Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Dec. 2, 2002, edition 1 / Page 12
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Sports Monday Quick Start May Cloud Perceptions They were expected to be pretty good, but not that good. They essentially came from nowhere, when no one had them among the nation’s elite. They stormed through the Preseason NIT, knocked off a national favorite and topped Stanford in the final to steal hearts and take the crown at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden. And they even included a couple of highly touted freshmen. They - the members of the 1998-99 North Carolina men’s basketball team - were the talk of the collegiate hoops world four years ago this m IAN CORDON OFF WAIVERS week, getting play in all the national publications and making their way onto everyone’s “early surprises” fists. Sound familiar? Despite the similarities, it’s impor tant to point out the major differences between that team and this year’s Kinder Care version of the Tar Heels, who have started 5-0 and should climb into the AP’s Top 25 this week. First and foremost was upperclass leadership. Following a disappointing close to the Antawn Jamison-Vince Carter years in 1998, senior forward Ademola Okulaja and junior point guard Ed Cota were primed to show people they could ball, too. Add in a real center-power forward combination (Brendan Haywood and Kris Lang) and the fact that there was n’t an 8-20 season to run from, and the last Preseason NIT champs from Chapel Hill seemed entirely different from this season’s trophy-raisers. But think about it another way. After getting all that early season pub licity, the 1998-99 Tar Heels moved all the way up to No. 3 in the rankings. They would hover around No. 10 all season, would make the ACC final (a 96-73 loss to Duke) and then would earn a No. 3 seed in the West Regional in the NCAA tournament. And then they would fizz out when it really mattered. Weber State’s Harold “The Show” Arceneaux made sure of that by blow ing up and leading the Wildcats to a 76-74 upset of the Tar Heels in the first round of the Big Dance. North Carolina didn’t five up to expectations, most of which were piled onto the team by tradition, by past success. But at least some of them came from the early season jolt the Tar Heels gave college basketball when it toppled then-third-ranked Stanford to grab the Preseason NIT title. These days, the usual expectations weren’t there at season’s start. Following last season’s debacle, not much was anticipated from the team, which is made up of six freshmen, three sophomores and two seniors. And after a preseason loss to Team Nike, fans actually seemed level-head ed and willing to watch the young tal ent mature during the next year or so. With that, adjustments to the usual hopes were changed. While some wished for a possible NCAA bid, oth ers simply asked for a solid postseason NIT run. It’d be good for the future of the team, they said. But after the young group’s coming out party last week in New York City, that sentiment seems long gone. The Billy Packers and Dick Vitales of the world are claiming the Tar Heels to be “back.” The youngsters, they’ve said, are ready. Rashad McCants is the scorer and leader they’ve lacked. Sean May is as skilled a big man as UNC has had in years. Raymond Felton is the next superstar point guard. Jackie Manuel is a stud defender with newfound offen sive prowess. The praise, it seems, goes on and on. But while the Tar Heels looked real ly good last week, isn’t it a bit early to be proclaiming this to be the next great North Carolina basketball team? Even the most diehard of the mes sage board maniacs had tempered their excitement with a wait-and-see attitude. At least they did until the Kansas See GORDON, Page 9 UNC Eliminates A&M on Way to Final Four By Kellie Dixon Assistant Sports Editor North Carolina forward Alyssa Ramsey made it look so easy. A pass here, a touch there, and with in 22 seconds of play, Ramsey notched her first goal of the Tar Heels quarter final match against Texas A&M on W n rwwY Sorter - - ! Texas A&M 0 | UNC ■ 3 Friday. Ramsey continued to lead UNC with a subsequent assist and a goal in the sec ond half, as North Carolina defeated the Aggies 3-0 at Fetzer Field. The Tar Heels will travel to Austin, Texas, to play Santa Clara in the Final Four on Friday. Ramsey opened scoring for UNC (21-1-4) after netting the team’s first goal, the Tar Heels’ quickest in 79 tournament games, with a lower right comer shot Tar Heels Steal Show in Big Apple By Kelly Lusk Sports Editor NEW YORK - The youngest team in major college bas ketball just can’t seem to grow up any quicker. North Carolina showed that any growing pains it is expe