The South Regional notebook ...
NEW ORLEANS — UNC won’t be at full strength when it takes the floor against Princeton on Friday night.
Kris Lang, bothered by a torn muscle in his right leg, didn’t practice at all on Wednesday and very little on Thursday, but is still expected to play at 80-90 percent.
A second starter, Jason Capel, is ailing as well.
Capel chipped a bone in his left hand in the Tar Heels’ ACC Tournament loss to Duke. The injury bothers him when he catches the ball, but not when he shoots it.
“I’ll tape it up and play the best I can,” said Capel. “It shouldn’t be a big factor.”
Coach Matt Doherty, for roughly the 43rd time, also brought up the fact that reserve guard Adam Boone is still bothered by the ankle he hurt when he stumbled at a grocery store.
“Adam was a big factor when we beat Duke at Durham,” reminded Coach D.
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CHIPS ARE DOWN: Speaking of Capel and chips, he still has a rather large one on his shoulder.
He rolled his eyes at most questions Thursday, nudging teammate Brendan Haywood every few seconds, especially when the subject of the real or imagined Capel-Joseph Forte feud came up.
The Tar Heels trade roommates on every road trip and coincidentally (or at the insistence of Doherty), Forte and Capel are roomies in New Orleans.
“We love playing together. We’re best friends,” announced Capel. “The feud is something writers made up for no apparent reason.”
It was something that at least a hundred writers made up, because something was obviously going on in the Duke game.
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SPOOKED BY DUKE: When a writer referred to the Duke loss as “a debacle,” Capel almost went into convulsions.
“Brendan,” he whispered, loud enough for all to hear. “He said it was a debacle.”
“We stumbled a little bit against Duke and we were disappointed,” Haywood admitted. “But the past is the past. I think we put it behind us quick.”
But Doherty said he wasn’t entirely sure his team was over that blasting by the Blue Devils.
“I still remember when we lost to Indiana in the 1984 national championship game,” said Doherty. “That still hurts me. Losses hurt. But that’s not a bad thing. It shows you care.”
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DISSED: Just as they did last season, the Tar Heels are claiming that they have been “written off” by fans and media.
“Every time I turn on the TV, people are on us, have already got us losing” said Haywood. “So we’ve got nothing to lose. But I’ll say this. We’re a top 10 team, the same team that won 18 in a row. If people have no respect for us, that’s fine. We’ll use it as motivation.”
“I like it when people doubt us,” added Lang. “It’s great that we’ve been written off by everyone.”
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NEAT FACT: William R. Davie, who founded UNC in 1789, was a Princeton grad.
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TV TIME:Haywood said the Heels watched Georgia Tech’s controversial loss to St. Joseph’s and Maryland’s narrow opening win.
“That’s one ACC team down. We don’t wanna add to the list,” said Haywood.
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MEMORIES OF ‘82: Doherty well remembers his part in the Tar Heels’ 1982 championship game win over John Thompson’s Georgetown Hoyas right here at the Louisiana Superdome.
“I was wide open at the foul line when Mike (Michael Jordan) made the winning shot,” joked Doherty. “That’s why when he called me for tickets for this tournament, I said no. I’m still mad.
“It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago,” Doherty added. “But it was. I do know this is still a big place (63,000), still an imposing building. I saw Brian Morrison staring up at the ceiling the same way I did.”
More irony? John Thompson III, now Princeton’s coach, says he was seated a couple of rows behind his dad’s bench that fateful night in ‘82.
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SUPERSTITION: The Tar Heels won another national title in this building in 1993, but Doherty shrugged off any connections.
“There’s no magic dust here,” he said. “It’s about teams, not buildings or cities.”
Doherty, who claimed he made 10 of 12 3s at Thursday’s practice, said he is not a superstitious person by nature, but admits he did get a little weird during his team’s 18-game winning streak earlier this season.
“It was tough trying to walk through the same doors, take the same path to the bathroom and wear the same lucky underwear all the time,” he said. “Something like that controls you a little bit.”
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NEAT SCENE:A number of Penn State’s players had their cameras out, taking pictures of the massive Dome.
“I want our guys to be excited like that,” said Doherty. “That’s why we came down here early, so the kids could feel the city a little bit.”
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STAR OF THE SHOW:Princeton senior Nate Walton fielded most of the questions directed at the Tigers.
Among other things, Walton said his mom (who will be in the Superdome) had been a bigger influence on his basketball life than his famous dad, Bill. He also admitted to doing his homework without his uniform — or anything else — on.”
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SLICK RICK:Texas coach Rick Barnes, who used to coach Clemson, said he’s glad he’s at a “football school.”
“Mack Brown (Texas’ football coach who used to be at UNC) deserves every penny he makes,” said Barnes. “Football success helps basketball, it doesn’t hurt it. Every kid in Texas grows up wanting to be a Longhorn. I’ve never been in that situation before.”
Barnes added that he thought the Big 12 was the next big thing in college basketball.
“It’s as tough as any league I’ve coached in,” said Barnes.
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TOP THIS: Western Kentucky is coached by Barnes’ former assistant Dennis Felton.
Felton’s star is 7-footer Chris Marcus of Charlotte, who was totally out of basketball and working in a Wal-Mart not long ago.
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PLANE TALK:A number of teams from the Northeast had rough flights to Louisiana.
Temple had the closest call. It’s plane was actually hit by lightning.
Penn State had a choppy ride as well.
“I was OK until the pilot said, ‘I really am going to try and land this thing,’ ” said Nittany Lions coach Jerry Dunn. “The way I feel about flying is that any time the plane lands, it’s been a real good flight.”
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TEMPLE OF DOOM: What would an NCAA venue be without a few outrageous statements by Temple coach John Chaney.
“I would love to see Eddie Sutton’s team (Oklahoma State) win this thing after what they’ve been through,” said Chaney. “That would be the greatest thing in the world. Even if I got there, I would love to see Eddie whip my butt.”
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GENERATION GAP:Providence coach Tim Welsh tried to inspire his team when he told them that Jimmie Walker, one of the all-time greats at Providence in the ‘60s, had sent in a fax praising the team.
His players looked at him with blank faces.
Then he explained that Jimmie was Jalen Rose’s dad.
“Then they figured it was a big deal,” said Welsh.
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Mike London is covering UNC in the NCAA Tournament.
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