The University of North Carolina can show people they belong in the NCAA Tournament on Friday by beating Ole Miss ... but it's gonna be a helluva tough game, according to Tar Heels legend Rashad McCants.
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00:00So, Rashad, Selection Sunday
00:05comes. There's a lot of
00:06naysayers saying you guys don't
00:07belong in there. You clearly go
00:09into the playing game and and I
00:11guess prove prove you do belong
00:13there. Just just your thoughts
00:14heading into tomorrow's opening
00:16round for the for the Heels.
00:18It's a big game. Um like you
00:21said, it was one of those
00:22decisions that was up in the
00:23air. Um a lot of controversy,
00:26strength of schedule, and all
00:27that. Um ironically, I was able
00:29to speak with Hubert before the
00:31season when the guys was
00:32getting um acclimated and um
00:36first time I got to speak to
00:37him. He's very excited. He's
00:38very optimistic about them. So,
00:40um for them to be there is good
00:42testament for his coaching. Um
00:44because you know, he had a lot
00:45of freshmen and and things like
00:46that. So, it's good for them.
00:48I'm sure you're motivated to
00:50see them do well when people
00:51are trying to tear them down.
00:53How much do you think the team
00:54is motivated? You know, going
00:56into this Ole Miss game
00:57Well, it's a lot of
00:58expectations if you really
00:59think about it. Um just with
01:01everybody that came before this
01:03team and um all the
01:05championships that we've won
01:07since then and the landscape now
01:09when you got NIL,
01:10expectations, uh the transfer
01:12portal, things like that can
01:14affect the program drastically
01:16when you don't adjust to the
01:17time. So, I think right now,
01:19it's about trying to figure out
01:20what time you wanna adjust to
01:21and you wanna try to figure out
01:22how to get these kids to your
01:24program. How do you see the
01:25game playing out versus Ole Miss?
01:29You know, just seeing that the
01:32slot wasn't as as deserving as
01:34we, you know, we've gotten, I
01:37think it's gonna be a tough
01:38game. I think it's gonna be a
01:39very tough game. I think
01:40traditionally, we'll we'll edge
01:42out but I think if Ole Miss
01:44shows up to be who they are,
01:45they'll win. How how do you fill
01:48out a bracket? I know, I fill
01:49out a bracket and I'm, you know,
01:51tied to teams that I grew up
01:52rooting for. When you play for a
01:53team and win for a team, how
01:55far do you have the Tar Heels
01:56going in your own bracket? Um,
02:00well, I would say, I'm very
02:02realistic. You know, I don't I
02:05don't see like the Cinderella
02:07matchups being surprises more
02:09than I see number one seed
02:11supposed to be in the final four.
02:14Like, I always go with the
02:15number one seeds all the way up
02:17to the elite eight or the final
02:18four. So, everything in between
02:20is just up in the air and I
02:22I'm really there for it because
02:23it's Martin Madness. That's what
02:25you're supposed to be doing is
02:27upsetting the world. Who do you
02:29see going all the way?
02:32He's turning. I would say
02:35Houston. I say Houston. I'm
02:38giving the edge to Houston but I
02:39see Florida getting there and I
02:41got Alabama getting there. But
02:45it would be more exciting if if
02:46UNC goes on a run and does
02:48something special especially
02:49when they're unexpected. It is
02:52difficult. They don't have the
02:53star power to do it. They don't
02:55they don't even have the
02:56Cinderella energy to do it. You
02:58know, I think when you have
02:59certain teams like if Cooper
03:01Flagg comes back in time, you
03:03can see Duke making a run
03:05because they have the talent to
03:07do so. You know, Carolina don't
03:09have those type of players that
03:10you can rely on to take you over
03:12the top. RJ Davis is good,
03:13right? But he's a little small
03:15and it starts to look a certain
03:17way of style of basketball when
03:19he's just doing it by himself.
03:20You guys are killing it. I see
03:22Gil over your shoulder on a
03:23dartboard behind you. What's it
03:25like? What's it like doing
03:26Gills Arena with the guys? You
03:28guys are having a lot of fun.
03:29Oh man, you want to talk about
03:31changing traditional media,
03:33giving us players a landscape
03:35where we can speak for
03:36ourselves and have fun at the
03:37same time. I think a lot of
03:39people kind of misconstrued the
03:40energy and the landscape of what
03:42we do and how we do it. It's
03:43really how we are in the
03:44locker room and nobody takes
03:46anything serious. We can all
03:47throw jabs and shots and then
03:50still go bowling after.