North Carolina returns all five starters and all important reserves -- and adds three newcomers expected to contribute -- from a team that finished 19-11 last season, including a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The return of the key components -- and the presence of the winningest active coach by percentage in college basketball -- brings high expectations. The Tar Heels are projected as consensus preseason Top 10 in the polls.
“Everybody’s expectations
are so much higher just
because everybody’s back,” Williams said. “It doesn’t do any good if
everybody’s back unless they have
improved. Hopefully they’ve adopted
more completely an attitude of team first,
that the defensive side is the most important
side, an attitude of more completely
being concerned with the bottom line of
the game result, not individual results.
Our kids made strides last year, but the
improvement has to continue. Not just
individual abilities, but a gradual and
genuine improvement of the team coming
first.
“The name on the front of the jersey is
more important than the name on the
back. The lack of success for a few years
here makes young players look for more
individual goals and individual achievement.
Our players looked too much for
those individual results. We are going to
continue to emphasize.”
| SENIORS |
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JAWAD WILLIAMS #21
Bio: 6-9, 218
2003-04 Stats: 12.6 pts, 5.4 reb
Roy Williams: “We need to work to put Jawad in position
to be more successful on offense. He’s not a true
post-up player and last year his shot was
not as successful as we would like, so we
need to get him the ball in places where
he can be more effective. Plus, he has to
rebound the ball better for us to be a
good team.”
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MELVIN SCOTT #1
Bio: 6-2, 190
2003-04 Stats: 9.9 pts, 2.7 ast
Roy Williams: “Melvin shot well overall last year
until the last 8-10 games. We need him to shoot well all
year. We also want him to continue to do
a better job with basketball, not turn it
over and play better defense.”
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JACKIE MANUEL #5
Bio: 6-5, 189
2003-04 Stats: 6.5 pts, 3.3 reb
Roy Williams: “Jackie has worked hard in the spring
and summer to improve his shot. We changed his shot
some and he accepted those changes and
has worked on it pretty doggone hard. He
had some technique issues, but he also
was not as confident in games. We charted
over 3000 free throws in practice last
year and he shot 78 percent, as opposed
to 48 percent in games. ... Jackie’s the best defender on our
team. He has really good instincts and a
toughness about him that allows him to
guard people for a long time. His length
helps him, also.”
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| C.J. HOOKER #35 | 6-2, 188 (0.4 pts, 0.7 reb) |
| JUNIORS |
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RAYMOND FELTON #2
Bio: 6-1, 198
2003-04 Stats: 11.5 pts, 7.1 ast
Roy Williams: “Nobody puts as much pressure on
himself to play well as Raymond Felton. Raymond is work-ing hard to develop a more consistent
outside shot. That’s one part of his game
he wants to improve. I also think his
decision-making with the ball will be
much more positive for us after a year in
our style of play.”
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RASHAD MCCANTS #32
Bio: 6-4, 207
2003-04 Stats: 20.0 pts, 4.6 reb
Roy Williams: “I’ve said it several times – Rashad is
the most analyzed player by the media
and fans I have ever coached. I thought he matured a
great deal last year and I know it is something
he is working on to this day. He shoots the ball so well. We’ve
asked him to work on taking the ball to
the basket to become a more complete
offensive player. If he puts the ball on the
floor, then guys can’t run out on him on
his jump shot like they did last year and
he can be even more effective. We want
him to continue to do better job on
defense, as well.”
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SEAN MAY #42
Bio: 6-9, 266
2003-04 Stats: 15.2 pts, 9.8 reb
Roy Williams: “Sean can do some really nice things
around the basket. Conditioning is the biggest thing he
needs to work on for this coming season.
We don’t want him to lose weight, just
shift it around. Hopefully he will gain
more strength and have better stamina.
That will help him finish better inside.
He has wonderful hands. It’s hard to find
anyone with better hands. His footwork
will improve as we work on his balance.”
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DAVID NOEL #34
Bio: 6-6, 224
2003-04 Stats: 5.4 pts, 4.9 reb
Roy Williams: “His hand injury
was a much bigger
issue than I thought
it would be. He really struggled
to catch the ball in
traffic because his
hand bothered him
more than people
knew ... David will once again be asked to
guard bigger players. However, I think this year he
better understands how to use his speed
and quickness that will win out over his
lack of size. We need him to bring toughness
to our defense and rebounding.”
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BYRON SANDERS #41
Bio: 6-9, 230
2003-04 Stats: 0.5 pts, 1.0 reb
Roy Williams: “Byron can help us right now defensively
and I think he’ll better understand
how he can help us on both ends of the
court this year. He needs to screen, box out and defend
and let his offense take care of itself.”
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DAMION GRANT #25
Bio: 6-11, 267
2003-04 Stats: 0.0 pts, 1.0 reb
Roy Williams: “I am still concerned about our inside
scoring. We need
an inside threat to establish a proper mix
from the outside. We need more of a low
post presence. Somebody needs to help us
score inside.”
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| SOPHOMORES |
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REYSHAWN TERRY #3
Bio: 6-8, 214
2003-04 Stats: 1.6 pts, 0.8 reb
Roy Williams: “I am hoping Reyshawn will be much
more confident after a year of ACC basketball. He has
nice tools, but he needs to relax. When he
got into games, he often would commit a
quick foul or turn the ball over. A lot of
that is a result of not being confident.
With more play and better play, that will
lead to more play again and that should
help his confidence.”
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| JESSE HOLLEY #0 | 6-3, 190 (0.7 pts, 0.6 reb) |
| NEWCOMERS |
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MARVIN WILLIAMS #24, WES MILLER #22, QUENTIN THOMAS #11
Bio: Williams - 6-9, 230 (Bremerton, Wash.) ... Miller - 5-11, 185 (Soph., JMU transfer), Thomas - 6-3, 175 (Oakland, Calif.)
Roy Williams: “It’s hard right now to tell about our
depth because you never know how
young players will adjust to ACC basketball. However, on
paper, it looks better having newcomers
like Marvin Williams, Quentin Thomas
and Wes Miller, provided everyone else
can stay healthy. ... Quentin and Wes grew up playing the
point guard position and that should help
us. It allows
Raymond to play a few minutes less, but
play more effectively. ... Marvin gives us another player with size who is very gifted."
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(Quotes courtesy of UNC Athletic Communications. Photos by Getty Images.)
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