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o. 1 Tar Heels winnm gathering steam By FRANK KENNEDY Assistant Sports Editor There's a lot going on in sports this week. The NCAA is meeting to vote on Riving college presidents more power to legislate college athletics. The USFL may have signed another Heisman Trophy winner. Billy Martin is still out as the New York Yankees' manager, and the defend ing NCAA basketball champion is in last place in the ACC. But one thing that isn't new is that North Carolina is still the nation's top ranked college basketball team, and the Tar Heels haven't had a close game since November. And, after the Tar Heels overwhelmed N.C. State in Raleigh Saturday, any remaining skeptics were having a tough time finding even a single puncture in the UNC armor. Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano was cer tainly awed. "They don't have any weak nesses," Valvano said after the 81-60 drubbing. "In '82 they were national champions with no depth. Last year they didn't have a point guard, but how Ken ny Smith is closer to Jimmy 3Iack as a senior. And now, everybody's older, Brad Daugherty is better and they have better depth." That's not a particularly bad synopsis, but it is oversimplified. Piecing together what makes this edition of the Tar Heels sing to a near-flawless tune is not as easy as the old experience-is-the-best-teacher theory. Defense. The Tar Heels' rugged trap ping zones and strong board play have held opponents to 41.9 percent shooting frrm thp fiplrl anH Q nnintc nr pamc ' ' r Daugherty, who has become a more in timidating force at center this year, said the tight zoning has cut down on easy shots by the opposition. "We tried out man-to-man defense last year (against State)," he said. "And they threw a few .tricks at us. Now we're trying to stop the ball from coming in high and make them take the outside shots." That was exactly what happened Satur day, as the Wolfpack relied heavily on guard Terry Gannon's 25-footers to stay within range after UNC had widened the margin in the second half. The Tar Heels' double-teaming on powerful forward Heels win Holiday Festival and take bite out of Big Apple By KURT ROSENBERG Assistant Sports Editor Above all else, it seems, Dean Smith stresses the importance of his basketball players' getting an education. A major concern of the UNC coach is that his Tar Heels learn more in four years than how to set a good screen, fire an accurate outlet pass or master the run-and-jump defense. So when North Carolina was given a chance to spend part of Christmas Break in New York City, Smith accepted, pro-, bably knowing full well his team would get the best of both worlds. Playing in the ECAC Holiday Festival would be good preparation for the ACC season. But, perhaps just as important, spending four whole days in Manhattan would be well ... an education. The trip was everything Smith might have hoped for as the Tar Heels quieted a hostile Madison Square. Garden crowd by beating St. John's to win the tournament championship Dec. 29. Winning in front of nearly 20,000 fans in basketball's mecca was exciting. But even more exciting for a team that has on its roster players from such towns as Dudley, N.C; Kohler, Wis.; and Lahti, Finland, were some of the things that happened outside of the arena, in a city containing more people than the state of North Carolina. Experiencing, as Matt Doherty would call it, New Yawk. For instance: Michael Jordan was banned from the starting lineup in the St. John's game for showing up about 90 seconds late for a team meeting earlier in the day. It seems Jordan was doing some shopping and failed to realize how long it would take him to get back to the team's hotel. He was six blocks away and thought it would take only five minutes to get back, but it took 20 minutes. "He should have asked these guys how long it would take to get six blocks in rush-hour traffic," said Dean Smith, pointing to New Yorkers Sam "Perkins and Doherty. "Then he Lorenzo Charles all but shut off the in side game, Daugherty said. Offense. Michael Jordan may .have been national player of the year in one publication