University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: UNC Basketball Mailbag April 12
April 12, 2005 | Men's Basketball
April 12, 2005
By Adam Lucas
There's always a little bit of sadness at the end of a season, even one as successful as 2004-05. No more games, no more practices, and no more Carolina basketball mailbag. We've got a few final loose ends to tie up and we're also going to need a little reader help for one last time. If you were on Franklin Street the night of the championship game and don't mind writing about your experience, drop us an email with the subject line "I was on Franklin Street." We need your help for a couple of projects we're working on and there's a good chance your response will be published somewhere. Previous writing experience is a plus but not required and we're only picking one person, so make your email a good one. We need the same thing from someone who watched the final at the Smith Center. Drop us an email with the subject line "I was at the Smith Center." We'll be in touch later this week.
We also need your help on another topic. We need a mailbag intern to help out with some of the research we have to do around here. Performance will determine exactly what other duties are assigned, but there's a chance for some very good assignments. We'll be honest: pay is minimal, glory is minimal, and you need to have a lot of time to devote to the task between November and April. It would be a significant bonus if you also had some time this spring and summer to help out with a couple of other projects, especially interview transcription. You do not have to be a journalism major but being a college student would probably help. Drop us an email with the subject line "Mailbag Intern" to get an application. Again, there's just one position so although we're certain we're going to get a lot of qualified applications, we're only picking one person.
We've gotten a lot of emails about official championship merchandise. The UNC Season in Review DVD currently for sale on this site is the official UNC chronicle of the season. From what we've seen of the footage, it's going to be unlike anything you've ever seen about Carolina basketball. Videographer Ken Cleary has a ton of behind-the-scenes footage--he's been in the locker room and on the team plane for the entire season. Personally, we can't wait for our copy. As of right now, there are no DVDs that include the full CBS broadcast plus the Woody Durham/Mick Mixon call of the game. It will be up to CBS as to whether they want to grant the rights to the full game. The Woody and Mick broadcast, however, will be included on a CD with the official championship book, which we began working on the night of the title game. Like the DVD, it's going to be packed with exclusive information, including first person accounts of virtually every significant moment of the 2004-05 season from players and coaches. We think you're going to enjoy it and we will have ordering information on this site in the near future.
On with the questions...
Another great year in the books, what a year to remember. I can still hardly believe Carolina won the National Championship. I can remember just getting so emotional in the 8-20 season during the first Duke game. I know how much it hurt for me. I cannot even begin to think how much it hurt for those players.
Just a few quick questions for next year:
1. What opponents are already known to be on Carolina's schedule?
2. When will the full schedule be released?
3. When will the first game be played?
Shane McGrath
The full schedule will likely be released by the league office in August. Because of the addition of Boston College, it will include a slightly tweaked version of the ACC rotation--but still just one game against Wake Forest. Home and away league games will be played against Duke, NC State, Maryland, Virginia, and Miami next year. The Heels will face Georgia Tech, Boston College, and Clemson in Chapel Hill and will travel to play Wake, Florida State, and Virginia Tech. Nonconference opponents will be finalized throughout the spring and summer, but expect to see a road trip to Kentucky and a home game against Arizona highlighting the out-of-conference slate. There's also a trip to Southern Cal on the schedule and a possible game at Washington, although that hasn't been finalized yet.
I am sick and tired of seeing references to Carolina's "fourth national championship."
It's our 4th NCAA championship. It's our 5th national championship.
Why does the 1924 team continue to be ignored? Even our own tarheelblue.com web site the morning after the Illinois game proclaimed it Carolina's "fourth national title."
I hear folks say that it was a long, long time ago. Well, if that's the case, then I guess we can immediately ignore all of Notre Dame's national football titles during the Knute Rockne era. I'm pretty sure Notre Dame counts those championships in its all-time total and is quite proud of them.
