Boone Opts To Leave Tar Heels

Sophomore point guard Adam Boone's name can now be crossed out. After North Carolina and Minnesota media outlets reported Tuesday that Boone would transfer, the University made it official Wednesday.

Boone, from Minneapolis, did not comment except to state that he intends to remain at UNC through the first summer session.

"I'm sorry to see Adam go," UNC coach Matt Doherty stated in a press release. "He made a great deal of improvement last year. I was looking forward to seeing him help re-establish our program over the next two years."

Boone joins the other two players in his recruiting class, former coach Bill Guthridge's last, as transfers. Guard Brian Morrison announced his decision March 18. Center Neil Fingleton left during Winter Break.

Seniors Will Johnson and Jonathan Holmes will be the only players with more than one year of collegiate experience on next season's team, which will include nine scholarship players.

Boone began and ended the season as the Tar Heels' starting point guard with some ups and downs in between.

He shot 43 percent from 3-point range and averaged 3.2 assists in 2001-02 -- both team highs. He also had 7.2 points and 2.2 rebounds per game and showed more aggressiveness late in the year.

But with point guard Raymond Felton, the national high school player of the year, arriving in the fall, Boone's role was likely to diminish significantly.

Doherty said Boone was unhappy because of scrutiny he received.

"I think Adam unfairly received a tremendous amount of criticism from the media, people on the Internet and others," Doherty said. "He feels a fresh start would be best for him at this time."

Doherty has had grievances with the Internet himself.

"That's the crap that I'm talking about that wastes my time and energy," Doherty said when asked about rumors regarding more possible transfers after Morrison's announcement. "There's a lot of irresponsible jerks on the Internet that have no clue."

"I get a little disturbed when they get a little personal with the players," Doherty said of critics in the public domain. "These players are doing the best they can. They're not trying to lose games; they're not trying to miss shots. They're college athletes. They're young kids. Sometimes we lose perspective of that."

Boone gave no public indication during the season that he was unhappy and remained positive despite suffering through the worst season in UNC history.

"It's probably a product of everybody being committed to the team," Boone said before the ACC Tournament. "We just have 14 or 15 guys that are all committed to the team. You don't always have that, and it's a special thing to be a part of."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.