No team could be finer than Carolina -- for one half, at least
ST. LOUIS -- Matt Doherty planted most of this garden, but Roy Williams nurtured it, pruned it, added defense and an oak tree named Marvin Williams. The result is the perfect college basketball team, or as close to the perfect basketball team as we're likely to see.
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| Freshman Marvin Williams, a UNC role player, is considered the best NBA prospect in the Final Four. (Getty Images) |
Whether that UNC team pokes its head out of the ground Monday night against the Illini is another question, but when the Tar Heels play like they played for the final 20 minutes against Michigan State, they're too good for anyone. About that, there is no question.
North Carolina (31-4) had the four best players on the court Saturday night, and Michigan State has three or four guys who'll play in the NBA. The scariest part? None of those four great Tar Heels was named Marvin Williams.
Williams is the best NBA prospect in the Final Four, possibly the best NBA prospect in the world, but on Saturday night he was a role player. A pterodactyl-long, leopard-quick 6-foot-9 role player. He'll be the first or second draft pick in whichever NBA Draft he chooses to enter. He scored just two points. And North Carolina still won by 16.
North Carolina was the perfect basketball team Saturday night because indefensible point guard Raymond Felton hit 3-pointers, pull-up jumpers and hanging, banging layups. And because Rashad McCants hit two 3-pointers and slipped behind over-playing defender Maurice Ager for alley-oops. And because Sean May had 22 points, not 42 points, because he insisted on slipping soft passes to cutting teammates rather than take every shot that was presented.
And plenty were presented. The perfect college basketball team, which was recruited predominantly by Doherty but molded by Roy Williams, has more than a future NBA Draft pick at point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center. The perfect college basketball team has all of that, and still believes in the beauty of the pass.
Midway through the second half, David Noel was open from 12 feet, but that wasn't good enough. He passed to May, who was open from eight feet. But that wasn't good enough. May passed to Jawad Williams, who was open from six feet. Easy basket.
Everything was easy in the second half for the Tar Heels, who outscored Michigan State 54-33 in those 20 minutes. They shot 57.1 percent from the floor. They had 10 assists and four turnovers.
On the bench, Roy Williams didn't have to say much for those final 20 minutes. He'd said his thing at halftime, after the Tar Heels had played without much head or heart in the first half. Michigan State had grabbed more rebounds, forced more turnovers and taken more high-percentage shots. The Spartans were first in everything in the first half, from loose balls to the score (38-33) to the speed with which they returned to the court for the second half.
While Michigan State was warming up on the court, the Tar Heels were getting lit up by their coach in the locker room.
"How animated was it? (Coach Williams) got the point across," Felton said. "I'll put it like that."
North Carolina took it out on Michigan State. The Spartans shot 29.4 percent in the second half. They were outrebounded 27-16. They were coming off victories in the Austin Region against Duke and Kentucky, and they had no chance. None.
