University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: UNC Basketball Mailbag December 30
March 5, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2003
By Adam Lucas
Wait, don't do it. Before you click the "send" button asking about the injury status of Jawad Williams and Sean May, make sure to click this link for the latest information. And by "latest," we mean that there's been no determination about their status for Saturday's game at Kentucky, and probably won't be until very late this week.
Also, just a quick note: if you're coming to tonight's game against Coastal Carolina, consider stopping by Carmichael at 5:30 to watch the Tar Heel women take on Penn State. It's the best nonconference game of the year, a battle between top-15 teams, and a chance to see Carolina's terrific rookie duo of Ivory Latta and Camille Little. Sure, it means taking off work a little bit earlier, but let's be honest--no one is doing any work this week anyway, and there's nothing better than a Tar Heel hoops doubleheader. Now, back to your regularly scheduled questions and answers...
I was looking over some NCAA history and noticed another triple overtime game of note. The 1957 NCAA Championship victory of the Tar Heels over the Kansas Jayhawks. What was the story on that game?
Dave Aucremann, Wellington, FL
The story is that it was one of the most significant games in NCAA Tournament history. Carolina entered that game sporting a 31-0 mark but was probably considered the underdog to Kansas, which was playing close to home (the game was played in Kansas City) and featured the unstoppable Wilt Chamberlain.
The Heels had gone three overtimes to beat Michigan State in the national semifinal. Entering the third overtime against the Jayhawks, the situation looked bleak, as National Player of the Year Lennie Rosenbluth had fouled out after scoring 20 points and grabbing five rebounds. Trailing by one point with just seconds remaining, Joe Quigg got the ball at the top of the key. He took the ball straight at Chamberlain and drew a foul. Here's the part that all of our friendly emailers who have never missed a free throw in their lives will enjoy-Quigg hit both charity tosses, giving the Tar Heels a 54-53 victory.
If we traced David Noel's family tree, wouldn't we find the "First Noel?"
Frank Beamon, Greensboro
Frank didn't ask a question, but we thought such ingenuity deserved recognition. He will receive the coveted Email of the Week Award, which includes an instructional free throw shooting video and an honorary bag of ice that he can use to treat Tar Heel injuries.
I feel, and correct me I am wrong that young Carolina players do not often get the chance to play in games, even the easy ones as often as some other teams I watch. I feel like even though they may not be ready to play that is how they get experience and learn. I mean, you cannot learn to ride a bike without doing it, so how can you expect someone to play basketball without doing it in a game. I mean, although these players may not be ready offensively, they more than likely can play some defense and steal some minutes? Any thoughts?
Alex Bryant, Wilmington, NC
Well, Alex, one way you can teach someone to play basketball is in practice, which is what Roy Williams is doing with freshmen Reyshawn Terry and Justin Bohlander. You say they "more than likely can play some defense," but we suspect Roy Williams and legions of other college coaches would disagree with you. In fact, the biggest adjustment for almost every player making the high school-to-college transition is on the defensive end of the floor. Prep standouts like the ones recruited by major colleges are usually more athletic and talented than their compatriots, so they are able to gamble on defense and try to make risky steals rather than play within the framework of a team concept.
Terry will play when, in the estimation of the coaching staff, he earns the minutes. Remember that future Tar Heel standouts like Donald Williams, Shammond Williams, and Vince Carter spent a large part of their freshman campaigns on the bench. It didn't seem to stunt their growth too much.
Old-schoolers Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge never seemed comfortable enough with the three-pointer to make it a primary weapon in their offense, and Matt Doherty didn't really have the players to do so. From watching his Kansas teams I thought Roy Williams would break the long tradition of pounding the ball inside for 25 seconds and if that doesn't work then go for the three, but so far that doesn't seem to be the case. Teams don't win national championships these days being reluctant to shoot the three. Any hope Roy's holding back until the conference season kicks in?
Kaler Hall, Washington, NC
Kaler, we hate to pick on you, but your question hit on a common belief that simply isn't true. Critics love to chirp that Guthridge and Smith "didn't like" the three-point shot. That's entirely false. What both Guthridge and Smith liked was good shots. Most of the time, those shots were taken within close range of the rim, but when the Heels had a player capable of hitting a three-pointer, he was encouraged to do so, because it was a good shot for him. Shammond Williams hoisted 227 three-pointers under Smith during the 96-97 season, the most attempts in Carolina history.
If you thought Roy Williams would end the trend of looking for good shots, you didn't watch many Kansas games last season and haven't listened to many of the head coach's press conference since April. Williams has consistently said he wants to throw the ball inside--taking advantage of Sean May and Jawad Williams--before sending it back out for a potential three-pointer. He wants the team's highest-percentage shooters to take shots, and he wants them to take them from high-percentage locations on the floor. For that reason, he'd rather see Rashad McCants shoot a nearly foolproof backdoor layup than jack up a 22-footer. Does that make him boring? Jayhawk fans didn't seem to mind when their head coach racked up 418 victories over the past decade-and-a-half. Your assertion that teams can't win a national championship without taking three-pointers holds up until you consider the 2002 Maryland squad, which made just 2-of-9 trifectas in their title win over Indiana. In that game, the Terps got 15 points and 14 rebounds from beefy Lonnie Baxter and a solid midrange game from Juan Dixon, who scored 18 points but made just two three-pointers. That's a recipe this year's Heels would like to follow.
