Ed Cota

Position:
Guard
Height:
6-1
Weight:
185
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Brooklyn, NY
High School:
St Thomas Moore Academy

AT CAROLINA
Senior leader who should challenge for national and conference honors - Is one of 10 preseason candidates for the Naismith Award, given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the National Player of the Year - Also one of 25 candidates for the Wooden Award, presented by the Los Angeles Athletic Club to the National Player of the Year.

Has great vision and instincts on the floor - Should become the alltime assists leader in Carolina history early this season - Is eighth in ACC history and third in UNC history with 746 assists - Kenny Smith holds the UNC record and is fifth in ACC history with 768 - Phil Ford is seventh in ACC history and second at Carolina with 753.

Has led the ACC in assists in each of his three seasons - Georgia Tech's Drew Barry (1994-96), Wake Forest's Tyrone Bogues (1985-87) and Ford (1976-78) are the only other players to lead the ACC in assists three consecutive years - Cota is the first player in ACC history to lead the league in assists in each of his first three seasons - Virginia's Ralph Sampson and Wake Forest's Tim Duncan are the only players to lead the ACC in a statistical category for four straight seasons - Sampson and Duncan both led the ACC in blocked shots four times.

Has averaged 7.24 assists in 103 games - That is the third-highest average in ACC history behind NC State's Chris Corchiani (8.37 from 1988-91) and Duke's Bobby Hurley (7.68 from 1990-93) - The previous high by a Carolina player was 6.1 by Ford.

Has posted a UNC record 20 double-figure assist games - Had double figures in assists six times as a freshman, eight times as a sophomore and six as a junior - Ford held the previous record of 10-or-more-assist games with 16.

Needs 93 points to become the 49th player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career - Ford, Smith and Jeff Lebo are the only Tar Heels to score at least 1,000 points and dish out 500 assists in a career - Scored in double figures 13 times as a freshman, 15 times as a sophomore and 15 times as a junior - Scored a career-high 20 points in three different games last year.

JUNIOR SEASON (1998-99)
Became just the second player in UNC history to dish out at least 200 assists in three different seasons - Had 238 assists, the third-highest single-season total in school history - He compiled the first- and fourth-best single-season totals his sophomore and freshman seasons, respectively.

Earned second-team All-ACC honors for the second straight year - No point guard was named to the All-ACC first team (only four have made first-team All-ACC in the 1990s) - He was joined on the second team by point guards William Avery of Duke and Terrell McIntyre of Clemson.

Dished out 29 assists in three games at the 1999 ACC Tournament (9.7 per game) and became the ACC Tournament career leader with 67 assists - Cota had nine assists in the quarterfinal win vs. Georgia Tech, nine in the semifinal victory vs. Maryland and 11 vs. Duke in the championship game.

Led the Atlantic Coast Conference in assists for the third consecutive season with 7.4 per game - Maryland's Terrell Stokes was second at 6.2 assists per contest.

Averaged 10.5 points, 7.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds. Made 42 three-point field goals, 24 more than he made his first two years combined.

Made 41.2 percent of his three-point attempts (42 of 102), compared to 31.0 percent his first two years (18 of 58).

Hit four three-point baskets in a game twice - against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament and against UNC Charlotte.

Was fourth on the team in scoring (10.5), first in assists (7.4), fifth in rebounding (4.3) and second with 42 three-pointers.

Matched his career scoring high with 20 points and added 10 assists in the NCAA Tournament loss to Weber State - It was his 10th career double-double and 20th career double-digit assist game.

Had 11 assists vs. Duke in the ACC final and became the alltime ACC Tournament leader with 67 assists - Had nine assists in each of the first two rounds against Georgia Tech and Maryland - Was named second-team All-ACC Tournament for the third year in a row.

Had nine assists, including the pass to Ademola Okulaja for the game-winning three-point basket with 1.4 seconds remaining in the 67-66 win at Virginia - He also scored 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting, including 1 of 2 from three-point range.

