The Herald-Sun from Durham, North Carolina • 18

TT- lfVVVVV pnrljnm iUoniitig JfcralD PAGE2B WEDNESDAY MARCH 31 1 982 UNC Finds Near-Perfect Chemistry Smith Handled It All With Aplomb Keith Drum FT? Monk another lesson in a 17-point defeat to Virginia In that game the Tar Heels were finally found guilty of playing too passive on defense during the first half It was a tactic they had used early in the season to prevent the five starters from getting into foul trouble in the first half From the outset lack of depth was the biggest question surrounding its quest for the tional tiue Early season Injuries to freshmen Warren Martin and Buzz Peterson prevented Smith from developing depth WHEN IT became apparent that Martin would not be able to supplement Worthy and Perkins on the frontline and Peterson would not be able to spell Jordan Doherty and Black outside the Tar Heels made another switch UNC began to play more aggressive defense in the first half and more passive in the second Emphasis was placed on not allowing the opposition to get into one-and-one free throws in the second half By avoiding that the Tar Heels were virtually assured of staying out of foul trouble UNC did not allow the opposition the one-and-one opportunity in nearly every game down the stretch The Tar Heels did it by using the clock as sn ally With a second-half lead they almost always fell into a 2-3 point-zone defense It forced the opposition to work for a shot and ran time off the clock The first sign of a threat to overtake the Tar Heels in the second half was a signal for UNC to spread its offense and make the opposition chase Not only did the delay game kill time it also forced the opposition to play man-to-man defense against Worthy Perkins and Jordan Few if any teams had three men capable of matching up against that trio The schedule the subtle tactical adjustments made by Smith and the superb talent all were elements in a team with near-perfect chemistry It was a rare chemistry that netted UNC a national NEW ORLEANS There was a magic element which made the 1982 North Carolina basketball team national champions Call it chemistry Perhaps not since NC national cham- Sionship in 1974 has a college basketball team had ve players pieced together into such a near-perfect puzzle David Thompson Tom Burleson Monte Towe Morris Rivers and Tim Stoddard each was willing to play within their roles for the success of NC State James Worthy Sam Perkins Jimmy Black Michael Jordan and Matt Doherty fit the same mold for Carolina Each recognized his strengths and defined his limits BUT THIS was no wslts to the national title There were several factors including some tatical adjustments which contributed to making this team coach Dean Smith's most successful Certainly UNCs schedule played a part in that success The Tar Heels played 17 of their 29 regular-season games against teams which eventually played in either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT They tested their skills against every type of team from the run-and-gun of Tulsa to the stop-and-walk of NC State The Tar Heels played in every conceivable setting from a neutral site meeting with Kentucky in East Rutherfordton NJ to a meeting with Virginia before a hostile crowd in Charlottesville UNC lost twice But what the Tar Heels gained from those two defeats was probably as significant as anything they gained from their 32 victories IN A MID-8EASON loss to Wake Forest in Chapel Hill the Tar Heels played without Perkins Wake sagged back into a zone defense and denied Worthy the ball It put the scoring load on Black Jordan and Doherty who all seemed hesitant to shoot from the outside Doherty said they were always instructed to pass the ball around the perimiter once before taking the open jumper Afrer the Wake game the Tar Heels appeared less hesitant to take the outside shot Another change was that Doherty and Jordan began to dribble the ball into the zone more often from the wing That opened the middle more for Perkins and Worthy and allowed Black to shoot freely from the perimeter Four games after the loss to Wake UNC learned NEW ORLEANS Desn Smith had a glaze in his eyes as he came off the temporary podium after receiving the watch that made it official say finalist it says champion" someone said of the inscription on the watch It was a first for Smith who was a finalist three times before becoming a champion Monday night when his North Carolina team defeated Georgetown 63-62 in the Louisiana Superdome THE LONG-TIME Smith watchers Including many people who had seen him graciously accept defeat the three times previously studied him closely Monday night to see the way he reacted to finally reaching the ultimate after 21 years in his profession Before the game and on the bench there was indication that if anything Smith was more relaxed going into this game than many regular-season ones Before the game he casually talked to a few members of the press joking about the number of cigarettes he was smoking He pulled out a new pack saying smoked more before the Duke game" During the game particularly the early moments he smiled broadly a number of times When Georgetown freshman Patrick Ewing went to the foul line the first time Smith asked the referees to count during long deliberation before shooting Georgetown coach John Thompson charged to midcourt and said something to both Smith and the official that caused both to smile Ewing then took more than the alloted 10 seconds to shoot his free throw but Smith protest IN THE LAST five minutes as the suspense of the game reached Its zenith Smith was constantly up directing his team particularly on offense last five