University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Tuesday Mailbag
November 23, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2004
It's two weeks into the mailbag season, and this week we had to declare our first Official Mailbag Moratorium. Read on for the details. And keep those questions coming--just keep in mind a few ground rules. They are as follows:
• As per NCAA guidelines, we can't answer any recruiting questions. This is true even if you try to covertly phrase your question in such a way that you don't think we'll notice it's a recruiting question.
• Due to the volume of questions, we can't guarantee a personal response.
• Only questions that include your name and hometown will be included in the Mailbag.
Do you think it's an advantage or disadvantage for UNC and Wake Forest to have received so much preseason hype for both their teams and individual player honors? Or is it more favorable to be a bit more under the radar like Duke, NCSU, and Maryland?
Edward Paul
Dunn, NC
It's hard to imagine that Duke, Maryland (the defending ACC Tournament champ), or NC State (which returns the ACC Player of the Year and ACC Coach of the Year) could be under the radar. But that's exactly how strong the league is this year.
In the end, preseason voting is just a way for newspapers to fill space before the season starts. You have to go back to the 1998-99 season to find an example of the media's pick as the preseason Player of the Year actually winning the award outright. Elton Brand did it that year. The other selections over the past five seasons:
1999-2000: Preseason pick: Terence Morris. Actual winner: Chris Carrawell.
2000-01: Preseason pick: Shane Battier. Actual winner: Battier tied with Joseph Forte.
2001-02: Preseason pick: Jason Williams. Actual winner: Juan Dixon.
2002-03: Preseason pick: Chris Duhon. Actual winner: Josh Howard.
2003-04: Preseason pick: Raymond Felton. Actual winner: Julius Hodge.
It's neither an advantage nor a disadvantage, but as you can see, it's also no indication that it will still be true once the league schedule has been played.
It's a safe bet that Roy Williams would probably rather be the underdog than the favorite. Last year, despite the fact that some observers favored Carolina against Connecticut, he convinced his team that no one believed they could beat the powerful Huskies. The result? A heart-pounding win in the Smith Center. "I love being the underdog if we're really good," he said. "It's a great weapon if you can make a team that is really good feel that everyone is against them or that they are the underdog."
I noticed that Charlie Everett is going to be wearing #15 this year, Vince Carter's number. Was that number retired by Carter or is it going to be retired? Thanks.
Scott Tate
Greenville, SC
Carter's jersey is honored, but it's not retired. In the pantheon of Tar Heel jerseys, there's a difference.
Only the front seven jerseys that hang in the Smith Center (Jack Cobb, George Glamack, Lennie Rosenbluth, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Michael Jordan, and Antawn Jamison) are retired, which means no one will ever wear that number again. Retirement is reserved for players who achieve National Player of the Year status.
The remainder of the jerseys are honored, which means the numbers can be worn again. Official criteria for jersey honoring was established on October 4, 1994, and includes the most valuable player (as voted upon by teammates) of a national championship team, any member of a gold-medal winning Olympic squad, or one of the top ten players in America on a generally recognized All-American team.
The school may have to retire a special "Everett" jersey. Charlie is the third brother in the Everett family to walk on, joining Joe (2002) and Jim (2000-01) on the all-time Carolina roster.
I was just interested in the status of Jawad Williams. I was at the UNCW game on the Carolina side under the basket when he took that cheap elbow. I think that he has a huge impact as far as stretching defenses etc. for opposing teams what can we expect from him this year? I've read all the articles about summer workouts etc., what about shooting range maybe a little deeper this year?
Can we expect better free throw shooting out of the team as a whole this year too?
Joseph Bland
Charlotte, NC
Joseph, don't think that we didn't notice you snuck in two questions for the price of one. When the Mailbag Headquarters relocate from the islands, we may not be as kind. For now, we're still dazed by the fact that everyone here says "Aloha" when they're coming and when they're going.
Jawad Williams is going to be the player you don't hear much about this year who quietly has a profound impact on the season. There's been a lot of fuss about Marvin Williams, but one of Marvin's most important assets is that he allows Jawad to be a more effective player. For his first three years, Jawad Williams was required to spend some time in the post, banging with bigger players and trying for rebounds. He'll still do some of that this year, but Marvin Williams's physical presence means Jawad (are you getting all these Williamses straight?) can do other things with which he is more comfortable. And yes, that means you might see him shoot some more of those familiar straightaway three-pointers at which he is so proficient. Don't overlook his impact off the court, either. He's quietly been a steady hand for most of the players on the roster at one time or another over the past 3+ years.
Free throw shooting is a very popular topic in the Mailbag. The Heels actually improved from 66.3 percent in 2002-03 to 68.8 percent last year. That figure seems likely to increase this year, partly due to the above-mentioned Marvin Williams. He's a consistent threat to draw fouls, and on the first day of practice this year on Saturday afternoon after Late Night with Roy Williams, he went out on the Smith Center court and drained 38 out of 40 free throw attempts.
With their growing success over the last couple years and the forecasted season that we should have this year, what is the likelihood that the up and coming Seniors like Felton and McCants will forego their final year and head to NBA? By the way, it's great to be able to read the mailbag all the way from our deployed location in the desert.
John Lawrence
Jacksonville, NC/deployed in the United Arab Emirates
Speaking of popular topics, players leaving for the NBA is one of them. Although it's only week two, we're now declaring an official moratorium on any questions dealing with players and/or recruits leaving early. The reason? It's completely impossible to know the answer.
