Former North Carolina basketball guard Raymond Felton reacted to fresh allegations made against Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams by disgraced Tar Heel Rashad McCants.
In 2014, Rashad McCants made allegations of academic fraud against UNC, where he played on the championship-winning basketball team in 2004–05. McCants has once again accused his former coach, Roy Williams, of purposefully preventing him from playing to his abilities during the 2005 national championship game.
He suggested that this was orchestrated to ensure his teammate Sean May would win the ‘Most Outstanding Player' honors on his birthday.
The former Tar Heels point guard, Felton recently joined Theo Pinson's podcast, Run Your Race, where they discussed various topics, including McCants and their time as Tar Heels.
Raymond Felton debunking Rashad McCants claims
Rashad McCants isn't new to dishing out hot takes and the 39-year-old Felton rejected the notion that Coach Williams sidelined McCants during the second half of the 2005 national championship game against Illinois to favor May for Most Outstanding Player accolades on his birthday. He mentioned that the 2005 championship team has distanced itself from McCants and no longer maintains contact with him.
“That's what pisses me off about my teammate (Rashad McCants) and hearing some of the you know s**t that he says. It kind of pisses me off because this man (Roy Williams) even through all the BS that you took him through, and some sometimes took us through as a team, we still roll with you, he still rolls with you,” Felton said.
“So for him to say some of the things I hear him say on the podcast that they're doing, and just things that he's done in the past, it just pisses me off because none of us has ever turned our back on you.”
“You've always went your own way and we was cool with that, but we still always had your back. But now once you start to mess with the legacy of Coach Williams and the legacy of what we've done as a team, now we got a problem with you. “
Rashad McCants frustration in the 2005 championship game against Illinois
McCants, speaking on the Gils Arena podcast, expressed his frustration, stating, “I had 15 points at half, and then my coach (Williams) decided it wasn't going to be my show because it was the big man's birthday. I was already scoring less and passing more because the [people] on my team was haters.”
In the championship game against Illinois, McCants had the most field goal attempts for the Tar Heels, scoring 14 points on 40% shooting from the field (6-of-15). However, he didn't score in the second half.
Meanwhile, May delivered a stellar performance, contributing 26 points and 10 rebounds. He shot an impressive 91% from the field (10-of-11) and scored 18 points in the second half alone (6-of-6 FG), showcasing one of the finer displays by a big man in national championship history.
The former North Carolina basketball guard, Felton acknowledged McCants' talent, describing him as one of the best scorers he's played with. “He is one of the best scorers that I've ever played with, and I played with Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul George and Russell Westbrook. He is still in my top three. That's the level of scorer he is. I will never take that from him.”
However, he expressed confusion and disbelief regarding McCants' claim of being hated by the team, describing it as “mind-boggling.”
Pinson remarked that McCants seemed to be in a different world, given that he's the only one from their squad with such sentiments. Felton added that while he harbors no ill will toward McCants, he urged him to refrain from speaking negatively about the UNC basketball program.
Follow Us
Subscribe