University of North Carolina Athletics
Gateway to St. Louis: Depth
October 27, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 27, 2004
This year's Tar Heel Monthly basketball preview includes a five-part "Gateway to St. Louis" series focusing on the five keys for this year's team to reach the 2005 Final Four in St. Louis. One of those stories is reprinted below. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly and receive the basketball preview, click here.
By Adam Lucas
The best illustration of North Carolina's improved depth won't come in front of 21,800 screaming fans at the Smith Center in the home opener against Southern California on Nov. 28.
It will come one fall afternoon in an empty arena, with no spectators to verify its existence and no television coverage. It will come at a practice.
A broad smile spreads across Rashad McCants's face when he thinks about the possibilities for those first few practices. "Oh man, we're going to be so much better in practice," he says. "When our high school won the championship, that's how our practices were. There were no breaks. Everybody was going at everybody all the time. All the games we lost last year were one or two points. All that is is getting sloppy at the end of practice."
There have been times over the past couple years that starting positions were awarded by default. That won't be the case during the 2004-05 season, when there is at least some depth at every position on the court. Not every starting position is up for grabs--it's hard to imagine the Tar Heels taking the floor against Santa Clara without McCants or Raymond Felton, for example--but there is enough talent on hand to make every starter hesitant to slack off during any practice.
The talent surplus should have its greatest benefits at the point guard position, where Felton has had to be an ironman during his first two seasons. He averaged 34.6 minutes per game last year, missing the conference lead (held by Julius Hodge) by just 0.3 minutes. His numbers were still good--it's hard to quibble with 11.5 points per game and 7.1 assists per game--but with Quentin Thomas and Wes Miller now able to give him more than just a token rest, it's reasonable to expect less fatigue at the end of games and a more dynamic Felton in the closing minutes of close games.
"I hate to leave the court," Felton says. "But at the same time, I'm not selfish. If they can contribute, it will definitely help me get a breather."
"I'm hoping Raymond will have an even better year not being so stretched from a stamina viewpoint," Roy Williams says. "Sometimes he was just worn out. He played 35 minutes per game and I'd like to see that drop to 30. I'd also like to see him be more productive, with more points, more assists, and fewer turnovers, because of the fact that he is more rested."
Carolina's backup point guards are better suited to contribute than any other time during Felton's career. Miller, a recruited walk-on transfer from James Madison, has the advantage of having already spent a year in Williams's system. He couldn't play in games, but practiced with the team every day and was able to get a crash course in what his head coach demands from his point guards.
"The number one thing is he wants his point guard to take care of the ball," Miller says. "Just like any coach, he hates turnovers. He wants us to be able to push the ball up the floor, pitch ahead, and make our teammates better. And after all that, you have to be able to make a play or knock down a shot if it comes to you."
Thomas seemingly popped onto the Tar Heel recruiting picture out of nowhere last fall. An Oakland native--yet another link to Williams's recruiting success in the state of California--he didn't carry the same reputation with the recruiting gurus as some of his East Coast classmates.
He arrived at Carolina for the second session of summer school hampered by a tender ankle that had required him to be in a cast for approximately a month. Then, after beginning classes, doctors discovered he needed arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to clean out some torn cartilage that lingered from a previous injury. The health concerns were a setback, but he should be full-speed for the beginning of the season. In pickup games before the start of practice, he impressed teammates with his ability to get the ball up the floor quickly and make tough passes in traffic. Just as importantly, he already appears to have a firm grasp on his role as a freshman point guard.
"I love to make my teammates and my coach happy," he says. "I'm not one to try and score a lot. I'll score when I need to, but I like to keep everybody involved."
Thomas's freshman classmate, Marvin Williams, should be able to supply some depth at several positions. He's got the height and the bulk--he stands 6-foot-9, 230 pounds--to play inside. But he's also got the shooting stroke and ball-handling abilities to play on the wing.
