Basketball '92-'93The Daily Tar HeelFriday, November 20, 19921 1
5
And the rat roams on: Sullivan still a gym fixture
By David Monroe
StaffWriter
They play and hang out in gyms
every free moment they have. They can
be found shooting jumpers when the
gym opens and playing in a pickup
game when it closes. They are always
the first to arrive and the last to leave.
Sometimes, they even hide in the
gym so they can shoot by themselves
after everyone has left and the lights
have been turned out
They can always be found at the gym.
That's why they're known as gym rats.
North Carolina's Pat Sullivan is the
king of gym rats.
"All of my teammates will tell you I
am (at the Smith Center) a lot," Sullivan
said. "I just love this place. I love to
come down and shoot any time of the
day or night. My roommate (Chuck
Lisenbee) is the manager. A lot of times
we will be home at 10 o'clock at night,
and I'll just say, 'Chuck, comeon, I feel
like shooting.'
"We'll just come down here, turn on
the lights and work out"
Said teammate Eric Montross: "He is
in here all the time, coming out late at
night and shooting. It doesn't matter, he
is here. He just doesn't stop playing.
Some people need breaks, and he is not
one of those people."
The junior from Bogota, NJ., who
averaged five points and three rebounds
a game last season, said he never gets
tired of playing basketball.
It is just so much fun for me now,
Sullivan said. "It is not even work. I
don't even consider it working on my
game. I just feel that it is fun to do.
"Obviously I know it's helping me
become a better player, but it is some
thing I love to do. Some people like to
hang out. Some people like to swim or
whatever in their free time. I like to do
this in my free time."
Sullivan's love for the game is year
round. Last season, the 6-foot-8 small
forward shot a disappointing 47.4 per
cent from the field. Along with the low
percentage came a loss of confidence.
Instead of getting down on himself,
Sullivan took it upon himself to work on
his shooting. This summer, he took hun
dreds of thousands of shots.
"Over the summer, when you see
success, when you see your shots start
ing to fall, it just builds your confidence
up right there," he said. "So I just have
to continue that."
Sullivan said some of last season's
shooting woes had been mental.
"Even last summer before my sopho
more year, I worked very hard on my
game, and this summer, also, I did the
same thing. I lost a little bit of confi
dence at the end of the year, but I think
Freshmen p8
"He needs to lose weight and gain
some speed and stamina," Jacobs said,
"and I think probably those two are
inextricably intertwined as he be
comes lighter, he'll move better, and
he'll have better stamina."
Last year, Geth averaged 17 ppg and
18 rpg for Norfolk (Va.) High School.
"(Smith) sees within him the outlines
of a good player, but my sense is that it' s
going to take work to get him into the
shape he would need to be, and also to
polish the features that he doesn't have
yet," Jacobs said.
Luckily, Geth and the others are fresh
men. They still have four years in Chapel
Hill to polish their games and their
lives. i.t .. -.- .-
r
Pat Sullivan
I got it back through the hard work in the
summer. I've been shooting well ever
since."
Point guard Derrick Phelps said that
while Sullivan definitely can shoot the
ball, he must be more confident and not
hesitate to take a shot
"In high school, he was a scorer,"
Phelps said. "I feel that coming out
here, he's got to get more comfortable
in the system and become that scorer he
used to be."
Added Tar Heel Brian Reese: "He
won't take crazy shots. He will hit a lot
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of shots. He is a good 3-point shooter. A
lot of people really don't see it because
it is all about having confidence and
being ready."
With the graduation of shooting sen
sation Hubert Davis, someone has to
step up and hit the outside shot for the
Tar Heels. Sullivan said he is ready to
accept that challenge.
"Right now, I am real confident in
my shot," Sullivan said. "I think shoot
ing is definitely a strong point in my
game. If I'm open, I think I can make a
lot of the shots that I am going to take."
Besides the amount of shooting
Sullivan did over the summer to im
prove his game, another thing that will
make him a better player is the addition
of four freshmen: Dante Calabria, Larry
Davis, Ed Geth and Serge Zwikker.
"Being freshmen, I think they are
going to come in and work extra hard,
and that is just going to push me,"
Sullivan said. "I am a junior, and I am
also going to work very hard to set the
example that this is how you have to
work in this system. Hopefully, they
can help me, and I am definitely going
to try and help them, too."
In his first two years with the Tar
Heels, Sullivan has been known best for
his heady defense, good passing and
overall smart play.
"He always has a positive attitude,"
said senior forward George Lynch. "He
works hard every day in practice, so I
think he makes the team improve as far
as guys not giving up in practice, always
We've backed the
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having their heads up. You can' t ask for
any more from a player."
Despite his commitment to shooting
more this season, Sullivan said he would
always rather make a pass to set up a
basket than make a shot himself.
"I always love to make an assist be
fore making a shot," he said. 'To me,
that's the best (feeling) playing basket
ball to make an assist, and that' s what
I love to do."
His teammates have to stay alert when
Sullivan is on the court. "Pat is a heads
up player," Lynch said. "If you are on
the floor for one minute with Pat, and
you are not expecting a pass, the ball
may hit you in the face."
However, Sullivan's biggest asset is
his defense. He can always be found on
the floor scrapping for a loose ball or
drawing a charge.
"He is always around at the right time
with the ball," Reese said. "We do a lot
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Pat out of place."
Playing strong defense is something
that Sullivan takes tremendous pride in
because in the UNC system, if you don't
play defense, you don't play.
"That is something that is stressed
here," Sullivan said. "Defense wins the
games. If your shots aren't falling, de
fense is always the constant. You can
always control your defense, but you
can't control if the ball rolls around the
basket and falls out. You can always
play hard on defense."
Sullivan said Smith wants him to put
a lot of pressure on his man and try to
force turnovers.
"A lot of times, you've got to use
your smarts and your basketball savvy
to be in the right position at the right
time," Sullivan said. "Sometimes I'll
take a charge and other times I'll be in
the passing lane and make a steal."
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