LUCAS: A GOOD DAY...
Three hours before the game, I was about to walk out the door when the distinctive sounds of "Jump Around" began thumping from somewhere in my house. I went to investigate.
What I found will make sense to many of you: my wife getting ready for the game, listening to her Carolina Basketball Gameday playlist on 11. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"It's Roy Williams Day," she said simply.
Now, I would like to make fun of her. But on the way to the Smith Center, a Scotty McCreery song came on the radio. McCreery is an avowed Wolfpack fan. By all accounts, he is a very nice gentleman…but not on this day. McCreery off, Eric Church on. Problem solved.
Roy Williams did this. He guided us through 18 of the very best years to be a Carolina basketball fan, through the highs and the Villanovas, and some of us still have habits we can't quite break.
Don't blame your personal weirdness on Williams, you might say. Well, here's the thing: you only develop these types of quirks if they work. And they only work if your team wins a whole lot of games. And your team wins a whole lot of games if Roy Williams is the coach. So perhaps now you understand how Williams did this to us.
The most frequent misunderstanding from people who don't listen to Jump Around on 11 to get their mind right in pregame, or who don't keep up with the win-loss record of certain pairs of shoes in their closet, is that this is somehow only about a basketball game. That's part of it, of course. Watching Brady Manek toss in five three-pointers is fun. Celebrating with Caleb Love after he hit a three-pointer to put the Tar Heels up 70-37 and then wears his three-goggles all the way down the court is exhilarating.
But Carolina Basketball is also about Raymond Felton hugging everyone in sight as he walks through the home tunnel an hour before the game. It's about Matt Doherty and Jackie Manuel embracing in a Smith Center back hallway a few minutes before the game. There's a lot of history—and a lot of maturity—in that hug. It's about your body turning into one large chill bump as Michael Jordan stands to applaud Roy Williams at halftime. Do you know how far those two have come together? You do if you're a Tar Heel.
At one point, halftime emcee Jones Angell mentioned Williams' career record of 38-5 against NC State. Williams was standing at midcourt listening, and when those numbers echoed around the Smith Center, Williams gave just the slightest fist pump by his side, coupled with a very brief smile of utter satisfaction. He's still got it, folks.
Anywhere else in the world, this would have been Michael Jordan Day. It is Michael Jordan Day anytime Michael Jordan walks into anywhere, and has been since the early 1990's. That is why, when Jordan went onto the court for a ceremony during a second half timeout, everyone even in NC State's section behind the Wolfpack bench was rapidly firing off photos on their phones and lifting up their kids so they could see Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Even those who hate us the most have to respect the greatness. The conversations on the way home must have been glorious. Well, sure, took a 20-point loss. Had to watch them honor the coach who beat us 38 times. But got to see Mike!
At Carolina, Jordan is one of a dozen men on the court when the 1982 team is honored. It is not Michael Jordan and the 1982 champions. It is just the 1982 champions, with the video of James and Sam and oh, yeah, MJ too, running on the video boards while they soak in the applause. Chapel Hill has to be one of the only places where Michael Jordan can be one of the guys, and that is why he keeps coming back.
He still makes an impression, of course. After Friday's practice, Love was discussing Jordan's rumored appearance the next day.
"The big man is going to be here," Love said.
The sophomore guard was fresh off a solid practice, so he was feeling it. He was going to wear some of his favorite Jordans in front of the actual Michael Jordan and play basketball in front of the greatest player to ever do it, and maybe you have to be 19 years old to understand this feeling…but maybe you don't.
"I'm going to drop 30," Love said. "And then I'm going to run by the Big Man and I'm going to slap him five and I'm going to say, 'That's what's up.'"
Let the record show that Love actually scored 21 points. So it seemed reasonable to ask if he still caught the Big Man's eye.
"Oh yeah," Love said. "I hit that first three and I looked right at him. I was like, 'Yeah, I'm here.' It was great to see him on the sideline and I'm glad we had a good game in front of him."
But everything did not go perfectly for the Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon. With 15:07 left in the game, Jordan and his teammates were going back to their seats just as the Tar Heels broke the huddle. That put Jordan walking by Leaky Black and Love in a 33-point game, so it seemed acceptable for Love to try and get some love.
"I was trying to dap him up," Love said, "but (Eric) Hoots was in the way, so I couldn't get in there." Black saw the exchange, and he and Love cracked up on the court.
How good must it be to be a Tar Heel? A 33-point advantage on the scoreboard and a lifetime story to tell about the time you almost hit a three, forced the other team to call timeout, and very nearly dapped up MJ. That's a full afternoon, and that's a story Black and Love will still be telling when they get back together in 10 or 15 years at the Smith Center. Look at that picture up there. Can you imagine what it would be like to be part of that? To go into a locker room with Michael Jordan and Roy Williams and your teammates and coaches and know that you share something, that you have a bond that matters today and will matter any future time you gather again?
There's enough history here that you know such a future meeting will occur. That's just what happens. Players become alums, alums come back, we all tell the stories of how we got here as Tar Heels. Everyone does their part, you know.
At Friday's practice, a vision in—what, exactly…purple? Fuschia? Pink?—was on the Tar Heel sideline.
"That's quite a sweater," I said to Eric Hoots. Resplendent in the unusual garment, Hoots gave me virtually the same look my wife would give me the next day.
"NC State tomorrow," he said simply. "Always wear pink the day before the State game."
Some things never change.
Thirty minutes after Saturday's win, Hubert Davis had talked to Michael Jordan and hugged Roy Williams in the locker room and told his team how proud he was of them and maybe done a little recruiting and whipped NC State by 20 points and sent everyone home with biscuits.
He grinned just a little. "This," he said, "was a good day for Carolina Basketball."
SATURDAY WAS A NICE REMINDER OF THE BEAUTY OF BEING A TAR HEEL.
