New York ? For North Carolina coach Matt Doherty, there wasn’t a lot of time to savor the Tar Heels’ stunning victory against No. 2 Kansas University in the Preseason NIT.
Stanford is next – another game plan to design, another challenge to meet for the youngest team in the country.
“I don’t think coaches ever kick back, not good ones,” Doherty said after his team took apart the Jayhawks 67-56 Wednesday night in the semifinals.
So there was no rest for the Tar Heels on Thursday, no feet up on the desk, arms behind their heads. Instead, Doherty sent them through practice, smoothing the rough spots on his freshman-dominated team.
“Coaches are all paranoid,” the former Kansas assistant coach said. “We’re all thinking the world is going to end tomorrow. We’ve got to be prepared for Stanford. I don’t allow myself – and maybe this is a sad comment – to enjoy wins real long.”
There was just time enough to break down the game tapes, a couple of hours to relish what the Tar Heels had accomplished, maybe a peek at the Thanksgiving Day parade marching by their Manhattan hotel. And then it was on to Stanford, which overtook No. 7 Florida 69-65 in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
Tonight’s 8 p.m. final will be broadcast on ESPN2.
“I am concerned about their power,” Doherty said. “They have some beef up front with Rob Little and Justin Davis. So I’m concerned about that, just like every game, because we are not as beefy up front.
“We’ll have to be very active on defense. They run a lot of plays, a lot of set plays. It’s funny when you talk about basketball. It comes down to fundamental things. We have to take care of the basketball, make some good shots, make shots, make them turn the ball over, make difficult shots and then we have to box out and rebound.”
That’s why Doherty wasn’t kicking back on Thursday.
Stanford coach Mike Montgomery claims he’s just as surprised as anyone about the success of his team, which was thought to be rebuilding this season.
| When: 8 tonight.Where: Madison Square Garden in New York.TV: ESPN2.Records: UNC 4-0; Stanford 4-0. |
“I never said ‘rebuild,”‘ he said. “I just thought we were awful young. I put freshmen in, and really, I don’t think they know what they’re doing. We need to improve offensively, shot selection, execution.”
That said, the Cardinal showed great poise against Florida. It was satisfying for the coach, who still is not quite sure what to expect from his young players. He knows, though, that they’re further along than he expected them to be this early in the season.
“We’ve played three of out first four games against teams that will be in the NCAA tournament,” Montgomery said. “For us, it’s very pleasing to be as far as we are.”
Both North Carolina (4-0) and Stanford (4-0) lean heavily on underclassmen. And none seemed shaken by playing in Madison Square Garden.
Freshman Rashad McCants led the Tar Heels with 25 points against Kansas. Little, a sophomore, had 18, including the winning basket for the Cardinal.
Kansas coach Roy Williams thought the young players on both teams made an important statement.
“I’ve said the last three or four years, freshmen in college basketball are not like they used to be,” he said. “They are more worldly, they are more traveled. It’s not like 15 or 20 years ago, when freshmen came in and were scared to death. It’s not even like 10 years ago. They are very gifted.”