riencing aren’t hurtful enough to keep them for winning, as the Tar Heels marched into Manhattan and grabbed the Preseason NIT Championship from Stanford on Friday night with a sound 74-57 victory. “It’s a great feeling,” freshman point guard Raymond Felton said. “But we need to keep the same mindset and keep play ing hard.” UNC’s state of mind hasn’t faltered yet this season, and Friday night in Madison Square Garden in front of 11,718 fans -most of whom were Tar Heel supporters - was no exception. Despite facing a zone defense for the first time for extend ed minutes, UNC managed to have four players score in dou ble-digits. Sophomore Jackie Manuel, who has come to fife in his sec ond season, dropped what would be the first of five UNC 3- pointers in the game’s opening 15 minutes, giving UNC a stur dy 31-17 lead. The Tar Heels (5-0) shot almost 43 percent from behind the arc (bettering their previous average of 31.7 percent through four games) while holding the Cardinal (4-1) to almost half as many treys. “We came up here to do a job, and we got it done,” said freshman guard Rashad McCants, who was named tourna ment MVP. “We’re going to continue to keep winning games and keep practicing hard.” Level-headed words from a player that less than an hour earlier wowed the crowd with a one-handed slam reminiscent of another flashy North Carolina player - Vince Carter. “As soon as he caught it, I knew exactly what would hap pen,” freshman center Sean May said. “That’s why I didn’t slide over. I felt sorry for the guy that slid over, because that is about the dumbest thing you could have done.” But perhaps more importantly than the Tar Heels’ offensive prowess was their defensive showing. UNC limited the Cardinal to less than 34 percent shooting and hassled Stanford into 21 turnovers. “We came out fighting,” May said. “We’re giving up some size, but we just keep fighting.” The Tar Heels’ height deficit was most apparent on the boards. Stanford outrebounded UNC by 15, with North Carolina only nabbing nine offensive boards. But the Tar Heels will gladly learn from any weakness exposed -as long as it comes from a win. “We’re really happy right now,” senior forward Will Johnson said. “It’s a lot easier to learn something from a win.” On Wednesday, the Tar Heels jumped on No. 2 Kansas early and never looked back, building a nine-point halftime lead before cruising to a 67-56 win. McCants led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. “We feel like this is a team game,” McCants said Wednesday. “We came in here with a game plan and we exe cuted it. We’re young, but we believe in each other.” The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu. IPWv.K -* 9 PHOTO COURTESY OF UNC ATHLETIC COMMUNICTAIONS Former Tar Heel Jim Beatty set the indoor miie world record in 1962. n past Aggie goal keeper Kati Jo Spisak. Tar Heel freshman Lindsay Tarpley delivered a ball, which Anne Morrell then sent to Ramsey for the score. “I was just kind of trailing the play,” Ramsey said. “They made great runs down the outside, and Anne made a Junior forward Alyssa Ramsey scored two goals and had one assist in UNC's win against Texas A&M on Friday. great run near post and got in front of it like she was supposed to. I was basically in the right place at the right time, and it was my job to bury it because I was so wide open.” Texas A&M coach Gerald Guerrieri said he was not surprised by UNC’s immediate quickness in the offensive a- T—l i jH Beatty's Run Continues Nearly 50 Years Later By Chris Gilfillan Staff Writer Jim Beatty’s campaign slogan cap tures just about everything one could say about him: “Jim Beatty is running for you.” And he’s taking it one stride at a time. There are many surnames associated with Beatty - Jim Beatty the first man to break the indoor-four-minute mile; Jim Beatty the Track and Field Hall of Famer; Jim Beatty the athlete; Jim Beatty the politi cian. But few connote what Beatty would like for people to remember when they think of his name. He said he wants them to remember his willing- third. “Carolina really came out and had a lot of signature Carolina type goals,” he said. “The goal in the first 22 seconds was typical of the will to compete by the other team, and I thought our players, after we survived the first three minutes, came out and did very well in the first half.” Following the initial three minutes, A&M (20-5-1) broke its most recent streak. Aggie Emma Smith drilled a header toward UNC goalie Jenni Branam with about 34 minutes left in the half. The shot, which was A&M’s first in 125 minutes and 10 seconds of tournament play, was unsuccessful. After the goal, however, the Tar Heels’ play appeared lethargic. For the remainder of the half, the