4
Friday, November 9, 2001
Johnson 'Confident'
Role Will Increase
By Brad Broders
Assistant Sports Editor
Will Johnson spent his summer
balling in a place that white guys with
red hair tend not to inhabit often.
Harlem.
No, seriously.
Johnson, slated as the team’s backup
forward, spent his summer working for
Morgan Stanley with the Morehead
scholarship program.
Being in Manhattan gave the 6-foot-8
junior an opportunity to hone his skills
on the various blacktop courts in
Harlem.
“I played after work, I played on the
weekends,” Johnson said. “It was plenty
of good basketball in New York - it’s
part of the reason I went.”
Johnson played in an upper league in
Harlem, competing in various play
grounds against various hoopsters, rang
ing from college players to local talents.
The junior Academic All-ACC from
Hickory hopes his summer lessons can
transcend to more minutes on the
2001-02 Tar Heels.
UNC lost backup forward Max
Owens to graduation and is thin down
low behind starting forwards Jason
Capel and Kris Lang.
“It still just depends at this point,"
Johnson said on his expected contribu
tions.
“Hopefully with every year, your role
increases. So that’s what I’m looking to
do this year. I’m excited about this year.
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I’m confident that
my role will
increase."
Johnson saw
action in 22
games, averaging
1.2 points on .450
shooting from the
field.
At UCLA on
Dec. 23, Johnson
entered the game
with UNC leading
the Bruins by eight
and chipped in
five points, leaving
the game seven
Junior forward
Will Johnson
averaged 1.2 points
on .450 shooting
from the field
in 22 games.
minutes later with the Tar Heels leading
by 19.
But his shining moment came during
UNC’s Dec. 4 contest at home against
Miami.
When Capel left the game in the first
half with a leg injury, Johnson filled in
capably, scoring a career-high 10 points
and five rebounds.
Johnson’s strengths include offensive
rebounding and outside shooting, ser
vices the Tar Heels might need to call off
the bench.
Regardless of his role in 2001-02,
Johnson is confident in his team’s abili
ties.
“I think this year’s team will be a
team where a different guy will come in
and score each game,” Johnson said. “I
think we are going to surprise some peo
ple.”
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Basketball 2001-02
Fingleton's Skill, Identity Develop
After redshirting last year,
7-foot-5 UNC center
Neil Fingleton is finally able
to show his basketball skills.
By Adam D. Hill
Staff Writer
When North Carolina signed Neil
Fingleton, many criticized the move.
The critics claimed that basketball
had become a quicker sport that reward
ed quicker players and that the Tar
Heels simply didn’t have the time it
would take to develop the England
native.
With Fingleton in Chapel Hill, such
debate is moot, but everyone - coaches,
fans and players alike - is still figuring
out the personality of the 7-foot-5 enig
ma and what to expect in the way of
Holmes Caught in Point Guard Shuffle
By Jamie At,in
Assistant Sport Saturday Editor
Much has been made of the battle for
the starting point guard position for the
North Carolina basketball team. For
junior Jonathan Holmes, it’s not just a
batde. It’s D-day.
With last year’s starter, Ronald
Curry, poised to be playing into January
for the UNC football team, the time has
contributions.
The 2000-01
season didn’t pro
vide much insight.
Fingleton under
went back surgery
in the summer
before enrolling at
UNC and tried to
progress enough
to play but could
n’t. He ended up
sitting out all of
last season, save a
couple late-season
practices.
Now, with the
UNC center
Neil Fingleton
scored 13 points
on 5-of-7 shooting
in the Tar Heels'
Blue-White Game.
season approaching, the nature of Neil
Fingleton seems to be more readily
accessible.
Will he make a noticeable impact on
the court this season?
“I really didn’t know how much
never been better for Holmes to make
an impact. And he knows it.
“I think the point guard spot is obvi
ously a very integral part of the team,”
Holmes said. “And I think I’m pushing
every day.”
Holmes saw a sharp decrease in play
ing time during his sophomore year. He
saw action in only 14 games last season
after appearing in 25, including a Final
Four game against Honda, as a freshman.
But while playing in less games,
Holmes bettered his 1999-2000 numbers.
He tallied 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11
assists compared to seven points, 17 assists
and four rebounds from his first year. And
Holmes thinks his game is still improving.
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potential he had until the other day in
the Blue-White Game,” said forward
Kris Lang. “He really impressed me
because he ran up and down the court
very well. We’re not expecting Neil this
year, of course, to play 30 minutes. But
if he can give us five to 10 minutes very
hard, then that’ll be great.”
With the loss of Brendan Haywood,
UNC is pressed for inside play, espe
cially given the strength of rest of the
ACC’s big men.
Fingleton says he’s ready and capable
to bang around down low, rebound,
block shots and block out with the rest of
the ACC.
Last summer, Fingleton played in the
World University Games in Beijing and
with the British National Team - both of
which helped his progression as a low
post player.
But Fingleton also has shown some
speed - something not expected from
“You’re a year older, you’re stronger,
and you’ve had another year of play
ing,” Holmes said. “You just get that
much better. I think each year you see
such a change in your game. And I feel
like even from my freshman year, I’ve
improved considerably.”
Holmes worked during the offseason
to improve his conditioning, acknowl
edging that he is in much better shape
this year than he was last year. But he
added that he tried to improve all
aspects of his game.
The versatility Holmes seeks is a
common thread among his competition,
including Adam Boone and freshman
Melvin Scott.
ahr Daily (Ear Mrrl
him - this preseason.
“One day, I kind of made it tougher
on him in sprints at the end of practice,”
said UNC coach Matt Doherty, who
likes to call Fingleton “Chief,” referring
to the reticent character from “One Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest."
“I said, ‘You have to make it to this
point, otherwise you’ll have to run it
again,’ andhe ran it almost as fast as Brian
Bersticker. Brian Bershcker’s pretty fast for
a big guy. I kind of shook my head and
said, ‘He’s been holding out a little bit.’”
Fingleton probably won’t be out front
leading a fast break, but if the preseason
is any indication, he will not be a liabil
ity on them, either.
The emergence of Fingleton doesn’t
stop with his play on the court.
“Neil’s hilarious,” Lang said. “He
doesn’t act like that around you guys, or
in front of anyone else, but in front of
the team he’s a great guy.”
While the competition for UNC’s
star ting point guard spot has been fierce,
it could also be fruitless.
Speculation has increased recently
that Curry will in fact rejoin the basket
ball team, meaning that Holmes could
potentially win the battle for UNC’s
starting point guard spot but lose the
war.
The division of labor at the point
guard spot might be up in the air, but
Holmes’ goals for the season are not.
“For me, they’ve been the same ever
since I set foot on campus,” Holmes
said. “To contribute however I can,
whether offensively, defensively, what
ever that mav be.”