Cota: 'This team is in a class by itself'
Associated Press
AUSTIN, Texas -- Ed Cota is going to his third Final Four in
four years. This one, however, is different.
North Carolina was supposed to get there the first two times
when the Tar Heels featured Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison.
This year, Cota and the Tar Heels (22-13) fell from grace as a
No. 8 seed and were criticized for even making the NCAA Tournament after
losing their first game in the ACC tournament.
|  | | Ed Cota, who played all 40 minutes against Tulsa, looks to pass as Dante Swanson defends. |
"This team is in a class by itself," Cota, the North
Carolina's only senior starter, said after the Tar Heels' 59-55
victory over Tulsa on Sunday in the South Regional final.
Haunted by last year's first-round loss to Weber State, Cota and
the Tar Heels took a huge step in erasing the frustration of one
their most difficult regular seasons.
"It took us a while to get used to each other to find a way to
win and learn how to win," he said. "The teams I was on in the
past, the guys knew what it took to win. This team kind of got it
done late in the season but it couldn't have come at a better time
for us."
After beating top-seeded Stanford in the second round, Carolina
was still a long shot but Cota was personally feeling pressure to
get one more shot at a national title. "This is business," he
said after the Tar Heels' first practice.
Cota carried North Carolina to a 74-69 victory over Tennessee
when he hit the tying and go-ahead baskets in the final two
minutes.
Against Tulsa, the Tar Heels counted on him to control the tempo
against a team that won 25 games this season by double-figure
margins and was accustomed to blowouts.
And at one point it looked like it might cost North Carolina.
The first player in NCAA history with 1,000 points, 1,000
assists and 500 rebounds was just was 2-of-6 shooting Sunday and
committed seven turnovers. Tulsa stripped him of the ball twice in
the final two minutes to cut Carolina's seven-point lead to 55-52.
Cota played all but one minute of North Carolina's four
tournament victories and was wearing down.
"I was tired at the end. It's kind of hard playing 40 minutes
all the time," he said. "I could have let Joseph (Forte) take it
up, but I wanted to take control."
"We never lost faith," said Carolina's Kris Lang. "He's our
floor leader."
After Tulsa cut it to 57-55 on a 3-pointer, Cota hit one of two
foul shots to give Carolina a critical three point lead with 20.8
seconds left.
A couple minutes after the game was over, Cota's teammates were
still mugging for the television cameras while he hung back,
looking like the pressure was finally off.
During the net-cutting ceremony, he was the last player to snip
the first net and wore it around his neck.
"I know this means more to Ed than anybody," forward Julius
Peppers said. "When he came in they went to two Final Fours and
then they didn't. He has to feel great right now." |
