2003–04 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

The 2003–04 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 2003–04 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Roy Williams. No team captains were selected for this season, the first, and so far, only time this has happened in program history.^[1] The team played its home games in the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

2003–04 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Round of 32
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 22
AP	No. 18
Record	19–11 (8–8 ACC)
Head coach	Roy Williams (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Joe Holladay (1st season) Steve Robinson (1st season) Jerod Haase (1st season) C. B. McGrath (1st season)
Home arena	Dean Smith Center
Seasons ← 2002–03 2004–05 →

2003–04 ACC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 6 Duke	13	–	3		.813			31	–	6		.838
No. 15 NC State	11	–	5		.688			21	–	10		.677
No. 17 Wake Forest	9	–	7		.563			21	–	10		.677
No. 14 Georgia Tech	9	–	7		.563			28	–	10		.737
No. 18 North Carolina	8	–	8		.500			19	–	11		.633
No. 19 Maryland†	7	–	9		.438			20	–	12		.625
Florida State	6	–	10		.375			19	–	14		.576
Virginia	6	–	10		.375			18	–	13		.581
Clemson	3	–	13		.188			10	–	18		.357
† 2004 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

2003–04 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Melvin Scott 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Southern Baltimore, Maryland G 2 Raymond Felton 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 194 lb (88 kg) So Latta Latta, South Carolina F 3 Reyshawn Terry 6 ft 7.5 in (2.02 m) 214 lb (97 kg) Fr R.J. Reynolds Winston-Salem, North Carolina G 5 Jackie Manuel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Jr Cardinal Newman West Palm Beach, Florida G 11 Wes Miller (I) 5 ft 11.75 in (1.82 m) 186 lb (84 kg) So New Hampton Prep Greensboro, North Carolina G 15 Damien Price (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Sr Dudley Charlotte, North Carolina F 21 Jawad Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Jr St. Edward Cleveland, Ohio F 22 Justin Bohlander (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr R.J. Reynolds Winston-Salem, North Carolina G 24 Jesse Holley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Abraham Clark Roselle Park, New Jersey C 25 Damion Grant 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 262 lb (119 kg) So Brewster Academy Portland, Jamaica F 30 Phillip McLamb (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Sr Charlotte Country Day Charlotte, North Carolina G 31 Jonathan Miller (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Sr Williams Burlington, North Carolina G/F 32 Rashad McCants 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 207 lb (94 kg) So New Hampton Prep Asheville, North Carolina G/F 34 David Noel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 223 lb (101 kg) So Southern Durham Durham, North Carolina G 35 C.J. Hooker 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Palmer Palmer, Alaska F 41 Byron Sanders 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) So Harrison Central Gulfport, Mississippi F/C 42 Sean May 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 260 lb (118 kg) So Bloomington North Bloomington, Indiana	Head coach Roy Williams Assistant coach(es) Joe Holladay, Steve Robinson, Jerod Haase, C. B. McGrath Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: April 14, 2017

Wes Miller was not eligible to play this season because he transferred from James Madison.

After playing as a walk-on in the previous season, David Noel received a basketball scholarship to play beginning with this season.^[2]

Schedule and results

After Matt Doherty resigned from the men's basketball coaching position at the end of the previous season, Dean Smith once again persuaded Roy Williams to take the vacant position.^[3] This time Williams accepted, becoming the head coach of the Tar Heels on April 14, 2003.^[4]

After the annual Blue-White Scrimmage and two exhibition games against North Carolina Central (then playing in NCAA Division II conference CIAA) and Team Nike, Williams' first game with the Tar Heels was against Old Dominion on November 22, 2003. Williams received a standing ovation as he stepped onto the court of the sold out Smith Center.^[5] With Smith and Bill Guthridge in attendance, the Tar Heels beat Old Dominion 90-64.^[6] The win was Williams' 419th career win.^[7]

The 115 points scored against George Mason were the most points Tar Heel team had scored against an opponent since 1994.^[8]

The triple-overtime loss to Wake Forest at home set several program records. The 114 points scored in this game are the most points scored in a Tar Heel loss. The Wake Forest loss was only the fifth time a game went into triple overtime in program history. The last time a game went into triple overtime prior to this season was in the 1982-83 season against Tulane (also the team, albeit in 1976, that the Tar Heels played against to set the program and ACC record of four overtimes). The 119 points that Wake Forest scored are the most points an opponent has scored over the Tar Heels, breaking the 112 points Maryland scored at Cole Field House in the previous season. Those points are also the most an opponent has scored against the Tar Heels in the Smith Center.

