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News Nuggets, 10.20.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Cards shake off loss to Miami, target USF for payback

There's no shame for Louisville in losing to the best team in south Florida. A loss to South Florida, however, might be costly.

The Cardinals, who nearly pulled off a stunning upset of the Hurricanes last week, try to rebound when they host an inferior Bulls team in a Conference USA matchup Friday.

The 15th-ranked Cardinals (4-1, 2-0) are trying move past a 41-38 road defeat to then-No. 3 Miami on Thursday night.

Louisville dominated the Hurricanes in the first half, then broke down just enough in the second to let what would've been the biggest win in school history slip away. Louisville lost a 17-point deficit over the final 20 minutes as Miami came from behind twice in the fourth quarter to win.

Louisville now faces South Florida (2-3, 1-2), which is coming off a 42-35 loss to lowly Army on Saturday. Revenge will be the focus for the Cardinals after losing 31-28 to the Bulls in double overtime on Oct. 4, 2003, the first of Louisville's four straight defeats.

``We've got a little payback, a little revenge on our mind,'' said Louisville quarterback Stefan LeFors, who is expected to play despite suffering a concussion in the third quarter last week. ``Forget about that (Miami) loss. There's a lot of season left.''

Louisville led 38-34 against Miami near the 3 1/2 -minute mark when an errant pass by Hurricanes quarterback Brock Berlin sailed straight into safety Kerry Rhodes' chest. The ball ricocheted off his hands, escaped through his fingertips and bounced on the grass in front of him.

``We're trying to get this behind us as quickly as possible, come out and show the resiliency of this team,'' Rhodes said.

LeFors went 17-of-22 for 244 yards. Lionel Gates scored three times and Tiger Jones caught two touchdown passes for the Cardinals, who totaled 507 yards against a defense that had given up only one touchdown in its first four games. They moved the ball at will in the first half, scoring on every possession after they were shackled with bad field position early.

``We have a lot of confidence. We didn't win, but we showed we could play with those guys,'' LeFors said. ``From here on out, we're probably not going to play a defense as good as that one. It gives us a lot of confidence going into these conference games.''

Andre Hall had 200 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns Saturday for South Florida, which has dropped two straight after the loss to Army.

Quarterback Pat Julmiste scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter to give the Bulls a 21-7 lead. He completed 10 of 23 passes for 116 yards and rushed for 90 yards on 20 carries.

Saturday's game will be the second meeting between South Florida and Louisville.

McCants clarifies Chapel Hill 'jail' remarks

CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina guard Rashad McCants is required to go to class, to show up on time for practice and to attend study hall. He has very little of the freedom most college students take for granted.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

``I love North Carolina,'' McCants said Tuesday. ``I wouldn't be here if I didn't.''

McCants and Tar Heels coach Roy Williams held a news conference to explain comments McCants made to a local TV station last week.

In an interview that aired on WRAL-TV on Friday night, McCants compared playing college basketball to being in jail. He also said he considered his time in the program to be his job.

``It's to get up and go to school, get here and lift weights and play basketball,'' McCants said in the interview. ``That's my 9-to-5. As my uncle said, I'm in jail right now. You're not allowed to do certain things, you're not allowed to say certain things.

``But once you get out of jail, you're free. So I'm just in my sentence and I'm doing my time.''

He said Tuesday he meant to give an example of how regimented his life is with the Tar Heels. As he told Williams when explaining the comments, he couldn't go anywhere during fall break like many of his classmates because he had to get ready for the start of practice.

``I do feel like there is a lot of things that are required for us to do,'' McCants said. ``But this is what I love to do, and I want to make it my job someday.''

The enigmatic McCants, who says he's misunderstood by people outside the team, led North Carolina in scoring last season with an average of 20 points. He started 29 of 30 games and was named to the all-Atlantic Coast Conference team and was a third-team All-America.

In a game against UNC-Wilmington last season, Williams sent McCants and teammate Jesse Holley to the locker room in the first half because he said they weren't cheering enough for their teammates on the court.

Williams downplayed the incident after the game, and he had no further problems with McCants.

This season, McCants returned with two new tattoos — ``Born to be hated'' on his right arm and ``Dying to be loved'' on his left. He talked about public perception of him earlier in the TV interview.

``The process of changing perception is like trying to get somebody to vote for you in an election,'' McCants said. ``I don't think I can change anything about what people are saying about me. I can just be me.''

Williams admittedly was angry Sunday when he first learned of the comments McCants made about prison, and he was equally upset about the reference to a 9-to-5 job. Williams' mother worked for 51 years in a mill — ``Rashad has it a lot easier than my mother,'' Williams said — and when McCants showed up for practice that night, Williams told him to leave.

``I was really ticked off,'' he said. ``I told Rashad there was a big difference in playing college basketball and being in jail. Like the game Monopoly, I told him I could just give him a 'Get out of jail free' card and he could leave.''

Williams changed his mind after viewing the complete interview, which lasted about 10 minutes. McCants was introspective about his time at North Carolina and he talked about his excitement about the upcoming season.

``I thought the interview was very thoughtful,'' Williams said. ``I guess the bottom line is I disagree with his use of the word jail.''

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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