University of North Carolina Athletics
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Lucas: Holiday Heels
December 10, 2025 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
An annual program tradition had a twist this year.
By Adam Lucas
It took exactly 30 seconds for the parameters of Carolina Basketball's annual holiday shopping trip to change.
Director of community engagement Ragan Copeland was explaining the ground rules to the players before they were unleashed in a local Target. Copeland, a former head manager, made some changes to the event this year to allow the players to have even more personal contact. Sixteen kids from Hargraves Community Center were about to arrive.
"You're going to have 20 minutes to shop with your kid for a gift for their parents," she told the team. "Then the kids will leave and you'll be able to shop for gifts for the kids."
The obvious answer: what's the spending limit?
The trip is funded by sales of autographed basketballs, so players effectively made the money they're spending (by the way, if you need a good holiday gift, those signed basketballs are available at this link). "You get $20 per parent and $150 for each kid," Copeland told them.
"And what happens if we go over?" asked Henri Veesaar immediately.
"Nah," said Caleb Wilson. "How much over can we go?"
A quick executive meeting determined that the limit for parents was immediately raised to $50. Then the players--some of whom were wearing bedazzled Carolina blue Santa hats, which were comically easy to track as they bobbed along each aisle--were sent into the store, each accompanied by a kid. Sometimes those kids had a great idea of what they were shopping for, and sometimes they had only a very loose concept.
"I'd like to get my dad a hoodie," Veesaar's charge told him.
"OK," the seven-footer said. "How big is he?"
"Smaller than you," she said immediately. Probably a safe bet, yes.
In addition to providing some holiday cheer for the parents, shopping with the kids also enabled the players to get some insight into what the children had on their list. Derek Dixon's partner was shy and had very little to say, but she lit up when she saw a Hello Kitty blanket. As soon as she departed, Dixon beelined back to the blankets and tossed one in his cart.
Most of the lists for the kids included some sensible items and some designed more for fun. Players had their own ideas about what would look good under the tree, however. "Getting clothes for Christmas is criminal," Veesaar said as he reluctantly picked out a couple of sweatshirts to go with the cart full of toys he was pushing.
Seth Trimble's shopping partner agreed. "He told me exactly what he liked," Trimble said. "And he told me that if he got clothes, he was going to the North Pole and suing Santa Claus."
As always, the players with younger siblings had a huge shopping advantage. Jaydon Young was perhaps the best combination of a savvy shopper and a fun shopper; his cart included a Barbie Vacation House that he found on sale, plus a sweatshirt and sweatpants that he'd matched to create a perfect outfit.
"I've got two younger sisters," he said with a knowing smile as he nodded towards his cart.
In total, the Tar Heels spent nearly $4,000 at Target on Wednesday afternoon. The program is also sponsoring four families through the Me Fine Foundation, bringing their total holiday purchases (so far) to over $6,500.
Fans have multiple opportunities to join the holiday festivities. All Tar Heels attending Saturday's home game against USC Upstate are invited to bring a new, unwrapped toy. Staffers will collect the toys in front of the Smith Center and deliver them to families at UNC Children's Hospital. There will also be opportunities for fans to contribute financially to the effort via checks or Venmo, and all team-autographed basketball (available here) proceeds fund the program's community efforts.
It took exactly 30 seconds for the parameters of Carolina Basketball's annual holiday shopping trip to change.
Director of community engagement Ragan Copeland was explaining the ground rules to the players before they were unleashed in a local Target. Copeland, a former head manager, made some changes to the event this year to allow the players to have even more personal contact. Sixteen kids from Hargraves Community Center were about to arrive.
"You're going to have 20 minutes to shop with your kid for a gift for their parents," she told the team. "Then the kids will leave and you'll be able to shop for gifts for the kids."
The obvious answer: what's the spending limit?
The trip is funded by sales of autographed basketballs, so players effectively made the money they're spending (by the way, if you need a good holiday gift, those signed basketballs are available at this link). "You get $20 per parent and $150 for each kid," Copeland told them.
"And what happens if we go over?" asked Henri Veesaar immediately.
"Nah," said Caleb Wilson. "How much over can we go?"
A quick executive meeting determined that the limit for parents was immediately raised to $50. Then the players--some of whom were wearing bedazzled Carolina blue Santa hats, which were comically easy to track as they bobbed along each aisle--were sent into the store, each accompanied by a kid. Sometimes those kids had a great idea of what they were shopping for, and sometimes they had only a very loose concept.
"I'd like to get my dad a hoodie," Veesaar's charge told him.
"OK," the seven-footer said. "How big is he?"
"Smaller than you," she said immediately. Probably a safe bet, yes.
In addition to providing some holiday cheer for the parents, shopping with the kids also enabled the players to get some insight into what the children had on their list. Derek Dixon's partner was shy and had very little to say, but she lit up when she saw a Hello Kitty blanket. As soon as she departed, Dixon beelined back to the blankets and tossed one in his cart.
Most of the lists for the kids included some sensible items and some designed more for fun. Players had their own ideas about what would look good under the tree, however. "Getting clothes for Christmas is criminal," Veesaar said as he reluctantly picked out a couple of sweatshirts to go with the cart full of toys he was pushing.
Seth Trimble's shopping partner agreed. "He told me exactly what he liked," Trimble said. "And he told me that if he got clothes, he was going to the North Pole and suing Santa Claus."
As always, the players with younger siblings had a huge shopping advantage. Jaydon Young was perhaps the best combination of a savvy shopper and a fun shopper; his cart included a Barbie Vacation House that he found on sale, plus a sweatshirt and sweatpants that he'd matched to create a perfect outfit.
"I've got two younger sisters," he said with a knowing smile as he nodded towards his cart.
In total, the Tar Heels spent nearly $4,000 at Target on Wednesday afternoon. The program is also sponsoring four families through the Me Fine Foundation, bringing their total holiday purchases (so far) to over $6,500.
Fans have multiple opportunities to join the holiday festivities. All Tar Heels attending Saturday's home game against USC Upstate are invited to bring a new, unwrapped toy. Staffers will collect the toys in front of the Smith Center and deliver them to families at UNC Children's Hospital. There will also be opportunities for fans to contribute financially to the effort via checks or Venmo, and all team-autographed basketball (available here) proceeds fund the program's community efforts.
Players Mentioned
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