The June 18th, 2020 Rashad McCants interview with Quierra Luck of SI.com gave Tar Heel fans another exhibit of the illogical, woe is me, toe the line McCants we have grown accustomed to.
The mending of most relationships starts with involved parties openly knowing the frustration, offering an apology, and agreeing to work together for a better future. In the particular case of tension from McCants toward the North Carolina men’s basketball program, McCants simply offers a “let’s forgive each other” mentality. McCants says he has forgiven the University and asks the University and fans for forgiveness. McCants’ attempt to mend, lacks him offering an apology and all parties openly knowing the frustration.
From the interview, below are my Good on McCants and Not So Good on McCants.
Good on McCants:
*McCants acknowledged he went about his frustrations in the wrong way-wanted attention from NCAA, ESPN, and CNN
*McCants seems dedicated to making his business ventures successful
*McCants apologized to his teammates
Not So Good on McCants:
*McCants continues to not share what the basketball program did to him
*McCants offered no apology and specifically clarified there is a difference between apologizing and asking for forgiveness
*McCants said he didn’t want to turn the basketball program into turmoil, but exactly that happened, specifically with recruiting
*McCants took a shot at Roy’s coaching system-saying it is an outdated model that runs efficiently. It is only good enough for records, seeding, stats, and Final Fours
*McCants took a shot at UNC player development and proceeded to use Duke and their high caliber recruits as a comparison for what recruiting and player development should look like. If he could only acknowledge the role he played in the recruiting struggles
There is no disputing McCants played an important role on the 2005 National Championship team. There is also no disputing the disruption McCants has had on the program. Almost all North Carolina basketball alums openly acknowledge, promote, and are proud to be a part of the “Carolina family.” They understand the platform, the support, and the relationships that go far beyond basketball.
Tar Heel fans individually will need to decide if they are willing to forgive. For me, I’ll pass. More than wanting true forgiveness, it feels like McCants wants a manipulation to mend the platform, that because of business purposes, he now needs.