teams swapped possession, with neither giving up a shot. “When you score really early, a kind of complacency sets in, and you have a feeling that that’s going to repeat itself,” said North Carolina coach Anson f j ' " s ||| 'h. . ; ? - Jr i 1 '*" ness to give back, an attribute he spices up with one of his favorite John F. Kennedy quotes, “To whom much is given, much is expected.” That, in a nutshell, is Beatty’s athlet ic and campaign promise. Although it appears that Beatty lived capriciously between the ath letic and political realms, one can still draw a thick black fine through his fife to see how a class officer and high school state champion miler became one of Charlotte’s most esteemed citizens, while still promoting track and field. It all began in high school after Beatty finished 100 yards ahead of the pack in the North Carolina state championship mile. Opportunities abound ed, and he was faced with his The Daily Tar Heel will continue its profile of former UNC athletes who were among the ACC’s best when publication resumes in January. " fifc- ■ Dorrance. “There’s a bit of relief at first from the bench but as the half wore on, I felt like we started to actually play worse. “It’s certainly great to be up one but you want to be up one continuing to fight, and I felt as the first half wore on A&M started to get some of the play.” The difference was A&M failed to con vert any of its four shots in the first half. As the second half opened, a different UNC team emerged and held A&M to one shot in the final 45 minutes. The Tar Heels capitalized on the Aggies’ inability to create offensive opportunities and notched nine shots, two of which were converted to rein force UNC’s lead. In the 52nd minute, junior Maggie Tomecka headed in a Ramsey corner kick, something the Tar Heels have struggled with this season. “I think (Tomecka is) nine and half feet tall on some of those balls,” DTH PHOTOS/BRIAN CASSEUA Raymond Felton approaches -and finishes -a dunk after stealing the ball against Stanford on Friday. The freshman point guard finished with a career-high 16 points against the Cardinal. first life-changing decision choosing UNC instead of Notre Dame. “Being Catholic in North Carolina where very little of the population is Catholic,” Beatty said. “If there was one thing my family and I kept up with it was Notre Dame football.” The religious and football perks drew in Beatty, and he originally signed a pre liminary grant-in-aid scholarship to Notre Dame. Three weeks before practices started, however, the incoming freshman changed his mind. North Carolina gave Beatty a chance to compete in all its national and inter national competitions. Notre Dame quickly lost its appeal, and he became eager to put on a UNC jersey. Although Beatty found success as a Tar Heel, he put his personal ambition second, wanting only to represent his INSIDE: ■ Volleyball wins 30th game. Page 9 ■ Women's hoops competes in Hawaii. Page 9 ■ Seven wrestlers advance to finals. UNC Falls to Penn State in Tournament David Testo was one of four seniors to play his final collegiate game last Wednesday. UNC lost to Penn State 1-0 in the NCAA second round. See Page 9. Page 9 Guerrieri said. “She plays like she’s that tall.” Less than two minutes later, Ramsey found the back of the net again. This time her shot also came off a Morrell pass, but instead was a one-on-one with Spisak. Ramsey deposited the ball easi ly past the goalkeeper. The win against Texas A&M puts North Carolina in a position to redeem its performance in last year’s NCAA tide match against Santa Clara. Then, Santa Clara upset the Tar Heels in Dallas. And UNC is ready. “This is the post season, and there’s a different sort of urgency and a different attitude coming as far as we know that each game we play could be our last,” said senior Leslie Gaston. “Knowing that, every time we step on the field our motto is to play for our teammates.” The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu. sponsor well. Beatty eventually came up with a motto he would recite in his mind before running: “It’s time to bring ’em home.” Beatty raised the level of track for the Tar Heels by being named an All- American for the two mile in 1955 and 1957 and in the 5,000 meter in 1956. Eventually, Beatty let go of his home at UNC to pursue the broader goal of elevating American running. Beatty went on to run with the Los Angeles Track Club under legendary coach Mihaly Igloi. Within a few years, in February of 1962 at Los Angeles, Beatty set out with his four-minute goal and his motto of “bringing ’em home.” And that’s exacdy what he did. With a time of 3 minutes 58 seconds in See BEATTY, Page 9 12
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