last year, but "Silent" Sam Perkins has begun to snatch away the headlines. Perkins, playing the best basketball of his college career, leads the team in scoring (16.9), rebounding (9.3) . and blocked shots (20). "Sam is having a great year," Coach Dean Smith said. "Not only is he scoring and rebounding well, but his defense has been outstanding. During his career he has been one of the most consistent players we have had. But, he's better than ever this year." Against State, an ambidextrous Perkins gracefully dropped in his left handed hooks from the lane, then added a few right-handers, deflected a State pass and dribbled the length of the court for a slam, blocked three shots, dished out a pair of assists and scored a game-high 22 points before a national television au dience. "He's amazing," forward Matt Doherty said of Perkins. "Sam wouldn't let us relax, not one minute." Jordan, on the other hand, is supposed to be in a slump, or so the stat sheets say. Hitting on 48.8 percent of his shots this year, Jordan connected on only six of 17 , Saturday and is six points under his 1983 average. However, his teammates are miffed by talk of a slump. "Michael's not in a slump, that's for sure," Doherty said. He's probably right. After all, players suffering from the effects of a slump don't grab 12 rebounds, score 18 points, dish out three assists and block two shots, as Jordan managed Saturday. ."I haven't been scoring much," Jor dan said. "But I think I've gotten over a slump." Doherty pointed to an even-keel game as the key to more Tar Heel success. "A lot of teams have ups and downs," he said. "But the key to success is to achieve consistency, and that's what we're achieving. There's no . time for mental lapses. (Against State) we were going about our business, and we kept our passes crisp and we got back quickly on defense." And if Perkins, Jordan, Daugherty or Doherty aren't always doing those little would have been on time." Jordan's explanation? "I got too caught up in the New York life." '7 got a ham and Swiss and it had about 28 slices of ham on it and about 20 slices of Swiss." Buzz Peterson So, apparently, did Buzz Peterson, but on a more positive note than Jordan. Peterson went to New York when UNC played there two years ago, but the way he raved about some of its culinary delights, you'd think this trip was his first. He marvelled over the chocoate chip cookies and was even more excited about the city's delicatessens. "I got a ham and Swiss and it had about 28 slices of ham on it and about 20 slices of Swiss." But while Peterson was taking a bite , out of the Big Apple, it was also taking a bite out of him or at least his wallet. Eight ounces' of Coca-Cola cost Peterson $2.75, he said, and orange juice in the hotel restaurant went' for $2.95 a glass. . . If that wasn't bad enough, Peterson was also taken for a ride by a New York cab driver. He was charged more than $6 for a short ride from the hotel to the Garden. "He knew we were tourists," Peterson said. "He rode us around everywhere." He should have just been grateful to get where he was going in one piece. New York City driving was something he wasn't quite used to. "1 got a big kick out of it," Peterson Bpobtb ' " " - , ' - , . ' y r , N I f - ' - X . ' $ -v 4 r J- I - ', : ; ' . ' f , . ; . 0'J - '.-... .. , . , - i , -: i : v r S i i t I I ( ( - . , -w If"", jAk - . X . V : i'.-r- . i i ,;. 7 - nsssr . Kenny Smith scored 18 things that make big things happen, the freshman Smith can ignite the crowd with his blazing speed and a fast-break slam. Smith, who is averaging 10 points and five assists per game, was all over the court Saturday, rifling in pinpoint passes to the big men for easy layups and slams. His nine assists matched his total in the 87-64 rout of Syracuse on Dec. 10, when he outplayed the Orangemen's freshman point star Dwayne "Pearl" Washington. "Kenny played with a great deal of poise and confidence," Coach Smith said after the Wolfpack game. "He was im pressive." But Kenny Smith knows he has a lot of games remaining in the toughest con ference in the country. "They (the said. "It's amazing they don't have more