HeelsBlog kicks off the Top Ten stories of the school year with #10.

He only played 19 minutes at home against Clemson.  And then a ' mysterious illness' sidelined Rashad McCants for four games.  Four games right in the home stretch of the ACC schedule.  Four games the Tar Heels had to win to secure the ACC Regular Season Championship and the #1 seed in the ACC Tourney.  And probably a #1 seed in the field of 65.
The Tar Heels could have packed it in and prepared for the NCAA tournament.  They could have just counted on Rashad to be back for March Madness, and coasted through the schedule.
But they didn't.  Senior Melvin Scott stepped into the starting role and provided some offensive spark.  He shot well at N.C. State.  He got a little of his swagger back after stepping into the lineup with no problem.  David Noel stepped up with more minutes too.
Tar Heels that hadn't seen nearly as many minutes were making the most of what they were getting.  The Tar Heels went 4-0 without Rashad, including a thrilling comeback against Duke.
If Rashad had stayed healthy, would Melvin and David had brought the confidence they did into the tournament?  We'll never know.  But we do know that Rashad's illness was just one more obstacle for this team to get over.  This national championship team.

Tomorrow, #9.  And HeelsBlog makes the trip to the basketball team's awards banquet.