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Who Would've Thought?
Tar Heels Shake Tulsa, Earn Unexpected Trip to Final Four
By Brian Murphy
Senior Writer
AUSTIN, Texas - Joseph Forte hasn’t
been a typical freshman basketball player
since he arrived on the North Carolina
campus.
“I knew the tradition of freshmen, and
I didn’t want to be like a regular fresh
man,” Forte said. “I wanted to stand out.”
On Sunday, Forte stood out all right. He
stood out by carrying the Tar Heels past
Tulsa 59-55 and into the Final Four with a
career high 28 points. He stood out as the
South Regional
Most Outstanding
Player. Maybe
more remarkably,
he stood out as a
freshman.
The tradition is
that UNC fresh
men are seen but
not heard, and cer
tainly not on the
court.
But as the most
highly touted
member of UNC’s
freshman class.
Forte told his
teammates in pick
up games that he
would average 12
points a game his
first season.
“1 was saying
I’m going to be a
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factor. I’m going to average this amount
of points, I’m going to be a key factor, a
go-to guv, just ridiculous stuff,” he said.
As for his teammates, they t@ld the
cocky new kid to shut up and then voted
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DTH/JEFF POULAND
Freshman Dana Leventhal chants "Final Four" with a mob of fans
that stormed Franklin Street after the Tar Heels' 59-55 win
against Tulsa in the South Regional Final.
Campus, Franklin Street Erupt in Frenzied Celebration
By Lauren Bfal
Assistant University Editor
The grin on Mike Tong’s face
stretched from ear to ear as students
passed him above their heads through
the crowd.
As the screaming below him grew
louder, the sophomore surfed above the
croyvd faster and faster until, arms and
legs Hailing, he fell to the street.
Those around him gasped. But the
collision with the pavement didn’t stop
him for a second - he pushed away out
stretched hands, jumped to his feet and
let out a deafening yell.
“This is my third time up there,”
Tong said as he cheered. “They just
screamed my name and threw me up.”
Tong’s position above the crowd gave
him a bird’s-eye view of the mayhem of
Franklin Street on Sunday afternoon.
Only minutes after the Tar Heels
defeated Tulsa and advanced to the
Final Four, throngs of UNC students
flooded Franklin Street, adorning the
Hen’s
Basketball
him to tote
around the
team’s green
bag, fdled with
medical sup
plies.
So when
Forte led all scor-
UNC 59
Tulsa 1 55
UNC 74
Tennessee 69
ers with 31 points in the Blue White scrim
mage and coach Bill Guthridge hardly
mentioned him in the postgame press con
ference, Forte finally took the hint.
“I just got the feeling after that game that
freshmen aren’t supposed to get this much
attention, so I’m
going to talk about
Ed Cota and
Brendan Haywood,”
Forte said.
After Sunday,
there is no denying
Forte, who exceed
ed his bold scoring
prediction and
became the first lar
Heel freshman to
lead the team in
scoring with 16.7
points a game.
With the Tar
Heel game plan of
pounding the ball
down low stymied
by Tulsa, which dou
bled UNC center
Brendan Haywood
every time he
touched the ball, it
was up to Forte to bail out the offense.
“We probably shouldn’t have focused
on their size,” said Tulsa forward Erie
See MEN'S BASKETBALL, Page 7
trees and storefronts with toilet paper
and filling the air with the sound of fire
crackers, chants and screams.
Sophomore Matt Miller from
Laurinburg stood several rows back
from the crackling
bonfire that sent
smoke spiraling
through the air.
Squashed
against friends and
strangers, Miller
joined in the revel
ry, celebrating the
win and looking
forward to the
upcoming game in
“When you go to the best
University in the world,
you get hyped up, and
you get a little rowdy. ”
Dandrik Gi enn
UNC Senior
Indiana. “I’m thinking this is greatly
insane that people come out here and
raise hell,” he said. “Yeah, I think we’re
going all the way. Hell yeah!”
