University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Tar Heels Spread Holiday Cheer
December 12, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 12, 2006
By Adam Lucas
This being the exam season for college students, it was no surprise that Danny Green and Quentin Thomas were faced with a vexing question on Tuesday night.
"OK, guys," said basketball office staffer Ryan Zurawel, holding a package in each hand. "Dora or Carla Karaoke?"
These are the types of problems that face the Tar Heels on their annual shopping excursion. It happens every December during the somewhat relaxed period as exams are coming to a close. The entire team heads to the local Super Target--endorsed by communications honcho Steve Kirschner as a great place to spend a Saturday morning--and gets a pre-shopping briefing from Jerod Haase.
The basketball program obtains shopping lists from local families in need. The trip is funded by Roy Williams and by the sale of autographed basketballs (You can do the math: 17 players spending $100 each equals a lot of holiday cheer for local families). Players are paired with one teammate, with each Tar Heel responsible for shopping for two individuals apiece. No wimping out and going the gift card route on this shopping trip. Everyone must spend $50 per gift recipient, working only off their shopping list.
This can be a tricky proposition, as the blank looks on the faces of Thomas and Green proved as they tried to pick out a doll. Defend the pick and roll? They can do that. Know the proper age range for Dora? That's a little tougher.
Several players brought girlfriends to provide that essential female shopping experience. Others were paired with office staffers, which either proved to be a help or a hindrance depending on the pairing. Cynthia Somers, in her first year with the program, was assigned to Brandan Wright...and promptly brought him in $23 over the spending limit, easily the biggest miss of the evening.
"Brandan, you know you have to run a 33 for every dollar you were over," C.B. McGrath said with a straight face.
Wright initially looked crestfallen but was later told there was no conditioning penalty for his prolific shopping.
The wizened sophomores showed a more experienced strategy. "You get better at doing it your second year," Marcus Ginyard said. "You don't just grab the first thing you see. Last year, walking around I would see something that looked cool and think it was perfect. This year I'm more aware of my price constraints."
If players improve their shopping skills with age, Deon Thompson is on track to become the Monte Hall of the Tar Heels. Working with Eric Hoots and the always punctual Wes Miller, Thompson racked up the following haul for a pre-teen boy on his list--all while staying below the $50 ceiling: one outdoor basketball, one Nerf hoop, one Nerf gun, a CD player, a Carolina t-shirt, a long-sleeve white t-shirt, a pair of sweatpants, and a pair of socks.
"Hey," Thompson said, "we're good."
Exactly how good they were would be determined at the cash register. As with anything involving elite athletes, the checkout process quickly turned into a competition, with everyone shooting to be the closest to the $50-per-person limit. Managers Preston Puckett and Matthew Fletcher monitored the checkout line, with Puckett resplendent in a bright red t-shirt that appeared to be straight out of the Target employee handbook. Not surprisingly, it quickly became the source of much merriment for the Tar Heels.
"Hey Preston," Bobby Frasor said with a serious look on his face.
"Yeah?" Puckett said.
"Can you tell me what aisle the electronics are on?"
But no one was laughing as the totals crossed the cash register. Thomas grabbed the early lead by going just one dollar over. Hoots and Miller were the defending champions, but they were thwarted by the mysterious sales tax, which they loudly proclaimed should not count. Unfortunately, the federal and state governments disagreed.
That left freshman point guard Ty Lawson, who had quietly and seriously gone about his shopping with the able assistance of Kaye Chase.
"I'm going to fill this cart up as much as I can," Lawson said as he hunted for a 3XL shirt.
He did even better--he filled it up wisely. Lawson's purchases totaled $99.52 for his two gift recipients, the closest figure of the evening.
The players walked out of Super Target with their purchases loaded in enormous Carolina blue trash bags, ready for the program to deliver them to the needy families in the coming week. It took nearly 20 of the sizable bags to hold the loot.
Assistant coach Joe Holladay surveyed the haul his players had made.
"You know what?" he said. "We've got good kids."
Adam Lucas's third book on Carolina basketball, The Best Game Ever, chronicles the 1957 national championship season and is available now. His previous books include Going Home Again, focusing on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.
