Whether out of necessity, an underestimation of his talent, or a bit of both, Joseph Forte was a pleasant surprise for North Carolina.
Forte-the sophomore, who, at the beginning of last season, was lost among the hype of rival Duke's recruiting class. In the end, however, he had carried the ailing Tar Heels to the Final Four. He gathered not only the most outstanding player award in the NCAA South Regional, but also the ACC rookie of the year trophy.
This year, Forte plans to be even better.
So, now that all preseason indications show that the Tar Heels have pulled themselves up from last year's regular-season mediocrity, the question becomes, How far can Forte take them this season?
Really far.
Aside from the fact that he now holds the freshman records for total points and scoring average for one of the country's most storied programs, he was named a candidate for the preseason Naismith and Wooden awards. Forte, who is arguably the best shooting guard in the country, was also picked to be on the preseason first team of both the All-ACC and All-America squads.
"It's an honor," the Greenbelt, Md. native said. "I'm happy to be recognized for my play last year and hopefully I can be able to keep it up and rise above some expectations."
By the way, on top of all that, there is that smooth mid-range jump shot coupled with incredible athleticism, so much so in fact, that it reminds more than a few people of another Heels' shooting guard from nearly two decades ago. That one, of course, was No. 23.
However, Forte has a long way to go before people start ranking him alongside the legendary Michael Jordan. This summer, he and a team of college stars played against Dream Team III in a friendly exhibition before the pros headed to Australia. They got waxed.
"I think it opened my eyes," Forte said. "It showed me that I'm pretty good, but I'm not as good as I think I am."
Since he knows he is not yet able to hold his own against the likes of Vince Carter and Kevin Garnett, Forte has been working hard this preseason on a few aspects of his game he feels need improvement.
He has made frequent visits to the gym in order to add a bit of inside muscle, and he's also been experimenting at the point guard position-something he enjoys-in order to work on ball-handling.
"I definitely would like to play point," Forte said. "Not full time because we have a point guard, but I would like to bring the ball up at times."
Also, new coach Matt Doherty has Forte and the rest of the team running in the offseason, a change from former coaches Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge's ways.
Although Forte recognizes its merits, running is not his favorite exercise.
"The coaching staff has been great," Forte said. "They push us a lot. I think it's definitely going to make the team better. We're stronger and in better shape. It was the most grueling running I've ever done before. It was a mental challenge."
Forte-who has been coached by the likes of Morgan Wooten, high school's all-time winningest coach, and two-time NCAA Final Four coach Bill Guthridge-has taken a liking to Matt Doherty and the new coaching staff because of their youth and energy. That, coupled with the fact he also enjoys playing amidst the history of Carolina basketball, may extend his tenure in Chapel Hill longer than many would expect.
"It's a special feeling," Forte said. "I've gotten to drain a lot of threes here, but I remember I drained one three to go into overtime against Duke and the crowd just erupted. Just to play in front of that every game is a special feeling."
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