The Final Four 4.8.2022

Dear James,

As spring unfolds here in Virginia, the torch is being passed from one sport to another.  College basketball, which always gets me through the cold months of winter, ends.  But in its place, The Masters golf tournament arrives, and with it, azaleas, spring, and warmer weather.  On Monday evening, the college basketball season ended with the Tar Heels losing to Kansas in the Championship Game. On that same day Tiger Woods miraculously teed off in Augusta for a practice round. You see, he almost lost his leg 15 months ago in a car accident. But that is another story. I write this letter to share with you how amazing the past three weeks have been for college basketball.

College basketball brings March Madness, where even casual basketball fans fill out brackets because, well, its March Madness! As always, there are Cinderella teams not expected to go far but do so anyway. And because UNC Basketball is considered a “Blue Blood” program, it was not considered a Cinderella team, despite being a #8 seed, matching its lowest seed ever. Thus seeded, UNC’s path to the Final Four would be difficult – much harder than higher seeded teams. In fact, an eighth seed or higher has won the National Championship only once. But UNC was playing well, despite losing to a very good and well coached Virginia Tech team in the semi-finals of the ACC tournament.  Virginia Tech would go on to beat Duke to win the ACC Championship – its first.

This year I arrived in Boston in time to watch most of the first round of the tournament with your dad.  Your dad and I (and you, for a very short period – because you were not allowed to watch any television), watched UNC soundly beat a Marquette team 95-63 in the first round – the largest margin of victory ever between an 8^th and 9^th seed. So, my expectations of this year’s team rose significantly, and I could not wait until our game against Baylor, the defending national champions.

I was really impressed by UNC’s defense in the Marquette game.  The team played better defense than any of the Roy Williams coached teams. Don’t get me wrong, I love Roy Williams, but he did not emphasize defense, and I love defense – because defense is about effort, grit, and perseverance – qualities that I admire. And as the tournament continued, we would see these qualities exemplified by our starting five (Bacot, Manek, Black, Love and Davis) again and again. And it would start against Baylor, a #1 seed. 

Against Baylor, Carolina looked unstoppable in the first half. And led by 25 points early in the second half – and then something crazy happened. Our forward and best three-point shooter, Manek got ejected from the game on a questionable flagrant foul call.  And then for some reason, the refs swallowed their whistles against Baylor.  As Baylor physically manhandled the Tar Heels, causing turnover after turnover, our large lead evaporated.

James, as you get older and start to watch Carolina basketball games with me, you will see that I get too emotional sometimes.  It is not uncommon for me to do pushups during games to release some of my nervous energy. In this case, I had to stop watching. So, I put on my running shorts and shoes and went for a run – with no phone.

As always, running has been my salvation. I know that when I lace up my running shoes and go for a run, I can push stress and anxiety out of my system. And this time was no different. I felt good at the end of my run.  Upon returning to the apartment, your grandmother and Davis are playing with you on the floor. The TV is off.  I go to the kitchen and grab a tall glass of water. I finish drinking and get another.  Meanwhile, no one is talking to me.  Finally, Davis asks “Well Dad, do you want to know who won the game?”  I nonchalantly answer “Sure.”  He says “Carolina won. And they won in overtime!” 

I could not believe it. Carolina won in overtime! When I left, Baylor had all the momentum but somehow UNC pulled itself together. And with some stellar play from its bench players and a lot of grit, the team pulled out the win.  Losing a large lead like that and not letting it deflate you is impressive. It was Baylor who folded, not UNC. And as a fan, I had folded. That day is the day I fell in love with this UNC team. 

UNC’s reward for beating Baylor in overtime was to play UCLA next in the Sweet Sixteen.  UCLA was returning most of its players from a team that made it to The Final Four the previous year.  They were a very good team with UCLA favored to win. Having travelled back to Virginia, I watched that game at the Lake House by myself. 

When the game started, UNC again played great defense, but UCLA was talented offensively and kept making highly contested shots. Thankfully, Bacot and the rest of the team outrebounded UCLA, keeping the game close so that we trailed by only three points at halftime. Bacot would end up with 15 rebounds and 14 points, tying Tim Duncan’s NCAA record for most double-digit rebounds and points in games during a year. In the second half, Caleb Love kept us in the game, scoring 12 straight points, the last shot in that streak a 3-pointer to tie the game at 56-56. The game was anybody’s to win.  I started doing pushups.