Both teams scored 16 points in the first overtime. The Tar Heels' 16 points are the Tar Heels' third most points in an overtime period, and Wake Forest's 16 points are the second most points a Tar Heel opponent has scored in halftime. In the second overtime, both teams only scored two points, respectfully the fewest points the Tar Heels and one of their opponents have scored in a halftime. The 13 points Wake Forest scored in the third overtime are the third most points a Tar Heel opponent has scored in an overtime.^[1]

The win against Miami was the 200th win in the Smith Center.^[9]

The Tar Heels beat Connecticut for the second consecutive year. The win was also the Tar Heels' tenth win over a number one ranked team (according to the AP Poll). At the time, the Tar Heels tied UCLA for most wins over a number one ranked team. (The Tar Heels now own this record outright, with 13 wins over number one ranked teams to UCLA's 12.)^[1][10][11]

The Tar Heels finished with their first winning record in two seasons, 17-10, but only finished fifth in ACC play with a conference record of 8-8. They were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 2004 ACC men's basketball tournament by Georgia Tech. However, their overall record by the time of their loss in the ACC Tournament allowed them to play in the 2004 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The Tar Heels' NCAA tournament run ended with a defeat against Texas in the tournament's Second Round.

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2003* 2:00 pm		Blue-White Game Scrimmage						Dean Smith Center (8,178) Chapel Hill, NC
November 8, 2003* 4:45 pm^[a]^[13]		North Carolina Central Exhibition	W 97-59	0–0	26 – McCants	10 – May	12 – Felton^[14]	Dean Smith Center (16,658) Chapel Hill, NC
November 13, 2003* 7:30 pm		Team Nike Exhibition	W 104-72	0–0	22 – Tied	16 – May	12 – Felton^[15]	Dean Smith Center  Chapel Hill, NC
Regular Season
November 22, 2003* 8:00 pm, RJ	No. 9	Old Dominion	W 90–64	1–0	18 – McCants	7 – May	8 – McCants	Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC
November 24, 2003* 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 9	vs. Davidson	W 91–68	2–0	28 – J. Williams	4 – Tied	12 – Felton	Charlotte Coliseum (16,356) Charlotte, NC
November 29, 2003* 4:00 pm, RJ	No. 9	at Cleveland State	W 82–76	3–0	24 – J. Williams	13 – Tied	7 – Felton	CSU Convocation Center (11,534) Cleveland, OH
December 2, 2003* 9:00 pm, ESPN	No. 10	vs. No. 11 Illinois ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 88–81	4–0	23 – May	14 – May	5 – Tied	Greensboro Coliseum (16,211) Greensboro, NC
December 7, 2003* 1:00 pm, RSN	No. 10	George Mason	W 115–81	5–0	26 – May	6 – Tied	18 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (19,891) Chapel Hill, NC
December 14, 2003* 1:00 pm, RSN	No. 7	Akron	W 64–53	6–0	14 – McCants	21 – May	3 – Scott	Dean Smith Center (17,051) Chapel Hill, NC
December 20, 2003 4:00 pm, RSN	No. 4	No. 14 Wake Forest	L 114–119 ^3OT	6–1 (0–1)	25 – McCants	12 – J. Williams	11 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC
December 28, 2003* 1:00 pm, RJ	No. 9	vs. UNC Wilmington	W 71–54	7–1	19 – Scott	8 – Tied	6 – Felton	Myrtle Beach Center (6,750) Myrtle Beach, SC
December 30, 2003* 8:00 pm	No. 9	Coastal Carolina	W 105–72	8–1	28 – McCants	7 – Tied	10 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (18,793) Chapel Hill, NC
January 3, 2004* 12:00 pm, CBS	No. 9	at No. 8 Kentucky Rivalry	L 56–61	8–2	16 – Scott	6 – May	5 – Felton	Rupp Arena (23,014) Lexington, KY
January 7, 2004* 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 12	Miami (FL)	W 89–64	9–2	23 – May	16 – May	8 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (21,073) Chapel Hill, NC
January 11, 2004 8:00 pm, Fox Sports	No. 12	No. 8 Georgia Tech	W 103–88	10–2 (1–1)	28 – May	8 – Tied	9 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC
January 14, 2004 9:00 pm, ESPN	No. 9	at Maryland	L 84–90	10–3 (1–2)	18 – May	10 – Noel	7 – Felton	Comcast Center (17,950) College Park, MD
January 17, 2004* 3:30 pm, CBS	No. 9	No. 1 Connecticut	W 86–83	11–3	27 – McCants	11 – May	7 – Tied	Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC
January 22, 2004 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 7	at Florida State	L 81–90 ^OT	11–4 (1–3)	26 – McCants	10 – May	9 – Felton	Tallahassee Civic Center (11,562) Tallahassee, FL
January 24, 2004 12:00 pm, ESPN	No. 7	Virginia	W 96–77	12–4 (2–3)	26 – McCants	7 – Manuel	8 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (20,874) Chapel Hill, NC
January 28, 2004 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 12	NC State Carolina–State Game	W 68–66	13–4 (3–3)	14 – Felton	10 – May	5 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC
January 31, 2004 12:00 pm, RJ	No. 12	at Clemson	L 72–81	13–5 (3–4)	26 – McCants	6 – J. Williams	7 – Felton	Littlejohn Coliseum (10,000) Clemson, SC
February 5, 2004 9:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 17	No. 1 Duke Carolina–Duke rivalry	L 81–83 ^OT	13–6 (3–5)	27 – McCants	21 – May	8 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC
February 7, 2004 1:00 pm, CBS	No. 17	at No. 16 Wake Forest	W 79–73	14–6 (4–5)	28 – Scott	10 – May	4 – Felton	LJVM Coliseum (14,665) Winston-Salem, NC
February 10, 2004 9:00 pm, RJ	No. 14	at No. 15 Georgia Tech	L 77–88	14–7 (4–6)	31 – McCants	8 – May	6 – Felton	Alexander Coliseum (9,191) Atlanta, GA
February 15, 2004 3:30 pm, ABC	No. 14	Maryland	W 97–86	15–7 (5–6)	25 – McCants	12 – May	6 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC
February 21, 2004 1:00 pm, ABC	No. 16	Florida State	W 78–71	16–7 (6–6)	21 – McCants	10 – Tied	7 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (20,473) Chapel Hill, NC
February 24, 2004 8:00 pm, RJ	No. 12	at Virginia	L 72–74	16–8 (6–7)	20 – May	9 – Tied	6 – Felton	University Hall (7,429) Charlottesville, VA
February 29, 2004 5:30 pm, Fox Sports	No. 12	at No. 14 NC State Carolina–State Game	W 71–64	17–8 (7–7)	22 – McCants	8 – May	4 – Felton	RBC Arena (19,722) Raleigh, NC
March 2, 2004 9:00 pm, RJ	No. 14	Clemson	W 69–53	18–8 (8–7)	30 – McCants	7 – May	9 – Felton	Dean Smith Center (20,818) Chapel Hill, NC
March 6, 2004 9:00 pm, ESPN	No. 14	at No. 3 Duke Carolina–Duke rivalry	L 64–70	18–9 (8–8)	20 – McCants	15 – May	4 – Noel	Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC
ACC Tournament
March 12, 2004 2:30 pm, ESPN	(5) No. 16	vs. (4) No. 14 Georgia Tech Quarterfinals	L 82–83	18–10	27 – May	8 – May	6 – Felton	Greensboro Coliseum (23,745) Greensboro, NC
NCAA tournament
March 18, 2004 10:40 pm^[16], CBS	(6 S) No. 18	vs. (11 S) Air Force First Round	W 63–52	19–10	14 – May	9 – J. Williams	5 – Felton	Pepsi Center (19,405) Denver, CO
March 20, 2004 9:10 pm^[17], CBS	(6 S) No. 18	vs. (3 S) No. 12 Texas Second Round	L 75–78	19–11	27 – McCants	9 – May	6 – Tied	Pepsi Center (19,405) Denver, CO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in EST.

