"Late Night With Roy" Gets Basketball Season Underway

Basketball season officially began in Chapel Hill on Friday night, as UNC hosted its annual “Late Night With Roy” event.

Hosted by TNT’s Kenny Smith, a Tar Heel and a two-time NBA champion, the event showcased the dancing and singing skills of the nation’s preseason No. 1 team, and even featured a little bit of basketball.

The annual Blue-White scrimmage, the grand finale, saw the White team pull out a 41-32 victory behind 14 points from junior forward Isaiah Hicks. Senior Brice Johnson led the Blue squad with eight points of his own.

Head Coach Roy Williams wore a crowd-pleasing pink blazer and watched the night unfold from his familiar seat on the bench. Despite offseason knee surgery Williams even busted out his own moves, albeit just for a second.

A special tribute to UNC alum and former ESPN anchor Stuart Scott brought a strong emotional moment to what was otherwise a light-hearted affair.

Sydni and Taelor Scott accept the Tar Heel Trailblazer award. (UNC Athletics)

Scott’s daughters, Taelor and Sydni Scott, accepted a Tar Heel Trailblazer award in their father’s name from UNC Chancellor Carol Folt at center court. That followed a moving story from Sage Steele, a colleague of Scott’s at ESPN who fondly recalled the one time she got to host SportsCenter with him.

During that episode, which she said was back in 2007, Scott began by saying, “Welcome to SportsCenter, along with ‘S-Squared’, I’m ‘S-Squared.'”

In honor of that moment, Steele was presented with her very own UNC basketball jersey with “S-Squared” on the back.

Ten times in previous years Scott was the host of “Late Night With Roy.” Smith last hosted the event in 2005, which he pointed out by telling the crowd the last time he hosted the Tar Heels won the national championship. He said he came back to do it again this year because, “Coach called.”

The basketball itself was just a 20-minute scrimmage with a running clock. The White team featured a starting lineup with the night’s leading scorer, Hicks, along with Marcus Paige, Justin Jackson, Nate Britt, and Joel James. The Blue team consisted of Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, Joel Berry, Theo Pinson, and freshman Kenny Williams.

Perhaps tired from of a night consisting of numerous dance routines of all different styles, defense was not too much of a focus in the scrimmage.

It was a night for the fans. And there were plenty of them packing the Smith Center, each ecstatic that the long wait is over.

Basketball is back.

See more photos from Late Night With Roy.