University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Beyond A Dream
April 3, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
By Adam Lucas
HOUSTON—Let me tell you a funny story.
It's funny because Carolina beat Syracuse, 83-66, in the Final Four, so everything is funny. After the game, the elevators at the team hotel in Houston were overloaded and stopped functioning, and even that was funny, because Carolina won the game. You can make anything funny with a win in the Final Four.
But here's the story. Syracuse had closed to just seven points behind in the second half, and if you saw their game against Virginia in the last round, this made you very nervous. Carolina was putting on a shooting display reminiscent of past great Tar Heel teams, and by this, we're talking about the great teams that struggled from the perimeter in domes in the Final Four (1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000).
The 2016 edition missed their first dozen three-pointers before finally making one. With under nine minutes to play, Syracuse's Trevor Cooney made another trifecta, this one to cut the Carolina lead to 62-53.
On the very next UNC possession, Theo Pinson launched a three-pointer. This is how he described it: “Joel (Berry) had great penetration and kicked it to me. I was basically by myself. I shot it and when I let it go, I was like, 'Oh, that's good.'”
Theo, let me tell you something. There is no more likable person in all of the Carolina locker room. You are an essential part of this team. But prior to that shot, you had made six three-pointers since ACC play began. There were 75,505 people at NRG Stadium, thousands more watching at the Smith Center and on Franklin Street, and millions at home doing what they do and going where they go.
Not a single one of those people, when you let fly with that three-pointer, thought, “Oh, that's good.”
But it went in, just like Theo said it would (Of course, Theo also thinks, “Oh, that's good,” when he lets fly with a midcourt shot at practice, but that's beside the point). The lead never went below 10 points again. You don't have to fully understand why the 2016 Tar Heels do the things they do. You just have to know that, for some reason, they work.
The play of the Final Four, so far, came with 14:08 left in the game. Marcus Paige threw a bounce pass to Justin Jackson on the baseline, where the Houston native was promptly double-teamed. Seeing the double arrive, Paige slid down the lane. And then…
“When I threw it to Justin, I knew they would double,” Paige said. “I put Justin in a tough position there. When I cut behind the defender I knew it was just Tyler Roberson and Kennedy and me. I knew I had to get it to Kennedy quickly because Roberson can block shots. So I just kind of control-tipped it to him.”
Yes, that's it. He control-tipped it. Basket by Meeks, a two-handed power slam for the player who had a terrific 15 points and eight rebounds. Control-tip by Paige, who redirected the pass from Jackson without ever actually catching the ball. He didn't catch it. Didn't really pass it. Never actually had it. He control-tipped it, is what he did.
“That's a point guard play,” Paige said with a big smile. “Even though I'm a two-guard now. You've got to have some PG in there.”
The other PG, Joel Berry, he of the 10 assists and one turnover, didn't celebrate the win very long. The buzzer sounded, and the two teams lined up to shake hands. Before the handshake line even got moving, Berry went to each of his teammates, pointedly telling them, “One more.” He said it time after time, “One more,” lest they be tempted to be satisfied. Yesterday in the team meeting room, there was a simple quote written at the top of the white board: “We didn't come this far just to come this far.”
Roy Williams lifted it from a former player at Owen High School named Porky Spencer. Seriously. That's where we are with the 2016 Tar Heels. We've got Theo Pinson knocking down three-pointers and thinking, “Oh, that's good.” We've got motivation from guys named Porky.
We've got only one more game to watch them, ever. Everyone else wants to see that game, too. Director of player relations Eric Hoots spent his postgame fielding over a dozen texts from Tar Heel basketball alums who want to come to the championship game. Let's put it this way: There are zero games in the NBA on Monday night. You're probably going to be able to pull a Carolina all-star team out of the NRG Stadium stands during the Villanova game. That's in addition to the over a dozen basketball alums who were already there on Saturday night.
There's only one more game before Brice Johnson, Paige and Joel James join that alumni roster. This time next year, they'll be the old guys. One day, we'll see them in the stands at an NCAA Tournament game—probably coached by 88-year-old Roy Williams, still coaching just to tick off everyone who wants to know when he'll retire—and remember that incredible 2016 run, the one that ended with…well, we'll find out.
“I never would have even dreamed of this,” James said of ending his college career in the NCAA championship game. “I can't have even imagined this, ever. It's the kind of thing I wouldn't have even dreamed, because it's beyond a dream. It's pretty cool to be living this right now.”
