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UNC Tar Heels
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
The worst thing to happen to the North Carolina football team was the best thing to happen to the UNC basketball team. When the season ended without a bowl invitation for the 6-5 Tar Heels, quarterback Ronald Curry and defensive end Julius Peppers were able to switch to basketball in December. The team was 3-2, including an awful 93-76 loss at home to Kentucky, when Curry became the team's No. 1 point guard. A few games later, the 6-6, 270-pound Peppers became the sixth man. The Tar Heels didn't lose for months. From a low ranking of No. 16 in late December, the Tar Heels rocketed to the top of the charts, aided by losses elsewhere (Stanford, Michigan State and Kansas all lost in one week) and a rain of UNC victories, including an 85-83 upset of Duke at Durham the same week the Cardinal, Spartans and Jayhawks fell. North Carolina's best chance at an impressive nonconference victory was squandered Nov. 29 at Michigan State (a 77-64 loss), leaving the Tar Heels' resume lacking a marquee win outside the ACC. The best of the bunch? Probably UCLA in December, before the Bruins got hot. North Carolina has played its best basketball in the conference, sweeping Maryland -- including a Jan. 10 win at Cole Field House before the Terps' collapse weeks later -- and Wake Forest. The Tar Heels cost themselves a No. 1 seed with some late-season losses, then beat an undermanned princeton team in the forst round before being upset by Penn State in the second round. Player to Watch Sophomore guard Joseph Forte has become a leading contender for ACC and national player of the year, and probably is the most clutch player in the country. Forte has averaged 22 points per game, and seems to score mainly when the Tar Heels need points the most. He also has developed into a fine defender, and is underrated as a rebounder (6.1 per game) and playmaker (3.6 assists per game). But his scoring, featuring everything from penetration baskets to mid-range jumpers to three-pointers, is what makes him truly special and the reason he has become, as a sophomore, this team's leader. With the Ball Just as mentor Dean Smith did for years, first-year UNC coach Matt Doherty preaches inside-out offense, wanting the ball to go inside to 7-0 Brendan Haywood or 6-11 Kris Lang before swinging around the perimeter for jumpers. Haywood makes the offense especially dangerous by being able to pass adeptly out of double-teams to Lang and Julius Peppers for dunks, or to Forte and Jason Capel for three-pointers. Curry isn't much of a threat to penetrate and make something happen in the lane, nor does he score much from the outside or the line. But he's good in transition and steady in the half-court game. Defending the Ball This is where Curry really earns his playing time. He is one of the ACC's best on-ball defenders -- as quick as most point guards, and stronger than all of them, thanks to his football weightlifting. Forte and Capel are solid defenders, but top perimeter substitute Max Owens is a liability. Behind them, Haywood leads the ACC in blocked shots (3.7 per game) and alters more than that. UNC officials have been pushing him for national defensive player of the year, aware the bulk of the attention in this regard has gone down the road to Duke's Shane Battier. Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed Playing to Expectation Falling Short BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: .984 (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding) Bracketology Report 1985-2000: UNC is the only team to play in every NCAA tournament since the 64-team field was established. North Carolina and Duke have combined for 10 of 16 East Region No. 1 seeds during that time frame. The Tar Heels have never been a No. 1 seed outside their home region. When Carolina has been a No. 1 seed, it has reached the Final Four four out of six times.Roster
 NCAA Basketball Championship Week It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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An emotional Matt Doherty was proud of his team's never-say-die attitude (Courtesy: NCAA Productions).