Above his head, one student dangled
precariously from a tree with his camera
while others watched from the safety of
Franklin Street building rooftops.
Girls with painted faces and Carolina
I'm just ready to go, ready to keep on dancin'.
Jason Capel
Monday, March 27, 2000
Volume 108, Issue 19
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North Carolina senior Ed Cota (above) cuts down the net after the Tar Heels' 59-55 victory against Tulsa
in the South Regional Final. It will mark Cota's third trip to the Final Four in his four years at UNC. Joseph
Forte (above left), who scored 28 points, was named the Most Outstanding Player at the South Regional.
blue ribbons ran through the crowd,
while several wide-eyed young children
held their ears in reaction to the noise.
Senior Dandrick Glenn made an
appearance with his trombone, playing
to celebrate
Friday’s and
Sunday’s victories.
“When you go
to ihe best
University in the
world, you get
hyped up, and you
get a little rowdy,”
he said. "We love
our school and we
love our team.”
The celebration continued as fans
packed into the Smith Center late
Sunday night to greet the team mem
bers as they arrived back in Chapel Hill.
Nearly all of the open lower level sec
lions were filled with screaming sup
porters, while Carolina blue and white
See REACTION, Page 7
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DTH/EMII.Y SCHNURF.
Jason Capel, sophomore guard for UNC's Indianapolis-bound men's
basketball team, thanks a crowd in the Smith Center on Sunday night.
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Chapel Hill, North Carolina
C 2000 DTH Publishing Corp.
All rights reserved.
UNC's Wins
Soaked in
Suspense
The victories against Tulsa
and Tennessee are two of
21 NCAA tournament games
decided by five points or less,
By Evan Markfield
Senior Writer
AUSTIN, Texas - The people at
CBS must be happy to know that Kris
Lang and North Carolina have the net
work’s best interest at heart.
W'ith their 59-55 win against Tulsa in
the South Regional Final on Sunday
and their 74-69
victory against
Tennessee on
Friday, the Tar
Heels have made
sure viewers
remain on the
edges of their seats
right until the buzzer.
“You’ve got to have suspense,” Lang
said with a laugh. “It’s good for the rat
v,,,v, ' LWC m> CWuJwm, We’ve
' t*ftt to keep yriii on yrrtit toes ”
Leading 55-48 with 2:04 remaining
against Tulsa in Sunday’s contest, the
Tar Heels turned the ball over on three
consecutive possessions, and the
Golden Hurricane cut the lead to three.
Two of those turnovers came from point
guard Ed Cota, who had seven on the
game against the Tulsa pressure.
“That was uncharacteristic of the way
we handle it,” UNC coach Bill
Guthridge said. “Ed was completely
worn out there at the end, and they
were able to take advantage of that.”
While defense and free throws would
seal the game, UNC was in the midst of
another nail-biter just two days after
squeaking past Tennessee.
Trailing the Volunteers by seven with
4:48 remaining Friday, the Tar Heels
batded back and finally pulled ahead on
a Cota layup with 1:59 to go. After
building the lead to six on free throws
by Joseph Forte andjulius Peppers, the
Tar Heels got a scare when Vols point
guard Tony Harris buried a 3 to make it
70-67 with 13 seconds on the clock.
But again UNC hit its free throws
See SUSPENSE, Page 7
ikIQIDF
9 f Monday
Smoke Screen
The newest tobacco lawsuit has
pushed lawmakers to seek yet another
special legislative session. See Page 5.
Give Us a Little Credit
A coming report on credit ratings for
North Carolina counties could propel
Orange County's rating into the top
percentages. See Page 8.
Last Chance
The deadline has been extended to
turn in applications for a spot on the
committee to pick the next editor of
The Daily Tar Heel. They are available at
the front desk of the DTH in Suite 104
of the Student Union. Call 962-4086
with additional questions.
Today’s Weather
Thunderstorms;
Low 70s.
Tuesday: Cloudy;
High 60s.