated. But if there are a lot of things this young Carolina team still doesn't know--and Maryland taught them a few lessons--they're also completely incapable of recognizing when the game is over.
First it was the Terps racing out to a 37-20 lead. Game over, right? The rout was on.
Not quite, as the Heels scratched back to trail 39-31 at halftime.
Then it was Maryland racing to a 55-41 lead with 11 minutes left, a run that surely seemed to put the game away.
Not quite, as after a Jawad Williams dunk the Heels closed back to within eight points.
Then it was Tahj Holden making both ends of a one-and-one (veteran teams make the big free throws, of course) that gave Maryland a seemingly insurmountable 12-point lead with 3:30 left to play, only to see Williams make a three-pointer that trimmed it back to a more manageable eight points.
There are a lot of things freshmen and sophomores don't know about college basketball. But Matt Doherty has to hope this group never learns when the game is over.
"They just won't quit," Maryland head coach Gary Williams said after the game. "We had them down a couple times where we felt like if we could score that would be it. But they kept coming back."
The problem was that every time Doherty's Heels came back, they ran into a tall, muscular presence in the paint. Carolina probably could have found a way to contain Ryan Randle (16 points, 10 rebounds) alone. But add in Holden (11 points, five rebounds) and the rest of the Maryland interior presence and it was a long night for freshman Byron Sanders, who spent most of his night desperately trying to get a body on one big Terp, only to see another swoop in and grab the rebound.
"I'm getting beaten up every game," Sanders said after the game about a long stretch that has included Travis Watson, Chris Hobbs, Emeka Okafor, and now Randle. "I'm just trying to do my best."
It's worth remembering that less than 12 months ago, Sanders was watching Maryland win the national championship on television and never expecting to play 32 minutes against them in January. He came to Chapel Hill expecting to provide depth. He's being counted on to provide bulk instead.
The Terps showed exactly how good they are after Carolina closed the deficit to two points with 17:08 left. The Smith Center crowd was roaring, the Tar Heel players were waving their arms, and it looked like a turtle-squashing run was imminent.
Maryland then did exactly what experienced teams do: they played to what they do best. Their next six field goals came from inside the paint, a stretch that also included five free throw attempts as they continued to hammer away with their strength.
"They were so big and strong," said Melvin Scott.
The sophomore from Baltimore had prepared to break out his much-talked about all pink suit--which includes pink shoes with a bright pink strip along the toe--in the event of a Carolina win. Instead, it stayed in his locker awaiting its next opportunity to shine (and it does shine) as the Heels travel to the most Heel-hostile arena in the ACC on Sunday in Raleigh.
His decision to put it back in his locker drew some disappointing looks from members of the team. But if they want to see the debut of the ensemble, they'll need exactly what every Carolina fan needs as they wait for this team to gain the experience of some of its opponents.
They'll need patience.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.
