University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Final Gateways Await Tar Heels
April 1, 2005 | Men's Basketball
April 1, 2005
By Adam Lucas
For three of the four teams in St. Louis this weekend for the Final Four, the focus has been primarily on what they've done to get here.
But for North Carolina, following a trend that's bubbled near the surface for much of this week, it's primarily about what they haven't done to get here.
They didn't win an epic regional final. Didn't need a miraculous last-second shot to advance. And didn't--as you've probably heard--play much defense in wins over Villanova and Wisconsin last weekend.
It's become fashionable this week to refer to Carolina as the "most talented team" at the Final Four. That's the perfect backhanded compliment, coming as it does with the implication that the raw talent doesn't always play together. It's the equivalent of being told your blind date has a great personality.
The Tar Heels recognize some adjustments need to be made. With the nets freshly trimmed from the Carrier Dome rims last Sunday, Roy Williams told his squad if they played defense in St. Louis the same way they played against Wisconsin, they'd earn a ticket home after their semifinal matchup with Michigan State.
But the flaws aren't quite as great as some--Steve Alford, Digger Phelps, etc.--would have you believe. At 40.4 percent, Carolina's field goal percentage defense is second-best among the teams gathered in St. Louis, trailing only Louisville's 38.6 mark. Their rebounding margin (7.8) is best of the quartet, as are their steals per game (10.1).
Maybe that's why, despite all the talk about what his team needs to do better, Williams heads a fairly loose bunch as he prepares for his third Final Four in four years.
"I looked out my window at the team hotel and I could see the Arch and a big grassy area," he said. "And there were five or six of my players out there throwing a football."
But couldn't it have been another group of athletic college kids relaxing on a spring day?
"Nah, I knew who they were. I could tell who the bad throwers and the bad catchers were."
The Tar Heels are well aware they didn't play their best in Syracuse. They're also well aware that they're still playing, something 10 other teams from the ACC would like to say. Some of this team's best performances have come in the wake of disappointing showings--the gallop through the Maui field after falling to Santa Clara, five straight 20-point ACC blowouts after the loss to Wake Forest, the gutty road win at Connecticut following the road loss to Duke.
This is a team that has shown significant resiliency. And there's an easy answer to what they must do better Saturday night in order to earn the right to play another game.
"We have to be willing to play defense," Jawad Williams said simply.
"The mistakes we've made, we can't have that," Sean May said. "(Coach Williams) isn't satisfied with just being at another Final Four. He feels we have an opportunity to win it if we play well...More than ever he's teaching the things we've done in the past, focusing on the little things."
Notes: Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo had perhaps the best line of the day when the four participating teams held their media press conferences. Addressing Carolina's rich talent, he said, "It's like pick your poison. Which way do you want to go? Do you want lethal injection or the electric chair?"...In case you haven't heard, Roy Williams hasn't won a national championship. Players and the coach himself were asked endlessly about that topic on Friday. Williams, to his credit, takes the questions even-temperedly. His players, though, admit to some "Win it for Roy" sentiment. "It's something I think about at night," May said. "I want to be on that team that 20 years from now when he's getting ready to retire, he thanks the 2005 team for getting him his first championship."...The Tar Heels went through a 50-minute practice on the Edward Jones Dome floor and will follow their usual road schedule for most of the rest of Friday, including an 11 p.m. team meeting...Carolina's two most recent national titles have included a ceremonial spit in the Mississippi River. Roy Williams partook of the tradition in 1982 in New Orleans and also tried it at Kansas but said the final word hasn't been delivered on this year's plans. "I've made it down to the river, but I haven't taken my team yet," he said. "I haven't made the final decision. You never can tell."
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.
