Carolina’s Senior Night falls between two very special anniversaries.
When Joel Berry, Theo Pinson and Aaron Rohlman make their final appearances at the Smith Center tonight, it will be just after the 40th commemoration of Phil Ford’s famous last game in Carmichael Auditorium and before what would have been Dean Smith’s 87th birthday.
There has been no greater Senior Day performance than Ford’s 34 points with a sprained wrist against Duke in 1978, and Smith — the master of basketball invention — was the first coach to so honor his seniors by starting them all, whether the leading scorer or last man on the bench.
Roy Williams carried on the practice of his mentor at both Kansas and UNC, adding post-game senior speeches that Tyler Hansbrough said unnerved him more than any actual game he ever played. Berry, Pinson and walk-on Rohlman will have their parents introduced and receive roses from their sons before they step into the center jump circle against Miami.
When an injured Ford did that against a ranked and healthier Duke team, there was great doubt whether No. 12 could lift his team to a victory in a game that decided the ACC regular-season race. His Herculean effort remains legendary when thinking on games against the Blue Devils, who would go on to play for the national championship that season. But Ford, with a taped wrist, and sophomore Mike O’Koren, playing on a severely sprained ankle, led their teammates to keep the score close enough for the Tar Heels to steal a win in the last four minutes.
Smith was only 46 on that Saturday afternoon, three days shy of his next birthday, and by then he had already started his seniors in their last home game. He continued doing it even after it occasionally backfired, like Florida State bolting out to a 12-0 lead in 1996 and winning in the Dean Dome. Almost every other program does something similarly special.
Carolina’s 2018 star seniors are certainly special for their individual improvement over the last four years and the fact that this is the third straight season the Tar Heels have had two senior starters on nationally ranked teams.
Everyone playing, coaching and cheering from near and far should be proud of what these youngsters have accomplished and the university they represent with class and recognition of its tradition.
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