University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Face UNC Wilmington in Felton's Homecoming Game
December 27, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 27, 2003
Carolina will look to bounce back from its first loss of the 2003-04 season when it plays UNC Wilmington on Sunday, Dec. 28, in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Carolina dropped a 119-114, triple-overtime decision to Wake Forest on Dec. 20 in the Smith Center. The team dispersed for a few days for the holidays and re-convened in Myrtle Beach on Dec. 26.
The Tar Heels have started the 2003-04 season 6-1 overall and 0-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They will return to action on Dec. 30 at home vs. Coastal Carolina.
Sunday's game will be a homecoming for Carolina point guard Raymond Felton, a native of Latta, S.C. Felton was named the Naismith high school National Player of the Year in 2002 and led Latta H.S. to back-to-back state championships.
Latta retired Felton's jersey during a ceremony on Dec. 15.
Carolina is ranked No. 9 in the both the Associated Press poll and the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll. UNC Wilmington is unranked.
Broadcast Information
Sunday's game will be televised regionally by Raycom/Jefferson-Pilot.
This season, 26 of 27 regular-season Carolina games will be televised (the lone exception is the Dec. 30 game with Coastal Carolina). Fifteen UNC games will be nationally broadcast, not including ACC and NCAA Tournament contests.
The game also will be broadcast live on radio by the Tar Heel Sports Network, for which Woody Durham (play-by-play) and Mick Mixon (analyst) are in their 15th year together calling the action for Carolina Basketball. For the third straight season, former UNC All-America Phil Ford (analyst) joins Durham and Mixon on the broadcast team. All Carolina men's basketball games may be heard on the Internet at TarHeelBlue.com.
Last Time Out - Wake Forest 119, UNC 114 (3 OT)
On Dec. 20 in the Smith Center, Wake Forest outlasted Carolina, 119-114 in three overtimes in what was one of the most memorable games in Atlantic Coast Conference history. Take note:
* The Demon Deacons' 119 points were the most ever allowed by the Tar Heels. The previous record was 112 at Maryland on Jan. 9, 2002.
* It was the first time in Carolina history that the Tar Heels lost a game in which they scored at least 100 points. The previous high was 97 to West Virginia on Dec. 31, 1965.
* The three-overtime game was the longest by Carolina since a three-overtime win over Tulane in Carmichael Auditorium on Nov. 30, 1982 (UNC 70, Tulane 68). It is the fifth three-overtime game in Tar Heel history (not counting a four-overtime game against Tulane in 1976). UNC is 3-2 in those games.
* It was the first time in Smith Center history that UNC played a multiple-overtime game. Carolina now has lost three consecutive overtime games for the first time since the 1980-81 seasons.
* The 233 total points were the most ever by both teams in a Carolina game and equaled the second-most by both teams in ACC history.
* Raymond Felton had a season-high 22 points and 13 assists for his first double-double of the year and fifth career.
* Rashad McCants had a season-high 25 points and added eight rebounds and four steals.
* Sean May had 15 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the year.
* Carolina had six players in double figures in points for the first time since beating Massachusetts on Dec. 29, 2000, in Charlotte.
The Series with UNC Wilmington
Carolina and UNC Wilmington have never met in men's basketball prior to Sunday's game.
Felton's High School Jersey Retired
Sophomore point guard Raymond Felton journeyed home to Latta, S.C., on Dec. 15 to have his No. 20 Latta High School jersey retired. Felton led the Vikings to back-to-back 1-A state titles and was the national high school player of the year in 2002. He scored 2,992 career points, a state record, and averaged over 30 points per game as a senior.
Jawad Williams Named to Vitale's "Need Some Ink Team"
Junior forward Jawad Williams was named to Dick Vitale's "Need Some Ink Team" in Vitale's weekly column in USA Today on Dec. 16. Williams is averaging career highs with 19.0 points and 8.1 rebonds per game. Vitale writes that Williams "plays in the shadow of the Big 3 - Rashad McCants, Raymond Felton and Sean May - but he is an inside-outside standout."
May Sets Smith Center Rebounding Record with 21 vs. Akron
Sophomore big man Sean May grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds in the Dec. 14 win over Akron in Chapel Hill, setting a new Smith Center record for single-game rebounds by a player. May had 10 points to go with his 21 rebounds, giving him his third double-double of the 2003-04 season. He is averaging 19.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game this season, ranking second in the ACC in scoring and first in rebounding.
The previous Smith Center record for single-game rebounds was 19, set by Iowa's Ed Horton on Jan. 7, 1989. The previous record for a UNC player was 17 by Ademola Okulaja vs. Florida International on Nov. 16, 1998.
The 21 boards marked the first time that a Tar Heel had 20-or-more rebounds in a game since Serge Zwikker had 20 vs. Southern California on Dec. 6, 1996. It was the first time a Tar Heel had 21 rebounds since Mitch Kupchak vs. Tulane in 1975-76 (a four-overtime game).
Offensive Numbers are Up
Carolina is averaging 92.0 points per game in 2003-04 after averaging 72.1 ppg last season. The Tar Heels are shooting 48.3 percent as a team this season after shooting 43.6 percent last year.
Carolina has topped 60 percent shooting in two games this season (Old Dominion, George Mason) after last doing so during the 1999-2000 season. The Tar Heels have shot 50 percent or better in eight of 14 halves of play this season.
Tar Heels Do Holiday Shopping at Wal-Mart for Charity
On Sunday Dec. 14, a few hours after their win over Akron, the Tar Heel players and coaches, many accompanied by their girlfriends and wives, drove to Wal-Mart in Durham to do some holiday shopping for local families.
Staff administrative assistant C.B. McGrath contacted Orange County Social Services in November to get information about needy families in the Chapel Hill area. McGrath assigned each player a family, and as the Tar Heels entered the Wal-Mart, they were handed a sheet listing the ages of each member of their assigned family and a few items on each person's holiday gift wish list. Each player was asked to spend $50 on each person on his list, and each list had about three people on it.
UNC head coach Roy Williams began the shopping tradition about 10 years ago at Kansas with the encouragement of former Jayhawks player Roger Morningstar. In addition to the Wal-Mart items, which will be dropped off at Orange County Social Services on Dec. 22, each family also will receive a $50 grocery gift card.
Noel Returns to Action vs. Wake Forest After Missing Six Games
Sophomore forward David Noel returned to action on Dec. 20 vs. Wake Forest, recording seven points, three rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes of action.
Noel had missed six weeks of practice and the first six games of the season after tearing a ligament in his right thumb on Nov. 4. Noel underwent surgery on Nov. 12 to repair the torn ligament. He had the cast removed from his injured right thumb on Dec. 9 and began practicing with the Tar Heels on a limited basis (wearing a heavy splint) on Dec. 10.
