University of North Carolina Athletics
View From the Press Box
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
February 18, 1999
Sprint to the locker room.
For years, that was the order to all Carolina basketball players once a game ended.
The idea was simple and made perfect sense - as soon as the final buzzer sounded, win or lose, get the heck off the court as quickly as possible and into the locker room. That prevented the possibility of any altercations with opposing players or taunting fans.
Tar Heel Coach Dean Smith would exchange handshakes with the other team's coach and he would follow. But, he wanted his players to stay away from any possible trouble.
That all changed just a few years ago. Players in other games had begun shaking hands with all their opponents after games. They had apparently started doing this as a show of sportsmanship and everyone seemed to follow suit.
Everyone except the Tar Heels.
Opposing fans began criticizing Carolina players for racing off the court once a game ended. So Smith decided that if the exchange of handshakes would indeed improve sportsmanship, he wanted his team to help the process.
The idea of congratulating opposing players on a well-played game has great merit. Unfortunately, the mingling on the court has set the stage for some problems after hotly-contested games. That's been especially true after a home team pulls off a big victory and fans storm the court. There have been a couple of ugly scenes between opposing players and players and fans, both in the Atlantic Coast Conference and nationally.
Sprinting to the locker room really wasn't a bad idea. And unless there was a trophy presentation for a tournament immediately following the game, Carolina players always did it.
Well, every game but one.
There was a game, an incredible game, in which players did not run off the court afterwards. They were so tired, they could barely walk to the locker room. I remember Smith heading off the court and suddenly realizing he was passing his players.
It was 1976 and a 19-2 Carolina team was facing 16-6 Tulane in The Superdome at New Orleans. In what would be the longest game in school history, the Tar Heels finally toppled the Green Wave, 113-106, in four overtimes.
This was a season in which Carolina seemed to see a standout performance by an opposing player each game. Smith had been selected the U.S. Olympic coach for that summer. A number of players, hoping for an invitation to the Olympic trials, were at their best against Carolina as they tried to impress Smith.
Phil Hicks, a 6-7 forward, was the big star for Tulane against the Tar Heels. He hit 16 of 26 shots from the floor, grabbed 11 rebounds and scored 36 points to spark the Green Wave. Guard Pierre Gaudin added 24 and center Jeff Cummings had 20.
Mitch Kupchak had 35 points and a career-high 21 rebounds to lead Carolina. Walter Davis had 26 points, six steals, 11 rebounds and eight assists in a dynamic all-around performance. Phil Ford was the only other Tar Heel in double figures with 22 points and seven assists. Ford played 58 of the game's 60 minutes and John Kuester was on the floor 56 minutes. In all that time the two guards only had three turnovers each.
Carolina, meanwhile, forced Tulane into 40 turnovers. That defense and eventual Green Wave foul trouble proved to be key factors for the Tar Heels.
Tulane led throughout the entire first half until Carolina went on a 13-4 run in the last 4:48 for a 43-39 Tar Heel lead at intermission.
The second half saw Carolina build nine-point leads on three occasions, the last at 66-57 on a Davis jumper. But Hicks and Gaudin rallied the Green Wave to within 70-69. Minutes later, Tulane scored five straight points on free throws to seemingly take command of the game, 78-73, with just 1:04 left.
But Ford drove the length of court for a layup with 56 seconds to go and Carolina got a quick timeout. Kuester stole the inbounds pass, was fouled and his two free throws quickly made it 78-77. After a Tulane free thrown, Bruce Buckley's short jump shot with 33 seconds remaining tied the game and forced the first overtime.
Tulane continually took a two-point lead in the first extra period, only to see the Tar Heels tie the game. Ford's short jumper with only four seconds to go made it 89-89, sending the game into a second overtime.
Kupchak's two free throws finally gave Carolina the lead in this extra period, 95-93, with just nine seconds left. But, a driving layup by Gaudin with only two seconds on the clock again tied the score. The third overtime saw Carolina score the first four points on inside baskets from Davis and Kupchak. Tulane battled back and a pair of foul shots by Cummings eventually made it 99-99, forcing a fourth extra period.
The Green Wave scored the first three points of that fourth overtime. The lead changed hands four more times, the final one on a pass from Cummings to John Bobzein for a layup and a 106-105 edge.
That field goal with 58 seconds left would be Tulane's final points as Carolina scored the game's last seven points.
With a basketball court set up in the middle of a football field at The Superdome, just like for the Final Fours which have been staged there, it was long walk to the locker room.
And it was just that for the exhausted Carolina players - a walk, not the usual sprint.
By Rick Brewer
Associate AD for Sports Information
and Communications
