University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Jeffrey A. Camarati
Lucas: Spent
March 9, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
An incredible night at the Smith Center was a testament to the program.
By Adam Lucas
What's it like?
That's what they always ask, when they find out you've been to a Carolina-Duke game.
This is a reasonable question, because although we do this (at least) twice per season, there are thousands of people out there in the general sports world who have never attended one of these in person. Carolina-Duke is on thousands of bucket lists.
So they ask: what's it like?
I have just watched Carolina defeat Duke, 79-70, in front of a pulsating Dean Smith Center. I have watched three seniors pour their hearts into an open microphone. I have watched Carolina Basketball, wrapped up and packaged into three hours of incredible theater, the perfect reminder of why we love it so much.
So I am here to tell you exactly what it is like: it is completely, totally, fully exhausting.
Sometimes after watching Carolina win a basketball game you feel like you played. After watching Carolina win this particular basketball game, and everything that came with it, it feels like you ran the Tar Heel Ten Miler, then played, then ran a quick marathon, and then went through one session of Jonas Sahratian's meanest conditioning.
"It was," Kenny Williams said, "a rollercoaster of emotions."
You're telling us, Kenny. You're telling us.
Perhaps someone will ask you tomorrow or the next day what you did on Saturday. And if you were there, either in person or in spirit, you will truthfully reply, "I laughed, I cried, I yelled some things that might have been a little regrettable but they were necessary at the time, I cheered myself hoarse, and I remembered why I believe in this so much." You know, the typical Carolina-Duke experience.
It wasn't just the game. It was the entirety of the evening. Twenty minutes before referee Roger Ayers threw the ball in the air for the tip-off, there were full-grown adults in the Smith Center stands crying. That's what happens when Kenny Williams was called to center court for his pregame senior recognition, but broke down into tears as he shared a long and emotional hug with Roy Williams.
It would have been a pretty full day just to see how much Carolina meant to the three seniors in the pregame and then go home. You could have seen that look on Kenny Williams' face at the center jump circle of the Smith Center in front of 21,750 adoring fans, and you could have gone home entirely reassured that scheduling your life around Carolina Basketball is completely worth it.
And then they played the game.
I have never taken a drug. I understand they are powerful. There is absolutely no way they are more potent than watching Coby White drive the baseline for a layup and then, in the same motion, low-five Roy Williams on the Tar Heel sideline. There cannot be a greater rush than Kenny Williams draining a three-pointer to force a Duke timeout early in the second half, then looking over in the stands and watching Kenny Williams' father leading the "U-N-C!" cheers from his seat near midcourt.
It should be noted that the elder Williams was wearing a tie that featured—what else, on this night?—pictures of his son playing basketball for the Tar Heels, including a shot of Williams standing with Roy Williams and the national championship trophy. I hate ties. But I would wear this one every single day.
The euphoria peaked when White fed Garrison Brooks for a two-handed dunk and a 12-point lead with 7:20 remaining, at which point the Smith Center stands were vibrating. Multiple states are considering outlawing replays of the Brooks dunk. It felt that good.
The Tar Heels survived those final seven minutes and held on for the win, and after he went through the handshake line, Kenny Williams circled across the Smith Center court, hands over his head, an incredulous smile on his face. What a smile. What a night.
But it wasn't over, and this is where the evening gets grueling. Maybe you know people who don't understand your obsession with the Tar Heels. That is their loss. But if you ever want them to get it, sit them down and have them watch Maye, Williams and Johnson address the crowd.
You know how Roy Williams says he hates cool? There wasn't a second of cool in those speeches. And it was one of the most honest, heartfelt, and emotional evenings in Smith Center history. People don't talk like Maye, Williams and Johnson talked unless they are completely in love with something. They just don't. There are people who don't talk to their blood relatives the way those three talked about the Carolina basketball program.
But there were problems. For example, I know the Smith Center is 33 years old, but it really shouldn't be this dusty in here when Luke Maye tries to talk about his father, former Tar Heel quarterback Mark Maye, and breaks down in sobs.
Do you remember where you were when Marvin Williams made the putback against Duke to win the game in 2005? Of course you do.
And the reason why we love these guys so much is that they do, too. "I was sitting right there," Luke Maye said, pointing to a corner of the Smith Center. He lived it, just like we did. And now we're living it through him. Kids walked out of the Smith Center Saturday night believing it was possible that they could be Luke Maye one day. We need a kid from Huntersville every few years. We need a Donald Williams and a Brendan Haywood and a David Noel and a Reggie Bullock, because they know exactly where they were when big moments happened, and so do we.
