CHAPEL HILL — UNC sophomore Greg Little hopes to apply a lot of what he learned while playing for the basketball Tar Heels to the football field this year.
And when he returns to the Smith Center next season, it will be as a spectator, not a player.
"[Football coach Butch Davis] looks at me as a pretty smart guy, and me being his featured back, I don't think he wants me on the court,'' Little, UNC's starting tailback, said Friday.
"That's what I understand, and that's what I understood going into it last year — if I couldn't get the majority of the the [playing] time or be a heavy contributor, this is where I was going to be."
Little played in 10 games with the basketball team, scoring five points. And he appreciated the experience.
"I learned a lot from those guys, how they go about winning and their tradition,'' he said. "And hopefully, I can bring that back over here."
Specifically?
"There's never a doubt going into the game whether you can win or not, and that's that chip you have to have on your shoulder — that fine line between cocky and confident, that you know you're going on that field [or court] every time to win,'' Little said.
UNC's football team hasn't had a plus-.500 season since 2001. By staying with one sport, Little hopes to change that.
Robbi Pickeral has covered ACC sports for The News & Observer since 2003. She can be reached at 
