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Tuesday, April 2, 2002
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DTH FILE PHOTO
In his second season with the Tar Heels, UNC coach Matt Doherty (above) had to endure many tough
moments. The Tar Heels finished 8-20, their worst record in school history. Below, UNC players huddle up
after senior forward Jason Capel (center) fouled out against Duke in his final ACC Tournament game.
A Season's Lows
• North Carolina lost more games (20)
than any team in school history. The
previous record was 15, set in the
1950-51 and 1951-52 seasons.
• At Maryland on Jan. 9, the Tar Heels
allowed the most points in school
history in a 112-79 loss. UNC had twice
allowed 110 points, once in a win and
once in a loss in the program's history.
• UNC totaled the most ACC losses
in school history, dropping 12 games
to break the 1963-64 mark of eight.
Only twice in school history had the
Tar Heels finished with a sub-. 500 record
in ACC play: in 1953-54 and 1963-64.
• The Tar Heels twice lost five home
games in a row in 2001-02. The previous
worst mark was four straight home
losses, which happened twice.
• UNC finished with the most home
losses (nine) in school history, topping
the previous mark of 5, set twice.
A * Jt* ? #> *W\ ts
Will Johnson
Senior
Forward
Strengths: Boxes out and rebounds well.
Can knock down open shots. Experienced.
Weaknesses: Doesn't create own offense.
Not quick enough to guard most wingmen,
not big enough to guard most
interior players.
Outlook: Could see significant minutes early
as young Tar Heels continue to mature,
especially inside.
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Jackie Manuel
Sophomore
Swingman
Strengths: Defensive intensity helped keep him
in the lineup this year, as his long arms and quick feet
helped him pester opposing guards.
Weaknesses: Shooting and decision-making
were suspect throughout the season. Has to stay
in control with dribble.
Outlook: Could be brought in as a defensive stopper
until develops better offensive fundamentals.
Stepping (
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Taking a Look Back at UNC's
Memorable, Forgettable Year
Dean Smith was fidgety and
UNCOMFORTABLE ONjULY 11, 2000.
He stood in a corner as Matt
Doherty was named North
Carolina’s next men’s basketball
coach and Doherty answered
QUESTIONS.
When reporters surrounded Smith, who had sat by Bill
Guthridge’s side 11 days earlier when Guthridge announced
his retirement, he expressed that he didn’t want to be there
and looked for excuses to leave the circus.
“It’s anew beginning for Carolina basketball,” Smith said
of the program he and Guthridge had
spent the previous 39 years building.
“There’s a celebration, and there’s a
funeral.”
Smith was speaking of the young
replacing the old and the departure of
three ex-player assistant coaches. He likely had no idea how
prophetic his words would prove to be.
At first, the changes were subtle.
That Tuesday, Doherty set for himself and UNC five annu
al goals. The first two, to get better every day and to win the
next game, were basic coach-speak. The others - to win the
ACC regular season and tournament championships and the
national tide - seemed a little change of pace from Smith, who
won but rarely stressed the need to do so publicly.
“If I start changing those goals, it’s time to look’for anew
coach,” Doherty said that day. "■ '
The Tar Heels kicked off practice that fall with “Midnight
with Matt.” In contrast, Smith considered retiring earlier than
he did to avoid the personal attention that would come with
breaking Adolph Rupp’s wins record.
Then UNC won 18 straight games, achieved a No. 1 rank
ing, tied for the regular-season crown, and Doherty was named
the national coach of the year. Back to normal in Chapel Hill,
despite losing half of the last 10 games, including a second
round exit from the NCAA tournament.
Sophomore All-American Joseph Forte left for the NBA,
and suddenly people started wondering what would become
of UNC basketball. The answer didn’t take long.
Withoutjason Capel, the Tar Heels lost an exhibition by 31
points.
“Obviously, that kind of alerted the fans that this may not be
a typical season for North Carolina,” Doherty said last week in
his Smith Center office before going to Atlanta to see his former
boss, Roy Williams, coach in the Final Four. “And to lose to
Hampton and Davidson kind of confirmed that. I always felt we
were going to get better and improve and be in position to win
ballgames, and we never got to that point on a consistent basis."
The 8-20 season included a last-place tie in the conference
at 4-12, the most losses ever, the most home losses ever, the
most ACC losses ever, the two worst Smith Center losses, a
six-game losing streak and the most points given up in a single
game. It also marked the end of the streaks of top-three con
ference finishes, 20-win seasons and NCAA tournament
appearances. The Tar Heels weren’t even close to qualifying
for the consolation NIT, which requires a .500 record.
The season’s low points each had different meaning to dif-
DTH/JOSHUA GREER
Adam Boone
Junior
Point Guard
Strengths: Has good court awareness and can run
the offense efficiently. Has strong upper body and is
a solid 3-pt shooter (43 percent in 2001-02). Experienced.
Weaknesses: Has had trouble identifying and reacting
to pressure defenses. Still struggles to beat defenders
one-on-one off the dribble.