Let me tell you what Roy Williams has done to us.Three hours before the game, I was about to walk out the door when the distinctive sounds of "Jump Around" began thumping from somewhere in my house. I went to investigate.
What I found will make sense to many of you: my wife getting ready for the game, listening to her Carolina Basketball Gameday playlist on 11. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"It's Roy Williams Day," she said simply.
Now, I would like to make fun of her. But on the way to the Smith Center, a Scotty McCreery song came on the radio. McCreery is an avowed Wolfpack fan. By all accounts, he is a very nice gentleman…but not on this day. McCreery off, Eric Church on. Problem solved.
Roy Williams did this. He guided us through 18 of the very best years to be a Carolina basketball fan, through the highs and the Villanovas, and some of us still have habits we can't quite break.
Don't blame your personal weirdness on Williams, you might say. Well, here's the thing: you only develop these types of quirks if they work. And they only work if your team wins a whole lot of games. And your team wins a whole lot of games if Roy Williams is the coach. So perhaps now you understand how Williams did this to us.
The most frequent misunderstanding from people who don't listen to Jump Around on 11 to get their mind right in pregame, or who don't keep up with the win-loss record of certain pairs of shoes in their closet, is that this is somehow only about a basketball game. That's part of it, of course. Watching Brady Manek toss in five three-pointers is fun. Celebrating with Caleb Love after he hit a three-pointer to put the Tar Heels up 70-37 and then wears his three-goggles all the way down the court is exhilarating.
But Carolina Basketball is also about Raymond Felton hugging everyone in sight as he walks through the home tunnel an hour before the game. It's about Matt Doherty and Jackie Manuel embracing in a Smith Center back hallway a few minutes before the game. There's a lot of history—and a lot of maturity—in that hug. It's about your body turning into one large chill bump as Michael Jordan stands to applaud Roy Williams at halftime. Do you know how far those two have come together? You do if you're a Tar Heel.
At one point, halftime emcee Jones Angell mentioned Williams' career record of 38-5 against NC State. Williams was standing at midcourt listening, and when those numbers echoed around the Smith Center, Williams gave just the slightest fist pump by his side, coupled with a very brief smile of utter satisfaction. He's still got it, folks.
Anywhere else in the world, this would have been Michael Jordan Day. It is Michael Jordan Day anytime Michael Jordan walks into anywhere, and has been since the early 1990's. That is why, when Jordan went onto the court for a ceremony during a second half timeout, everyone even in NC State's section behind the Wolfpack bench was rapidly firing off photos on their phones and lifting up their kids so they could see Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Even those who hate us the most have to respect the greatness. The conversations on the way home must have been glorious. Well, sure, took a 20-point loss. Had to watch them honor the coach who beat us 38 times. But got to see Mike!
At Carolina, Jordan is one of a dozen men on the court when the 1982 team is honored. It is not Michael Jordan and the 1982 champions. It is just the 1982 champions, with the video of James and Sam and oh, yeah, MJ too, running on the video boards while they soak in the applause. Chapel Hill has to be one of the only places where Michael Jordan can be one of the guys, and that is why he keeps coming back.
He still makes an impression, of course. After Friday's practice, Love was discussing Jordan's rumored appearance the next day.
"The big man is going to be here," Love said.
The sophomore guard was fresh off a solid practice, so he was feeling it. He was going to wear some of his favorite Jordans in front of the actual Michael Jordan and play basketball in front of the greatest player to ever do it, and maybe you have to be 19 years old to understand this feeling…but maybe you don't.
"I'm going to drop 30," Love said. "And then I'm going to run by the Big Man and I'm going to slap him five and I'm going to say, 'That's what's up.'"
Let the record show that Love actually scored 21 points. So it seemed reasonable to ask if he still caught the Big Man's eye.
"Oh yeah," Love said. "I hit that first three and I looked right at him. I was like, 'Yeah, I'm here.' It was great to see him on the sideline and I'm glad we had a good game in front of him."
But everything did not go perfectly for the Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon. With 15:07 left in the game, Jordan and his teammates were going back to their seats just as the Tar Heels broke the huddle. That put Jordan walking by Leaky Black and Love in a 33-point game, so it seemed acceptable for Love to try and get some love.
"I was trying to dap him up," Love said, "but (Eric) Hoots was in the way, so I couldn't get in there." Black saw the exchange, and he and Love cracked up on the court.
How good must it be to be a Tar Heel? A 33-point advantage on the scoreboard and a lifetime story to tell about the time you almost hit a three, forced the other team to call timeout, and very nearly dapped up MJ. That's a full afternoon, and that's a story Black and Love will still be telling when they get back together in 10 or 15 years at the Smith Center. Look at that picture up there. Can you imagine what it would be like to be part of that? To go into a locker room with Michael Jordan and Roy Williams and your teammates and coaches and know that you share something, that you have a bond that matters today and will matter any future time you gather again?
There's enough history here that you know such a future meeting will occur. That's just what happens. Players become alums, alums come back, we all tell the stories of how we got here as Tar Heels. Everyone does their part, you know.
At Friday's practice, a vision in—what, exactly…purple? Fuschia? Pink?—was on the Tar Heel sideline.
"That's quite a sweater," I said to Eric Hoots. Resplendent in the unusual garment, Hoots gave me virtually the same look my wife would give me the next day.
"NC State tomorrow," he said simply. "Always wear pink the day before the State game."
Some things never change.
Thirty minutes after Saturday's win, Hubert Davis had talked to Michael Jordan and hugged Roy Williams in the locker room and told his team how proud he was of them and maybe done a little recruiting and whipped NC State by 20 points and sent everyone home with biscuits.
He grinned just a little. "This," he said, "was a good day for Carolina Basketball."
