Lucas: Hear It First

By Adam Lucas

Over the next few weeks, Roy Williams will deliver plenty of preseason remarks about his 2018-19 North Carolina basketball team. He'll attend the Atlantic Coast Conference media day, he'll attend the program's media day, and there will be multiple other events and conversations that will allow him to talk about the next edition of the Tar Heels.

But there's only one place to hear it first and hear it unfiltered: his annual Fast Break Against Cancer breakfast on the floor of the Smith Center.

The event, which benefits UNC Lineberger Cancer Center and this year will be held on Sept. 25 at 7:30, has become the highlight of the beginning of a new basketball season. Williams, of course, will address the crowd with his first public remarks about his next Tar Heel team. His candid thoughts on his next team are always one of the event's highlights.

This year's guest speaker is newly minted College Football Hall of Famer Mack Brown, who will be inducted into the prestigious group in December. Brown coached the football Tar Heels from 1988-97, taking the program to top-10 heights. He is also one of the most entertaining speakers in sports.

Brown's appearance will no doubt bolster an event that has raised more than $2.4 million to fight cancer since its inception. For many Carolina fans, it's become a traditional part of their ritual to observe the start of another Tar Heel hoops season. A few tickets remain to join a group that, in addition to diehard fans, always includes the complete UNC coaching staff, other Carolina basketball luminaries, and key University and Lineberger personnel.

And there's always the chance that you might walk away with a souvenir of the morning. The auction items at the Fast Break Breakfast have become well-known as one of the best places to obtain one-of-a-kind Carolina basketball items. This year, auction items will be split between a live auction held at the breakfast by master of ceremonies Jones Angell (usually with some assistance from the head coach) and an online auction that will be open to fans everywhere.

Auction items will include the opportunity to sit on the Carolina bench for a home basketball game, the chance to watch a home Tar Heel game from the athletic director's box with Bubba Cunningham and point guard legend Phil Ford, the ability to attend a Carolina football practice, tour Kenan Stadium, and then have a fully turnkey tailgate experience at a home football game, and much more. Golfers are also likely to enjoy the opportunity to bid on 18 holes with Phil Ford or an 18-hole playing lesson with UNC golf coaches Andrew DiBitetto and Matt Clark.

Online items will be open for bidding at 10 a.m. on Sept. 25. Tickets to the Fast Break event can be purchased online.

University of North Carolina Athletics

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