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Century of Editorial Freedom
BMH Est. 1893
Volume 101, Issue 25
Bring on
Michigan!
UNC faces Wolverines
for NCAA championship
By Warren Hynes
Senior Writer
NEW ORLEANS lt is the ulti
mate contrast.
It is the most structured basketball
program around against the best spur
of-the-moment, free-lancing team ever
to lace up a pair of high tops.
North Carolina versus Michigan. The
always-prepared Tar Heels against Steve
Fisher’s Fabulous Five sophomores, a
group that has struggled with consis
tency but has done the job when it has
mattered most.
The 33-4 Tar Heels face the 31-4
Wolverines tonight at 9:22 p.m. EDT in
a classic confrontation at the Louisiana
Superdome to decide the NCAA men’s
basketball championship.
The two teams already have met this
season, on Dec. 29 in the semifinals of
the Rainbow Classic. In that game, UM
guard Jalen Rose hit a shot at the buzzer
to give the Wolverines a 79-78 win.
So the Tar Heels know Michigan’s
style. They know about the Wolver
ines’ physical game, theirtrash-talking,
their emotional peaks and valleys. They
saw Kentucky’s Travis Ford get de
voured by it all Saturday, and they know
they will have to be tough to keep up
with the Fab Five tonight.
“Carolina has always had the image
of the good boys, but we can get just as
dirty as Michigan or any team,” said
UNC senior forward George Lynch.
The Tar Heels know about Chris
Webber, Michigan’s first-team All-
America forward, who comes into the
game averaging 19.1 points per game,
10 rebounds a game and shooting at a
61.9 percent clip from the field.
“If he gets close to the box, it’s an
easy two for him,” Lynch said.
They know that UM ’ s ffontcourt does
not end with Webber. There is Juwan
Williams keys late Tar Heel surge
By Warren Hynes
Senior Writer
NEW ORLEANS They had Kan
sas on the ropes for much of Saturday’s
contest, but the Jayhawks kept fighting
back, making their way back into the
center of the ring for another round.
But finally, after more than 37 min
utes, the smallest of the North Carolina
Tar Heels delivered the most potent
punch of the day.
And finally, the KU KO was in the
books.
Six-foot-three guard Donald Will
iams’ 3-pointer with 2:43 remaining
gave UNC just what it needed to hold
off the Jayhawks, 78-68, in a national
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DTH/Jayson Singe
Things could get this weird again if UNC can beat Michigan tonight for the national title
Out goal was not to play in the national championship; our goal is to win the national championship. Dean Smith
(Tlif Daily a&r UM
Howard, the 6-foot-9 center who has
tallied 14.8 ppg and 7.4 rpg. And there
is Ray Jackson, the 6-6 forward who has
scored 9.1 ppg and pulled in 4.2 rpg.
And there is Eric Riley, the 7-foot se
nior center who has pounded in 5.7
points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
They know they must stay physical.
THE NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP
UNC vs. Michigan
Tipoff: 9:22 p.m.
WRAL TV-5
WCHL-AM, WZZU-FM
“We’re proud to be in there bangin’,”
said North Carolina center Eric
Montross. “If we did any.,more, we’d
probably foul out in the first five min
utes.”
The Tar Heels know about the Michi
gan guards: Rose, who has tallied 15.5
ppg, 4.3 rpg and 3.9 assists a game; and
Jimmy King, who has scored 10.7 ppg,
pulled in 4.4 rebounds a contest and
dealt 3.0 assists a game.
“Michigan is a great offensive team,”
Lynch said. “We’ve just got to box out
and keep them to one shot. If we can do
that, I think we can win the game.”
Michigan is also well aware of North
Carolina. The Wolverines know about
the daunting Tar Heel frontcourt, con
sisting of Lynch, Montross and Brian
Reese. They know about North
Carolina’s starting guards, playmaker
Derrick Phelps and sharpshooter Donald
Williams.