I also hear the rationale that it was determined by vote, not by an NCAA tournament format. Again, that is ridiculous. Using that logic, I suppose we shouldn't recognize USC's AP national title in 2004 ... or any football national champion in history, for that matter.
Scott Dupree, Apex, NC
The 1924 title is a very interesting case. You're right that the Tar Heels were national champions in the 1924 season, and the wall outside the basketball office lists that year as a national title.
There is one minor difference to the football titles you mention: the Helms Foundation, which awarded the '24 title, voted retroactively rather than during the actual season. Their titles were awarded in 1936. That's the biggest sticking point for counting that year alongside 1957, 1982, 1993, and 2005. It's also troublesome because Butler claims a 1924 national title as well since they won an AAU-sponsored tournament that year.
It shouldn't really matter that it's not an official NCAA title--after all, the NCAA still doesn't award a college football championship and no one seems to have a problem accepting those.
With that said, we think it's fair to say Carolina has won five national championships and four NCAA championships. You're likely to get some disagreement from fans of rival schools but that comes with the territory.
Could you please refresh our collective memories about the draft, such as, how soon do they have to declare? On what grounds can they withdraw, and at what point? When does it become a point-of-no-return decision?
Bill Downs, Mechanicsburg, PA
We were thinking about setting up a separate mailbox to handle the flood of NBA-related inquiries. We'll say this for Carolina fans--they don't waste much time celebrating before they start thinking about next year.
Traditionally, most Carolina players have waited until after the team's end-of-season banquet to make their declarations. That takes place Tuesday (and it's open to the public so make plans to come out and hear the senior speeches, which are always the highlight of the evening), so we'd expect some news soon after that.
The Tar Heels have four potential early entry candidates: Rashad McCants, Raymond Felton, Sean May, and Marvin Williams. As soon as minutes after the win over Illinois, McCants was already hinting that he planned to turn pro. Asked if he had anything left to accomplish in college, he replied, "I really don't think so."
Felton is likely to be the next to make a decision. The Carolina point guard now has done something Phil Ford never did--win a championship--and he does have family considerations.
Then there's Marvin Williams, around whom most of the NBA speculation has centered since early in the season. It's pretty simple: pro scouts love him and he's going to be a top-five pick no matter when he leaves school. The question he has to answer in the days and weeks to come is whether he's ready for the pro grind, the endless travel and basketball focus that comes with being a professional. He'll consult with Roy Williams this week.
The most informed decision-maker is likely to be Sean May, whose family has a vast network of basketball contacts. His declaration at the title celebration that he planned to be back shouldn't be taken as the final verdict on his plans. He still needs to consult with Roy Williams and his family, and when he does so he's likely to find that he's a very hot commodity among pro teams. That's going to make his decision more difficult than it was back in January when he was unequivocal in stating his intentions to return.
The deadline to make an early entry declaration for the Draft is May 14, although most players do so well before then. There's an NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago June 7-10, and then players can withdraw from the Draft until June 21 if they haven't hired an agent. The actual draft itself is June 28 in New York City.
We honestly can't provide any additional NBA information. It's up to the Tar Heel players to let you know, and we'd rather not get into speculation or rumors. This is their moment to decide, and when they want to announce that they're staying or going, they'll do so.
Last night on the radio, I heard Woody and Mick talking about the similarities between this team and the 1993 team. Like number of losses, 2 on the road, 2 at neutral sites. Finished perfect at home, 14-2 in the conference. Lost to Wake Forest and Duke at their place during the regular season, lost to Georgia Tech during the ACC tournament, etc.
They said they believed you had written this. If so, would you reprint it?
