University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Late Night Begins Early
October 5, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 5, 2005
By Adam Lucas
Late Night will begin very early for Roy Williams.
The Tar Heel head coach will kick off his third season at the helm (for more information on Late Night, check out today's basketball notebook) by hosting a breakfast, Fast Break Against Cancer, on the floor of the Smith Center next Friday, October 14. The event, which benefits the American Cancer Society and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, is the culmination of a process that began during the ACC Tournament.
That's when Williams went out to dinner in Washington, D.C., following the loss to Georgia Tech in the event's semifinals. While the rest of Tar Heel nation was wondering what mysterious illness had befallen the previously streaking Carolina basketball squad, Williams was captivating his dinner audience of close personal friends with some of the best human interest stories he's seen in his almost three decades of involvement with the Tar Heel basketball program.
One of the people at the table that evening, who found she couldn't stop dabbing her eyes after Williams's emotional stories, was Mary Brooks Seagroves.
"At that point, he knew he had a softie," Seagroves says with a smile. "None of the stories that night were cancer-related but they were all very touching, and he had me in tears."
Several weeks later, Williams, who is on the Coaches Against Cancer board, approached Seagroves with a request: he wanted to import a cancer awareness program he'd used at Kansas to Chapel Hill. When he was with the Jayhawks, fans made pledges for every KU three-pointer. The funds collected at the end of the season went to cancer research.
Williams, Seagroves, and American Cancer Society staffers met this summer to finalize plans for a suitable fundraiser. But the ACS no longer sponsors the three-point pledges that were so popular in Lawrence, so other ideas were needed.
"Coach came up with the idea of having the breakfast on the same day as Late Night," Seagroves says. "He thought that would get the day off to a good start."
"Cancer has or will touch every one of us," Williams says. "I hope this breakfast not only raises money but also awareness that we are still fighting a huge battle. It is our responsibility to keep fighting every day until we find a cure. What better time to kick off the Fast Break Against Cancer than when we kick off our practice for the 2005-06 season?"
Woody Durham will emcee the event, which will also include Carolina's assistant coaches and a roster of former players plus, of course, one of the first opportunities to hear Williams discuss the 05-06 Tar Heels. In his typical style, Williams's initial hopes--and expectations of what fans would pay to spend the morning with Carolina's head coach--were modest.
"Do you think we can raise $25,000?" he asked in the early planning stages of the event. The seated breakfast, which will be catered by the Carolina Inn, may eventually raise twice that figure, a total bolstered by a live auction that will include a one-of-a-kind basketball practice package that includes photos with the team, a Michael Jordan signed champagne bottle from his summer fantasy camp, and one of the last 2005 team-signed national championship basketballs available--a similar ball went for a stunning $3,500 at the recent 1957 basketball reunion/Rams Club meeting in Nags Head.
"Coach is so passionate about this cause," Seagroves says. "Every time I talk to him he wants to know what else he can do to add pizzazz to this event. A gentleman of his stature could easily just put his name on the event and walk away. He hasn't done that at all."
Only a limited number of tickets remain for the event. Individual tickets are $100 ($75 is tax-deductible) and reserved tables of 8 are available for $1,500 ($1,300 tax-deductible). Call 919-966-5905 to order tickets or mail checks to:
Fast Break Against Cancer
UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
CB #7295
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7295
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