They are impressed with UNC, but
See MICHIGAN/UNC, page 7
INC 78
KANSAS 68
semifinal game played before 64,151 at
the Louisiana Superdome.
The win gave the 33-4 Tar Heels an
opportunity to claim the school’s third
ever NCAA title at 9:22 p.m. EDT to
night when they play the 31 -4 Michigan
Wolverines, who knocked off Kentucky
81-78 in overtime of Saturday’s other
semifinal.
“Our goal was not to play in the
national championship; our goal is to
win the national championship,” said
North Carolina head coach Dean Smith,
whose other national crown came in
MONDAY, APRIL 5,1993
Serving the students and the University community since 1893
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Bp B
Special to the DTH/Andrew Cline
North Carolina junior forward Brian Reese rips down a rebound from Kansas' Darrin Hancock (32) and Greg Ostertag (rear) in Saturday's 78-68 Tar Heel win
this same building in 1982. He now has
a 5-0 record in the Superdome.
The Jayhawks finished the season at
29-7, ending what has been a difficult
year for former UNC assistant Roy
Williams. The Kansas coach had as
sembled perhaps the best backcourt in
the nation in seniors Adonis Jordan and
Rex Walters. And early in the season
his squad was ranked No. 1 in the nation
for two weeks.
Late in the year, the Jayhawks
struggled offensively, and they fell in
the national rankings. But a powerful
surge in the tournament gave them the
Midwest Regional title and a berth in
the Final Four.
After the game, Williams fought back
Chapel Hill gets ready
for possible celebration
By Ivan Arrington and Scott Ballew
Staff Writers
The University community is preparing for
a wild scene on Franklin Street tonight, with
past basketball victories suggesting that per
haps more than 25,000 fans will celebrate in
the streets if UNC wins the NCAA champion
ship.
Students will be able to watch tonight’s
game between the Tar Heels and the Univer
sity of Michigan Wolverines live from the
New Orleans Superdome on a large-screen
television in Carmichael Auditorium.
Carolina Athletic Association President-elect Daniel Thornton
said he expected the turnout at Carmichael to be higher tonight than
for Saturday’s national semifinal game against Kansas, when CAA
sponsored another game screening.
“The TV estimated we had 4,000 people (Saturday),” he said. “We
expect a few more Monday.”
Carmichael Auditorium will be open to students with proper
identification at 8:15 p.m. The general public can enter at 8:30 p.m.
Thornton said he was very pleased with Saturday’s turnout and
thought the atmosphere in Carmichael was a great substitute for
students who couldn’t go to the Superdome.
“It was like a real game,” he said. “The crowd was very enthusiastic
with the cheerleaders and the band and lots of media.”
After UNC’s 1982 NCAA title, fans flooded the area of Franklin
See CELEBRATION, page 2
tears as he tried to describe the past six
months.
“I said at times this year that it was
the most difficult year I’d had in coach
ing because of the outside pressures on
this team and how inadequate I felt
trying to help them,” he said. “Along
with that, in some ways it’s probably as
satisfying a year as I’ve ever had. With
all those problems, we were still here to
play in New Orleans.
“We’re going to keep trying. We’re
going to keep knocking on this door.
And one day, we’re going to knock the
sucker down.”
Throughout Saturday’s game, the
See KANSAS, page 7
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Special to the DTH/Andrew Cline
Tar Heel center Eric Montross rises for a hook shot over
Kansas reserve Steve Woodberry in Saturday’s Final Four
victory. Montross canned 9 of 14 shots, tallying 23 points
as UNC (33-4) moved on 78-68 to meet Michigan (31-4) in
tonight’s NCAA final. The second-team All-American from
Indianapolis teamed with senior forward George Lynch (14
points, 10 rebounds), helping North Carolina dominate the
smaller Jayhawks inside. For more Final Four coverage, see
Sports Monday on page 14.
© 1993 DTH Publishing Corp.
All rights reserved
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