North Carolina Tar Heels: 2005 vs 2017, Bracket Challenge
The next game in the North Carolina Tar Heels Final Four Bracket Challenge pits the first Roy Williams Final Four at UNC with his most recent.
By all logic, the next game in the North Carolina Tar Heels Final Four Bracket Challenge should be the 1946 team against the 2016 team. The problem I am having is I have not yet found information on the 1946 team to do that matchup yet. So I am moving down the second round bracket to the next game.
That matchup is the current Tar Heels lineup against the 2005 version of the Heels. This means that the simulator can now be used for the second time in the tournament. Thank goodness too since the 2005 Tar Heel team is the team I am most attached to and removing my judgment would be important.
The 2005 Tar Heels was the final stage of redemption for a freshman class that seen the infamous 8-20 season. They had been overshadowed by the arrival of Sean May, Rashad McCants, and Raymond Felton the following year but Jawad Williams, Melvin Scott, and Jackie Manuel all had important roles with the title team. If the team needed a little push, it got it from the arrival freshman Marvin Williams.
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The 2005 team was about adaptation. The team had to adapt to new coach Roy Williams the year before and Coach Williams had to adapt to them. The success of both was evident when Sean May turned in an unstoppable ACC Regular Season including a 20-20 game to defeat Duke on Senior Night. At the same time, Coach Williams found ways to use the two Williamses to punish defenses from the perimeter at times. To protect his only real point guard, Felton, Coach Williams used a 1-3-1 zone defense if the fouls started piling up.
In the end, all of the Heels had a hand in winning the title. Scott drawing a foul on Villanova, Manuel playing good defense and sneaking the odd offensive rebound, McCants shooting, and Jawad Williams saving the first half of the Michigan State game so they could win it in the second. May was the engine behind their success and won Final Four MVP.