Williams must push Heels past the limit

Sporting News, The, August 4, 2003 by Mike DeCourcy

Before anyone gets going in the next couple of months with the self-righteous mathematics, the answer to the question is: Yes, Roy williams can add. If he accepts two more commitments from recruits for North Carolina's next freshman class, the Tar Heels will have promised scholarships to 14 players for the 2004-05 season--one above the legal limit.

But Williams also can read, and he has encountered plenty of speculation regarding the immediate NBA potential of point guard Raymond Fehon and shooting guard Rashad McCants. Williams certainly is aware of how common early draft entry has become--of the 2003 Final Four teams, only Kansas has the same roster as planned at this time last year (Well, except for that little coaching change thing). Williams also recognizes as well as anyone the one true constant in life: Stuff happens. Players get hurt, they transfer, they struggle academically, they decide they like school better without 3-hour daily practices.

Williams is taking over a North Carolina program that includes some terrific players but not nearly enough of them. It's possible he could fix that with one recruiting class. He is off to a fine start, with commitments from exquisite power forward Marvin Williams of Bremerton, Wash., and capable guard JamesOn Curry of Burlington, N.C. But the Tar Heels desperately need more help in the frontcourt, which was obvious when their inside game collapsed the moment center Sean May broke his foot last December. They also need a point guard to complement or replace Felton, depending on how the upcoming season develops.

Those concerns largely will be addressed if Carolina lands 6-9 post player Brian Johnson of Arlington, Va., and 6-6 playmaker Shaun Livingston of Peuria, Ill. Getting both--or one of the two and sweet-shooting wing J.R. Smith of Newark, N.J.--would give the Tar Heels the nation's No. 1 recruiting class. It also would mean being prepared to encounter criticism for "oversigning."

"I've never done it," Williams says. "Is it something I'm going to be faced with? Who knows? I will admit it's something I've thought about more this time than ever before.

"I couldn't do it unless it would be something that would be easily positive for our program?"

This is an opportunity North Carolina won't be able to recreate. Next season's collection of prospects is not nearly as strong as the current group. Even if these kinds of prospects would be available a year from now, the Tar Heels can't afford to delay. They lost 36 games the past two seasons, They need as much help as they can get as fast as it can arrive.

Johnson is considering Arizona, Louisville, Florida and Notre Dame in addition to North Carolina. At the Nike All-American Camp in early July, he was getting peer pressure from Curry to commit to the Heels. Smith says he grew up a fan of Michael Jordan and Vince Carter and calls North Carolina his "dream school." He has scholarship offers from Kansas, Connecticut, Pittsburgh and N.C. State but still is waiting for the Tar Heels to make that pitch. How long will he wait? "As long as it takes," he says.

While at Kansas, Williams recruited Livingston, who responded positively when the coach called from a new address to continue the process. Livingston says he admires Williams and was impressed by the campus when he played in the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions the past two springs. Livingston will choose among Carolina, Duke, Illinois and Arizona.

For North Carolina to land two of these prospects--or all three--would mean temporarily stepping over the limit. This is not against the rules.

Teams are allowed to have 13 scholarship players in place when the school year begins. How they get there is up to them. In this climate, with players as underqualified as former N.C. State forward Josh Powell leaving college early to enter the draft and players as successful as former Western Kentucky guard Patrick Sparks departing as transfers, it would be foolish for Williams and North Carolina not even to consider accepting all these commitments. But it might be a challenge for the coach to explain to a player or parent how that overage will be resolved.

"Kids are going to come in with the idea of leaving sooner and in some cases aren't even 100 percent sure they'll come at all," Williams says. "Managing a roster is much more difficult because of that."

Kentucky encountered a similar circumstance a couple of years back and solved it by convincing Marquis Estill to surrender his scholarship for a year and rely on need-based aid to cover UK's in-state tuition. The difference for Williams may be that he hasn't coached any of these players long enough and built the kind of relationship that would make such a request more comfortable. It's also a bit different for North Carolina in that the Heels won't be scrambling around in the spring as Kentucky typically does, needing to be creative in order to latch onto available prospects and remain flush with talent. Carolina has time to ponder its course, and everyone will have considerable time to speculate about Williams' methods.