1982 CHAMPIONSHIP: N. CAROLINA VS. VIRGINIA

Bring on the shot clock!

UNC's slowdown had UVa's Holland thinking radical

RON GREEN JR.

rgreenjr@charlotteobserver.com

OBSERVER FILE PHOTO

North Carolina’s Dean Smith (right) had (from left) Michael Jordan, Matt Doherty and Sam Perkins, but Virginia had 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson. Smith chose to slow the game to avoid Virginia’s zone, with Sampson in the lane.

There was a moment in the gut-twisting closing minutes of the 1982 ACC championship game between top-ranked North Carolina and third-ranked Virginia when the camera caught Cavaliers coach Terry Holland and his assistant, Craig Littlepage, chuckling on the bench.

What had been a roaring beauty of a game had come to screeching halt when the Tar Heels, nursing a 40-39 lead, elected to go into their Four Corners offense with 13 minutes remaining.

It would end with the Tar Heels of James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan winning 47-45 while igniting an outcry of frustration that would lead directly to the adoption of a shot clock in college basketball the next season.

It might have ended differently because of what Holland and Littlepage were laughing about.

"We were wondering if we put somebody back at the other end of the court and played them five on four would they play us," Holland, now athletics director at East Carolina, said.

"If we put a guy down there, do they put a guy down there?"

North Carolina had slowed the tempo because it didn't want to play against Virginia's zone defense, which effectively kept 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson camped in the lane under the basket. If the Cavaliers wouldn't budge on the defensive end, Dean Smith wasn't about to budge on offense.

"They chose not to chase," Smith said. "A lot of people who watched it on TV were upset. I would be, too."

Holland knew the Tar Heels would use the Four Corners if they were ahead late. The Cavaliers had been effective against it previously but Jordan, in particular, created matchup problems.

"Jeff Jones against Michael?" Holland said.

So Holland and Littlepage had toyed with the idea of taking one player out of the Cavaliers' defensive plan and putting him under the other basket.

In theory, if North Carolina missed and Virginia got the rebound, a long pass would lead to an easy basket if the Tar Heels didn't put a player back there, also.

It would also disrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm while keeping Sampson in the lane.

"We were calling it the single sanction," said Holland.

The name was based on the Virginia honor code, which requires the dismissal of a student for a single violation.

Ultimately, Holland stuck with playing five-on-five and the Tar Heels escaped with a two-point win after a Virginia turnover with three seconds remaining.

"If we had tried it and it hadn't worked, we'd have always second-guessed the strategy," Holland said. "We chose to play it straight up.

"We wanted to not give them easy shots. We were without Othell Wilson and we wanted them to have to make every shot down the stretch or they would begin to lose faith in their ability to win doing this. But Jordan essentially made every shot."