University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Intensive Therapy
January 29, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2003
By Adam Lucas
Lie down on the couch. What seems to be the problem?
It's like this, Doc. I'm having these wild mood swings. They're completely unpredictable and I can't seem to do anything to control them.
I see. Are there any symptoms?
Well, yeah. I scream things at really odd times. But then five minutes later I'm screaming the complete opposite.
Hmmm, that is odd. Are these outbursts typically similar to each other?
No, not at all. Like Sunday, for example. At one point that afternoon I was going crazy, yelling "Get it to Raymond!" And then early Wednesday night, I kept screaming, "You're the man, Jawad!" But then I never uttered his name for the rest of the evening.
I'm not sure I've ever heard of anything quite like this. How long do they last?
It varies. The weekend before last, I was downright giddy. Even stormed the court over at the Smith Center. Life was good. Not as good as back before Thanksgiving, though.
You didn't suffer from depression over the holidays?
Depression? Are you kidding me? The holidays were fantastic. Especially Thanksgiving. I loved Thanksgiving. Gobble gobble. It seems like it's been about five and a half years since we carved up the Roy, er, I mean, carved up the turkey. Rashad was scoring and screaming and Raymond was dishing and Sean was rebounding.
I haven't heard you mention this Sean person. Why not?
Well, it was a bit of post-Christmas trauma. He broke his foot and hasn't been playing lately. Probably not back for another month or so.
Shouldn't that temper your frustration a little bit?
Well, yeah, of course. We're not the same team, can't expect to overcome the loss of a key player, blah blah blah. But it's just that we come so close. It's just that for some reason all the pieces never seem to come together at the same time. Sunday, Rashad and Raymond were fantastic, but Jawad Williams didn't play very well. And then Wednesday, Jawad was throwing them in from all over the place, but McCants looked like he had jet lag. Can you imagine how great it would be if all the cylinders were clicking at the same time?
Yes, actually I can. It sounds like it would be like those Thanksgiving performances you were talking about.
Don't bring them up again. Too painful to think about. The kicker is that back then our calling card was defense. Teams couldn't even shoot 40 percent against the Heels. "Sticky" was the word used most often to describe this team's defense. Now, it's like we've lost our stickiness.
Any idea how you're going to fix this?
I thought that's why you were here. I guess I'll go home.
You're leaving already?
No, not me go home. The Heels go home. They're back at the Smith Center Sunday against Wake Forest.
Why should that make a difference? It's still the same team, right?
Look, Doc, if I could explain it I'd be sitting in your chair instead of on this couch. It's just a different team in the Smith Center. All those things that went wrong against Georgia Tech, the long scoreless streaks, the missed passes, the shots rimming out, seem to go right in Chapel Hill.
Sounds like a magical place. What is it, heaven?
We can hope, Doc. We can hope.
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.
