NCAA MEN'S FINAL FOUR

March 28, 1997

Vince Carter

Shammond Williams

Q. Shammond, the Arizona players were talking about your quickness and to be able to use that as a weapon. Is it something you guys tried to do from the gate or just keep doing what you're doing?

SHAMMOND WILLIAMS: We've addressed the quickness of Arizona. They are a great team and done a great job all year. Our perimeter players are a big part of the team. So we've addressed it and hopefully we can play our style of basketball as well as defense and try and control those guys.

VINCE CARTER: I'm a hundred percent and I feel good. I think I've been a hundred percent since the second game. So it's not a factor.

SHAMMOND WILLIAMS: My ankle, it still gives me a few problems, but it doesn't play a role in my performance, at all. I've been able to play many games with it hurt and go without much pain. So hopefully I can just continue playing basketball and help this team.

SHAMMOND WILLIAMS: We do take pride in taking the basketball and converting quick, that's our style of basketball. If they try to run then hopefully we can have our defense in position where we can keep them from getting the easy baskets. If we get the opportunity to run then we're going to do that. If we have the opportunity to play half court, then we're going to play that. We feel confident with the style that we've played the second half of the ACC season, from there on. And hopefully we can just continue doing those things that has gotten us this far.

VINCE CARTER: No, I think as a team we just really didn't give up. We had confidence in ourselves from day one. We just felt we weren't playing our best basketball. And we're not really saying, hey, we're better than Wake Forest or Maryland because we're here, I just think that's the way it happens sometimes. And we're thankful to be here, but we also realize we have a job to do Saturday.

VINCE CARTER: I just think we've come together as a team and we really put the little things, the little egos, whatever, aside, and just really have concentrated and dedicated ourselves to the Carolina basketball team. And it's really been a good thing for us. And we feel good about ourselves and we're just continuing to play basketball.

SHAMMOND WILLIAMS: I, myself, I think it's more or less that we've been able to do certain things in certain situations, as much as taking advantage of the opportunity. And that not only goes on the basketball court but that goes in life. When the door of opportunity opens then you have to be mature enough to step in. So I think we've been able to do that on the basketball court, which has helped us reach the point that we are now.

SHAMMOND WILLIAMS: Well, first of all to address about the 2:00 o'clock thing, it's nothing unusual to find me in the gym late the night. My teammates will tell you that I just enjoy playing basketball, and just enjoy working things on how to become a better basketball player. I think hard work pays off eventually, and the only way you're going to reach the top or just be successful in any way is hard work. The second question about prep school, there was a man by the name of Dan Peterson, out of South Carolina saw me play -- saw me play and he had given Merl Code an opportunity to go to the Fork Union Academy and I felt like that was a good thing for myself and my family felt like it was a great thing for me. So I decided to go there and I enjoyed it. And I don't regret the decision that I made that helped me attend the University of North Carolina, it helped me become a better person. It helped me become a better student, also. So it was a great move for me. And I'm happy for it.

SHAMMOND WILLIAMS: Yes, sir. Citadel wanted me to walk on, North Virginia Community College offered me a scholarship.

VINCE CARTER: It is excising that we get the opportunity to play Arizona again. We didn't really expect to play them again, especially in the beginning of the year. But we're just here to play basketball and hopefully win, not worried about getting them back. But it's a chance of a lifetime and we're going to go out there and try to get a victory and hopefully win the National Championship.

SHAMMOND WILLIAMS: My experience in '95 was sweet. I was a freshman and had the opportunity to attend the Final Four. I had the opportunity to play in it like for a minute or two in the Final Four. So basically other than just having the opportunity to be here, I've never had an opportunity to play in it myself, I can't really address or tell them how they should act or anything like that, because I didn't have the opportunity to play that much in the Final Four game. I can only ask them to just continue playing the way we've played since we've been in the second half of the ACC season. I think this team has matured. I think they understand that it is a great opportunity for us. And hopefully we can make the best of the situation.

VINCE CARTER: That's definitely one of them, he's taught us how to conduct ourselves in public and how to treat people with respect. And I'm sure all of the guys on this team has had good home training, anyway. But it's just he's a great person, and that's somebody to look up to. And we watch what he does and learn from him and he's made us better people.

SHAMMOND WILLIAMS: Coach Smith has basically been a father to the majority of the guys that are here. We've not had the opportunity of being close to home and just having the family life. So Coach Smith is there for us. He helps us understand that there's more things to the game, other than the game of basketball. Life is important and you have to enjoy every day that you have in this world, even though we've lost some games early in the year we would come back to the locker room and Coach Smith would say, guys, you have to understand that we have to be happy just having the opportunity to play another game of basketball and having the opportunity of living another day. So Coach Smith, by far, keeps everybody's mentality focused on life, as well as basketball.

VINCE CARTER: It wasn't that difficult, because I learned a lot just watching people like Dante and Shammond and guys who were playing my position last year. So it was more of a learning experience, and it was tough at first, but it's paid off, and I've worked hard playing ball, mainly with Shammond and Dante and Jeff McInnis, and people like that, and all the guys that just came back and worked on my game and just really took pride in being the better defender. And guarding people like Shammond and Stackhouse and the guys, it's a task, though. It's really paid off.

SHAMMOND WILLIAMS: Having Ed Cota on the floor is a great thing, he's a great basketball player and he understands the game. He's able to dribble the basketball, get guys in position where they're able to score when they receive the basketball. He's done a great job as a freshman just coming in and being able to take the system by hand and execute it perfectly. He's done a great job for this team and a lot of his success is due to Ed. He's done a great job for us, as well as being a young guy and being a freshman he's shown that he's a mature person on and off the basketball court and he's been able to do some things to help turn this program around.

VINCE CARTER: Shammond pretty much said it all. Ed is a great penetrator, so when he gets in the lane he has a knack for passing the ball, and he can find the open man and it's amazing. And that really opens things up for Antawn and basically Shammond on the outside. They have to worry when he gets in the lane if he's going to pass or shoot the ball. He was a great asset and he was a big part of this team the second part of the season. And now we're just keeping on rolling.

VINCE CARTER: He probably has the upper hand on me, definitely. But it was a way for me to get better, and I knew coming into this year I was going to have to play the two guard and -- have to guard the smaller guys, who were probably quicker than me. And just playing with him and some other guys has really helped.

SHAMMOND WILLIAMS: It really doesn't matter when you're playing against him, you can come down and shoot a jump shot on him, he'll come down and do a 360 on you. He's a -- it's great playing with him. But if you want to talk about the upper hand, if you watch him on the court you'll see who has the upper hand, if not you'll see him in the air flying.