"I've known Mary Hall and her family for a long time and I think a lot of
them," Hatchell said. "Mary Hall did very well in our preseason workouts and
had met all her conditioning requirements. I'm disappointed that she won't
be playing for our team, but I respect her decision. I know she'll be a
great student here, and we all look forward to seeing her at games and
around campus."
McArver, who signed with UNC in November of 2002, was a standout player and
student at Forestview High School. A three-time conference player of the
year and honorable mention All-America, she has been enrolled at Carolina
since the second session of summer school and went through the preseason as
a part of the team. She decided to leave the team before practice started
last Saturday.
"First of all, I love Coach Hatchell and all the assistants, I love every
member of the team, and I think the program here is unbelievable," McArver
said. "My decision to leave the team has nothing to do with them. It's all
about me and my decision that I need to focus on my academics here in
college. I felt the most fair way to do this would be to leave the team
before the season started."
The Tar Heels play their first exhibition game on Nov. 5 and open the season
on Nov. 21 with a home game against St. Francis.