University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Tar Heels Dazzle Kids At Holiday Clinic
December 18, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2001
On a night when everyone in attendance wanted to be Carolina basketball players, most of the Tar Heel roster wanted to be someone else.
Matt Doherty's UNC squad held their second annual children's clinic Monday night at the Smith Center, a tradition that Doherty imported from Kansas. Nearly 100 kids were in attendance, and nearly all--and some of their camera-toting parents--were awed to be on the same floor where their heroes play their home games.
And for three hours, there was no talk about the College of Charleston or how to break down a 2-3 zone. There was just a unique chance to see the players with their guard down.
Jonathan Holmes, for example, seemed to be revealing a lifelong dream of being Shaquille O'Neal. The diminutive Holmes stuck close to the younger kids, where he ruled with an iron fist and swatted away shots with impunity. He also showed a knack for hanging on the rim, although the fact that the rims were only five feet off the ground might have had something to do with it.
"Jon's living vicariously out there," Doherty said with a smile. "He's got some Shaquille O'Neal in that body somewhere."
Then there was Kris Lang, who engaged in a heated game of knockout with four female attendees. Lang used all of his 6-foot-11 frame to shield away the campers, but he did take the defeat in several of the contests.
But the most out of character was Jason Capel, who revealed a rarely-seen lighter side. Somehow, the senior got possession of the PA microphone, which he kept handy in case he needed to boom out some instructions. When Orlando Melendez couldn't stop dribbling between drills, an ominous voice intoned across the Smith Center, "Orlando, please hold the ball."
That was just the prelude to the clinic's last hour. While pickup games raged in several different locations across the Smith Center court, the battles were accompanied by a deep voice singing a variety of Christmas carols, including "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." And then, at approximately the same spot where he had drained the game-winning three-pointer about 30 hours earlier, Capel broke into "Silent Night."
In other words, it was a nice way for a team that has been under significant pressure this season to relax for at least three hours. Several players showed an immediate aptitude for working with children--Holmes knew everyone in his group's name within 10 minutes, and Melvin Scott astounded his charges by missing two shots before declaring, "I'm going to make this one," and then draining his next jumper.
"Wow," one wide-eyed camper declared with obvious admiration.
Meanwhile, over on the far side of the Smith Center floor, Doherty and son Tucker engaged in a heated battle of hopscotch. It was hard to say why, exactly, but it was comforting to see that in a season that has already contained so much turmoil, this year's Tar Heels at heart are just a bunch of normal guys. The head coach plays with his son and the freshman point guard still likes to dazzle kids. And that North Carolina uniform still holds the same magic, at least to the kids present on Monday night. They listened to assistant coach Bob MacKinnon with rapt attention as he directed them from station to station.
"It's a blast to do this," MacKinnon said. "I don't think you can ever forget how much people look up to our guys."
Well, not everyone was looking up. Kris Lang leaned over with a smile while watching Holmes direct his group.
"Look at Jon," Lang said with a gesture towards a group of eighth-grade campers. "If he went over to that group, you wouldn't be able to see him. We were telling him that you can't tell him apart from some of those kids."
For at least one night, you couldn't tell anyone on the roster apart from the kids.
Adam Lucas is the co-publisher of Basketball America. He is a lifelong observer of UNC sports and can be reached at JAdamLucas@aol.com.