Was sensational in UNC's 63-61 win over Old Dominion - He hit the game-winning basket on a left-handed drive with 1.5 seconds to play - Cota scored a career-high 20 points, had six assists, six rebounds and three steals - He made 7 of 12 shots from the floor, including both of his three-point attempts and was 4 of 4 from the free throw line in 39 minutes of action.

Averaged 14 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the final two games to earn MVP honors and lead Carolina to the Preseason NIT Championship - Cota scored 11 points and had eight assists to help Carolina overcome a 7-point halftime deficit to Purdue - He posted his eighth career double-double with 17 points and a career-high 11 rebounds against No. 2 Stanford - It was the first time Cota had ever posted a points-rebounds double-double - Had 14 points and 11 assists against Georgia in the second round of the NIT.

Had a season-high 13 assists (just one off his career high) and just one turnover in 37 minutes in Carolina's 86-75 victory at Hampton on Nov. 23 - Cota also had eight points and was 5 of 6 from the free throw line.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (1997-98)
Earned second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors - Set a single-season school record with 274 assists - Broke the previous record which was set by Kenny Smith, who had 235 assists in 1984-85, with five assists vs. Duke in the ACC Championship game - Averaged a school-record 7.4 assists per game - The previous best was by Ford, who averaged 7.0 assists per game in 1975-76 - Led the league in assists and was fifth in the nation at 7.4 per game - His 7.4 assist per game average was the highest by an ACC player since Duke's Bobby Hurley averaged 7.6 assists in 1992 - Was second in the ACC in assist to turnover ratio (2.42) - In ACC games only, Cota averaged 8.7 assists per game - The next closest competitor was Clemson's Terrell McIntyre who averaged 5.6 - Became the first player in school history to dish out at least 10 assists in three consecutive games when he had 14 vs. Appalachian State, 13 at NC State and 14 vs. Florida State - Finished second on the team with a free throw shooting percentage of .824 - Made 56 of his last 65 free throws (.862). Shot 49.3 percent from the floor and averaged 8.1 points per game.

1997-98 NCAA TOURNAMENT
A member of the All-East Regional Tournament team - Averaged 7.0 assists and 8.2 points in the 1998 NCAA Tournament - Scored 11 points and had eight assists in the 73-58 victory vs. Michigan State in the East Regional semifinal and had nine assists, eight rebounds and eight points in the 75-64 victory against Connecticut in the East final - The eight rebounds tied a career high - In the East Regional, Cota held Big Ten Player of the Year Mateen Cleaves of Michigan State to just 7 of 21 shooting and Khalid El-Amin of Connecticut to just two assists - In Carolina's two wins over Michigan State and Connecticut, Cota had 17 assists and just five turnovers, an assist to turnover ratio of 3.4 - He also averaged 9.5 points in the two victories in Greensboro - In the 88-52 first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Navy, Cota scored 12 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed five rebounds.

1997-98 ACC TOURNAMENT
Averaged 5.3 assists and 6.7 points and earned second-team All-ACC Tournament honors after helping lead Carolina to the title.

1997-98 REGULAR-SEASON
Was sensational in the final minutes of Carolina's 97-73 win over No. 1 ranked Duke on February 5th - Overcame a season-high eight turnovers to finish with 12 points and 12 assists - After Duke scored 15 consecutive points to pull within four points of the Tar Heels, Cota either scored or had assists on five of the next six possessions - Cota had 12 assists against the Blue Devils on Feb. 5 - Became the first player in school history to dish out at least 10 assists in three consecutive games when he had 14 vs. Appalachian State, 13 at NC State and 14 vs. Florida State - Had a career-high 14 assists against Florida State on Jan. 24 and 14 assists vs. Appalachian State on Jan. 17 - The 14-assist game against FSU matched the UNC record for an ACC game - Scored a career-high 17 points and added 12 assists at Florida State - Had seven assists in Charlottesville, one of which was an incredible over-his-head, no-look heave that resulted in a Vince Carter breakaway jam.