Then there was Kenny Williams. After the game, he was happy he hadn't completely broken down during his speech. Speak for yourself, Kenny. "Everybody in this arena knows how much you care about winning," he said, looking at his head coach. "And everybody on our bench knows how much you care about us winning at life."
The senior had to pause then, because he was receiving a standing ovation.
Cameron Johnson was the grand finale. He made the mistake of starting by talking about his family, and was soon wiping away tears as he talked about his mother, his biggest rebounding critic but also his biggest supporter.
"I am extremely blessed," Johnson finished, "to say I am a Tar Heel." There wasn't one single person left in the Smith Center who wasn't thinking, "Me, too."
After the net was cut and the last interview was done, the Tar Heels went to the locker room and ate some cookie cake, with blue icing thanking the seniors, and it was this kind of night: even the fanatically healthy-eating Sahratian might have had a tiny piece of cake. Then do you know how they celebrated winning a share of the ACC regular season championship? They gathered in the Smith Center for one more meal together, players and parents and siblings and big kids and little kids and former players and current players. Because who else would you want to spend this night with but family?
I have an important question for you. How could you possibly experience Saturday night in the Smith Center and not be completely in love with University of North Carolina basketball? They win. They get teary-eyed talking about their mama. They celebrate with a big ol' cookie cake.
How incredibly lucky are we that we picked this exact moment in the history of time to be a North Carolina basketball fan? There may have never been a greater testament to the power of the entire program than Saturday night. From the way the game was won to the opponent that was defeated to the pure love expressed by the seniors after the game, it was like a Tar Heel revival under that familiar white dome.
The whole evening was perfect, and it was emotional, and it was thrilling, and it was…
Tiring. It was really, really tiring.
So let's make an agreement as Tar Heels on this night that we're losing an hour of sleep to Daylight Savings Time.
It is almost midnight, and we are totally spent, and we are going to get some sleep.
Just as soon as we watch these highlights again.
What's it like?
That's what they always ask, when they find out you've been to a Carolina-Duke game.
This is a reasonable question, because although we do this (at least) twice per season, there are thousands of people out there in the general sports world who have never attended one of these in person. Carolina-Duke is on thousands of bucket lists.
So they ask: what's it like?
I have just watched Carolina defeat Duke, 79-70, in front of a pulsating Dean Smith Center. I have watched three seniors pour their hearts into an open microphone. I have watched Carolina Basketball, wrapped up and packaged into three hours of incredible theater, the perfect reminder of why we love it so much.
So I am here to tell you exactly what it is like: it is completely, totally, fully exhausting.
Sometimes after watching Carolina win a basketball game you feel like you played. After watching Carolina win this particular basketball game, and everything that came with it, it feels like you ran the Tar Heel Ten Miler, then played, then ran a quick marathon, and then went through one session of Jonas Sahratian's meanest conditioning.
"It was," Kenny Williams said, "a rollercoaster of emotions."
You're telling us, Kenny. You're telling us.
Perhaps someone will ask you tomorrow or the next day what you did on Saturday. And if you were there, either in person or in spirit, you will truthfully reply, "I laughed, I cried, I yelled some things that might have been a little regrettable but they were necessary at the time, I cheered myself hoarse, and I remembered why I believe in this so much." You know, the typical Carolina-Duke experience.
It wasn't just the game. It was the entirety of the evening. Twenty minutes before referee Roger Ayers threw the ball in the air for the tip-off, there were full-grown adults in the Smith Center stands crying. That's what happens when Kenny Williams was called to center court for his pregame senior recognition, but broke down into tears as he shared a long and emotional hug with Roy Williams.
It would have been a pretty full day just to see how much Carolina meant to the three seniors in the pregame and then go home. You could have seen that look on Kenny Williams' face at the center jump circle of the Smith Center in front of 21,750 adoring fans, and you could have gone home entirely reassured that scheduling your life around Carolina Basketball is completely worth it.
And then they played the game.
I have never taken a drug. I understand they are powerful. There is absolutely no way they are more potent than watching Coby White drive the baseline for a layup and then, in the same motion, low-five Roy Williams on the Tar Heel sideline. There cannot be a greater rush than Kenny Williams draining a three-pointer to force a Duke timeout early in the second half, then looking over in the stands and watching Kenny Williams' father leading the "U-N-C!" cheers from his seat near midcourt.
