University of North Carolina Athletics
McCants Focused on Posting a Complete Sophomore Season
September 3, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Sept. 3, 2003
By Adam Lucas, Tar Heel Monthly
Rashad McCants thrived during his freshman season at the University of North Carolina.
And then struggled. And then thrived. And then struggled. And then ... well, you get the idea.
The Asheville native burst onto the scene with a 28-point, three-assist, seven-rebound performance in his first collegiate game, an 85-55 whipping of Penn State. He finished the season averaging 17 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game, but between the Nittany Lions and the season finale against Georgetown McCants endured his share of freshman struggles.
After a couple of lackluster midseason games, McCants was replaced in the starting lineup for the Feb. 2 game against Wake Forest. He would remain out of the starting lineup for three games, hitting just 5 of his 28 shots during that stretch. Not coincidentally, he broke out of his shell upon regaining his starting position, as he posted 21 points against Virginia on Feb. 12.
"I've never not started," McCants says. "The last time was probably when I was a freshman in high school and I played varsity. I knew I wasn't going to start because no one knew how good I was. But after three games I was averaging about 22 points per game and I started after that."
The mercurial McCants's on-court emotions closely paralleled his scoring totals last season. He began the year as an outgoing, arm-waving player, but toned down some of his demonstrative tendencies after meetings with the coaching staff.
During a difficult midseason stretch that included a combined total of five fouls and just two points against Duke and Florida State, there were some questions about McCants's defense and overall effort. It's worth noting that he was also playing with a back injury sustained on the last play of practice before the Duke game, but the 2003 ACC All-Freshman team member says effort was never an issue.
"My effort is always there," he says. "When people break one person down and say he's not playing hard and that's the reason why they lose, that's totally unfair."
After a summer spent traveling the country working at various basketball camps, McCants is ready to put together a complete sophomore campaign. His talent - as evidenced by finishing seventh in the league in scoring and third in three-point field goal percentage (41.4 percent) - has never been in question. But his personality may be even more unique than his hardwood talents, and his blunt and sometimes gruff way of dealing with problems occasionally left his teammates perplexed last season.
One of his fellow Heels, however, spent extensive time with McCants over the summer and thinks he has a better understanding of what makes him tick.
"Rashad is just a little different," Sean May says. "We spent a lot of the summer together at camps, and it was good for he and I to bond. During the season last year his head was going every which way, but this next season people will see that last year was just a tough year for him."
It's worth noting that like another Western North Carolina native, Brad Daugherty, McCants entered school at a relatively young age. He won't turn 19 for another month and is several months younger than the rest of the rising sophomores.
On the hardwood, however, he's beyond his years. And when asked about his goals for his sophomore campaign, McCants has a simple answer: "I just want to be a wrecking force in the ACC."
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.