Everyone on Carolina's roster may go pro after this year. That would be terrific news, because it means the Tar Heels have had a tremendously successful season. Likewise, if no one leaves after this year, it probably means the team had a disappointing season. The whims of NBA scouts are completely unpredictable. Last year at this time, everyone had Marvin Williams pegged for the NBA and J.R. Smith slotted for college. Well, Williams is snorkeling in Maui and Smith is playing in front of half-full crowds for the New Orleans Hornets. We'll revisit this topic in April, when the outcome will be much more apparent. Until then, just enjoy the players Carolina has on the team now. Because of the way the game has changed, it may be several years before the Heels have such a mix of talent and experience on the roster at one time.
What is the real status of Damion Grant?
Chris T.
Charlotte, NC
This is turning into Mailbag Greatest Hits. Regular readers will recall that last year for a time we were providing regular Damion Updates, including what he wore after games. We're not quite to that point yet, but don't give up.
Seriously, Chris, Damion has trimmed down noticeably, which was a good first step to becoming a contributor. He is healthier than he has ever been in his Carolina career. That doesn't mean, though, that he's completely healthy. Until he proves his knees can take the pounding required by Roy Williams's uptempo system, he's unlikely to move into the rotation. His most valuable role might be as an occasional defensive force. His long wingspan makes him an imposing presence in the paint, even if it's only for a couple of minutes every few games.
I'm a hard core UNC fan and can't wait to see our new freshmen get some experience on the court. How much playing time do you think Marvin Williams and Quentin Thomas will get this year?
Bo
Charlotte, NC
Playing time questions are among Roy Williams's least favorite queries. His stock response is, "I have absolutely no idea."
But he's not typing this. Thomas is the heir apparent at point guard, and he'll see significant minutes this year. But keep in mind the Tar Heels already have a pretty fair point guard in Raymond Felton, and he's going to get the vast majority of the minutes as long as he's wearing blue. Williams did experiment some with Thomas and Felton in the lineup at the same time during the exhibition season, and that's something he may try again during the early portion of the season to see how it works. If the starting lineup is Felton, Jackie Manuel, Sean May, Rashad McCants, and Jawad Williams, that leaves the Heels without a true secondary ball-handler behind Felton, and that's something Thomas can solve.
Marvin Williams is going to play as much as he can. Here's Roy Williams's take on it: "Right now I do not have a plan except that he's going to play a heck of a lot of basketball. Most of my career it's always been that the five guys who start early in the season stay the same throughout the season. This year will not be like that. Marvin is going to be tired after every game, I can tell you that."
Since we have a lot of depth at the point with Miller, Thomas and Holley behind Felton - whom I believe is the best point guard in America - is there any word on how any of these players could handle the backup shooting guard position? Obviously we've needed the depth down in the post, but the depth and talent we now have in the 1 & 2 positions seem to be more conducive to the fast-breaking basketball that Coach Williams is all about. I think these players could be a big improvement from last year's team.
Joe Burriss
Statesville, NC
We mentioned the possibility of Thomas and Felton playing together above, but because Thomas isn't much of a pure shooter right now, it's more likely that Felton would be filling the "shooting guard" role if you had to pigeonhole them. Wes Miller is definitely a pure point guard, and Jesse Holley will be busy with the football team into late December. For that reason Melvin Scott remains the most likely player to provide shooting off the bench. That's a role he's capable of filling if he can consistently regain his shooting touch. If you watch him shoot closely, you can almost always tell if the ball is going in as soon as it leaves his hand--just watch his follow through. "When you shoot, you've got to follow through and go forward," Roy Williams said recently. "Sometimes he shoots it too much on his heels and his upper body is leaning back."
TUESDAY TALKING POINTS
• Three of the last four times a Carolina team has played a regular season game outside of the contiguous United States (1992-93 ,1997-98, and 1999-2000, with the outlier being the 1995-96 Tar Heels) they've ended the year in the Final Four.
• The addition of Marvin Williams to this year's team means "Williams" is the most popular surname in Carolina basketball history. Six Heels have shared that name, and they've all played in the past 15 years--Marvin, Donald, Jawad, big Scott, little Scott, and Shammond. That surge has pushed Williams past Smith, which is in second place with five examples--Larry, James, Kenny, Mike, and Ranzino. It wouldn't be too hard to find a coach for a Williams vs. Smith battle, as we've heard Roy Williams and Dean Smith are two pretty good coaches.
• Only five players in Carolina history have made the Maui Invitational All-Tournament team--Rick Fox (1989), Jeff McInnis (1995), Brendan Haywood (1999), Ed Cota (1999), and Joseph Forte (1999). Of those, only Forte was the tournament MVP.
• Opponents have shot at least 44 percent from the field against Carolina in the past three seasons. Prior to that stretch, they hadn't accomplished shooting 44 percent in even one season since 1989-90.
• Prior to last season, the number of three-pointers attempted by Carolina as a team had increased each season since the 1998-99 campaign. Last year, that figure dropped from 822 to 555.
• Quentin Thomas is the 20th player to wear number 11 at Carolina. That ties that jersey with number 31 as the second-most popular number in Tar Heel history. The most frequently worn? Number 20, which was worn by 21 different players (the last was Steve Bucknall) before being retired in honor of George Glamack.
