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a tip Sailg Star Hppl Carter settles in for sophomore campaign BYROBBIPICKERAL SPORTS EDITOR Vince Carter was not very happy last winter. Everybody seemed to be worried about the then-freshman guard. The press. The fans. His high school coach. His mother. He wasn’t meeting expectations, you see. He wasn’t consistently scoring 20 points a game; he wasn’t consistently playing hard-nosed, up-tempo defense. And he wasn’t consistently in the North Carolina men’s basketball team’s start ing lineup. That’s when the frustration set in. “It was different," Carter said. “I was used to being ‘The Man’ on the team and doing a lot of scoring. And I got here, and my role wasn’t somebody to do the scor ing. It was so long as I could get the ball, get it down court and get it to the open man, (Coach) was happy.” But Carter wasn’t smiling, because he simply didn’t understand his new rookie role. He was supposed to be the savior to a youth-laden hoops squad that had lost its two stars Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace two years early to the NBA draft. He expected to start, he was expected to score (a lot), he was expected to wow the crowds with bone-jarring jams and serve as a potent defensive stopper, depite his youth. All in a matter of mere rookie months. “I expected him to play more, you expected him to play more, he expected to play more, and that’s the problem,” UNC men’s basketball coach Dean Smith said. “It wasn’t the kind of year he was ZWiKKER FROM PAGE 5 transfer Makhtar Ndiaye to give him a breather off the bench and an improved set of inside moves so he says to help him do battle with the ACC’s top centers. That’sthetangiblepart. But basketball is about intangibles, too. That’s where Zwikker’s experience comes in. Zwikker knows the elation that comes with winning a national championship. He’s the only player on this year’s squad who knows that feeling. And he’s also the only player who’s experienced the agony of losing twice in the second round of the NCAA Touma- MARA. HON We have something JP for everyone! GYROS • SUBS SALADS • PIZZA GREEK & VEGETARIAN We Deliver! 933-0590 708 W. Rosemary St. • Carrboro 11am-11pm Mon-Sat REBOUNDS: 3R 1 having as much as (it was) expectations. ” Funny thing is, Carter did have a solid first year. Eye the numbers: 7.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, 40 assists, 20 steals and a 49.2 shooting percentage. “He had a fine first year,” Smith said. So why all the pine time? His defense. Carter struggled with Smith’s in-your face man-to-man, often leaving his feet and letting his assignment stroll by. Classmate Ademola Okulaja special ized in defensive stoppage, and as Olulaja’s game improved, Carter’s min utes slipped. By mid-year, Okulaja had replaced Carter as starter, and rumors of transfer erupted when Carter’s high school coach, Charles Brinkerhoff, paid a visit to Chapel Hill. “He was just concerned,” Carter said. “There were a lot of rumors back home about (a transfer). And my mother was concerned. So he just came up here to make sure things were OK, that I was doing OK, and he just had a simple con versation with Coach Smith about it. “... I never said anything about me transferring. I was frustrated, yes, but I never considered backing out of it. That’s ment. It’s a good script so far. Now he just needs to write the final act. “I think it’s the best thing so far for me to sit out and try to get stronger and get Southwick Golf Course www.southwickgolf.com , Fall Weekend Special! 18 Hole Breen fee a 9 Hole Green fee A Cart fee after Ipm... Cart fee after 4pm... S l6°°fSik *** Saturday & Sunday Only jj>outfrtmtk _ / HBHH /s.U l Take Jones Ferry Road to Old Greensboro Road. Follow Old Greensboro Road for 12.5 V/OUrSC miles to NC 87. Turn right on NC 87 North for 9 miles to ™ SSSS ” stoplight. Phillips 66 Conven ience Store is on the corner. Turn right on Boywood Road •••'r 942 0783 ,or 1 m i |e 10 our sign. 11.8.96 BASKETBALL 1996-97 not good. I can handle it. It shows what type of man you are. I wasn’t going anywhere (else) from Day One.” But he will go elsewhere on court. With the graduation of Dante Calabria, Carter should return to his more natural position—off-guard—and he could get some clean-up time at point, if junior Shammond Williams and freshman Ed Cota need the rest. He could also return to small forward, if needed, though the front court is packed with depth. “I’ve worked hard on my ball-han dling this summer,” he said. “I think I’m capable of playing the 1, 2 or 3 position this year.” He’s adjusting well, he said, and learn ing his new position amongst a squad traditionally comprised of role players. And perhaps most importantly, he’s un derstanding Smith’s vision for both the game and his players. “ He’s settled me down; I think I settled myself down,” Carter said. “I think I understand what he’s asking, and I think everybody else understands what he’s asking. So I think it’s time to put every thing together and make something hap pen.” But it’s still a learning process, and Carter is, after all, just entering his sec ond year. So he still gets emotional, he still throws his mouthpiece in practice, he still gets agitated with his play at times. “I just want to make the team be the best we can, get things right,” he said. “I just want to learn everything, and sometimes I get frustrated because some times I do things wrong. But I think I learn that way, because I’m trying to make myself better.” And happier. my confidence up, just build on my all around game," Zwikker said. “I think over the last couple of years thatl’vedonewellsofar, andnowit’smy time to step up.” DTH/OUKPEREL UNC swingman Vince Carter lost his starting job midway through last season. $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF Oliver's Steaks, Chicken, Seafood and Buffet Big Selection & Great Prices! S4QO OFFI Any adult entree or buffet! 644-0200 300 S. Churton St., Hillsborough (look for big green & white sign) 1-40 Hillsborough Exit 261 or 1-85 Daniel Boone Exit 164 $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF I Lo<*ira caass Gate | S| UT^ | OplomeWc Eye Cate Cento ] \°J ; j 42Mg University Ll |AJ Downtown Chapel Hill 7 Friday, November 8, 1996 $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF $1 OFF
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Nov. 8, 1996, edition 1
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