Credit the unique combination of skills to his father, Marvin, Sr., who never imagined his son might grow close to seven feet. The elder Williams stands just 5-foot-11 and his wife just 5-foot-6, so a skyscraping son never seemed logical.
"When I was younger, my dad thought I was going to be a guard," Williams says. "He taught me basketball from a guard's perspective. Dribbling, passing, and shooting was what we worked on."
He outgrew the position but kept the skills, making him one of the most sought-after recruits in the class entering college in 2004. But while he's capable of extending his game to the three-point line, his initial value to the Tar Heels is likely to come in the paint. Carolina has struggled to compete with teams capable of putting two big men on the floor simultaneously in recent years, including last year's NCAA Tournament loss to Texas.
The opposing scouting report was usually simple: collapse on Sean May and you've severely hampered UNC's inside game. Jawad Williams, for all his efforts over the past three years, simply isn't a natural post player. Marvin Williams isn't necessarily a natural either, but he has enough skills to demand attention--and relieve some of the burden from May.
"Marvin is phenomenal," McCants says. "It's going to be hard to deny him playing time because he offers so much. He brings something to the game that's like a Barkley-type player, because he goes hard with a strong move every time."
Williams could be supplemented in the paint by Byron Sanders and Damion Grant. Sanders is a workmanlike player who is content to screen and rebound. He was pushed into extensive duty before he was ready as a freshman, but should be a serviceable backup earning occasional spot minutes as a junior. Grant's health is a perpetual question. Knee problems have plagued him throughout his Carolina career, and he'll need to be completely healthy to succeed in the Heels' uptempo system.
The interior depth could allow more players to get more minutes at their natural positions. David Noel has played in the paint out of necessity during his first two seasons, where he has done yeoman's work defending players who usually have at least two inches and 20 pounds on him. A thumb injury turned his sophomore campaign into a disappointment, but he's spent the summer tweaking his shooting form and working on defending players on the wing.
Another player likely to take a couple steps away from the basket is Jawad Williams. At 6-foot-9, it's seemed natural to try and force him into the post, but he's more comfortable outside, where his unique body type makes him a difficult matchup. Put a shorter man on him, and he simply shoots over him. Put a taller man on him, and he simply goes around him.
"With the new guys we have, I think I'll be able to utilize my skills a lot more," Williams says. "I won't have my back to the basket as much. Marvin is going to free up a lot of things for us. He's got some of that `old man weight' on him, because he's very thick and athletic."
The two freshmen and Miller are the only true newcomers to the program, but there's one other Tar Heel who might need some introductions during the 2004-05 season. Sophomore Reyshawn Terry played just 106 minutes last year, and occasionally seemed overwhelmed and unconfident when he did earn playing time. But he has the body, including the wiry frame that lends itself to defensive success, to be a productive ACC player.
There have never been any questions about his physical abilities. It's his confidence and drive that have sometimes failed him. Fortunately, he's acquired a very capable tutor in the realm of confidence--Rashad McCants. The Carolina junior has taken a keen interest in Terry and seems intent on persuading him by sheer force of will to become a contributor.
"Reyshawn has to understand that it's OK to be good," McCants says. "He's so talented and he doesn't even know it. When he tries to use his talent and doesn't use his head, he gets all mixed up. I'm trying to get him to use his talent and his head at the same time. He's a super athlete, and he could create matchup problems all over the court."
In years past, Terry might have been thrown onto the floor before he was ready, before he mastered the art of combining his talent and basketball IQ. That won't be the case this year, when he'll have to earn every minute allotted to him.
Last year, mistakes were sometimes tolerated out of necessity. Some players were well aware that they were simply too valuable to leave the floor at key times.
"We'll be better this year because the guys will know more and they will make the adjustments themselves without me having to do it for them," Roy Williams says. "And with everybody coming back and the freshmen, there's also that bench that is a huge motivator."
"I think that's beautiful," McCants says. "Coach Williams isn't going to give anybody a position. There's so much depth and talent that everybody is going to have to learn the plays and be precise with everything we do."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. His book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about the book, click here.
