University of North Carolina Athletics
"Somebody Has Come Home"
October 19, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 19, 2003
by Carey Cox, UNC Athletic Communications
CHAPEL HILL -- "Somebody has come home," echoed Carolina graduate and ESPN anchor Stuart Scott into a microphone and through the sea of a Carolina Blue eruption. The eruption was that 21,700 fans on their feet in the Dean E. Smith Center to simply say, "Welcome Home Roy."
The crowd continued to welcome their new coach Roy Williams for what seemed like a wall-shattering eternity. "It was fantastic; they kept going and I almost lost it a little bit. I'm pretty emotional about some things." Williams said.
During the moments leading up to the first official minute of the collegiate basketball season, the stars seemed to be aligned just right.
The North Carolina volleyball team kicked off Homecoming weekend with a 3-2 win over its arch rival, the Duke Blue Devils in front of a fired up crowd of 16,126 fans. They were not disappointed by the volleyball match or what followed.
As a transition into the night's main event, Stuart Scott reminded the crowd that being a part of UNC tradition was not about where you go to school, but "This is about who you are, who you become."
He didn't even have to speak a word to raise the roof of the Smith Center -- all he had to do was point at the mid-court logo of the Tar Heel state. Anticipation filled the building and an intense crowd waited anxiously.
They were first introduced to the Tar Heel women's basketball team and its head coach, Sylvia Hatchell. The video boards displayed a plethora of highlights from last year's 28-6 season. They came out of the tunnel with boundless energy, from the introduction of the three anticipated freshmen to three experienced senior leaders. They later entertained the crowd with a compiled dance mix that brought even the 17-year veteran coach on the court.
And then it came: the introduction of the 2003-04 North Carolina men's basketball team.
On a night when everyone was anxious to check out the basketball skills and new look of the Tar Heels, they got more than they bargained for.
They got personality -- personality that may have been missing or hiding before.
In a series of pre-planned skits, the Tar Heels entertained fans for two hours without even picking up a basketball. Instead, they showed off their acting and dancing skills, or as some may suggest, lack thereof.
"I think its great for the fans to see them do something they weren't quite proficient at. You gotta be a little silly to do some of that stuff." Williams said.
Sophomore David Noel, a featured performer from the second he walked out of the tunnel to the melodic tunes of Scott's rendition of the Christmas tune "Noel, Noel" to his debut as an actress, playing the role of Dating Game bachelorette Divine, agreed with Williams.
"It's a great feeling to do all those skits because it gives the fans and everybody watching a chance to see not a so serious side, not a basketball side, but just how we act on regular basis. I think that's great for everybody to know both sides of us."
With the help of the Carolina dance team, the basketball buffs performed to everything from country line dancing to the hardest of hip hop with a moment of "Endless Love," during the new age version of "The Dating Game, " when Divine chose Carolina sophomore Rashad McCants over a couple of guys from NC State and Duke performed by freshmen Reyshawn Terry and Justin Bohlander.
They even broke out the retro style as a tribute to the Carolina players from the 1970s wearing afros and "throwback" jerseys. They also paid tribute to the most famous Tar Heel ever, dancing to "I Wanna be like Mike," reminding the crowd in a less-than-subtle way of the Carolina tradition.
Coach Williams has been a member of the Tar Heel family since he stepped foot on this campus in 1968 as a college freshman, and he is no stranger to the tradition. But he isn't afraid to shake things up a little bit. "We're going to do some things that I don't think Coach Smith would do, but that's okay," he said to the elated crowd.
He is also not afraid to shake "it" either.
The players figured if they had to dance themselves to humiliation, Coach could too. "He had no choice, we were going to put him out there regardless," Junior Jawad Williams said.
"One of these days they are going to be convinced that I'm too old, but right now I can stay in the same spot and move my body a little bit, get out there for about 20 seconds," Coach Williams said.
So as a finale to the perfect night, Williams got out on center court with his team and did a little dance to satisfy his eager players and devoted fans who were screaming at high voltage, "We want Roy."
Oh yeah, they played some basketball too, twenty minutes of it in fact. The intra-squad scrimmage showcased a healthy Sean May, a hot hand from Jackie Manuel, a few of those famous Raymond Felton passes and most importantly, a whole lot of personality.
