TUESDAY, APRIL 5. 2005
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3B
Roy
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Luther Head led Illinois with 21 points. He had a wide-open look at a three-point shot that would have tied the game with 17 seconds left, but it bounded off and coach Bruce Weber's magical ride with the Illini wound up one win short of the real fairy tale ending he hoped for.
His opponent, Williams, left Kansas to take over the Tar Heels two years ago, after the program Dean Smith built had faltered and fallen to 8-20. Williams took a ton of heat for leaving Kansas after losing in the title game in 2003 - his fourth close call at the Final Four.
Rick McKee/The Associated Press
He defended the move, saying coming back to his alma mater had always been his dream. Then, this week, he dealt with a more familiar question: Did he need to win a title to call his career a success?
He told the story of Smith insisting he was no better a coach after he finally won one in 1982, but Williams conceded that answering that "same doggone question" did get a little annoying at times.
He finally broke through in a terrific game, the first meeting of the top two teams in the final Associated Press poll since 1975, when UCLA defeated Kentucky.
Jeff Roberson/The Associated Press
"For coach to be able to say that the first team to get him a championship was the 2005 team is an honor." May said. "He'll win a few more before he done."
After May made a short shot with 11:22 left in the first half for an 18-17 lead, Carolina never trailed again — but this game never really got comfortable.
May was unstoppable for the first 12 minutes of the second half, scoring 16 points during that stretch and dishing out two assists to help North Carolina push its lead to as many as 15 and fight
Illinois' Dee Brown goes after a loose ball as North Carolina's Jackie Manuel holds him in the first half of the NCAA Championship game last night in St. Louis. Last week against Arizona Illinois rallied from 15 down with four minutes left in the regional to make it to its first Final Four since 1989.
North Carolina's Marvin Williams goes to the basket past Illinois' jack Ingram in the first half of the NCAA Championship game last night. UNC defeated Illinois 75-70, giving coach Roy Williams his first NCAA title in his 17-year coaching career.
against Arizona in the regional to make it to its first Final Four since 1989.
But the Illini could never take a lead. And after Head hit a 3-pointer with 2:40 left, Deron Williams missed on an open look, Felton stepped in front of a bad pass by Head, then Head missed the potential game-tying shot at the end. In all, the Illini missed five three-point shots down the stretch, part of a night in which they shot 12-for-40 from long range and just 38 percent overall.
Deron Williams scored 17 and Brown had 12 for the Illini, but they needed a combined 39 shots to get there — and, in the end, the 27-for-70 shooting night just couldn't be overcome.
Felton finished with 17 points and seven assists, and Rashad McCants had 14 for the Tar Heels, all in the first half.
Felton, McCants and Jawad Williams each hit three-point shots during the stretch. More significantly, though, was the way the Tar Heels dominated on defense.
Head squirmed open for a twisting shot from point blank on the baseline, but it missed. Roger Powell Jr. rebounded but couldn't get the ball to the rim - rejected twice by North Carolina's inside players.
Carolina really had both.
In the end, the Tar Heels won the matchup that was billed as Team vs. Talent — the Tar Heels with the talent and the Illini with the team. It turned out
"A lot of people said we were just talented, but not a team," May said. "But when times got tough, we banded together and came through. We showed we're not just talented. We're a team."
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track as well as off it. I knew he could help me as a person."
Mims career has been turbulent at times. He's attributed such to setting goals too high at times. But in the midst of all the meets in four years, one stands out, he said.
"My race at regional finals sophomore year," Mims said. "It was the first time I made NCAA's."
As his last semester of track eligibility winds down, Mims said he would concentrate on the present, not the future.
"At the time, knowing I was going to go was the best thing I ever felt," he said. "All my work paid off."
"I'm really focused on this outdoor season. I'm getting antsy, and I'm ready to race," Mims said. "Next year will take care of itself."
His senior year has taken on a new meaning, he said. Much more lenient than his early years, this senior has settled down. The movie buff, who recently discovered "The Incredibles," spends most of his off time with his girlfriend.
This senior middle distance runner, once a junior varsity underachiever, has bloomed into one of the Jayhawks' leaders. As he competes in his last outdoor season, he doesn't know where his path will lead him. But one thing is sure: He'll get there fast.
Edited by Lisa Coble-Krings
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