Lucas: A Tough Day

By Adam Lucas

Go back to the first time.

Theo Pinson was ostensibly a Duke fan, but even his family wasn't sure they believed it. In the fall of 2004, his father had friends who weren't using their tickets for Carolina's season-opening exhibition game against Winston-Salem State. The game was on young Theo's ninth birthday, and father and son went together for little Theo's first time in the Smith Center.

As you might remember, that 2004-05 Tar Heel team was a high-flying club. Jawad Williams had 21 points in that game, and Raymond Felton handed out 11 assists, and the Tar Heels won, 113-54.

Young Theo, the alleged Duke fan, loved it.

"He was supposed to be a Duke fan then," said Pinson's father. "But we were at that game, and Carolina was dunking all over them. And he was like, 'Oh, yeah!' because kids love big plays like that.

"I looked at him and I was like, 'Oh, are you pulling for the Tar Heels now?' That's when I knew."

That's when he knew. It took the rest of us a while. But if you weren't sure before 11:19 on Tuesday night, as little Theo—now 22 years old—stood at center court at the Smith Center.

All week, the prevailing theory had been that it would be Pinson's classmate and best friend, Joel Berry, who would shed tears first. But Berry mostly held it together, then passed the microphone to Pinson…who was in tears before he ever began.

Imagine that you're big Theo. Imagine that you're standing on the first row of the Smith Center stands behind the scorer's table, and you're watching your son stand there in front of 21,000 of his closest friends. This isn't the culmination of a mere four years. This all started back when little Theo was five, when he played in his first basketball game. Big Theo recorded the game, and what did they do next?

Went home and watched the tape, of course, father and son.

"We did that for a lot of years," Big Theo said. "Tape after tape after tape."

Imagine that you're Joel Berry Sr. Your son is standing there at midcourt, and he's apologizing for the outcome of the game. Everyone else is marveling at the game-tying three-pointer he somehow made, but you're not really that surprised. Joel Berry II competes. After all, you still remember when your family got your first Xbox.

You made the mistake of playing a football video game with a six-year-old Joel. He won most of the games, because six-year-olds have an inherent ability to play those games. But one day the older, wiser Berry was hot. He was racking up touchdowns and he was going to win the game and, well…

"I started taunting him a little," Father Berry said. "And before you knew it, I had a remote control upside my head."

Yes, folks, Berry has never taken losing at video games very well.

You want to know where he gets it? It wasn't Joel Berry's dad who was the big basketball fan. It was his mother, Kathie. Young Joel would sit in the den with Kathie and watch game after game, and Kathie loved North Carolina.

"One day," she told him, "I'm going to sit in this chair and watch you play for Roy Williams at North Carolina."

On Tuesday night, as Carolina crawled back from a 16-point deficit, there was Williams in his familiar double-fisted crouch, begging for a stop. And right behind him was Kathie Berry, in that same double-fisted crouch, begging for a stop.

So it might not surprise you that Joel Berry took exactly one official college visit. It was to North Carolina. Recruitment over.

Find me the players who can score 31 points and hit the game-tying three-pointer. There are a few of those. But also find me the parents who get in a defensive stance in the closing minutes of a game while also reminding their son that his life should mean more than just basketball. And if you find me all of those people, we will have four memorable years and we will win lots of games and every time we meet, from now until forever, we will pick right up where we left off the last time, because we will be family.

Berry's lightning-quick recruitment makes sense to you because you know that you would commit to Carolina the very second the Tar Heels called you. It was not that easy when Berry, Pinson and Justin Jackson committed. There was negative recruiting. There was speculation the Tar Heels would land in NCAA trouble. There were coaches, constantly telling the teenagers they would end their basketball careers if they went to Chapel Hill.

They came anyway.

That game should have ended differently. But here's the thing. If there is any group in Carolina history aware of how to deal with adversity, it is this one.

"Theo has been through a lot," his dad said. "I told him a long time ago that if he would have a positive attitude all the time, he might have a tough day, or a hard day, but it doesn't have to be a bad day. The quicker you learn that, the quicker you learn how to enjoy everyday life. Theo has figured that out in college."

Pinson and Berry stood at midcourt, after 11 p.m. on a Tuesday night, and no one left. They just stood there, as Berry offered advice to kids, and Pinson cracked jokes, both players fought back tears, and their head coach mostly put his head in his hands, his eyes red. And if they were still standing here, long after midnight, I think we would all be standing there, too, because it just didn't feel right to leave this way.

I would watch Pinson and Berry play basketball for North Carolina forever. But I would also simply watch them love North Carolina forever. There's something about them that makes me believe they love it the exact same way we do.

"When he was younger, I told Joel I'd show him the formula to make the whole world love him," said his father. "Be spiritually connected to people. Greet them with a smile. Stay humble. Never let the game define who you are. And after the games, people will love you for who you are, and not just basketball. He gets that."

There was a temptation all week to make this feel very final. The outcome on Tuesday night only made it even more sad. It made you want to look ahead, to wonder if maybe there was a young fan who saw his first game at the Smith Center on Tuesday night. Like a young Pinson, maybe his loyalties are a little divided. But maybe he likes the way Pinson passes or Berry scores, and the way they interact and the bond they share. Maybe tonight is the night he decided he wants to be Theo, or he wants to be Joel, and maybe tomorrow afternoon he goes out and shoots in the driveway to chase that dream.

That's how we can convince ourselves that the impact of Berry and Pinson isn't almost over. Maybe it's just starting.

But hold on. Leave it to Theo's dad to remind us that the stories of his son, and of Joel Berry, and of all their teammates, aren't quite finished.

"It's not over," said the elder Pinson this week. "There are chapters that aren't written yet. There are more trophies to get. There's a diploma to get. This isn't over. They're not finished yet."

Players Mentioned

Joel Berry II

Justin Jackson

Theo Pinson

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