minutes were said UNC assistant Eddie Fogler have coached then No way But he made it look It was best illustrated in a picture that appeared the next morning in The Times-Picayune the morning newspaper in New Orleans The picture taken when James Worthy was fouled with two seconds left and UNC ahead by one showed Worthy and Sam Perkins leaping in each --other's arms as those on the UNC bench were beginning to celebrate Smith though was poised his right arm out his fingers extended apparently slg- nailing the Tar five defense which is man-to- man and the one they would play after Worthy shot -the free throws Later more than 30 minutes after the game the" awards handed out the court cleared and the Sur perdome quickly emptying Smith was still the calm and analytical coach one who Insists that a sport be kept in its proper place only a basketball he said got to put it in perspective a lot of prob-C lems in El Salvador There is hunger in East Africa:" This is only a Perhaps that attitude that makes UNCs vie? tory and championship one to be appreciated For-all the attention thrown upon him for all the words written about him for all the Images he brings the bottom line on Dean Smith is that he has life in per-' spective TO DO THAT he seems to often go out of his to avoid some of the highs But that apparently-" helps him avoid many of the lows Some have charged a phony that he wanted the national championship veiy badly but is too wrapped up in his image to admit it His players say otherwise never mentioned it in said Jimmy Black shows what kind of guy he But there was that glaze in his eyes It was a hint" that Smith felt this was special Another hint was some of his first remarks immediately after game just as the UNC celebration was beginning on the court was like any other game on the said now that you talk it back to me Fans Salute- wt The Return! rn Of Tar Heels By nr coons Herald Sports Witter CHAPEL HILL To the victors belong the spoils and the adulation of their fins An estimated 20000 blue-clad blue-painted University of North Carolina basketball fans jammed the north stands of Kenan Stadium Tuesday af-' ternoon waiting for a glimpse of their triumphant UNC won college national championship with a 6562 victory over Georgetown Monday night sending Chapel Hill into pandemonium Those same fans wanted to share the celebration with the people who made It possible MANY OF THE fins arrived before 1 pm and waited two hours for a ceremony that would last 20 minutes Meanwhile the cheerleaders led cheers-" the pep band played and dignitaries such as UNC President William Friday congratulated the fans and thanked them for their support including of you who came by the house when you were going up and down Franklin Street last Moments liter a Piedmont Airlines the charter having already deposited the players at Raleigh-Durham passed overhead and wigwagged a salute to fans Blue was the color of the blue T-shirts blue caps blue cups even blue faces A sunshine-filled 7 blue sky offend the perfect backdrop A cheerleader addressing the crowd with a ml- crophone pointed out that the Kenan Stadium scoreboard carried Monday final score and showed 15 seconds loft in the second quarter That was the moment when Michael 15-foot jump shot provided the winning margin There were rumors the usual kind that float through crowds that the team's plane had been de-layed But the band kept playing and the era performed The fans cheered everything even a reading of the box score from the game anathe all- tournament team which Included four Tar James Worthy Jimmy Black Sam Perkins and of course instant-hero Jordan --J AT EXACTLY 3 pnL Woody Durham the radio'" 1 voice of the Tar Heels took the mike and told eryone the team was on its way Five minutes later 14 tall playera in shirt sleeves accompanied by coaches managers and uniformed policemen entered the stadium looking vaguely out of place on' the football field who took command The point guard floor leader and only senior1' tarter stepped up to the microphone and organised the players-as each one got a moment to thank the-fans personally Moat did Just that seemingly at a iocs for words before the throng No coaches spoke It waa a moment for the players In fact head coach Dean Smith wasn't pre- sent He had left New Orleans on an earlier flight in the morning cm business Black whom Smith referred to often during the course of the season aa his coach on the floor took over as coach on the field just like to thank you all for supporting us all year said Black so grateful to bring the championship back where It belongs" THE FANS ikirraS made him pause have enough time to let everyone he began but the fans had other Ideas Yes we they answered in chorus And they knew who they wanted to hear from next They chanted Worth-y Worth-y" until the junior forward and moat valuable player of the Final Four stepped to apeak Then the fans had a new chant more year! One more their plea that Worthy turn down -professional basketball and remain In Chapel Hill for his senior season Worthy tipped his Final Four baseball cap to the- See FANS On 3B It started four months ago and culminated with North 63-62 victory over Georgetown Monday night for the NCAA basketball championship Tar Heels coach Dean Smith and senior point guard Jimmy Black embrace (right) after the final seconds ticked off the clock at the Louisiana Superdome Above James Worthy points at Herald photographer Jim Sparks as the team bus rolls into Chapel Hill Tuesday afternoon for a victory celebration at Kenan Stadium Staff photographer Jim Thornton found a typical Carolina fan (left) among the 20000 which greeted the team I.