CHAPELHILL— Julius Peppers had already made the announcement that he would not be entering the NFLDraft as an underclassmen.
After North Carolina’s 84-54 pasting of Marquette Saturday afternoon in the Dean E. Smith Center, Tar Heel basketball coach Matt Doherty had another announcement concerning the 6-7, 270-pound defensive lineman.
“He’s decided not to enter the NBA draft today.”
No one really thought the statement was all that far-fetched.
“I think he could play,” said Doherty. “What a basketball player. He’s exceptional.”
“He’s a great basketball player,” said Marquette coach Tom Crean. “I haven’t seen him play football but I’m sure he’s great there too.”
Actually, Crean and the Golden Eagles did get a glimpse of Peppers’ gridiron prowess. Early in the second half, he steamed down the lane and steamrolled 6-11, 260-pounder Greg Claussen. He swished his free throws on the way to a 13-point, 9-rebound effort.
It appeared the two might square off but both thought better of it.
“I’d hate to have to break up that fight,” Doherty whewed.
You might be wondering if it’s time to break up the Tar Heels. Saturday’s easy win against the 7-7 Golden Eagles was the team’s 10th straight and left them 13-2 going into Wednesday’s ACCclash at home against Clemson. It is the longest winning streak since UNC went 17-0 to start the 1997-98 season.
North Carolina was also coming off two grueling league wins against ranked opponents Wake Forest and Maryland.
“To step out of league play is hard,”Doherty said, “but we did it in grand fashion.”
And the Heels did it the Marquette way: rebounding. The Golden Eagles are Conference USA’s top rebounding club but were outboarded Saturday by a whopping 50-26.
“Effort, size, boxing out, athleticism,” Doherty replied when asked how UNCaccomplished that feat.
Marquette was clearly outmanned from the start. Kris Lang and Brendan Haywood dominated inside and Joe Forte and Ronald Curry didn’t have to look for their shots.
So they played defense.
Forte guarded Golden Eagle star Brian Wardle, and although he got his average of 17 points, he missed 11 of 16 shots.
“This is an unselfish group, Doherty said. “Joe didn’t hunt for his shot and he did well while sacrificing his offense. Idon’t think they got very many open looks.”
Marquette finished only 18-of-61 from the field, a pitiful 27 percent. It was only 8-of-29 at halftime when UNC’s lead was 42-24.
Doherty warned his players at intermission.
“I probably said, ‘No letdowns’ 15 times at halftime,” he said.
No problem. Lang began the second half with a layup, followed by a resounding rebound dunk by Haywood.
Then, the game went to the foul line.
Brian Bersticker scored on a tip to make it 55-34 with 13 minutes left. The Heels did not score another basket for seven minutes but the lead increased, thanks to 11-of-12 free throws.
“We’re versatile,” Doherty said. “We feel we can win with different styles, whether the game is in the 50s or in the 90s.”
North Carolina’s turnaround started after a 93-76 loss to Kentucky on Dec. 2. That’s when football players Ronald Curry and Julius Peppers joined the team, and Max Owens was healthy again.
“You’re talking about three of our top nine guys in our rotation who are very athletic and good defenders, and all of a sudden we’re pretty athletic and deep,” North Carolina coach Matt Doherty said. “Since that point we’ve turned up the heat on defense and I hope we can keep that going.”
Just because Forte concentrated on defense does not mean he didnm’t hit double figures. He was one of five Heels to score at least 10, joining Peppers, Haywood (17), Lang (12) and Jason Capel (10).
The starters got a chance to cheer on the reserves late. Jon Holmes and Michael Brooker immediately hit threes upon entering the game and Brooker put the Golden Eagles to rest with a pretty behind-the-back pass to Holmes for a layup that had the bench going wild.
“We’ve just got sa lot of athletic bodies,” said Doherty.
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NOTES:Capel is third in all-time free throw percentage behind Shammond Williams and Jeff Lebo (83.8). He was 4-for-4. ... Marquette was coming off a 47-44 win over Cincinnati, breaking the Bearcats’ 21-game Conference USA winning streak. ... North Carolina has beatn Marquette three straight times since losing the national title game in 1977.
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