wrecks." Included on the Tar Heels' Big Apple itinerary were trips to the Broadway show "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and an NBA game between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons; shopping at Macy's and Bloomingdale's; a visit . to Rockefeller Center and, of course, the delis. But all those things were nothing new to three of UNC's starting five. Perkins, Doherty and Kenny Smith, who have spent most of their lives only a few miles from the Garden, had seen it all before. So they chose to spend part of their free time visiting their families and friends. ' And for the games themselves, each of the three had a sizeable rooting section about 45 of Perkins' friends and relatives were there, about 30 were in the Doherty caravan and at least 50 supporters told Smith they would be on hand. Doherty, welcomed with banners wishing him luck, enjoyed all the atten tion, rising to the occasion to , score 15 points and grab six rebounds against St. John's. "It's a special feeling," he said after ward. "I saw my friends and I heard peo ple yelling 'Holy Trinity' (his high school) and 'East Meadow' (his, hometown). I was out there fired up in warmups." Kenny Smith got a little too fired up at the start of the first game against Iona. He appeared shaky, and admitted that the crowd affected him. "Coming back home, your mind wanders," said Smith, who is from Queens. "You start thinking who's in the stands, and who's not in the stands. I didn't really see them. I just knew they were out there." - The team left New York on Dec. 30 and Brad Daugherty decided that going to Hawaii last year was more fun than this year's Christmas excursion. "A lot warmer and a lot more pretty girls," he recalled. Or, as Cecil Exum described New York, "It's another world here." It's nice to be back on Earth. points and recorded nine assists veteran players) are going to make me prove myself, and it's still too early to say I think I've proven something.'1 But it is not too early to say that Smith can run the UNC offense. Depth. The Tar Heels lose little on the court following wholesale substitutions. Buzz Peterson is capable of coming off the bench and throwing kinks into a tight zone defense, as he did Saturday with two outside baskets in a span of about 30 seconds. Steve Hale leads the team in free throw proficiency, and Joe Wolf, Dave Popson and Cecil Exum have done a noteworthy job making up the second team front court despite their con siderable inexperience. "You can say we're a fundamentally sound team," Doherty surmised. """ 1 - " J J.L..LM11LUUL.LI. II, , I III ILUIIIII1 Mill HI 1 . 1 1 Jl I I.I -HI. .1111 NUM. ! ,1111 II, 4 Sir WV; it "Vn, fa ' f 'iV r o o 5 a a $pffifey u ' .. j iiniwn 1 '"" - m , -r 1 Tournament MVP Sam Perkins displays the ECAC Holiday Festival Wednesday, ;yM ... , -; , v ... w.-, .-:-.,-,...- . .. ... ....... ., in North Carolina's 81-60 victory over AP poll 1. North Carolina (39)10-0 2. Kentucky (21) 10-0 3. DePaul 11-0 4. Georgetown. ...... 12-1 5. Maryland 10-1 6. UCLA....... 9-1 7. Houston 12-2 8. Texas-El Paso 13-0 ?. Illinois 11-1 10. St. John's . .10-1 11. Louisiana State 8-2 12. Wake Forest 10-1 13. Fresno State 11-2 14. Nevada-Las Vegas.. 11-1 15. Georgia 9-2 16. Oregon State 8-2 17. Oklahoma 12-1 18. Boston College 10-2 19. Memphis State 10-3 , 20. Tulsa 13-0 1179 1161 1053 1001 908 835 815 768 ' 578 543 450 440 376 369 364 349 264 213 184 - 114 January 11, 1984The Daily Tar Heel9 DTHCharies Ledford N.C. State Saturday. UPI poll 1. Kentucky (19) 10-0 2. North Carolina (19)10-0 3. DePaul 1 1-0 4. Georgetown 12-1 5. Houston 12-2 6. Maryland 10-1 7. UCLA .....9-1 8 Tcxas-E Paso 13-0 9. St. John's 10-1 10. Illinois 11-1 11. Fresno State 11-2 12. Nevada-Las Vegas ..11-1 13. Wake Forest 10-1 14. Oregon Slate '. . .8-2 15. Oklahoma 12-1 16. Tulsa 13-0 17. Louisiana Slate 8-2 18. Georgia 9-2 19. Arkansas 11-2 20. Boston College 10-2 551 547 458 437 334 311 300 274 197 185 129 105 85 76 74 63 61 59 55 42 Championship trophy. Ptu.lo tlV H t UllCKC
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 11, 1984, edition 1
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