University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: It Really Happened
June 14, 2005 | Men's Basketball
June 14, 2005
By Adam Lucas
There were always things to do. When Sean May hauled down the last rebound against Illinois on the night of April 4 in St. Louis, there were interviews to conduct. There was a radio postgame show to do. There was a quick flight back to Chapel Hill in time for the next day's welcome home celebration. There was a book to write, players to wish farewell.
"It still hasn't really hit me," Rashad McCants said recently. "I still sit back and say, `I can't believe we're champions.' I don't know why it hasn't hit me. I guess because I was so focused during the year. When we won the national championship it was like, `Gosh, when is the next game?'"
There was no time to realize something extraordinary: the University of North Carolina won the 2005 national championship. The one thing every team talks about, the one thing you'll remember forever, the one thing that creates permanent bragging rights really happened.
When it's happening, there's not much time to coast. There's always a next game, a next practice, something else to worry about. The last game that was purely fun during the 2004-05 season was the Maui Invitational championship win over Iowa. Once the Tar Heels deposed the Hawkeyes in slam-dunking, fast-breaking fashion, the fingernail-biting reality became clear: this team was good enough to win. About the time the "Tar-Heels" chant was echoing through the Lahaina Civic Center as the squad accepted the trophy, the realization followed that this team was good enough to make it disappointing if they didn't at least crack the Final Four.
So the next four months were a little tense. It's like having a boat that's sailing smoothly but constantly running your hands over the hull to make sure there are no cracks. What if someone gets hurt? What if Rashad has to miss more than a couple of games? What if Jawad doesn't heat up again? What if the other team has one of those nights from three-point range?
A little over two months later, it's starting to sink in: University of North Carolina, 2005 national champions. You pull on the championship t-shirt with a little broader smile, you read over the saved newspapers one more time, even though you've got them all memorized. Winning a championship drives home exactly how difficult it is to advance through a single-elimination tournament. What if Rashad McCants doesn't block Clayton Hanson's shot against Wisconsin? What if Villanova makes one more basket? What if Carolina doesn't turn in one of the best halves of the year against Michigan State? What if Illinois takes a few more two-pointers and a few less three-pointers?
If any of those things happen (or don't happen), we're remembering the 2005 Tar Heels with a grim shake of the head and not a broad smile. It's not fair, but it's the truth.
There's a video circulating through the Smith Center (it's the skeleton of the behind-the-scenes DVD being sold to fans), roughly 40 minutes of highlights and behind the scenes footage capturing the entire season set to music. Roy Williams took it on a recent golf outing and showed it to some of his buddies. The result? A roomful of grown men in tears.
No matter how many times you see it, David Noel trying to swim away from the horde of Maui fish (while his teammates roar with laughter) is funny. No matter how many times you see it, Sean May's emotion after his huge three-point play at Indiana is gratifying. No matter how many times you see it, Marvin Williams's dunk over Alexander Johnson at Florida State is a jaw-dropper.
And no matter how many times you see it, it's very satisfying to watch Carolina try to fend off Illinois in the waning minutes of the championship game. The game is tied at 65 and Raymond Felton dribbles the ball. Billy Packer's voice is on the video soundtrack. "Look who's on (Felton)," he says. "The shut-down man, Deron Williams."
Bam, Felton drills a three-pointer.
At the time, the shot was just a generous helping of relief. Now, it's enough to make you pump your fist while sitting at your desk.
Roy Williams frequently talks about enjoying the journey, about making sure to enjoy the steps along the way to the ultimate goal. He's right, of course. The beauty of college basketball is not knowing what's going to happen.
The uncertainty creates tension. But it also creates terrific memories--even if they take a couple months to sink in.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and 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 Going Home Again, click here.