FRESHMAN SEASON (1996-97)
1997 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year - Was the fourth UNC player to win the award (Sam Perkins in 1981, Michael Jordan in 1982 and J.R. Reid in 1987) - Earned ACC Rookie-of-the-Week accolades three straight times in the month of February - Was named to the All-ACC Tournament second team - Also the top vote-getter on the All-ACC Rookie Team - First-team Freshman All-America by Basketball Weekly (along with Tim Thomas of Villanova, Mike Bibby of Arizona, A.J. Guyton of Indiana and Shaheen Holloway of Seton Hall) - Second-team Freshman All-America by Basketball Times - Led the ACC and was eighth in the country in assists - Topped all freshmen in the country in assists - Averaged 6.9 assists per game, the second-highest single-season figure in Carolina basketball history (only Ford had a higher average, 7.0 in 1975-76) - It is the highest average for a UNC freshman and the third-highest in ACC history for freshmen (Kenny Anderson of Georgia Tech averaged 8.1 in 1989-90 and Chris Corchiani of NC State averaged 7.3 in 1987-88) - Had 234 assists in 34 games - That was the second-highest single-season assist total in Carolina history (now fourth) - Was the first freshman to lead the ACC in assists since Anderson in 1989-90 - In the first eight ACC games (UNC 3-5 record), he averaged 4.4 points, 5.5 assists and 4.4 turnovers - In the second half of the ACC schedule (UNC 8-0 record), he averaged 9.6 points, 8.0 assists and 3.3 turnovers - Was third in the ACC in all games in assist-turnover ratio at 1.89 to 1. Had more assists than turnovers in 15 of the last 17 games - Had a season-high 12 assists against Southern California and ACC season-high 11 assists against Maryland (Jan. 8) and Duke (March 2) - Posted three double-doubles - Had 14 points and 10 assists against Florida State on Feb. 6, 12 points and 11 assists against the Blue Devils in the regular-season finale and 11 points and 10 assists vs. Virginia in the ACC Quarterfinal.

1996-97 NCAA TOURNAMENT
Named to the NCAA All-East Regional Team - Had 32 assists and just 13 turnovers, shot 57.1 percent from the field and averaged 9.0 points in the four NCAA victories - Had eight assists against California in the East semifinal, including several to Antawn Jamison in Jamison's 12-point run in the second half, and an alley-oop pass to Vince Carter for a dunk which gave UNC the lead for good - Was spectacular in the regional final vs. Louisville as he made 4 of 6 from the floor and 5 of 6 from the line, with nine assists and three steals - Had six assists in the first half as the Tar Heels built a 21-point lead - Scored 16 points and added five assists in the win over Colorado - Hit two three-pointers in the second half, the first of which gave UNC a 4-point lead and the second of which gave UNC a 9-point advantage - Had three assists and just one turnover in the second half - Had 10 assists and zero turnovers in the NCAA 1st round against Fairfield.

1996-97 ACC TOURNAMENT
Was sensational in the ACC Tournament, directing the UNC offense to a combined three-game field goal percentage of .547 - Averaged 8.7 points, 7.3 assists and 3.0 turnovers per game - Hit clutch 3FGs against both Virginia and Wake Forest, his first since December 7 - Had 11 points and 10 assists in the quarterfinal, 13 points, seven assists and just one turnover against Wake Forest and had five assists in the championship game against NC State - All-Tournament second team selection.

