Coach Downplays Tar Heels’ Talent

North Carolina is considered the nation’s most talented team, and it might have three players selected in the first round of June’s NBA draft.

Freshman forward Marvin Williams -- the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year -- would be a top-three pick if he left Chapel Hill, talent evaluators said, and All-American junior guards Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants also are among the NBA’s highest-rated college players.

Obviously, the Tar Heels are good, but perhaps not as talented as some believe, Coach Roy Williams said.

“I hear all that talk about all of our ‘lottery picks,’ but I have a lot of friends in the NBA,” Williams said. “And every time I talk to one of those NBA guys, they start pointing out, ‘Well, so and so has got this hole in his game, and so and so has got that hole in his game.’ So it’s not quite what the talking heads on TV say it is, and I don’t mind saying that.

“When I ask them about Sean May, the NBA guys tell me they see a 6-8 center who needs to shoot the ball better. They say Raymond Felton’s assist-to-turnover ratio is not what it needs to be. Rashad McCants? Well, does he guard anybody?

“Those are the kinds of statements coming back to me. That’s what the NBA people are asking. But we’ve got some marvelous players, and they’ve really worked hard to play together.”

And what have NBA officials said about Marvin Williams?

“Well, I don’t see the big fella staying all four years,” Roy Williams said.

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Illinois All-American point guard Deron Williams faces another major defensive challenge tonight in the title game against North Carolina.

After harassing Arizona guard Salim Stoudamire, considered the nation’s best shooter, into a two-for-13 performance in Illinois’ 90-89 overtime victory in the Chicago Regional final, Williams volunteered to guard Louisville forward Francisco Garcia in the national semifinals Saturday.

Garcia, who was averaging a team-leading 16 points, went two for 10 and scored four points in the Illini’s 72-57 victory.

Williams is expected to primarily guard Felton, the Tar Heels’ linchpin.

“If you stop an opponent’s best guy, you have a better chance to win,” Williams said. “He is such a critical part of their offense that when you take him away, they are going to have a hard time finding ways to win the ballgame.”

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Illinois and North Carolina were ranked first and second in the final regular-season Associated Press poll.

Tonight’s game marks the first time since 1966, and seventh overall, that the top-ranked teams in the AP’s last pre-tournament poll have played for the championship. No. 2 Texas El Paso defeated No. 1 Kentucky, 72-65, in the 1966 title game.

No. 1 UCLA defeated No. 2 Kentucky, 92-85, for the 1975 championship, but Kentucky ended the regular season sixth in the AP poll. UCLA was second.

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Police in riot gear dispersed rowdy Michigan State fans who poured into the streets Saturday night following their team’s loss in the Final Four, resulting in more than 60 arrests in East Lansing, Mich. Most of the arrests were for disorderly conduct, police said Sunday.

The fans had gathered downtown and outside nearby apartment complexes after Michigan State lost, 87-71, to North Carolina in the NCAA semifinals.

The disturbances marred an upbeat atmosphere that had lasted all week. The community had been in a festive mood since its men’s and women’s teams qualified for their Final Fours.

Associated Press contributed to this report.