COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME : No One Shoots Finer for North Carolina Than Williams

Donald Williams simply could not imagine it. Not last season as a backup freshman point guard. Not when his basketball world was crumbling.

Williams could not comprehend going from North Carolina’s high school player of the year to a seldom-used reserve for Coach Dean Smith’s Tar Heels.

It is the same frustrating feeling many former high school stars have had in Chapel Hill, N.C., where basketball is steeped in team unity.

But now, standing before thousands of adoring North Carolina fans in the middle of the Louisiana Superdome, Williams had trouble believing he was a member of the NCAA champions.

He had been so frustrated a year ago that he contemplated leaving North Carolina for a program that better suited his quick-draw style. But parents, friends and teammates consoled him, and eventually he dedicated himself to succeeding at North Carolina.

His patience warmed the hearts of not only his teammates, but Smith, who needed an outside shooter to replace Hubert Davis.

Pat Sullivan, a 6-foot-8 junior, was one of the returning players who spent time with Williams, exchanging horror stories of freshman seasons.

“It’s something we all go through,” Sullivan said. “I told him to forget about last year. It takes a lot of character to realize that you’re not going to be the man anymore.”

Williams, 20, has erased all the bad memories after tearing through the NCAA tournament with outstanding perimeter shooting. Duplicating his total against Kansas in Saturday’s semifinal, Williams scored 25 points Monday night to lead North Carolina past Michigan, 77-71.

After scoring nine points in a first-round victory against East Carolina, Williams found the touch that made him so special two years ago at Garner (N.C.) High. He scored 17 against Rhode Island, 22 against Arkansas and 20 against Cincinnati, including the big free throws in overtime.

“When he’s on a streak, we screen for him and look for him,” Smith said of Williams. “He was in a different zone. I thought he was going to make it every time he went up.”

Even that might be too much for Williams, a 6-foot-2 sophomore whose overall game is improving with his shooting. He made eight of 12 shots Monday, and five of seven from three-point range. He also made five three-pointers against Kansas.

After Davis graduated, many believed North Carolina was suspect from the outside. But those who watched the Tar Heels play pick-up games over the summer knew otherwise.

His teammates saw Williams’ shooting ability. Smith a disciple of patient offenses, saw it, too.

When Williams returned for his sophomore season, Smith told him he would move to the shooting guard position, his natural spot.

“As long as I am making it, I have the green light to keep on shooting,” said Williams, the tournament’s most valuable player.

Williams broke three Final Four records. His 10 three-pointers in two games bettered the nine of Indiana’s Steve Alford in 1987 and Nevada Las Vegas’ Anderson Hunt in 1990. Williams’ three-point shooting percentage for a championship game, and for two games, set records.

Williams, who made 22 three-pointers in the NCAA tournament, made his first Monday at 8 minutes 2 seconds of the first half.

“After that, I had a sigh of relief,” he said. “Coach Smith told me to move quickly without the ball and I would get open.”