University of North Carolina Athletics
Can't Wait For Late Night
September 30, 2014 | Men's Basketball
by Ben Brown, GoHeels.com
CHAPEL HILL—I remember when I was 13 years old and my parents let me pick out a new baseball glove sometime in November, but it wouldn't actually be mine until Christmas Day. I'm sure you've had an experience like that before where you had to wait an excruciatingly long time to have something.
For Carolina basketball fans everywhere, Late Night With Roy is like getting a peek at a Christmas present, but not being able to have fun with it until the actual season starts. We get that sneak peek of the 2014-15 Tar Heels Friday night at 7:30 p.m. with this year's edition of Late Night With Roy, hosted by 2009 national champion Bobby Frasor.
Yes, Late Night With Roy is a tease to basketball fans, but who doesn't want to finally be back at the Smith Center to get just a little taste of Carolina basketball? I know I can't wait to see Marcus Paige drain threes again, see J.P. Tokoto make the crowd go "OHHHH" when he throws down a dunk in transition and I especially can't wait to see how the highly-touted group of freshmen look in some live action. I know it will be great to finally see Joel Berry II, Justin Jackson and Theo Pinson lace 'em up after only having YouTube highlights available to see what kind of players they will be in Carolina Blue.
In addition to seeing the team play some basketball, it's also fun to see the players get out of their comfort zone a little bit and poke fun at themselves with their various skits and dance routines. And who doesn't like watching coach Roy Williams and his staff dance to some rap music, which invariably happens every single year?
But for all of the excitement and anticipation that surrounds the men's basketball team, another great part of the night will be when Naismith Hall of Famer Sylvia Hatchell makes her return to the sidelines to coach the women's team. Hatchell missed the entire 2013-14 season while fighting leukemia, but she is now in complete remission and ready to build off of the very strong season her team had last year. Remember last year when Coach Hatchell recorded a video saying she wanted UNC fans to cheer so loudly that she would be able to hear the noise all the way at UNC Hospitals? This year, she'll be able to be there to hear the cheers in person.
Of course after Late Night is over, the month-long wait until the first real game is painful, but that wait also gives Carolina fans an opportunity to salivate over the team's potential. Thinking about who the other three teams will be in the Final Four, and how many games Carolina will win the ACC by aren't the worst possible ways to spend the 44 days until the season tips-off against North Carolina Central on November 14.
So head out to the Smith Center on Friday night to see a side of the men's and women's basketball teams that you don't normally get to see, while also getting a pretty cool preview of Carolina basketball for the upcoming season.
