Somewhere Matt Doherty is either smiling or vomiting, possibly both. As the former head basketball coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels, Doherty recruited every significant member of the current team, with the notable exception of freshman sensation Marvin Williams.

On Monday night, that group emerged victorious in St. Louis, defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 75-70, to claim the 2004-05 NCAA championship.

For UNC coach Roy Williams, who took over the program after Doherty was fired at the end of the 2002-03 season, the championship brought an end to years of frustration.

In his 15 seasons as coach of the Kansas Jayhawks, Williams took four teams to the Final Four. They came up empty each time, including twice in the championship game.

When Carolina annihilated Michigan State in the semifinals on Saturday, it gave Williams 40 career NCAA Tournament wins. That pushed him past Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton for most victorious in tournament play without a title.

But this formerly maligned group of Tar Heels, once called the “Chapel Hill Lakers” by a former player, only allowed that monkey to stay on Williams’ back for about 48 hours.

The night belonged to UNC’s sensational trio of juniors, Raymond Felton, Sean May, and Rashad McCants.

McCants’ 14 points in the first half paced the Heels to a 40-27 half-time lead. It would grow to 15 in the early minutes of the second half before Illinois made its inevitable run.

Illinois attempted a championship-game-record 40 three-pointers. Throughout most of the second half, it seemed like they couldn’t miss.

It culminated when superstar guard Luther Head tied the game at 70 with just under three minutes to play.

However, the next time down the floor, Marvin Williams tipped in a McCants miss to put the Heels back up, 72-70. The Illini had no response, as their following possessions were a mix of bad shots and turnovers.

By the end of the game, the Illinois players were beaten, emotionally and physically. They didn’t have the legs to hit jumpers, while Carolina, smelling blood in the water, pounced defensively.

Illinois never had an answer for May, who led the Tar Heels with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and was named MVP. Every time the Illini would go on a run, May answered with an easy interior basket to give the Heels some breathing room.

When Head missed a three that would have tied the game with under a minute to play, May collected the rebound that all but iced the game.

Felton drove the final nail into the Illini’s coffin after May’s late rebound, sinking two foul shots. In the final minutes of the game, the point guard from Latta, South Carolina played bigger than anyone on the court, hitting the clutch free throws and playing tenacious defense.

For the game, Felton had 17 points and seven assists. However, like it was the entire season, his contributions and importance to the Heels went far beyond what the box score captures.

His leadership on the floor was the glue that held the team together. Felton’s uncanny ability to raise his game a notch when the team needed it the most is the primary reason why the Tar Heels won the school’s fifth national championship on Monday night, joining the teams from 1924, 1957, 1982, and 1993.

I watched the game at the Dean E Smith Center, better known as the Dean Dome, named for the legendary coach who made Carolina basketball an institution.

The announced crowd of approximately 9,500 was loud and spirited. When the game ended, I joined the procession from the Dean Dome across the UNC campus.

The celebration lasted well into the morning. It was made sweeter by what the program had to go through in the recent past to get back to the top.

An 8-20 record, the worst in school history, three years ago. The acrimony and bitter feelings following the ouster of Doherty, a member of the 1982 championship team.

But amidst the jubilation of Monday night and Tuesday morning, you would have thought all of that was ancient history.

In Chapel Hill, things are once again as they are supposed to be.