Lucas: Next Up

By Adam Lucas

Without much warning, the 2018-19 Carolina basketball season may have begun on Wednesday night.

The 2018 basketball awards ceremony was held Wednesday evening at the Carolina Inn. Perhaps better known as the basketball banquet, the event is intended to provide a fun capstone to the just-completed season for players, coaches and families.

This year's event had all the necessary ingredients. There was the always-entertaining season highlight video put together by GoHeels Productions, specifically Josh Reavis and Jon Leggette (yes, it's sure to make its way online in the days to come). There were truckloads of awards.

As always, as with any time Theo Pinson is involved, there was plenty of good-natured humor. No one was safe from the barbs, from athletic trainer Doug Halverson to Steve Robinson to even one of head coach Roy Williams' closest friends, who had the misfortune of having his cell phone ring loudly while Williams was at the podium.

And of course, the players were targets, also. Williams ribbed Joel Berry for failing to win the shot blocking award; as Berry reminisced about his epic fast break block against Louisville, the head coach asked, "How big was that guy, about 5-10?" (Ray Spalding stands 6-foot-10, for the record)

As Williams announced, "This next award is the Dean Smith MVP award," Pinson stood up from his seat in the middle of the room and walked to the podium as if to accept the honor. Without missing a beat, Williams continued, "And it will be presented by Theo Pinson…to Joel Berry."

Even Pinson had to laugh, perhaps because he knew his turn was yet to come. All four seniors spoke, and all four delivered their heartfelt remarks completely without notes, an impressive feat for Kane Ma, Aaron Rohlman, Pinson and Berry. Pinson batted cleanup, and thanked everyone in the program, from assistant coaches to his teammates to Halverson and strength and conditioning coordinator Jonas Sahratian.

Well, almost everyone. Just when he got to the point in his speech where you'd expect the kind words about Roy Williams to be, Pinson grabbed both sides of the podium and looked thoughtful. "I think that's everybody," he said, and took a step off the dais.

Everyone chuckled, and Pinson then returned to finish with some touching remarks about his head coach. "I'm going to miss everything about this place," the senior said as he enters his final month as an undergraduate. "I will forever be a Tar Heel."

Last year's event was much more about celebrating the just-completed incredible season. This year had an air of challenge about it. It began early, when Steve Robinson handed out the individual honor for highest field goal percentage. "If this young man will put in the work this summer, we'll be talking about him again next year," Robinson said of award recipient Sterling Manley.

But it was Hubert Davis who really confronted next year's team. He was supposedly at the front of the room to present the Shammond Williams award for best free throw percentage. Davis offered good insight into award winner Joel Berry, then added, "The first thing I think of with Joel Berry is how much he wants to win. I hope that rubs off on the freshman and sophomore class. I want them to have that same burning desire to get better and a burning desire to cut down the nets in Minneapolis next year."

The next presenter, Brad Frederick, noted Carolina's impressive offensive efficiency numbers throughout the 2018 season, but in the same breath noted the Tar Heels' shortcomings in the defensive efficiency statistics. "That has to get better next year," he said, looking at the two tables where the players were seated.

Roy Williams picked up the theme, speaking directly to the 2019 scholarship seniors. "You guys are going to be seniors," he said. "Do you have that burning desire Coach Frederick was talking about?"

In the crowd, Kenny Williams was seated between Berry and Pinson. As Roy Williams challenged the rising seniors with, "It's your team now," Berry patted Kenny Williams on the knee, while Pinson slapped the Virginia native on the back.

On multiple occasions Wednesday night, Pinson was referred to as "the best teammate I've ever had," while Berry was frequently called, "one of the greatest competitors I've ever seen." As difficult as it is to imagine, their time as Tar Heel players has ended. And as they acknowledged Kenny Williams as part of the group that will lead next year's squad, it felt like the leadership duties were officially being passed.

There are long, difficult days of offseason conditioning, dozens of games of summer pickup and endless weight room sessions yet to come. Walking out of the Carolina Inn felt bittersweet for the official end of Berry and Pinson's career. But also, for the first time, there was an unexpected feeling—anticipation for 2019, which seemed a little closer than expected on this April evening.

Players Mentioned

Kane Ma

Sterling Manley

Theo Pinson

Aaron Rohlman

Kenny Williams

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