1. The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH —
Ralston Turner needed
a change. The coach
who recruited him to
LSU was gone. The one
coming in was friendly
but hardly a friend.
When North Carolina
State coach Mark Gott-
fried offered Turner a
fresh start three years
ago, the versatile guard
jumped and didn’t look
back.
“It was probably one
of the toughest deci-
sions I ever made,”
Turner said. “I don’t
regret it.”
Neither, in retrospect,
do the Tigers. Both will
get a chance to see how
far the other has come
on Thursday when
Turner and eighth-
seeded N.C. State (20-
13) plays ninth-seeded
LSU (22-10) in the sec-
ond round of the NCAA
Tournament.
Turner has evolved
into the steadying se-
nior presence on a
team that is once again
a March fixture under
Gottfried. The Tigers
“Ithinkoneof thegreatestskillsinbasketball
isknowingyourstrengthsandplaying
tothem,andknowingyour
weaknessesandmakingsure
that’snotthebiggest factor.”
Roy Williams,
North Carolina head coach
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THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015
Syracuse’s Boeheim
to retire in 2018. 2B
Section B
SPORTS
DAVID SCEARCE/FOR THE HICKORY DAILY RECORD
L
enoir-Rhyne’s Ethan Tingler (right) defends Queen’s Justin
Kestler during the Bears’ 10-9 home victory over the Royals
on Wednesday. Lenoir-Rhyne held off a furious late-game
comeback bid by the Royals. For full coverage, see today’s Local
Roundup, 2B.
NCAA Tournament
Tar Heels know size, strength isn’t enough to stop Crimson
’Pack
ready
toface
Tigers
See NCSU, Page 3B
17.7
12.7
12.9
11.8
36.8
64.2
Team Leaders
Scoring
» Marcus Paige, 13.9
» Wesley Saunders 16.3
Rebounding
» Brice Johnson, 7.7
» SteveMoundou-Missi,7.4
Assists
» Marcus Paige, 4.6
» Siyari Chambers, 4.3
Points Rebs. Asst. TOs
Win Totals
24
22
11
11
Total Conf.
The Associated Press
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Harvard’s
Tommy Amaker is more than fa-
miliar with North Carolina from
his days as a standout player and
assistant coach at Duke, although
that won’t make it any easier going
against the Tar Heels in the second
round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 13th-seeded Crimson are in
the tourney for the fourth straight
season as Ivy League champions
and have won their opening game
the past two seasons.
It gives them confidence they
can be successful on this stage,
regardless of how much it might
mean to their coach to knock off an
old rival from the Atlantic Coast
Conference.
“Honestly, I try to keep my history
out of it. It’s not about me,” Amaker
said, looking ahead to Thursday’s
West Region matchup against
the fourth-seeded Tar Heels at
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial
Arena.
“It certainly is about what these
kids have accomplished in our pro-
gram and what we’ve done over the
last number of years and how excit-
ed I am for them,” the coach added.
“But certainly they recognize, and
we all do, the history and the tradi-
tion and the greatness of Carolina
basketball, and so anything with me
is really irrelevant.”
It’s certainly not on the minds of
North Carolina stars Brice Johnson
or Marcus Paige.
When asked if they happened to
know where the Harvard coach
played in college, Johnson re-
sponded first. “Was it Duke?”
“I’m pretty sure he’s got con-
nections to Duke,” Paige said
before tackling a follow-up.
“I don’t think Duke has
got a whole lot to do with
what’s going on with this
game,” the junior guard
added, “but it’s an inter-
esting side note.”
For the record, Amaker
was 10-19 all-time vs.
the Tar Heels during his
years as a player and as-
sistant under coach Mike
Krzyzewski.
North Carolina coach
Roy Williams was an as-
sistantwiththeTarHeels
in the 1980s when it re-
cruited and signed point
guard Kenny Smith
BRAINVS.BRAWN?
No. 4 North Carolina (24-11)
VS. No. 13 Harvard (22-7)
NCAATournament Second Round
7:20 p.m.Today; TV: TNT
77.9
44.7
See UNC, Page 4B
No.8N.C.State(20-13)
VS.No.9LSU(22-10)
NCAATournament
Second Round
9:20 p.m.Today; TV: TBS
holding off royaltyNCAA Tournament
Dukefreshmeneagerto
writetheirownlegacies
The Associated Press
DURHAM — All these
Duke freshmen want to
write their own histories.
They weren’t around
to hang
those four
n a t i o n a l
c h a m p i -
o n s h i p
banners at
Cameron
Indoor Sta-
dium. They
also had nothing to do
with those stunning early
round losses to Lehigh
and Mercer. No, the four
freshmen on this year’s
top-seeded Blue Devils
(29-4) squad are eager
to create their own post-
season legacy when they
make their NCAATourna-
ment debuts on Friday in
Charlotte in South Region
play against the winner of
the North Florida-Robert
Morris matchup.
“You’re always re-
membered if you win,”
freshman guard Tyus
Jones said. “That’s the
most important thing
— we all want to be re-
membered for hanging a
banner, a fifth banner.”
Duke is the only team in
the nation to have three
freshmen averaging dou-
ble figures, and leading
the way is Jahlil Okafor —
a serious national player
of the year candidate and
the first freshman to win
the Atlantic Coast Con-
ference player of the year
award.
Okafor averages 17.7
Okafor, Winslow, Jones have school’s
5th national championship in mind
Okafor
See DUKE, Page 4B
PerGameAverages
PHOTOS BYTHE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
STATS: CBS SPORTS