1996-97 REGULAR-SEASON
Turning point of his season came late in the second half of the loss at Duke (Jan. 29) - Calmly sank a 15-foot jumper with 1:30 to play to cut Duke's lead to two points - Scored 12 points and had 11 assists, many of them setting up Jamison's 33 points, in the win over Duke on March 2 - Scored a regular-season-high 15 points and had 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 turnovers in win at Clemson - Hit a clutch, 16-foot jumper with 2:47 to play after the Tigers cut UNC's lead to one - Was 6 for 8 from the floor at Clemson - Scored two baskets and set up two more in the final 5:30 of the win over Wake Forest on Feb. 19 - Hit the game-winning free throws with 33 seconds to play and had 7 second-half assists in Feb. 15 win at Georgia Tech - Hit game-winning shot with 4.6 seconds to play in 45-44 win at N.C. State - Had 10 points, 3 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers in that win at NC State - Had 7 first-half assists and 0 turnovers in Feb. 6 win over Florida State - Had 10 first-half assists in Jan. 8 loss to Maryland. Had 14 points, 7 assists and 5 steals in debut against Arizona - Hit a key shot in the lane late in the win at Princeton - Did not play against LSU on December 18 due to a strained right arch.

PREP
Played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Tilden High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., and his final two years at St. Thomas More Academy in Oakdale, Conn. - Led St. Thomas More to a 27-3 record as a senior - St. Thomas won the New England prep title in his junior year, when he averaged 21 points and nine assists - Selected to a prestigious national all-star team. Member of the United States Junior National Select Team which played an international select team in Charlotte - Paced Tilden High with 31.5 points, 11 assists and six steals per game and led his team to the semifinals of the New York Public School Athletic League - Honor roll student and member of the Big Brother program at St. Thomas More.

CAREER HIGHS

Points: 20 vs. Old Dominion (12/4/98), vs. Duke (1/27/99) and vs. Weber State (3/11/99)
Field Goals: 8 vs. Duke (1/27/99) and vs. Weber State (3/11/99)
3-Point FG: 4 vs. UNC Charlotte (12/12/98) and vs. Georgia Tech (3/5/99)
3-Point FG Attempts: 8 vs. Maryland (1/13/99)
Free Throws Made: 10 vs. Massachusetts (12/20/96)
Free Throw Attempts: 14 vs. Massachusetts (12/20/96)
Rebounds: 11 vs. Stanford (11/27/98)
Assists: 14 vs. Appalachian State (1/17/98) and vs. Florida State (1/24/98)
Turnovers: 8 vs. Duke (1/29/97), vs. Duke (2/5/98) and vs. Wake Forest (2/23/99)
Steals: 5 vs. Arizona (11/22/96) and vs. Georgia (11/18/98)

COTA PERSONALITY FILE

College Major: African Studies
Post-School Ambition: Play in the NBA
Hobbies or Other Talents: Playing pool, cards, dominoes, hanging out with friends
People Who Have Had the Greatest Influence on My Athletic Career: Mom, Dad, Nephew, Rock
Athletes I Most Admire: Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, my teammates
Best Book I Have Ever Read: Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Favorite Foods: Mom's cooking, Jamaican food, Italian food
Favorite TV Shows: Martin, SportsCenter
Movies I Have Most Enjoyed: Scarface, Menace II Society, Boyz 'n' the Hood, Heat
Biggest Athletic Thrill: Wearing a Carolina uniform
Interesting Fact About Myself: My parents are from Panama
My Favorite Basketball Player When I Was Growing Up Was: Magic Johnson
My Favorite Things About Playing Basketball Are: The competitiveness and the challenge to win
What I Like Most About the University of North Carolina Is: Everyone is nice
My Favorite Sport Other Than Basketball Is: Football
Person in History (Past or Present) I Would Like to Meet Is: Christopher Wallace
One Wish I Would Make for the 21st Century: That my family and I stay healthy enough to make it to the 22nd century!
Full Given Name: Eduardo Enrique Cota
Birthdate and Place of Birth: May 19, 1976, in Los Angeles
Parents' Names: Cecilia Cota and George Cedeno
High School Coaches' Names: Eric "Rock" Eisenberg, Jerry Quinn, Tom Alquist, Steve Davis