With 2 minutes left, UCLA goes up 64-61 with a lay-up, and I do more pushups.  And then some magic happens.  Love takes a 3-pointer and misses.  It looks like the ball is going out of bounds and will go to UCLA with the lead with less than 2 minutes to play. But somehow – I still do not know how he did it – Bacot launches himself out of bounds, fully extending himself, and flings the ball 25 feet back onto the court into the hands of Love, who, without hesitating, launches another 3-pointer, which finds nothing but net! The fact that Love launched another 3-pointer after just missing a shot was pure guts. The guy had no fear.

And now we have life – and momentum. The score is now tied 64-64, but UCLA has the ball. Somehow UCLA misses its shot and UNC gets the ball back with just over a minute left. Bacot gets the ball at the top of the key, swings the ball to Love, who gets a screen from Manek, and after one dribble launches yet another 3-pointer!  Nothing but net…  Up 64-61, UNC goes on to win 73-66, making crucial free throws at the end of the game. So, at this point, UNC has beaten the #1 and #4 seeds in its bracket. But UNC’s next opponent had done something even more amazing and had become the darling of the tournament.

Small St. Peter’s College, out of New Jersey, and a #15 seed, had beaten #2 seed Kentucky, #7 seed Murray State and #3 seed Purdue to reach the Elite Eight, the only time a 15^th seed or higher had ever made it that far. THEY WERE THE CINDERELLA TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT. And they did it with 10 players who gave it their all for 40 minutes, defining team grit and effort.  If St. Peter’s had been playing anyone other than UNC, I would have wanted them to win and go to the Final Four.  They were fun to watch. But alas, they were playing my team.

Unfortunately, UNC would have to be the spoiler, ending St. Peter’s Cinderella story. I was pretty sure that UNC would not underestimate St. Peter’s, as had their other opponents.  And I was right.  UNC played lock-down defense and led 38-19 at halftime and easily cruised to a 69-49 victory.  I watched that game at the Lake House with Carter.  Thankfully, I did not have to do pushups to get through that game.

Like all college basketball fans who have a favorite college team, you dream about your team going to The Final Four.  And UNC ‘s unexpected run this year – a record 21^st time – was a treat. It was also unexpected because first year coaches don’t make the Final Four. But first year coach Hubert Davis did. I would not have believed it possible half-way through the season.  But that is what coaching is all about, right? You coach a team that is not playing well and mold them into one of the best teams in the country by the end of the season.  And Coach Davis did that.

Although this would be UNC’s 21^st final four, this one would be very different. Their semi-final opponent would be Duke – their bitter rival. Although both teams had played each other over 250 times since 1920, they had never faced each other in the NCAA tournament, much less the Final Four.  And yes, it also happened to be the last season for Coach K, the winningest coach ever. And UNC had just beaten Duke at Cameron to spoil Coach K’s retirement celebration. So, the hype around the semi-final between UNC and Duke was crazy, adding even more drama to this year’s Final Four. Some were calling it one of the most significant college basketball games ever – even before it was played!

Would it be Coach K’s last game? Would he end his career as the winningest college basketball coach ever only to have lost his last two games against his bitter rival? And would that happened with a Duke team loaded with talent – with all five starters projected to go in the first round of the NBA draft? Or would he get his revenge on UNC with a chance to win his sixth National Championship? There were so many other sub-plots. If he lost, his record against UNC during his tenure at Duke would be 50-50 and he would have a losing record against UNC’s first-year coach Hubert Davis.

No matter who won, I wanted the game to live up to the hype. Games in this rivalry usually do – and this game did not disappoint. UNC ended up winning in an instant classic 81-77. Watching the game with Jack and Carter, we agreed it was played at a high level. And it was good for college basketball. Highlights included Bacot grabbing 21 rebounds and Love scoring 28 points. After the game, Jack, Carter, and I celebrated into the night by watching highlights, watching post-game interviews, dancing on the terrace, smoking cigars and drinking fine Scotch. And I felt it the next morning, but I will always remember celebrating that win with two of my sons – and your two uncles.