^[18][2]

Notes

1. The game was held between 4:45 and 5:15 pm, after a home football game against Wake Forest.

References

1. Carolina Basketball 2016-17 Fact & Records Book (PDF). Chapel Hill: GoHeels.com. 2016. (PDF) from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
2. U.N.C. basketball blue book. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2003. p. 5.
3. Droschak, David (November 22, 2003). "Williams begins second career with Tar Heels". The St. Augustine Record. St. Augustine, FL. Associated Press. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
4. Droschak, David (April 14, 2003). "Williams Returns to Chapel Hill". GoHeels.com. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Associated Press. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
5. Droschak, David (November 22, 2003). "No. 9 Tar Heels Crush Old Dominion, 90-64, In Williams' Debut". GoHeels.com. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Associated Press. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
6. "North Carolina shoots 61 percent". ESPN. Chapel Hill, NC. Associated Press. November 22, 2003. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
7. Wilkerson, Brant (January 16, 2017). "Courting success: UNC's Hicks helps Williams get win No. 800". News & Record. Greensboro, NC. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
8. Droschak, David. "No. 10 Tar Heels Handle George Mason, 115-81". GoHeels.com. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Associated Press. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
9. Beard, Aaron. "No. 12 Tar Heels Handle Hurricanes, 89-64". GoHeels.com. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Associated Press. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
10. ESPN Stats & Info [@ESPNStatsInfo] (December 4, 2015). "Most Wins vs AP No. 1 Team Men's College Basketball North Carolina 13 UCLA 11" (Tweet). Retrieved April 21, 2017 – via Twitter.
11. "Postgame Notes - UCLA 97, Kentucky 92". UCLABruins.com. UCLA Athletics. December 3, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
12. "Blue-White Game Box Score".
13. "Gametime for NC Central Exhibition Game is Set".
14. . Archived from the original on April 23, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
15. "May Grabs 16 Boards in Exhibition Triumph".
16. "Air Force vs. North Carolina - Game Summary - March 18, 2004 - ESPN".
17. "North Carolina vs. Texas - Game Summary - March 20, 2004 - ESPN".
18. "Men's Basketball".