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Sporting News, The, March 24, 1997 by Alan Schmadtke

With Adolph Rupp's record broken, the game ball retrieved and the Sweet 16 achieved for the 15th time in 17 years, the North Carolina Tar Heels can refocus the microscope above them.

Owners of the longest winning streak in the country (14 games), thanks to the College of Charleston's second-round loss to Arizona, the Tar Heels no longer can dodge March's key question: Can they win the national championship? It's a question that seemed absurd when Carolina opened the ACC season with an 0-3 mark -- the worst start in school history.

Two reasons to say no to a UNC title are Kansas and Kentucky, the generally accepted tournament favorites. Then there's the fact Dean Smith's 36th edition possesses a few frailties unrelated to the remaining tournament field. But in the Tar Heels' run over the past six weeks, they've developed and displayed so many weapons and so much chemistry to make discounting them premature. And they won't count themselves out.

We just have to play like we've been playing," sophomore guard/forward Vince Carter says. "This team is so good right now -- and we're playing with a lot of confidence. We're still peaking. Every team wants to peak at the right time, and that's what we're doing."

"They are in the mix of teams that can win the national championship," says North Carolina State coach Herb Sendek, whose team was beaten by UNC in the ACC Tournament title game. "I don't think there's anybody any better than they are."

Such stuff leaks out of Sendek's mouth about as often as Smith WE about himself which is about once a season. Yet this team's rebound from that 0-3 ACC start has moved Smith to praise.

"It's special. It's very special the way this team has come around," he says. "They got older, and one thing that helped is that our shot selection picked up. But this team has worked very hard, too. They were committed to improving as a team."

The 26-6 Tar Heels have rebounded to write a more dramatic script than two other ACC schools who also have enjoyed storybook campaigns. Clemson beat Kentucky, shot to the top 10 and faded down the stretch. Ditto Maryland, which the College of Charleston dispatched in the first round of the Southeast Regional.

And there was the Duke storyline. The Blue Devils captured the ACC regular-season crown, but the Tar Heels won the ACC Tournament earning the No. 1 seed in the East and watched Duke lose in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to Providence.

Left standing between the Tar Heels and the Final Four Indianapolis are No. 5 California, their regional semifinal opponent along with No. 6 Louisville and No. 10 Texas. Before Carolina can think national championship, it -- or somebody in the Southeast -- must take care of Kansas, considered the most versatile and explosive club in the tournament and the overwhelming favorite. "That's too far off," Smith says. "We've won 26 games. We'd like to win 27. That's my goal."

For all their talent, though. the Tar Heels can be beaten. Essentially, they're a seven-man team. If Carter does not recover from a groin injury, suffered in the second-round victory over Colorado. depth becomes a major concern.

Foul trouble on. say. guard Shammond Williams, forward Antawn Jamison or center Serge Zwikker quickly could end one of the better season-end spurts in Carolina history. The Tar Heels have not vet experienced foul trouble in the NCAAs.

And if Carter, Williams and Ed Cota can't keep making 3-pointers to open up defenses, opponents may back into a zone and try to seal Jamison and Zwikker inside and prevent Cota from penetrating.

Carolina is also vulnerable to teams that can shoot 3-pointers with consistency and also have athletic post players to counter the 7-3 Zwikker, whose mobility conjures images of former Utah Jazz statue Mark Eaton.

Rest assured, the Tar Heels keenly understand the reasons they improved through January and appear poised for big things: chemistry. From that horrible ACC start, Smith's players rallied to win their final eight league games, creating the sort of bond that Mike Krzyzewski's Duke teams cultivated while winning consecutive NCAA crowns in 1991 and '92.

"Over my five years, this is the most fun team I've played on," Zwikker says. "This chemistry is very special. It's different than the '93 team (which won the national title). It might even be better. The '93 team didn't have a bad start like we did."

Which was why Zwikker sprinted to capture the game ball after UNC's second-round win over Colorado. The Tar Heels gave Smith the ball in the locker room after the game, marking the occasion of Smith's 877th career victory, one more than Kentucky's legendary Rupp. Smith's chase of Rupp overshadowed his team's run through the country's toughest conference and its quest for an 11th trip to the Final Four and third national title under his watch.

Two months ago, this team could have driven Smith back to smoking. Carolina's offense was stunted, and shots were launched from unusual spots and with no consistency. More important for Smith was improving the Tar Heels' man-to-man defense. Calling it soft was the nicest thing you could have said.