Written by Dick Allen
Play hard. Play smart. Play together.
Those words adorn the feature wall at the Smith Center, followed by the words: The Carolina Way. The Tar Heels are the most storied college basketball program on the planet. They are the most followed team in the nation on Twitter @UNC-Basketball.
They have been coached by 2 of the greatest coaches of all time. Dean Smith, for 36 seasons retired with 879 wins with only 254 losses, (.776) the most wins of any D-1 coach in history. And today, Roy Williams leads the Tar Heels as 1 of only 2 coaches to win 30 or more games for more than 10 years. His winning percentage of .788 is the best of any other coach in the country with 20 years or more head coaching experience.
Their former players make up some of the best NBA players ever to play the game. Kenny Smith, Danny Green, Vince Carter, James Worthy and the great Michael Jordan are only a few of the many hall of fame players who are North Carolina alumni.
North Carolina has played in 18 final fours, they rank second in number of wins – 112, games played – 156, and appearances – 46. And they have won 5
National Championships! FGCU on the other hand has never appeared in the final four, have 3 wins, played in 4 games, made 2 appearances, and have only WATCHED national championships on TV.
No 16 seed has ever beaten a # 1 seed in tournament play. But they said that about FGCU as a #15 seed making it to the sweet sixteen at our only other appearance in the Big Dance. So here is the tip you have been waiting for: at the shoot around today, the last shot taken by the only holdover from the last historic run, Flip Cvjeticanin, surrounded by all the players, coaches, bench personal, and about 300 spectators, put up a single shot from half court, and…….. it was all net!