North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Looks to Extend Winning Streak Over UNC
1/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-Only a select few players in the history of NC State basketball can claim what would be considered tremendous success against North Carolina during their careers. Teams led by the great David Thompson once defeated the Tar Heels nine straight times during the mid-1970s. Before UNC really emerged as a national player in the 1950s, Wolfpack squads coached by Everett Case won six in a row in the series. When it travels to Chapel Hill for its first of two regular season meetings with Carolina on Wednesday night, the 2003-04 Pack (11-4, 4-1)will be looking to nail down a fifth straight victory over its ACC rivals.
Other than seniors Scooter Sherrill and Marcus Melvin, no player on NC State's current roster has ever lost to the Tar Heels. Back-to-back season sweeps by the Wolfpack the last two years are a matter of timing. While NC State returned to the upper half of the league, North Carolina made a sudden and unexpected exit out of the upper crust ACC neighborhood in which it had resided for so long.
This season, the return of favorite son Roy Williams to the bench coupled with the return to health of center Sean May has given the Tar Heels (12-4, 2-3) and their fans hope. Currently ranked 12th in the AP Poll, UNC is in the midst of a rapid resurrection that wasn't totally unexpected.
"They're awfully talented," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "Last year, several of those guys that are playing prominent roles were freshmen and they lost Sean May. This year, May has stayed healthy and guys like Felton and McCants have a year of experience underneath their belts. They're really one of the most up-tempo teams in the country; they really want to get out and run. They're putting points on the board in bunches. They really want a high possession game."
A fact that certainly will make for an interesting cat and mouse game when the two longtime rivals clash for the 203rd time. While it won't pass up the chance to strike in transition when the opportunity presents itself, NC State has no problem staying patient with its halfcourt offense, an attack that can test the concentration of teams who occasionally suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder on the defensive end of the floor.
"The proper word is patience," said Williams, who will be coaching against NC State for the first time since one of his Kansas teams met the Wolfpack in Sendek's first year back in December of 1996. "It's very similar to playing against a teams coached by Bobby Knight. You're going to get screened, you're going to get screened and you're going to get screened. You have to be patient enough to keep playing through that. It's the same thing against Herb's team. You know they're going to pass and go backdoor and pass and go backdoor. You know it's going to happen and you have to be patient enough to be willing to play that defense for the 35 seconds. If you lose your patience, then all of sudden you get antsy and try to do something you shouldn't do. That's when you get beat."
Williams is probably curious to see just how patient his team will be on the defensive end on Wednesday since he has often questioned North Carolina's overall defensive focus for much of the season. His opinion may have changed on Saturday when the Tar Heels broke open a close game by shutting down Virginia in the second half.
"You've got to be into it," Williams said about the desire needed to play effective defense in the ACC. "You've got to have the intensity; you've got to have a sense of urgency and it's got to be that way on every single play. It's not something where I ever thought the kids didn't want to do it, but just being tough enough to do it on every single possession has been the question. You've got to have more pride in knowing that it's an extremely important part of the game and you've got to be willing to do it all the time."
If North Carolina ever does fulfill its coach's desires on the defensive end, then it could become a major force once March rolls around because scoring has never been a problem for this group. The nation's top scoring team, the Tar Heels are averaging 88.4 points per game. Rashad McCants, a sophomore from Asheville, has taken over the ACC scoring lead from NC State's Julius Hodge with an average of 18.8 points per contest.
Hodge, who is now averaging 17.7 points per contest, had only two points in the Wolfpack's four-point victory over nationally ranked Georgia Tech last weekend. Hodge and McCants could be matched up against each other on many occasions during Wednesday's game.
As a testament to the overall strength of the ACC, NC State occupies second place in the league with a 4-1 mark, yet is unranked in the national polls. The Tar Heels, on the other hand, are ranked in both Top-25s but are currently fifth in the league standings with a 2-3 ACC record.
Such circumstances are almost as odd as a lengthy winning streak for NC State in this long and heated rivalry.
More Wolfpack Notes: NC State is shooting 78.5 from the free throw line and is currently tied for first nationally with Texas State...Hodge has made 37-of-39 free throws over his last eight games and has had six perfect games from the stripe this season...The Wolfpack has started seven different starting lineups in 15 games...Melvin is the only NC State player who has started every game...NC State hasn't won three consecutive games in Chapel Hill since it took seven in a row from 1947-54.