COTA'S CAREER STATISTICS

Year	GP	FGM-A	Pct	3FGM-A	Pct	FTM-A	Pct	Off	Def	Reb	Avg	A	TO	B	S	Pts	Avg
1996-97	34	95-195	.487	8-25	.320	74-104	.712	22	71	93	2.7	234	124	8	57	272	8.0
1997-98	37	102-207	.493	10-33	.303	84-102	.824	31	102	133	3.6	274	113	7	58	298	8.1
1998-99	32	110-271	.406	42-102	.412	75-111	.676	29	108	137	4.3	238	118	5	37	337	10.5
Totals	103	307-673	.456	60-160	.375	233-317	.735	82	281	363	3.5	746	355	20	152	907	8.8

ED COTA GAME-BY-GAME
1996-97

Opponent	FGM-A	3FGM-A	FTM-A	O-D-REB	A	TO	STL	PTS
vs. Arizona	5-14	0-1	4-4	1-4-5	7	4	5	14
Richmond	2-6	1-3	4-6	1-0-1	8	6	1	9
Pittsburgh	1-3	0-0	2-6	0-6-6	4	7	2	4
Bethune-Cookman	4-7	0-1	0-1	0-4-4	8	3	3	8
vs. Southern California	2-5	0-0	0-0	0-3-3	12	5	1	4
vs. South Carolina	4-10	1-3	0-0	0-0-0	5	3	2	9
at VMI	6-7	0-0	1-1	1-3-4	9	2	2	13
LSU	DNP-injured right arch
vs. Massachusetts	0-4	0-0	10-14	0-3-3	7	3	1	10
at Princeton	4-5	0-0	6-6	1-0-1	2	3	0	14
at Wake Forest	0-2	0-1	0-0	0-0-0	1	3	0	0
Maryland	2-7	0-2	4-4	0-2-2	11	6	2	8
at Virginia	1-6	0-1	2-4	0-3-3	7	2	2	4
NC State	2-5	0-0	0-0	1-1-2	3	4	1	4
Georgia Tech	0-1	0-1	0-0	1-0-1	7	5	2	0
at Florida State	3-3	0-0	0-0	0-0-0	5	5	2	6
Clemson	0-1	0-0	3-4	0-2-2	4	2	1	3
at Duke	4-6	0-0	2-2	1-2-3	6	8	3	10
Middle Tennessee State	4-5	0-0	0-0	0-1-1	6	0	2	8
Florida State	5-7	0-0	4-5	0-1-1	10	1	2	14
Virginia	2-4	0-0	0-1	0-1-1	8	4	2	4
at NC State	4-11	0-0	2-3	1-0-1	3	0	2	10
at Georgia Tech	1-5	0-2	4-5	2-3-5	9	4	1	6
Wake Forest	3-7	0-0	2-4	0-4-4	7	3	3	8
at Maryland	3-3	0-0	2-2	2-1-3	9	6	0	8
at Clemson	6-8	0-0	3-4	3-3-6	7	2	2	15
Duke	5-9	0-0	2-4	3-2-5	11	6	1	12
Virginia (ACC)	3-6	1-1	4-5	0-5-5	10	3	0	11
Wake Forest (ACC)	4-7	1-2	4-4	1-0-1	7	1	2	13
NC State (ACC)	1-1	0-0	0-1	0-2-2	5	5	0	2
Fairfield (NCAA)	1-4	0-0	0-0	0-1-1	10	0	1	2
Colorado (NCAA)	6-7	2-2	2-2	1-5-6	5	4	1	16
California (NCAA)	1-4	1-1	2-5	0-2-2	8	5	2	5
Louisville (NCAA)	4-6	0-1	5-6	1-2-3	9	4	3	13
Arizona (NCAA)	2-9	1-3	0-1	1-5-6	4	5	3	5