My cousin and I were debating an "all defensive" Tar Heel squad. We both think that Jackie Manuel will be one of the members by the time he graduates. What do you think of:
1. Dudley Bradley
2. John Kuester
3. Steve Previs
4. George Lynch
Who would you add to our list?
Mark Hutchinson, Durham
Mark, you're a breath of fresh air. Composing an all-anything team is always tricky. Are we picking a true team, with someone to fill each of the five positions, or are we picking the five best defensive players regardless of position? We prefer actual teams, which is why we selected our squad based on position. We should also note that we've only picked from players we remember seeing play first hand, which limits us to the past 25 years (so no writing in complaining about what a great defender Cartwright Carmichael was).
At point guard we're going with Derrick Phelps, whose defense was essential in the 1993 team's run to the national championship. Phelps's signature game came in the regional finals against Cincinnati, when he blanketed Nick Van Exel in the second half after the talkative Bearcat had enjoyed a hot first stanza. We're pairing Phelps in the backcourt with Dudley Bradley, whose steal against Clyde Austin may be one of the most well-known Carolina defensive plays in history. Bradley's 97 steals during the 1978-79 season remain a Tar Heel record.
In the frontcourt, we're starting with a player whose defense frequently went unnoticed--George Lynch. The heart and soul of the '93 team had the versatility to guard a variety of players, and his 89 thefts that year rank second on Carolina's all-time steals list. Lynch benefited from playing on some strong overall defensive teams, but his heart and willingness to sacrifice his body make him a fitting member of this team. We're going to cheat a bit with our final two selections, as we've picked two players who mostly played center during their Carolina careers--Sam Perkins and Brendan Haywood. Perkins was an intelligent shot blocker who had some of his most notable games against Virginia's Ralph Sampson, who was the Tim Duncan of his era. Haywood, one of the most underappreciated Tar Heels ever, evolved into a force in the back of Carolina's defense by his senior season, when he swatted a school-record 120 shots--breaking the previous record by nearly 30 blocks. The Greensboro native wasn't necessarily a great post defender, but his ability to erase mistakes both by himself and by teammates by sending back opponents' shots is something that recent Carolina teams have sorely missed.
The sixth man on our team would have to be Bobby Jones, who came before our selected timeframe but from all accounts was one of the best defenders in Carolina history.
I really hate to bring this topic up, but I read an article that talked about players leaving (Felton, McCants, May, Williams) and recruit Marvin Williams may all leave for the NBA following this season. I was wondering what you knew about this issue?
Drew Wilson Blandon, PA
ad news, Drew. We just tagged you with an unsportsmanlike questioning foul, which results in a penalty of being forced to watch the game tape of the 2001 ACC Tournament championship game (a 26-point thrashing by Duke) five straight times. We'll refer you--and all the others who wrote in with a similar question--to a previous mailbag, where we expressed our feelings on the NBA. The job of most columnists is to generate discussion about their topics. How do they do that? Usually by summoning the most extreme example for any topic, no matter how unlikely. That's the case here.
Can you comment on Melvin Scott's play this year? I really see improvement especially in his ball handling and defense.
Patrick Knittel, Wilmington, NC
He's played so well, we think he should consider going to the NBA after this year. Whoops, wrong question.
Melvin is an underappreciated part of the squad and also has some room for improvement. His ball-handling is absolutely indispensable to this year's team, because Roy Williams desperately needs someone to run the point during Raymond Felton's infrequent rests. If you remember Scott's point guard struggles from his freshman year, it was hard not to smile as he flawlessly ran a 3-on-1 fast break against Wake Forest.
On Sunday, Scott played exactly the kind of game Carolina needs from him, as he hit 5 of 8 three-pointers and also contributed six rebounds and four assists. He's leading the team in three-point percentage at 40.0, but might even be able to nudge that figure up a point or two because he's taking much better shots this year than he has in the past. If he can consistently make his perimeter and midrange jumpers, it would create a significant headache for opposing defenses.
Can you please give me a list of the players who have retired and honored jerseys, along with the honored ones and the retired numbers. Also, can you tell me how they base who gets to be in the rafters, and when they decide to put them in the rafters after they leave UNC?
Zack Sowder, Bluefield, WV
There are seven retired jerseys: Jack Cobb, George Glamack (20), Lennie Rosenbluth (10), Phil Ford (12), James Worthy (52), Michael Jordan (23), and Antawn Jamison (33). Players who are consensus National Players of the Year have their jerseys retired.
There are 33 other honored jerseys, which belong to players who were first-team All-Americans, the most valuable player of an NCAA championship team, or any member of a gold-medal-winning Olympic squad.
Adam Lucas will answer your questions about the Carolina men's basketball program this season in an exclusive column published each Tuesday on TarHeelBlue.com. Lucas, editor of Tar Heel Monthly, will answer your questions on personnel, strategy, opponents and anything on your mind about the Tar Heels other than recruiting specifics. You can email your questions to Adam--please make sure to include your first and last names and hometown.
