University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: The Main Attraction
December 19, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2004
By Adam Lucas
BLACKSBURG--Longtime Carolina basketball observers will tell you that when the Tar Heels took the floor at road arenas in past years, an instantly recognizable sound rippled through the crowd.
First was booing, as the home crowd began to heckle the visitors in blue. But then, slowly, the booing would be countered by cheers from all corners of the arena--a few pockets of Tar Heels here, a few pockets of Tar Heels there. Carolina basketball coming to town was an event, the kind of game that made even casual fans want to rearrange their plans to be there. And any trip to a road arena was a chance for far-flung Carolina fans to get to see their favorite team in person.
Over the last couple of years, that combination of sounds has been mostly absent. But if Sunday's game in Blacksburg, a contest that ended with an 85-51 victory and the Heels on cruise control, is any indication, it may be back.
The Hokie fans who packed Cassell Coliseum seemed to want to make it a hostile environment. Understand this: Sunday's game wasn't just a game. It was the game for Tech fans, most of whom have been waiting decades for the chance to call themselves members of the ACC. In honor of the event, most fans wore their construction vest-orange t-shirts commemorating the occasion that were provided by the athletic department. And when Wes Miller led the Heels onto the court for warm-ups, a few hearty souls tried to boo.
But they were largely drowned out by a sizable group of Tar Heel fans, people like Joshua Scherman, a Virginia Tech freshman who was easily spotted in the Hokie student section because of his Carolina blue sweatshirt and Carolina blue hat.
Exams finished in Blacksburg this week and the campus was closed to students Saturday at noon. But Scherman made the five-hour drive from his home in Virginia Beach to see the Tar Heels for the first time in person.
There were hundreds more like him at the game, and they saw a somewhat herky-jerky performance. This was the kind of game that was eminently frustrating last season. An opponent intent on slowing the game, Rashad McCants making just one basket, Raymond Felton turning the ball over seven times. Those are the ingredients for the type of game that ended unhappily on the road several times last year.
This time, however, the Tar Heels were intent on not letting the opponent control the tempo.
"They tried to slow it down and we tried to take them out of their stuff," said Sean May, who called his first half slam the best dunk of his Carolina career. "Our guards did a great job of adjusting and keeping everyone in front of them. We took them out of everything they wanted to run."
That's winning with defense, something that is slowly becoming a habit. Although McCants struggled to get in the flow of the game offensively, making just 1-of-4 shot attempts, he played quality defense and seemed entirely unconcerned about his lack of points.
Late in the first half, with his scoring total still sitting on zero, he passed up an open--by his standards--perimeter shot to find May inside for an easy hoop. Roy Williams called it his favorite play of the game.
"I don't think he would have made that play in the past," Williams said. "He is much more mature."
And still an agreeable autograph target. About a half-hour after the game, most of Cassell had emptied except for a handful of blue-wearing Tar Heel fanatics. Two Virginia Tech players stood near the baseline of their home arena, alone and unbothered. Behind them, Felton and McCants were busily signing autographs for their delighted fans.
The main attraction, it seems, is back.
"Why would I drive five hours each way to see them?" Scherman asked, repeating a seemingly reasonable question as though the answer was obvious.
"It's Carolina."
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.
