McCants' block party throws down Ga. Tech

North Carolina fans have come to expect elevation from Rashad McCants, but this was something else entirely.

Georgia Tech’s Theodis Tarver, a 6-foot-9 forward, took to the air to attempt a mid-range jumper midway through the second half, but that’s as far as he got.

McCants rose with him, extending his right arm just far enough to swat the ball away and create a fast break in the other direction — a break on which he eventually scored two of his 12 points.

“It’s just instinctive to me,” he said. “I just do the things that come naturally.”

McCants, who finished with a career-high four blocks, led a sparkling effort on the defensive end by his entire team on Wednesday.

The Tar Heels consistently trapped Georgia Tech’s guards on the perimeter, forced tough shots for penetrating forwards and generally made life difficult for any opponent attempting to score.

The Yellow Jackets shot a season-low 36.8 percent in the game, including a woeful 26.9 percent in the first half.

Many of those misses came from behind the arc, where the Tar Heel defense was at its toughest.

Georgia Tech hit just three of its 17 3-point attempts in the game, and most of those shots hardly could be called open looks.

“Hey, if they can hit with a hand in their face, we can’t do nothing about that, but we wanted to make them take tough shots,” said guard Melvin Scott. “When you take tough shots, you’re going to miss them.”

But not every example of UNC's strong play at the defensive end could be found on the stat sheet.

Three minutes after his athletic block, McCants forced guard Zam Fredrick to dribble the ball across the baseline for a turnover.

The play didn’t turn the tide of the game — the outcome no longer was in doubt — but the persistent effort seemed to justify the defenses of McCants offered by those who see him as a complete player.

“Everybody has been getting the bad side of Rashad, everyone’s been down on him, trying to kill him in the newspapers,” said guard Raymond Felton. “Rashad is a great player. He’s just showing it this year.

“He’s showing that he can play team ball, and he can score.”

Tough defense, in fact, led to many of the Tar Heels’ scoring opportunities in the game — and their ability to shut down Georgia Tech’s transition game came as no surprise to the Yellow Jackets’ floor general.

“We definitely knew they were going to jump out into the passing lanes early, and they had a lot of good pressure and a lot of easy run-out baskets,” said Yellow Jacket guard Jarrett Jack.

Even when North Carolina players made mistakes in their own end, they found ways to atone.

Jackie Manuel’s unnecessary foul of Georgia Tech guard Mario West handed the Yellow Jackets three free throws late in the second half, but his intensity paid dividends less than a minute later.

As forward Anthony Morrow dribbled up the right wing, Manuel forced an errant pass into the stands and prompted a good-humored exchange with Coach Roy Williams.

“I told him that was for the play I did before, where I fouled the guy on the 3-point play,” Manuel said, laughing. “I told him I made up for it.

“But he shook his head like, ‘No, you didn’t.’”

It was McCants’ block, though, that prompted the buzz in the players’ lounge after the game.

He would not reveal whether similar dazzling defensive plays will become a regular part of his repertoire.

“Maybe, maybe not,” he said, hardly pausing to mull the question. “You’ve got to be on your toes and watch, watch and see.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.