Feb. 16, 2005

by David Droschak, TarHeelBlue.com

CHAPEL HILL - No Marvin, no problem for North Carolina.

The hulking freshman has the silliest of injuries for a basketball player - a turf toe -- forcing him to miss his first collegiate game.

NFL running backs, yes, but a hoopster?

These kind of injuries can be no laughing matter, however. They can linger longer than one thinks, so UNC's effort without Williams in the lineup against Virginia on Wednesday night was more than eye-opening.

And it proved the Tar Heels (21-3) can overcome a bit of sudden adversity.

"Actually, I didn't notice a difference without him," Rashad McCants said following the 86-61 win over the Cavaliers. "That shows how dangerous we are. Everybody picked up their energy, we got on the boards even harder.

"Marvin is a big presence, but we've got a lot of guys on the bench who can do what he can do. It's the sign of a great team."

No argument here.

And no argument from coach Roy Williams, who once again praised his team's mental and physical toughness as Marvin watched from the bench in a suit.

The 6-9 freshman suffered the injury Sunday at Connecticut and tried to practice some Tuesday, but wasn't close to 90 percent, so coach Williams decided to play it safe and sit his super frosh.

His club didn't miss a beat, shooting 54 percent and outrebounding the Cavaliers 38-26.

"We realize these things do hang around, but Marvin is a tough youngster and he'll probably be able to play. But it's going to be painful," the coach said.

The most noticeable difference without Williams in the lineup was an increase in minutes for McCants and Sean May, both of whom responded with big games.

May logged 31 minutes, getting 17 points and 16 rebounds, while McCants broke out of a mini-slump with 23 points and six assists.

May noticed his increased playing time without Williams around to spell him.

"I was a little bit tired out there, but I knew going into the game I was going to play a little bit more. I guess more production, more minutes." May certainly wasn't complaining about North Carolina's effort on this night, one in which Virginia unsuccessfully tried to slow the game down and force the Tar Heels to defend for 30 seconds of the shot clock.

"We're more mature than we were last year," said May. "Last year we would have struggled if our 12th man was sick; we would have folded. This team has come a long way. We're light years away from where we were last year.

"We need Marvin down the road. We're going to try to buy a little bit of time until he gets back."

Floor general Raymond Felton managed just four assists without Williams underneath slamming home buckets or out running the break. But he too, like McCants, praised his teammates for forging ahead.

"Not to miss a guy who plays 23 minutes a game and averages 11 points and seven rebounds is great," Felton said. "But you know, we've got so many guys that can fill in. We knew he wasn't out there, but we just kept going."

So a team that's a little sick, a little tired and a little banged up remains on a short list of favorites to win the NCAA title.

"We've set high goals and expectations for this team. Where we want to be is in the national championship game," McCants said.

David Droschak is the former sports editor for the North Carolina bureaus of the Associated Press, the largest news-gathering organization in the world. In 2003, Droschak was named the North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year. He currently works in public relations at Robbins & Associates International, based in Cary.