The questions were once inconceivable, considering Manuel is ajunior at North Carolina. But after missing the tournament for twostraight years, the 18th-ranked Tar Heels are starting over.
No current Tar Heel has played in the NCAA tournament, ashocking stat considering the program went to a record 27 straighttournaments from 1975 to 2001. North Carolina opens the tournamentagainst Air Force on Thursday, exactly three years after its lastNCAA tournament game.
"We're concerned a little bit, but I think I'm hoping that ourhunger will make that be a positive for us," North Carolina coachRoy Williams said of the Tar Heels' NCAA inexperience.
"I cannot imagine ... anybody in the country being more hungrythan we are. This is North Carolina. And nobody on my team has everbeen. If we're not hungry now, then we've got some major, majorproblems."
The Tar Heels, who are the No. 6 seed in the Atlanta Regional,haven't played an NCAA tournament game since suffering an 82-74second-round loss to Penn State on March 18, 2001.
The next year, North Carolina's long NCAA streak ended in theruins of an 8-20 season.
"It was rough," said Manuel, who was a freshman on that team."I expected a winning season, NCAA tournament and the Final Four.We didn't live up to those expectations, so it was really tough onme especially being so young."
After playing in the NIT last year, North Carolina turned to RoyWilliams, bringing Dean Smith's former assistant back to his almamater to return the storied program to prominence. He had ledKansas to 14 straight NCAA tournament berths.
Williams left North Carolina in the middle of its streak, butreturned to find the roster lacking tournament experience that onceseemed a birthright.
In fact, North Carolina has the same amount of experience as the11th-seeded Falcons, who are making their first trip to the NCAAsin 42 years.
North Carolina is in the tournament for the 36th time, tying itwith UCLA for second-most appearances. Kentucky, the top-seed inthe St. Louis Regional, is first with 45.
In addition, North Carolina is 81-35 all-time in the tournamentwith a record 15 trips to the Final Four and three nationalchampionships. This year's group of Tar Heels want to add to thatlore.
And erase the memories of the past two seasons.
"We want to win, simple as that," said forward Jawad Williams,who was also a freshman on the 8-20 team in 2001-02. "I don'tthink anybody's ready to go home and call it a year yet."
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