CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina coach Roy Williams is pretty used to the Final Four stage.
It's just the court at Ford Field he has to worry about.
The Tar Heels played on the raised hardwood when it blew out Michigan State in Detroit in December. Williams spent a portion of the first half down in front of the bench, meaning "you're sitting there looking a people's shinbones." He eventually moved up to stand on the elevated court, meaning his assistant coaches looked at his shinbones.
"I did take me until after the second TV timeout to be comfortable with what I could see,'' he said. " ...Tom [Izzo] brought a chair up and sat it on the court level ... and I didn't want to do that; I like to sit down a lot. I was not comfortable, I couldn't see the far end of the court, what I really wanted to see. Most of the time, after the second TV timeout, I stayed up on the court level."
Williams said that playing at that venue already this season, though, doesn't necessarily give his team any advantage. The Tar Heels play Villanova in the national semifinals on Saturday.
Robbi Pickeral has covered ACC sports for The News & Observer since 2003. She can be reached at 
Comments
2005 memories
Thu, 04/02/2009 - 07:04 — TarheelJayI was in St Louis for the 2005 final four, and even though it was held at the Edward Jones Dome, you couldn't have asked for a better basketball atmosphere! They took the coaches in town for their annual convention and used them as a buffer to seperate the four fan sections. As teams lost, the Illinois fans started to scarf up any and all available tickets, and on Monday night the place looked like a huge pumpkin with a blue stem. They may have had the numbers on us, but when it came to noise, we more than held our own! I'm sure there were some fans who didn't have the greatest view, but just being there and part of such a great event more than makes up for the slight! My tickets were great (thanks to a good friend and major contributor) and I had a BALL. Wish I could be there again this year!
Court
Wed, 04/01/2009 - 13:57 — heelsno1From my perspective, it is ridiculous to stage basketball games in arenas designed for football. In any event, each of the 4 teams will compete on the same court, with the same baskets, etc.
The court does not determine outcomes...players do.