Elaine Whitley, Elizabeth City
This appeared in a previous mailbag back when we were just hoping that the biggest similarity--a national title--would come true. At that time, the common traits were a little eerie: Both teams lost two games in the conference. The '93 team lost their two games at Wake Forest and at Duke. This year's team lost...at Wake Forest and at Duke. Both teams suffered an early nonconference loss, with the '93 squad falling to Michigan and this year's team dropping the opener to Santa Clara. Both teams won the ACC regular season title with a 14-2 record and exited the ACC Tournament at the hands of Georgia Tech--77-75 in 1993 and 78-75 this year. The 1993 team was perfect at home, lost two games on the road, and lost two games on neutral courts. This year's team is perfect at home, lost two games on the road, and lost two games on neutral courts. Both teams took trips to Hawaii during the nonconference portion of the schedule--the 1993 squad played in the Rainbow Classic, whereas this year it was the Maui Invitational.
Eight players averaged double figure minutes for the 1993 team (Eric Montross, Derrick Phelps, Henrik Rodl, Pat Sullivan, Donald Williams, Kevin Salvadori, Brian Reese, and George Lynch), which was led in scoring by a center from the state of Indiana (Eric Montross, 15.8 points per game). This year's team has eight players averaging double figure minutes and is led in scoring by a center from the state of Indiana (Sean May, 16.5 points per game). Both teams include a senior forward who would be acknowledged by the players as the leader of the team (in 1993 it was George Lynch, who scored 14.7 points per game, this year it's Jawad Williams at 14.1 points per game). Outside shooters from the state of North Carolina play a major role on both teams (Donald Williams, from Garner, in 1993, and Rashad McCants, from Asheville, in 2005). A player with the last name of Williams wore jersey number 21 on both teams (Donald in 1993, Jawad in 2005) and backup point guards on both teams wore number 11 (Scott Cherry in 1993, Quentin Thomas in 2005). The lowest scorer among the regular 1993 starters? Henrik Rodl, number 5 (he started 26 games, Donald Williams started only 14). The lowest scorer among the 2005 starters? Jackie Manuel, number 5.
The 1993 team started NCAA play in the state of North Carolina (Winston-Salem) on March 18 and 20. This year's team began NCAA play in the state of North Carolina (Charlotte) on March 18 and March 20.
Some new additions: In the second weekend of the tournament, the Tar Heels were tied at halftime of one game (against Arkansas in 1993, Wisconsin in 2005) and trailed in the other (Cincinnati in 1993, Villanova in 2005). Official Jim Stupin worked Carolina's first-round game against Iowa State this year and officiated the title game in 1993. Ted Hillary also worked games in both title runs (the Arkansas game in 1993, the Iowa State game in 2005).
Carolina posted a double-digit national semifinal victory over a team that included a former Carolina assistant (78-68 over Roy Williams with Kansas in 1993, 87-71 over Doug Wojcik with Michigan State in 2005). Rick Pitino coached a team that lost in the opposite semifinal (Kentucky in 1993, Louisville this year) in both seasons, and both Final Fours were played in cities on the banks of the Mississippi River. Both championship game wins were over Big Ten teams. Carolina put three players in double figures against Michigan (Lynch, Montross, and Williams) and three against Illinois (May, McCants, Felton) and had one player with 9 points in both games (Derrick Phelps and Jawad Williams) and one player with 8 points in both games (Brian Reese and Marvin Williams). The Tar Heels were outrebounded in both title games and committed 10 turnovers in both games. Neither championship opponent made many trips to the free throw line--Michigan had just 7 attempts in 1993, Illinois just 6. The Tar Heels made 27 field goals in the 1993 game and 27 field goals in the 2005 game. Roy Williams sat in the stands in 1993 and watched his mentor win the title; Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge sat in the stands in 2005 and watched their pupil win the title. Both title teams needed a defensive stop in the closing seconds to win the game: Michigan had the ball trailing 73-71 with under 20 seconds left; Illinois had the ball trailing 73-70 with under 20 seconds left.
At the time we wrote this, we said it "meant absolutely nothing." But it's hard to argue with such striking similarities.
With that, we wrap up another season of the Carolina basketball mailbag. Thanks for all your questions this year. We look forward to starting a new season with new questions this November.
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.
