Theo Pinson Leads Tar Heels In Personality

Theo Pinson has been a jack of all trades, giving UNC a mixture of scoring, rebounding, passing and defense.

But perhaps his most valuable asset is his mouth, something Justin Jackson said he might use a little too much sometimes.

“You do nothing but have fun with him,” Jackson said. “Sometimes you want him to just sit down and not say anything but on the court he does nothing but encourage you. Off the court he’s always joking.”

Including this practical joke he played on Jackson before one game this season.

Theo Pinson. (Photo by Todd Melet)

“We have a game called Left Hand,” Jackson said. “And basically if you have something in your left hand you didn’t pay for, if someone calls ‘Left Hand’ then they get to take it from you. I went down to pick up my jersey and he came out of nowhere and said ‘Left Hand.'”

Jackson said he had to call Pinson before the next game to get his jersey back, but going around the locker room, it seems like everyone has their own Theo Pinson story.

“Theo comes running over ‘I’ve done something to my leg, I’ve done something to my leg,'” said head coach Roy Williams. “I said ‘what happened,’ he said ‘the guy stepped on my foot’ and then we watched the tape and the guy didn’t even come close to him.”

Williams took the clip and showed it to the rest of the team so they could all laugh at the sophomore.

He called Pinson one of the most enthusiastic players he’s ever coached.

“I could ask him a question and go fix me a grilled cheese sandwich and come back and he’d still be talking,” Williams said.

After an injury-riddled freshman season, Pinson has found a role as an energizer off the bench, who has even spent time guarding power forwards when Williams chooses to deploy his smaller lineup.

He’s come a long way from the first time Williams watched him play, when he is now-head coach didn’t think Pinson was very good.

“I end up going to the Global Games in Washington, D.C. and watching him up there,” Williams said. “I called him and I said ‘is this the real Theo Pinson, I’ve been looking around for you for a year.’ He said ‘that’s strange because my mom just said I’m glad my son finally showed up.'”

The Tar Heels are going to need the real Theo Pinson if they want to make a deep tournament run.

The team is a perfect 17-0 when he scores more than five points this season, but he totaled just six points in all of the team’s six losses.

Theo Pinson Leads Tar Heels In Personality

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