James, I hope you will have the opportunity to watch this classic someday. It would be the last time that we would see one of the best college coaches ever, arguably maybe the greatest, coach a game. And maybe, just maybe, we may have seen the coming out party of another hall of fame coach.

Two evenings later UNC would play Kansas in the title game.  Your uncle Carter drove up to Boston to watch the game with your dad and I drove to Richmond to watch the game with Jack and some of his friends.  After the emotion of the Duke game, it was hard to get fired up emotionally for the Kansas game. However, once the game started, the emotional roller coaster started again. Up by 15 points at half-time, I dared to believe that we could and would win it all.  However, Kansas had a great team laden with senior leadership and they would not fold.  They came back by playing super defense and tied the game with 10 minutes left.  The tension was killing me. Because I was with Jack’s friends, I felt silly doing push-ups. So, I dutifully got into my car and made the one-hour drive home from Jack’s house and listened to the last 10 minutes of the game alone in my car.  Again, I had to isolate.

Yes, James, your Papa J is odd.  I am sure Jack’s friends who were with us watching the game did not know what to think when I abruptly announced that I was leaving to go home.  THIS IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AND YOUR TEAM STILL HAS A CHANCE TO WIN!  I just needed to be alone. If they lost, I wanted to suffer by myself. In fact, UNC did have a chance to win, leading by one point with 90 seconds left.  However, unlike the games against Baylor, ULCA and Duke, the UNC magic had run out, or maybe, the team was just too injured and tired. We lost 72-69. Despite losing, the team again showed tremendous grit with Bacot scoring yet another double-double, despite suffering on a badly sprained ankle that occurred late against Duke. He would set a record as the only player to grab double digit rebounds and score in double figures in all six games played in the NCAA tournament. Not bad for a kid from Richmond who also happened to attend Trinity, the same high school your uncle Jack attended.

I love this team – with or without a National Championship.  And I would have admired and loved them if they had lost to UCLA.  I saw something in this team that was special. They loved their coach and they loved each other. It was truly a team that had bonded during the season. They had become a band of brothers. And it was fun to watch. 

As one sports analyst pointed out, UNC hired coach Hubert Davis for the long haul.  The fact that he made it to the title game during his first year as head coach is just icing on the cake. As another said, “Hubert Davis is an incredible leader because he is authentic, something that is rare in this age of self-promotion.” Even Coach K agreed.  Before his final game against UNC, Coach K was asked by Jay Bilas, one of his former players and an exceptional basketball commentator, what he admired most about Hubert Davis. Coach K said, “I admire his humility and his willingness to share credit with others.” Wow, from Coach K? High praise indeed.

This bodes well for UNC for years to come.  Maybe Davis won’t be the next Dean Smith or Roy Williams, both Hall of Fame coaches.  Yet, what I saw this year leads me to believe that this new coach is going to create similar magic in future UNC teams. And I think his teams will be back to the Final Four. And even if they do not, I love his passion and how he stokes passion in his players – and how he coaches his players hard, but also respects them. He will create a place that will have an atmosphere of excellence. And those places are rare.

I hope Hubert Davis coaches long enough for you to see and appreciate what a fine man and coach he is. Some day you will read his story. It is a good one – a mediocre high school player who talks himself into a scholarship to UNC, with the expectation that he would not play much, but ends up an all-ACC player.  Plays in a Final Four and then plays 12 years in the NBA, followed by a successful broadcasting career on ESPN.  Leaves that successful career to be an assistant coach to Williams, followed by this! He epitomizes hard work, grit, and perseverance. Like Tony Bennet at UVA, UNC is lucky to have Hubert Davis as a coach.

So, I say goodbye for now to college basketball and hello to golf.  Not only does The Masters usher in Spring, but also my desire to play golf. And just like the beginning of basketball season, when I cannot wait to go out and shoot baskets, the Masters Tournament will ignite again the passion in me to walk the fairways with my clubs slung across my shoulder.

I do love this time of year!

Gratefully, PJ