University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Sit and Wonder
March 12, 2004 | Men's Basketball
March 12, 2004
By Adam Lucas
GREENSBORO--Ordinarily, the end of the second quarterfinal on ACC Tournament Friday sparks a mad dash to the exits. The first fan edges up the aisle with five minutes remaining, the under-4:00 media timeout causes half the stands to empty, and by the time the buzzer sounds, only the fans of the two competing schools are left. Everyone else has made the quick trip to the car to go stand in line at Stamey's, tailgate in the coliseum parking lot, or try to secure tickets for the evening session.
But this season has been anything but ordinary for North Carolina. So it's no surprise, really, that as the final buzzer approached Friday afternoon, there was no mad dash. Nearly every person in the crowd of 23,745 stayed in their seat until the finish. And when it was over, when Georgia Tech had walked off with an 83-82 triumph, there wasn't much to do as a Carolina fan except...sit there. And wonder.
You wondered what happened in the first half. The Tar Heels zipped out to an 11-point lead, looking for all the world like they deserved the "tough Tournament opponent" title all the talking heads have bestowed upon them. And then, as quickly as it appeared, the lead was gone. Georgia Tech began getting easy layups on their way to a 51.9 percent field goal shooting effort in the first 20 minutes, and Jawad Williams was eventually yanked in favor of Justin Bohlander with 4:06 left after allowing a simple cut for a layup. Roy Williams called a timeout with 1:58 left in the half after B.J. Elder cruised to the basket for an easy hoop and a 41-35 lead, and the Carolina head coach had to walk down the sideline before going into the huddle to compose himself.
As ugly as the defense was, the offense wasn't much better.
"Our offense is pretty simple," David Noel said after the game. "If you're not moving, you're wrong."
If that's the case, then most everyone was wrong during the first half. There was too much dribbling, too much standing around, and too much resemblance to an AAU game. But still, even with the mediocre first half, the Tech lead was just 42-39 at the half.
You wondered what happened in the second half. The first ten minutes were almost as bad as the last ten minutes of the first half, and the Jackets eventually stretched their advantage to 71-60. Williams missed four attempts at an offensive rebound with 6:30 left, and that appeared to be the final nail.
But it wasn't. Roy Williams clinched his fists, pumped his arms, and begged for defense--and got it. Raymond Felton hit a pair of three-pointers and threw a nifty bounce pass to David Noel for a layup, and all of a sudden the Heels had the lead. It didn't seem possible, but there it was right there on the Greensboro Coliseum scoreboard: Carolina 79, Georgia Tech 77, 2:30 remaining.
The Heels played terrific defense on what appeared to be Tech's last meaningful possession, as Jackie Manuel closed out perfectly on B.J. Elder and forced Jarrett Jack to miss a desperation shot. This was Carolina basketball like we're used to it: make a comeback, make the winning plays at the end.
You wondered what happened at the end. May made one of two free throws. Jack took advantage of a ragtag defense and made a jumper. May signaled for a timeout--as is Roy Williams's standard rule when there are seven seconds or less left in the game--then thought better of it and fired the ball inbounds, where it was stolen. And that was the game. And all you could do was wonder.
You wondered what the future holds for this team. At some point, they have to rediscover offensive contributions from someone other than May, Felton, and McCants. That trio each scored at least 20 points against the Jackets; no one else scored more than six. Meanwhile, Tech was putting five players in double figures. The Heels will still go to the NCAA Tournament, will still get consideration as a "sleeper" Final Four team in some quarters. They can look to the 2000 team, which played almost as frustratingly as this team has, lost in the quarters of the ACC Tournament, and then went to the Final Four.
But something else has changed since then, when the mere sight of "North Carolina" across an NCAA Tournament bracket was enough to invoke fear. Roy Williams said this week that the mystique of Carolina has changed since he left in 1988. He got yet another first-hand look at how true that is Friday afternoon.
"I feel like I've been congratulating people for making big shots at the end of games all year," the Tar Heel head coach said.
The Heels used to be the congratulatee. Now they're the congratulator.
You wondered when the roles will go back to how they're supposed to be.
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.
