University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: In The Moment
February 13, 2010 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Feb. 13, 2010
By Adam Lucas
For roughly the first five minutes of Friday night's Celebration of a Century, it was obvious that the sellout crowd wasn't entirely sure what they were going to see. As the clock approached 8 p.m., most of the nearly 22,000 fans sat quietly. It felt a little awkward. Then, standing in a spotlight, Woody Durham barked, "Here comes Carolina."
And suddenly, Carolina was everywhere.
Bobby Gersten, class of '42, was the first to inject some emotion into the proceedings. He took a victory lap around center court when he was introduced, sending chuckles through the crowd. Once he did that, the night seemed to loosen up.
Some basketball was played, a thrill for the nearly 70 former players who returned to put on the jersey one more time. Billy Chambers dove on the floor twice to corral loose balls. Phil Ford crossed midcourt and held up that familiar four fingers signal. Shammond Williams, the crafty veteran even when on the floor with other veterans, created a turnover by calling for a halfcourt trap when no one expected it. The record will reflect that Dewey Burke hit Serge Zwikker for the game-winning basket that gave the Blue team a 71-70 victory.
The record will not reflect what made the night so enjoyable. Here in the Southern United States, most of our revivals take place over several days, and sometimes they're in a tent.
Friday night's Celebration of a Century was not that kind of revival, but it had all the other elements--laughter, cheering and tears.
It had laughter when Jawad Williams and Wayne Ellington did battle during one of the interview segments on the relative merit of the 2009 vs. 2005 championship teams. It's a nice problem to have, choosing between two titlists in the last half-decade.
"We'd win by 20," Williams said of his '05 squad.
"That's definitely not true," Ellington replied. "Everybody here saw how we ran through the tournament last year."
"I think college basketball is kind of washed up," Williams answered.
Segment moderator Eric Montross (who suddenly seems to fancy himself a jump shooter, although he did have a couple nice post moves when he returned to his home in the paint) stepped in before the issue was settled. You suspect Williams and Ellington will probably still be arguing, although perhaps at Nemo Nearman speed instead of Ty Lawson speed, when we do this again at the 150th anniversary of Carolina basketball.
There was cheering at the night's finale, when the weekend's oldest attendee, Jim McCachren, inbounded the ball to a succession of 20 Tar Heels, all of whom had their jersey in the rafters. It was such a unique moment that even some of the players in the game grabbed a camera and fired off a few shots from their front-row vantage point, the better to prove they were there when it happened. Tyler Hansbrough finished the Centennial Fast Break with a layup, and the latest retired jersey recipient would later say that with 22,000 people watching--but more importantly, with his peers and fellow legends watching--it's the most nervous he had ever been on a basketball court.
We knew a roar would accompany Hansbrough's shot, though. More striking might have been the response to Matt Doherty during a video on the decade of the 2000s. The mention of his name and his image drew one of the loudest cheers of the night, so loud that you wondered if it might even be heard in Houston, where he's preparing SMU for a game against the Cougars tomorrow at 4 p.m.
The jewel, though, was halftime. A video featuring words by Freddie Kiger and images from the new media team of Ken Cleary, Jones Angell, Jason Andrews and Michael Crowe was as perfect as the 1957 team. When Smith walked, through a spotlight, to center court, players who had grabbed a towel to wipe off sweat were suddenly using those towels to dry their eyes.
"When we were first out there, I was remembering all the fun things," said Scott Williams, the Hacienda Heights, Calif., native who paired with J.R. Reid in the late 1980s frontcourt. "When Coach Smith walked out, I started remembering how much it meant to me for him to be there when I had personal tragedies. I had tears in my eyes. I gave him a big hug and told him, `Thank you and I love you.' He made me grow up into a man. Him and the program he has established, the Carolina family, is so strong. That's what got me through a lot of tough times when I was in school."
Bobby Jones was another of the Tar Heels who hugged Smith at center court.
"Thank you, Coach," Jones told him. "God bless you."
If you were there, you'll see that moment in your memory forever, right beside the images of Smith climbing the ladder to cut down another net or standing on the sidelines, orchestrating another late-game comeback. As the architect of the family hugged one player after another, one man on the outside of the gathering was noticeable in his dark suit contrasting sharply with all of the Carolina blue. It was Roy Williams, who had stepped out of the center of the circle to dry his red eyes. He rested his head on Al Wood's shoulder and they shared a hug, two Tar Heels overcome by...what, exactly?
For all these years, we've tried to explain the Carolina family to outsiders. Some don't get it because they think it's about trivial matters like wins or championships or draft picks. We've got those, too, of course. But if you ever need to enlighten anyone again, just show them that moment. These were grown men crying. Not just on the court, but in the stands, too. One man at the center of it all, the rest of us drawn in by respect, by wonder, and most importantly--by love.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of five books on Carolina basketball, including the just-released book on the 2009 national title, One Fantastic Ride. Get real-time UNC sports updates from the THM staff on Twitter.
