9 North Carolina

Matt Doherty doesn't want to change the face of Carolina basketball, but he's not afraid to tweak it a bit. So when Jason Capel asked Doherty , the Tar Heels ' new coach, to lift the four-decade-old ban on facial hair, Doherty acceded. If he extends his players a longer leash than did predecessors Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge, Doherty is also quicker to give that leash a sharp tug. That was apparent during a recent practice when he punctuated a profanity-laced philippic by kicking over a trash can. "We'd never seen that before," center Brendan Haywood says. "I'm not sure Coach Guthridge could get his leg high enough to kick a trash can."

Still, it won't be easy for Doherty to fill the shoes of a guy who guided Carolina to two Final Fours in three years. Doherty 's top priority will be to get more consistency from Haywood , who was spotty during the 1999-2000 regular season but averaged 15.8 points and 9.6 rebounds during the NCAAs . With the 6'8" Capel, 6'10" junior Brian Bersticker and 6'11" junior Kris Lang joining the 7-foot Haywood up front, this will be one of the nation's biggest teams.

The Tar Heels will therefore be vulnerable against smaller, quicker foes. They'll rely heavily on Joseph Forte , who last year became the first freshman ever to lead Carolina in scoring. Forte worked hard on his ball handling this summer, and is a candidate—along with freshmen Adam Boone and Brian Morrison and sophomores Ronald Curry and Jonathan Holmes—to replace Ed Cota at point guard. Doherty hopes to select a permanent quarterback soon. "If I start jerking these guys around, it'd be like yanking a young pitcher before he gets his confidence," he says. "I'm going to have to live with some mistakes early."

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