4 NORTH CAROLINA DESPITE A CHANGE AT THE TOP, THE TAR HEELS WILL RETURN TO A FAMILIAR LOOK: A PRESSING DEFENSE

During his 36 years as North Carolina's coach, Dean Smith
preferred that there be only one voice speaking for the Tar
Heels. So he forbade his assistants from commenting to reporters
about the team, which helps explain why Bill Guthridge could
spend 30 years sitting next to Smith on the Tar Heels' bench and
still be able to walk the streets of Chapel Hill in relative
anonymity. "That's part of why I loved my job," Guthridge says.
"I could go to the grocery store, I could go to the movies, I
could go out to eat. Some people would recognize me, but not
many."

Let the record show that Guthridge's last supper was on Oct. 8,
when he and his wife, Leesie, quietly celebrated their 28th
anniversary at a restaurant in Raleigh. By the time they got
home that night, the news of Smith's retirement had broken and
there were 24 messages on the Guthridges' answering machine.
Smith held his press conference the next day, and the Guthridges
have since taken an unlisted phone number.

Little else about the Tar Heels is different from a year ago,
however. Six of the top seven players return from a team that
won the ACC tournament and reached the Final Four. While Smith's
sudden abdication caught the Heels off guard, it also infused
them with a healthy dose of attitude. "We know people are going
to be doubting us," says junior power forward Antawn Jamison, a
two-time first-team All-ACC selection. "It's going to boil down
to the players and our dedication on the floor. We know what we
have to do."

It's hard to believe, in light of North Carolina's history, that
there were doubts about the Tar Heels last year. The day after
North Carolina lost to Virginia to drop to 0-3 in the ACC for
the first time ever, Jamison and teammate Vince Carter returned
from practice to their dorm rooms to find taped to their doors
newspaper articles chronicling the team's woes. At the midway
point of the conference season, the Heels were 3-5 and in sixth
place, and many of the players felt abandoned. "It was amazing,"
Carter says. "We weren't winning, and all of a sudden it seemed
like our fans weren't behind us."

North Carolina won 16 straight from that point on before
succumbing to Arizona in the NCAA tournament semifinals. A big
reason for the Tar Heels' turnaround was the marked improvement
of freshman point guard Ed Cota, who was named the ACC's rookie
of the year. Though he could stand to improve his outside
shooting--he attempted only 25 three-pointers last year and made
just eight of them--Cota's ability to provide a steady hand at
the point could be the key for what will be a much quicker unit
this season. Serge Zwikker, the lumbering 7'3" center, has
graduated, and while he provided North Carolina with a powerful
inside presence, his slow-footedness also hindered the Heels'
ability to push the ball upcourt and apply defensive pressure.
"It killed Dean the last couple of years not to be able to
press," Guthridge says.

The backcourt will be in good hands with Cota and senior
shooting guard Shammond Williams, who averaged 14.1 points a
game and knocked down 41.9% of his three-pointers last season.
They'll be spelled by 6'5" freshman Max Owens, a talented
shooter who can create his own shot off the dribble. Up front,
the quicker pace should benefit Carter, a 6'7" swingman who has
mixed breathtaking athleticism with maddening inconsistency in
his first two seasons at Chapel Hill. The biggest question mark,
though, is at center, where 6'10" senior Makhtar Ndiaye will get
first crack at replacing Zwikker, with 6'9" Ademola Okulaja
standing by. A 7-foot freshman, Brendan Haywood, might also
figure into the mix by season's end.

Though the Tar Heels thus appear to be in splendid shape for the
first year A.D.--After Dean--Guthridge is wary of making any
predictions. When asked how his sideline comportment will differ
from Smith's, Guthridge replied, "I have no idea. It'll be
interesting to see." Sounds like a man looking to find his own
voice. --SETH DAVIS

COLOR PHOTO: BOB ROSATO WITH ZWIKKER GONE, THE QUICKER JAMISON WILL NOW HAVE MORE ROOM TO MANEUVER AROUND THE BASKET [Antawn Jamison in game]

Returning Starters [Four]
Points per Game '96-97 77.4
PPG by All Returning Players 62.3