University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Carolina Begins Board Work
March 29, 2005 | Men's Basketball
March 29, 2005
By Adam Lucas
After big wins, Roy Williams typically tells his team to enjoy the victory until midnight before they turn the focus to the next opponent. But after Sunday's regional championship win over Wisconsin, Sean May wasn't willing to wait that long.
"When we were flying back from Syracuse I told Marvin (Williams) that (Michigan State) attacks the glass better than anyone in the country," he said. "Their guards attack the glass. Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager go hard to the boards."
Everyone in dark green attacks the glass. The Spartans are outrebounding opponents by a whopping 7.3 boards per game, good for ninth in America and just a fraction behind Carolina's 7.8 rebound advantage. That's a point of emphasis for the Tar Heels, who have lost the offensive rebounding battle in two of their four NCAA Tournament games (Villanova and Iowa State).
The centerpiece of that rebounding effort is 6-foot-11 junior center Paul Davis, whose three double-doubles in NCAA Tournament play matches May's output. The two players went head-to-head in the 2002 McDonald's All-American game and have seen their careers follow the same upward trend.
"Paul's about as good as they get," May said. "He can really shoot the ball from the perimeter, he's got some great post moves, he's really long and is an underrated defender. For me, I think he'll try to do some of the same things he did to Shelden (Williams), try to foul me out and attack me inside."
While the attention has already turned to Michigan State--Carolina went through their first post-Syracuse practice on Tuesday afternoon--the trappings of Final Four week mean there are plenty of other logistical issues to solve. The squad has to leave Chapel Hill on Wednesday night in order to attend a Final Four celebration dinner on Thursday, and they'll spend much of their time between now and that departure fielding ticket requests.
"I've been getting calls from everybody," Raymond Felton said. "But they need to know these are the toughest tickets all year so there's no need to even call."
There will be meetings to attend in St. Louis, practices to hold, interviews to do. But Carolina's head coach hopes there will also be some time to enjoy the moment. A reexamination of his coaching philosophy after 1997's disappointing NCAA Tournament loss to Arizona made him realize that in a one-and-out tournament, anything can happen and the best team does not always win.
For that reason, when his Heels take the floor on Friday at 3:10 in the Edward Jones Dome for their open practice--and his third Final Four in four years--he's likely to take at least a brief moment to soak in the surroundings.
"My favorite day in coaching is Friday," he said. "It's the best day ever to be a college coach. You practice in front of the public, the coaches' convention is going on, and there's a lot of guys sitting up in the stands. I've been up in the stands looking down at those guys and thinking, `Man, I wish I was you.' It's a great day for coaches."
Notes: The week of practice will give Carolina the opportunity to nurse a variety of injuries. Raymond Felton's ankle, which he rolled in practice in last Saturday's practice, continues to improve. And Roy Williams offered Jawad Williams some advice on how to correct some of the problems that have plagued him since his hip flexor injury. "I told him you've got to get your legs underneath you, get a little more bounce, get the ball up in the air. One of the 3's he shot (Sunday) was just as flat as it could be."...Michigan State assistant coach Doug Wojcik was on the Carolina sidelines for three seasons and retains a close relationship with some of the Tar Heel players. Felton spoke to Wojcik on Monday, and Rashad McCants spoke highly of the future Tulsa head coach. "Coach Wojcik was my favorite when he was here," McCants said. "He was a guy that wanted to make you compete to the best of your ability. He believed in my talent, ability and passion for the game."...
There has been some speculation that Carolina played tight at times against Wisconsin. May, who tossed and turned until almost 3 in the morning on Sunday, said it was only natural. "We had watched the night before and watched Illinois and Louisville get to celebrate and we knew we still had to go play...Jawad Williams went to eat breakfast with Melvin Scott on Franklin Street this week and got a taste of Final Four fever, Chapel Hill-style. "It took us an hour just to get off Franklin Street and get ready for class," he said. "It's a great feeling. People are excited and so are we."
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.
