Head Coach: Roy Williams: @ UNC: 0-0, 1st season; Overall: 418-101, 16th year. National Championships: 0; Final Four appearances (at Kansas): 4
2002-03 Record: 19-16 overall; 6-10 ACC (7th)
Player to watch: Like Duke, North Carolina has a superlative sophomore class, which is highlighted by Felton, one of the nation's best point guards. He has a swift crossover dribble, an improved stroke and exceptional vision.
Roy Williams has a dilemma. North Carolina's new name-brand coach arrived in Chapel Hill knowing that, if nothing else, at least one piece was in place as he rebuilt the program in his image: sophomore point guard Raymond Felton, the preseason ACC Player of the Year and never one known to dawdlewith a basketball in his hands, was the perfect motor for his frenetic offense.
The problem? Williams had better be wary of overheating his motor, because he has precious few replacement parts at his disposal.
"Raymond can really push it, and that is the way that I want to run," Williams said. "[But] I am facing a battle myself. If you play as fast as I want to play, then that means you also have more opportunity for foul trouble [and injuries], and we have no true point guard in the program other than Raymond."
Despite his relative youth, Felton is no stranger to heavy action. The South Carolina native endured trial-by-fire last year as a freshman, logging the third-most minutes in the ACC while trying to orchestrate the offense for a talented, but inexperienced, North Carolina unit. He handled the challenge admirably, earning third-team all-ACC honors while being voted UNC's Most Valuable Player by his teammates and coaches.
This year, however, Felton is going to have shoulder even more of the load; not only is he the key to Williams fast-paced offense, but he doesnt have a backup. North Carolina does not have another true point guard on its roster, meaning two-guard Melvin Scott is its only option to spell Felton, and not one Williams wants to resort to often.
"One thing I'm doing is trying to find the light switch [in the Smith Center]," Williams said. "Because if both [Felton and Scott] give me the tired signal, I'm turning the freakin' lights off. We're going to have a malfunction somewhere."
The situation at point guard encapsulates North Carolina's prospects for this season. With Felton and fellow sophomores, swingman Rashad McCants and center Sean May, as well as junior forward Jawad Williams--the Tar Heels field a starting five as talented as any in the country. Beyond that, their ballyhooed new coach had better cross his fingers and pray to the God of Ankle Sprains.
"The fact of the matter is that we have three or four kids who are really gifted, and in basketball you have to have more than that," Williams said. "That's where we really get into big-time problems."
Aside from Felton, May is the player the Tar Heels most need to keep on the court. If the Heels need any reminder of how valuable May is, they need only look back to last year. After starting the year 7-3, May went down with a broken foot, and North Carolina limped to a 10-11 record the rest of the way and an NIT appearance. Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, May's foot remains a concern, and Williams plans to ease the Indiana native back into the mix.
Felton, however, is far less cautious.
"I'm not worried about Sean getting hurt," Felton said. "Sean is in great health, he's in shape, he lost a couple pounds over the summer with conditioning and lifting weights."
If North Carolina can stay healthy, it figures to vault back to a familiar position, albeit one unfamiliar to the current crop of players in Chapel Hill: vying with Duke for superiority in the ACC. The new coach understands the expectations the Tar Heel faithful have heaped upon him following a string of very un-UNC-like seasons.
"There's not going to be much of a honeymoon," Williams said. "[I know] the expectations are out there."
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