With the 2017 NCAA championship in the books, UNC fans filled the Dean Dome one last time Tuesday night to celebrate the return of their conquering heroes.
The Tar Heels won Monday night, defeating Gonzaga 71-65 and bringing the school its first title since 2009.
The team came up short of the championship last year, falling to Villanova on a buzzer-beating three pointer by Kris Jenkins.
“Last year when we made our run, I was watching the Snapchats and the Instagram posts,” senior point guard Nate Britt said. “It hurt so much that we couldn’t come back and celebrate that with y’all because we lost and this year we brought it home so this is for y’all.”
The dean dome was the team’s first stop after returning from Phoenix, the site of the 2017 Final Four.
State troopers escorted the Tar Heels from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to the Smith Center as soon as the team landed.
Five players were originally scheduled to speak in front of the crowd, but junior forward Theo Pinson, know for his antics with a microphone, was not going to be silenced.
After junior point guard Joel Berry finished speaking, Pinson seized his opportunity, grabbing the microphone from Berry and stealing the show.
“They tried to not let me get the mic,” Pinson told the laughing crowd.”They came on the bus talking about ‘we’re going to let five people speak’ and not put me in.”
Even with the jokes, Pinson managed to get serious for a few moments.
“I just want to thank everyone for supporting us,” he said. “We had one hell of a year and I love these guys.”
Monday night’s victory gave head coach Roy Williams his third national championship, becoming one of just six coaches to do so in college basketball history.
It also marked his 100th NCAA tournament victory, an accomplishment a fellow Tar Heel congratulated him for.
“I’ll read one text message I got last night,” Williams said.
“‘I’m so happy for you and the team, you raised the ceiling to the roof tonight. Congrats. Didn’t want to bring you bad luck, but I’m so happy for you. Love you, my man.’ – Michael Jordan.”
While UNC fans may spend the next few decades sharing their own interpretations of Michael Jordan’s now-infamous quote “the ceiling is the roof,” one thing is not up for debate.
The Tar Heels are the 2017 NCAA champions in men’s basketball.
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