Outlook: Could begin season as starter while freshman
point guard Raymond Felton learns the ropes.
Later will likely come off the bench to spell Felton
and for his perimeter shooting.
Returning Players
Melvin Scott
Sophomore
Shooting Guard
Strengths: Has nice shooting touch and plays good
on-the-ball defense. Solid offensive contributor.
Weaknesses: Decision-making, especially when distributing
the basketball, is an issue. Needs to keep improving
his handle.
Outlook: Should see plenty of minutes at the 2-guard his
natural position next season, especially since
Brian Morrison transferred.
ferent members of the team.
“That was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced,"Jawad
Williams said of the Hampton and Davidson losses. “We kept
getting a win here or a win there, but we just couldn’t put it
together.”
Doherty mentioned the psychological damage Hampton’s
unexpected zone had on the team - three months later and
unsolicited. However, he said the games that kept him up at
night were Wake Forest at home, at Maryland, at Connecticut
and at Wake Forest, which the Tar Heels lost by a combined
111 points.
“Those four games were the games where I was the most frus
trated, most discouraged, most depressed,” Doherty said. “I felt
in those four games we didn’t play up to our abilities and we did
n’t fight. Those were depressing moments during the season.”
Many players became short of words and long on frustra
tion. After the 29-point home loss to Duke, the worst in Smith
Center history, Capel’s exchange with a horde of reporters on
deadline at his locker went like this:
Q.- What happened when things got out of
hand in the second half?
A: You all watched the game. They made shots.
We turned the ball over.
(1 Are they the best team you’ve played this
year?
Mike Ogle
Senior Writer
A: Yup.
Q: What did they do out there that gave you guys trouble tonight?
A: Everything.
Q: What did Coach Doherty tell you after the game?
A: Get ready for Georgia Tech.
Q: How does this team put this behind it and go on ?
A: It’s just something you’ve got to do.
Roar defense contributed to many of the ugly losses. Next
with an even younger squad, Doherty intends to con
centrate tHFee-fourths ofpractice on defense and run more
motion offense as he did later this season. He had similar plans
in mind last off-season before something, well, changed.
“I went into the season thinking that we’d run more free
lance and not have as many set plays,” Doherty said. “Then
just before practice started, my mind frame changed a little bit
toward that. I wish I would have stuck with my original plan
because I think that would’ve helped our team.” He said he
didn’t “care to share” what changed his mind.
“Regrets, to me you make the best decisions you can at the
time with the information you have. Hindsight’s always 20/20.
If it works, it’s great. If it doesn’t work, you say, ‘I wish I would
have tried it differently.’”
There were moments of celebration, but they came in odd
forms.
Picking up Win One in Game Four against Georgia Tech
and being 1-0 in the ACC for the next month. A last-minute
win against Binghamton. A three-game winning streak against
St. Joseph’s, N.C. A&T and Texas A&M in December to pull
to a .500 record for the only time. Playing a tight, slow-down
game with Duke in the ACC Tournament. The biggest of all
was winning on Senior Day and denying Clemson’s bid for its
first win in Chapel Hill. Doherty and the players danced and
sang with the student body and band before they left the court
for the final time in a season when many of the things that
have come to mean North Carolina basketball ended.
“I realized with all the streaks that we broke this year, that
was the one that people would have made maybe the most of,”
Doherty admitted the next week.
Throughout the 2001-02 soap opera, Doherty repeatedly
thanked the crowds for their fan support during a most diffi
cult time. The only capacity showings were against Duke and
Jonathan Holmes
Senior
Point Guard
Strengths: Fundamentally sound. Does what is asked
of him and runs offense well.
Weaknesses: At 6-foot, 181-pounds, just doesn't
match up physically with guards of the ACC.
Outlook: Will earn his keep on the practice court
and with senior leadership. His minutes will be limited
once again.
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“It’s hard, but life
at times,” Johnson Is
Winston-Salem. “If
something where yi
got to be tough and
going.”
Where !the Tar H
from here as they a:
their top and mo:
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will ponder until th
of answers comes n<
“I think the futu
great for this progran
they’ve learned so rr
said after already she
final collegiate game
character with what’s
that’s one great thing
Capel, whcr profc
than any of his lean
that game against Di
with emotional gooc
when he’s gone, thin
again.
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came to us .and hug|
us and told- us,JD(
again,’” frrishman M
told him that we lov
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said that we almost 1
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went to the bench.”
The.SportsEd
Jawad Williams
Sophomore
Forward
Strengths: Developed pump fake in lane to get by bigger, '
slower defenders. Is fairly quick and is improving as a shootec >
Weaknesses: Needs to hone his offensive arsenal, including ,n
the turnaround jumper. Most importantly, needs to bulk up in ■
the off-season to be able to hold off defenders and rebodnd.,i ;
better.
Outlook: Could be one of the go-to guys in 2002-03. The
most talented of the sophomore dass.