College Hoops

Lucas: From The Inside – University of North Carolina Athletics

Lucas: From The Inside - University of North Carolina Athletics


By Adam Lucas

Forgive me for a moment.

            

Carolina lost to Duke, 62-57, on Saturday night. You saw it. It was miserable.

            

The Tar Heels couldn’t make enough shots overall and couldn’t make any shots at all down the stretch and now are in a dire postseason situation.

            

This story is not about that. I want you to understand that going in so that you are not surprised when there is not enough analysis of Carolina’s late-game offensive possessions or defensive struggles against Kyle Filipowski.

            

In five years I am not sure I will remember any of those details. But I know I will remember some of the others, and that’s what this story is about. For the last four years, I’ve tried very hard not to frequently mention that our oldest daughter has been a Carolina Basketball manager. Virginia worked with the JV team her first year, then spent the last three years with the varsity. 

            

Tonight was Armando Bacot’s senior day and Leaky Black’s senior day. But it was also Virginia Lucas’s senior day.

            

Eric Montross turned to me a half-hour before the game and asked if it was going to be emotional. I would like to report for the record that I was doing fine—just fine!—until they introduced Virginia to the crowd and people kindly cheered and then she walked over and had been gifted a framed photo of her cutting down the nets in Philadelphia last year. She was crying, a lot. This is a girl who has somewhat made her reputation on not crying. And now we were standing at midcourt and all three of us, including her mother who never ever cries, were crying.

            

I looked at the photo and Hubert Davis had signed it and had written personal, heartfelt words. I know you want to talk about really important issues such as whether Hubert Davis should have called a timeout. But to our family he is someone who has helped shape our daughter’s life. Those of you who have children will understand this: you just want them to be around people who will look after them, and who will have their best interests at heart, and who will be a good influence. He did that for her, every day. Even on the hardest days; no, especially on the hardest days.

            

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