University of North Carolina Athletics
Seniors Take Fond Look Back In Speeches
April 11, 2007 | Men's Basketball
April 11, 2007
By Lauren Brownlow
"This is a celebration," Coach Williams said. He kept repeating it, but the Elite 8 exit against Georgetown haunted the proceedings, and "eight more days" and "three more games" echoed throughout the early goings.
Leave it to Tyler Hansbrough to lighten the mood.
"I just want to thank my teammates for missing so many shots," Hansbrough deadpanned while accepting the Oscar Vatz Award for rebounding, adding. "I cut a deal with Coach Williams before the banquet that I'd be back for my junior year -" (wild applause) - "only if he fires Coach (Joe) Holladay."
The next award was for the most assists. In his previous acceptance speech for the most improved player, Ty Lawson had been cursory; prompting a sarcastic "Nice Job, Ty," from assistant coach Steve Robinson. So this time, Coach Holladay pulled Lawson aside to encourage him to be a little more eloquent this time.
Lawson took that advice to heart.
"After thinking about things and talking to my parents, I've decided that I think it would be best if I take my skills to the NBA," he said. He waited a beat. Dead silence. "I'm sorry," he added. He paused for what seemed like an eternity. The crowd waited for a wink, even a hint of a smile, but Lawson remained poker-faced.
But Dennis the Menace could only maintain the façade for so long. "I'm playing, I'll be back," he said, his face melting into that impish grin. The crowd broke into uproarious applause.
But this night was about the seniors, and the announcements of the two underclassmen did not take away from their day. All three players addressed the crowd in the traditional senior speeches.
Dewey "Biscuits" Burke helped feed hungry Tar Heels this season, twice getting Carolina over the 100-point mark at home. But his story is not just that of a likable walk-on jacking up a few three-pointers.
After deciding to transfer from Fairfield, he applied to Carolina at the last minute. The deadline was the next day. When he found out he had been accepted, he had forgotten about applying. Then he came to visit Chapel Hill.
"It sounds cliché and kind of silly, but when I drove on Franklin Street the first time, I swear I turned to my dad and I said, `Dad, I think this is what it's supposed to be about. This is where I'm supposed to go.' I called my mom and I said, `Mom, I'm coming here,'" Burke said.
Burke toiled for two years on the junior varsity team, throwing all of his time, effort and sanity into trying to make varsity. He told himself that if someone ended up making the team ahead of him, it would not be because they outworked him. He stalked strength coach Jonas Sahratian to get him to work him out. He ate right. He didn't go out. He shot for hours in the gym after then-JV coach Jared Haase told him that they weren't a good shooting team and Burke took it personally. And he made varsity in 2006.
"It's really been a great life lesson for me for that to pay off. You like to see that someone works really hard, than it pays off," Burke said. "It's been so special and so rewarding for me to have the hard work pay off, for it to work out, because it could have just as easily gone the other way."
Wes Miller, another gym rat, sapped absolutely every single bit of athletic ability out of his 5-10 body throughout his basketball career. He gushed about playing pick-up basketball with his idols in the summers, and in many ways Miller has often seemed like an average fan who won a contest. When Miller was donning that backwards hat and had that huge grin on his face holding the ACC Tournament Championship trophy, it was hard to tell him apart from any diehard Carolina fan, which is what he has become.
But Miller has persevered through so much through his Carolina career, transferring from James Madison as a sophomore, not guaranteed any playing time, and being the constant victim of traps and double-teams in practice. He started most of the games in 2006, but this year's influx of talent saw his playing time plummet.
"After his junior year playing so well, his playing time went down and the ball didn't go in the basket as much, but there was never any doubt in my mind that Wes Miller had one goal, and that was for the North Carolina basketball team to be the best it could possibly be. That was so far in front of where Wes Miller put his own goals and his own dreams," Coach Williams said, turning to Miller. "It was a pleasure of mine to coach you, a youngster that I admire so, so much, maybe as much as anybody I've ever coached."
Despite losing playing time, he never stopped working and preparing as if he would play 40 minutes instead of his average 10.6. He was named a captain this year for the leadership role he took on this year, guiding freshmen and sophomores that were playing ahead of him.
"I love everybody up here so much. This really is a family in every sense of the word. It's my second family and it always will be. I just love you guys so much," Miller said of his team. "This whole experience for me really has been a dream come true. It's been the best four years of my life and probably the best four years that I'll ever have."
Reyshawn Terry made just third-team all-state in North Carolina. Terry was recruited by Matt Doherty and wasn't sure what to expect from new coach Roy Williams. He was handed a new coach that rode him constantly. Terry didn't understand it at first, but now knows that Coach Williams was trying to tap his vast potential. So Terry stuck with it and just tried harder.
"Reyshawn to come from where he did, a youngster who was not very good defensively, and he really struggled to make plays. He struggled to try to guard Rashad McCants and David Noel, and to become one of the best defenders, to be able to become a primary member of our team his junior year surprised a lot of people. He's a young man who I think each and every day tries to do the right thing," Coach Williams said.
Terry became a clutch shooter towards season's end, scoring 10 of Carolina's final 17 points in the ACC Championship game and then scoring 12 of his 14 points in the final seven minutes in a close win against Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament. Carolina fans are left to wonder what could have been had Terry not come down with strep throat the week before the trip to the Meadowlands.
The seniors are three guys that worked as hard as possible to overcome personal challenges and help their team win. Though none of the three seniors will see their jersey in the Smith Center rafters, Coach Williams will not let his team forget about them.
"This is a celebration and it's about those three seniors more than anything. I will say this to the rest of the team: Let the memories and the great wins, and yes, those heart-breaking losses, drive you. We have some more things that we can do. Nobody will be cheering any harder for the North Carolina Tar Heels next year more than Dewey and Reyshawn and Wes. Don't let those three guys down. Each and every day, think about the Elite 8, what those guys did and what you want your team to do in the future," Coach Williams said.
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