It should be noted that the elder Williams was wearing a tie that featured—what else, on this night?—pictures of his son playing basketball for the Tar Heels, including a shot of Williams standing with Roy Williams and the national championship trophy. I hate ties. But I would wear this one every single day.
The euphoria peaked when White fed Garrison Brooks for a two-handed dunk and a 12-point lead with 7:20 remaining, at which point the Smith Center stands were vibrating. Multiple states are considering outlawing replays of the Brooks dunk. It felt that good.
The Tar Heels survived those final seven minutes and held on for the win, and after he went through the handshake line, Kenny Williams circled across the Smith Center court, hands over his head, an incredulous smile on his face. What a smile. What a night.
But it wasn't over, and this is where the evening gets grueling. Maybe you know people who don't understand your obsession with the Tar Heels. That is their loss. But if you ever want them to get it, sit them down and have them watch Maye, Williams and Johnson address the crowd.
You know how Roy Williams says he hates cool? There wasn't a second of cool in those speeches. And it was one of the most honest, heartfelt, and emotional evenings in Smith Center history. People don't talk like Maye, Williams and Johnson talked unless they are completely in love with something. They just don't. There are people who don't talk to their blood relatives the way those three talked about the Carolina basketball program.
But there were problems. For example, I know the Smith Center is 33 years old, but it really shouldn't be this dusty in here when Luke Maye tries to talk about his father, former Tar Heel quarterback Mark Maye, and breaks down in sobs.
Do you remember where you were when Marvin Williams made the putback against Duke to win the game in 2005? Of course you do.
And the reason why we love these guys so much is that they do, too. "I was sitting right there," Luke Maye said, pointing to a corner of the Smith Center. He lived it, just like we did. And now we're living it through him. Kids walked out of the Smith Center Saturday night believing it was possible that they could be Luke Maye one day. We need a kid from Huntersville every few years. We need a Donald Williams and a Brendan Haywood and a David Noel and a Reggie Bullock, because they know exactly where they were when big moments happened, and so do we.
Then there was Kenny Williams. After the game, he was happy he hadn't completely broken down during his speech. Speak for yourself, Kenny. "Everybody in this arena knows how much you care about winning," he said, looking at his head coach. "And everybody on our bench knows how much you care about us winning at life."
The senior had to pause then, because he was receiving a standing ovation.
Cameron Johnson was the grand finale. He made the mistake of starting by talking about his family, and was soon wiping away tears as he talked about his mother, his biggest rebounding critic but also his biggest supporter.
"I am extremely blessed," Johnson finished, "to say I am a Tar Heel." There wasn't one single person left in the Smith Center who wasn't thinking, "Me, too."
After the net was cut and the last interview was done, the Tar Heels went to the locker room and ate some cookie cake, with blue icing thanking the seniors, and it was this kind of night: even the fanatically healthy-eating Sahratian might have had a tiny piece of cake. Then do you know how they celebrated winning a share of the ACC regular season championship? They gathered in the Smith Center for one more meal together, players and parents and siblings and big kids and little kids and former players and current players. Because who else would you want to spend this night with but family?
I have an important question for you. How could you possibly experience Saturday night in the Smith Center and not be completely in love with University of North Carolina basketball? They win. They get teary-eyed talking about their mama. They celebrate with a big ol' cookie cake.
How incredibly lucky are we that we picked this exact moment in the history of time to be a North Carolina basketball fan? There may have never been a greater testament to the power of the entire program than Saturday night. From the way the game was won to the opponent that was defeated to the pure love expressed by the seniors after the game, it was like a Tar Heel revival under that familiar white dome.
The whole evening was perfect, and it was emotional, and it was thrilling, and it was…
Tiring. It was really, really tiring.
So let's make an agreement as Tar Heels on this night that we're losing an hour of sleep to Daylight Savings Time.
It is almost midnight, and we are totally spent, and we are going to get some sleep.
Just as soon as we watch these highlights again.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballHubert Davis Post-Georgetown Press Conference
Monday, December 08
Carolina Insider: Rapid Reactions – Men’s Basketball vs. Georgetown – December 7, 2025
Monday, December 08
UNC Men's Basketball: Wilson & Veesaar Lead 81-61 Win Over Hoyas
Monday, December 08
UNC Women's Basketball: Tar Heels Take Down Terriers, 82-40
Sunday, December 07