ST. LOUIS — They started their careers by getting cut down.Three cocky college freshmen with dreams of stardom and championship banners were humbled, humiliated. That’s what a 20-loss season will do, especially at a program where 20-win seasons are viewed as a birthright.But seniors Jawad ...
ST. LOUIS, April 5 - They started their careers by getting cut down. Three cocky college freshmen with dreams of stardom and championship banners were humbled, humiliated. That's what a 20-loss season will do, especially at a program where 20-win seasons are seen as a birthright.
For much of the season, Jawad Williams was the steadying force for North Carolina. While other individuals went through dry spells during the early stretches of the season, Williams was the most consistent Tar Heel, hitting double figures in the team’s first 19 games. But since the calendar turned to March, Williams has struggled, reaching double digits just once in the last eight games.
Heading into this year, Rashad McCants was labeled a one-dimensional player. He was supposed to be an unstoppable force on offense but a liability on defense. In four NCAA Tournament games, McCants has proven the first part, scoring 17.8 points per game. Thanks to his offensive production — particularly a 15-point second half against Villanova on Friday and a 21-point performance Sunday against Wisconsin — the junior swingman was named to the Syracuse Region’s all-tournament team.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Final Four dreams that seemed so realistic several minutes earlier were quickly starting to fade for top-seeded North Carolina. The Tar Heels hadn’t scored in more than five minutes, and sixth-seeded Wisconsin had ripped off a 16-0 run to turn an 11-point deficit with 2:30 left in the first half to a five-point Badger advantage 2:30 into the second half.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Comcast Center security guards were in position, waiting for a surge from the student section. The Maryland students were in position, too, poising themselves to storm the court to celebrate the upset that would have likely secured the Terrapins a spot in the NCAA Tournament. But North Carolina's Sean May was in position as well, sliding to the left block to swat away Mike Jones' potential game-tying shot with three seconds left to preserve a dramatic 85-83 victory for the second-ranked Tar Heels on Sunday.
RALEIGH — Melvin Scott prayed for an ailing Rashad McCants in church on Sunday. But when McCants was forced out of Tuesday’s game versus N.C. State, Scott received the chance he had been hoping for all year. And the senior capitalized on his opportunity, nailing four 3-pointers and scoring 12 points to help the Tar Heels gut out an 81-71 victory at the RBC Center.
For a month, North Carolina coach Roy Williams received his education about his team on a six-city tour, with tutorials being held in such places as Cameron Indoor Stadium, Lawrence Joel Coliseum and the Leon County Civic Center, the site of one of North Carolina’s most embarrassing losses ever a year ago. Williams could sum up what he learned about his team in one word: toughness. And he saw it in his team when it returned home to earn an 85-61 win against Virginia.
HARTFORD, Conn. — Raymond Felton found himself in a familiar situation against Connecticut on Sunday. With the clock ticking down toward the end of the first half, the junior point guard had an open look from the top of the key — a similar shot to the one Tar Heel fans had been wondering how he could have passed up four days earlier in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Although the shot caromed off the rim, this time Felton took charge of the situation.
North Carolina had made all the stops and enough of its shots that it found itself with a chance to beat Duke after facing a late nine-point deficit. Coming out of a timeout with 18.2 seconds left, the question for the Tar Heels was who would take the final shot. Would it be Rashad McCants, who struggled all game but has made a career off nailing big shots? Would it be Raymond Felton, who almost single-handedly willed UNC back into the game? Or would it be Sean May, who carried the Tar Heels throughout with 23 points and 18 rebounds?
