Jan. 1, 2005

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CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina men's basketball team will embark on play in 2005 when it hosts William & Mary on Sunday Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. The game is Carolina's next-to-last nonconference game of the 2004-05 season (only the Feb. 13 game at Connecticut remains).

William & Mary is coached by former UNC player Tony Shaver, who lettered as a Tar Heel during the 1973-74 season.

After Sunday's game, the Tar Heels will enter the heart of their 2004-05 Atlantic Coast Conference schedule. UNC will host Maryland on Saturday, Jan. 8 and Georgia Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 12.

The Tar Heels, who are riding an 11-game winning streak, are 11-1 this season after losing their season-opener to Santa Clara. Carolina defeated Cleveland State on Thursday night, 107-64. Sean May led six Tar Heels in double figures with 16 points. Raymond Felton had 13 points and eight assists and now has hit 12 three-pointers in a row over the last four games.

For the second consecutive week, the Tar Heels are ranked No. 4 in the nation in the Associated Press poll and No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.

The William & Mary game is the fourth of a six-game homestand for the Tar Heels. The next road game for UNC is Jan. 15 at Wake Forest.

Jawad Williams RISING TO THE OCCASION AS A SENIOR
Tar Heel senior forward Jawad Williams was not a preseason All-ACC or National Player of the Year choice like teammates Raymond Felton, Sean May and Rashad McCants, but he is having the best season of his career as a Tar Heel.

Williams leads the ACC in field goal percentage at 66.4. He has hit 69 of 92 field goal attempts (75.0 percent) in his last 10 games.

Williams is well above his career numbers so far this year in field goal percentage (66.4 this year compared to 46.7 career entering the season), three-point field goal percentage (46.2 this year compared to 33.6), free throw percentage (77.1 compared to 69.6), and scoring (16.9 this year compared to 12.6 career).

But before his concussion last year against UNC-W, he was averaging similar numbers. He was posting 19 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and was making 56.3 percent of his shots through his first seven games as a junior.

In early December, ESPN's Dick Vitale named Williams to his "All-Support Team," honoring five players "who are vital to their ranked teams, yet they don't often see their names in the headlines. The guys on my All- Support Team aren't superstars, but ask their coaches about their importance and you'll hear rave reviews. They do so many things to help their clubs get to the winner's circle. Without their contributions, their teams wouldn't be as successful."

Vitale wrote of Williams: "North Carolina has its terrific trio of Raymond Felton, Sean May and Rashad McCants. But keep an eye on Williams, the 6-9 senior forward."

FELTON ON TORRID 3-POINT STREAK
Thus far this season, junior point guard Raymond Felton has been a much-improved shooter, both from the field and from behind the three-point arc.

Felton has hit his last 12 three-point field goal attempts. Pending further research, that is believed to be a UNC record for consecutive three-point field goals made. The NCAA record is 15, set by Todd Leslie of Northwestern during four games from Dec. 15-28, 1990.

Felton is shooting 55.1 percent from the floor this season (38 of 69). His career field goal percentage entering the season was 40.7.

He is hitting 58.8 percent of his three-point attempts (20 of 34) this season. His career three-point field goal percentage entering the season was 34.1.

For the second season in a row, Felton is leading the ACC in assists, averaging 7.5 per game in 2004-05.