Lucas: Turning Signatures Into Smiles

By Adam Lucas

For weeks, a series of white-panel basketballs have taken up residence on the Smith Center concourse on non-game days. Each is situated on a stand to make them easier to sign, and then lined up, dozens of balls on each card table.

It is the duty of every player and coach on the team to sign those basketballs in a timely fashion, so that managers and office staff can pack them up and send them to the Tar Heel fans who purchased this year's team-signed basketballs, which sold out quickly when offered in the fall.

On Wednesday, the team was able to enjoy the product of their penmanship. The proceeds from the signed ball sales completely funded the Tar Heels' annual shopping trip for underprivileged families, which this year benefited four families sponsored by the Me Fine Foundation and a host of children from a local elementary school.

The meaning of the trip hit home when two executives from Me Fine, Joey Powell and Meghan Fox, addressed the team before they began shopping. "The families we're shopping for," Powell said, "would not have anything if not for you guys. What you are doing brings those families to tears."

Players were split into groups based roughly on experience, so that the more veteran shoppers were paired with a rookie teammate. Predictably, personalities emerged almost as soon as they ventured into the aisles. Beau Maye, for example, used the price scanner to ensure he was exactly hitting the required dollar amount. Meanwhile, RJ Davis, when told one of his gifts exceeded the maximum limit, replied, "I didn't hear a budget!"

As you would expect when the Tar Heels are walking the aisles of a local Target, they are often the target of selfie-takers, who came to pick up a couple normal items and ended up bumping into their favorite basketball team. One boy and his mother approached Jalen Washington.

"Tell him what you want to be when you grow up," she prompted.

"I want to be a Tar Heel," the boy said.

"I like that!" said Washington, scooping him into the air so he could be at eye level while posing with the much taller Washington and Pete Nance.

The mom snapped the picture, and Washington—who you might think is too good to be true if you didn't actually get to know him—sent him back into the store with a bright, "Merry Christmas!"

Washington and his group were efficient shoppers. On the way to the checkout aisle, they passed a display of board books, including the classics Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Llama Llama Red Pajama. Washington paused, and the player with as much raw potential as anyone on the roster was almost instantly transformed back into a four-year-old.

"I'm going to let them go ahead," he said as he flipped through the books. "I'm going to stay here and relive my childhood."

Despite all the good they did and the holidays that they brightened, the Tar Heels are, after all, still Tar Heels. Near the end of the shopping, one member of the team came across a display that was inexplicably showcasing clothing featuring the Ohio State Buckeyes—Saturday's opponent at Madison Square Garden.

There was no hesitation. The shirt was immediately turned around so the logo was hidden. The unnamed redecorator shrugged. "You can't take any chances with the mojo," they said.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

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Players Mentioned

RJ Davis

Beau Maye

Pete Nance

Jalen Washington

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