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Tar Heel Nation is saddened, stunned and maybe even angry.
The passing of Eric Montross at 52 years old is so shocking that many of us don’t know how to react. Montross was a giant of a man, not only in his 7-foot stature but an equally huge heart. An oversized condolence to his family.
It is so unfair for him, for them and to those who knew him well, admired and cheered him on from afar and even alumni who barely follow UNC sports. That is the enormous impact of Eric’s devastating departure.
There are so many stories of Eric’s influence far beyond the space he dominated on the court. Here are a few.
Some people remember that Dean Smith was staunch about his players never giving money back to the university, believing their contributions to Carolina had already gone beyond the almighty dollar. With ballooning budgets, Roy Williams approached Eric about taking over major gifts for the basketball program. He agreed and Eric enrolled dozens of former Tar Heels who gave back what they could.
John Montgomery, executive director of the Rams Club said, “Roy had a vision and Eric had the same feeling about philanthropy. Initially, they built an operating endowment for men’s basketball, and eventually he started working with other coaches and all sports. He was a wonderful colleague and friend. It was part of his goodness and intentionality to help others. He did wonderful work for the Rams Club and that will continue.”
Smith called his summer camp the Carolina Basketball School, and players all the way through Eric’s two-year teammate Hubert Davis started their own. But Eric’s idea was unique – a father-child camp on a July weekend that always had a long waiting list – and all the money went to various charities.
Besides supporting UNC Hospitals, Eric was a spokesman for Cornucopia, the non-profit that helped patients cover uninsured post-cancer services.
Gentle giant does not compute when we remember how rugged Eric was in the paint and around the basket for the 1993 NCAA and 1994 ACC champions, especially against Duke, which wanted him badly but lost out to Smith and Bill Guthridge.
Smith half-joked that Eric wasn’t that impressed with Cameron Indoor Stadium because he had played high school games in far bigger gyms. Eric was at home in the 22,000-seat Smith Center, where for 18 years he sat courtside as an excellent analyst for the Tar Heel Sports Network. He was family to Jones Angell and his crew, all in mourning.
Tributes and recollections are flooding in from across the country about whom I refer to as “top 10 nicest people I’ve ever met.” The true tragedy about Eric was what would lie ahead for him to further mankind.
Chancellor Montross? Governor Montross? Senator Montross? All of the various uniforms would have fit. Tar Heel forever will remain the perfect fit.
Featured image via Durham Herald-Sun/Mark Dolesj
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