University of North Carolina Athletics
Droschak: Tar Heels Compete and More
December 4, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2004
by David Droschak, TarHeelBlue.com
CHAPEL HILL - As usual, Roy Williams went over his keys to the game in the locker room and got to the third item.
It read: Compete.
He underlined it and drew an arrow to the bottom of the board.
The message was clear for those who were embarrassed at Kentucky last season.
"I was really ticked off," Williams said of the 61-56 loss to the Wildcats last January. "I thought that was the least competitive, the least focused, the least energized team I've ever had going into a big environment. I remembered it and I did tell the guys we really didn't complete last year."
Only Williams had beaten Kentucky in the past. Most on this team had just been beaten down by the Wildcats.
This time would be different -- both in substance and attitude.
A 24-8 run to start Saturday's game between college basketball's two winningest programs showed the Tar Heels were ready to compete, and then some.
"They wanted it more last year and we got disrupted by their atmosphere," said Rashad McCants. "We had to put that behind us."
McCants had a miserable time in Lexington with just four points, but had 20 by the break Saturday and finished with 28 in the 91-78 win.
The crowd played a huge factor again, only UNC's fans were the ones doing the disrupting with a little urging from McCants and Raymond Felton.
"I told the guys I didn't care if the crowd was into it or not, I was going to be into it," Williams said of the rivalry. "But when we get after people like we did the crowd gets into it even more. Our crowd is extremely important to us. The crowd was sensational today and we needed them. I want this to be as difficult as any place to play in college basketball and the crowd is a huge part of that."
Maybe the biggest competitive edge by the Tar Heels occurred on the backboards, where they held a remarkable 51-30 advantage.
"Rebounding is just heart," said Sean May, who pulled down 19. "Indiana challenged us (Wednesday) and we didn't do a good job on the backboards and they were able to stay close. Coach told us to get back at it after our little slippage because that's how we start our running game."
After seven games in 15 days, the Tar Heels (6-1) will now get some time to exhale with exams on the horizon.
The schedule has been tough, but Williams says his club gets high marks so far for performing well in a narrow window.
"We stunk it up in the first one, but I've been pretty happy since then," the coach said. "I've been very happy with how well we've attacked people. And there is hope for us defensively. We've got a long way to go, but a lot of times last year I thought we had no hope."
And most would agree that maturity has led to a more competitive group - one that is shaping up to be something special.
"We're showing a lot more heart, we're showing we're not going to back down from anybody, we're not going to give in to people," said David Noel.
"We remember losing those close games last year where a play here or a play there, a loose ball here or there and we could have won," added May. "That's all just heart and the willingness to do it. We're learning a lot and we're having a lot more fun because we're winning. We've got continue to think about that because last year there were so many ups and downs, and the reason is we didn't compete as well."
David Droschak is the former sports editor for the North Carolina bureaus of the Associated Press, the largest news-gathering organization in the world. In 2003, Droschak was named the North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year. He currently works in public relations at Robbins & Associates International, based in Cary.
