Leaky Black is the latest face of Carolina Basketball.
The soon-to-be super senior is a throwback to the days we all loved the Tar Heels like members of our own family, even if we had never met them. Leaky has been here long enough to embrace our embrace.
He did it Thursday night when he strolled with a couple of lesser- known teammates onto the patio of Que Chula, the new hot spot on West Franklin Street for downtowners of all ages. It’s hard to miss someone who is 6-foot-8, but Black blended in like he was one of us.
With his easy smile that belied his sometimes-intense look on the court, Leaky was undisturbed except for accommodating a couple of pictures. For Rechon Black of Concord, North Carolina, this was clearly his second home.
It was reminiscent of when the Tar Heels all stayed around four years and we all felt a special kinship to them from watching games on TV or lucky ones to have tickets to Carmichael and the Smith Center.
When UNC teams of the past fell just short at the end of the season, we all knew those with eligibility were returning. We counted on them just as they counted on another year in Chapel Hill.
It goes back to All-American Larry Miller, the handsome hunk who drove around in his convertible and was as polite to strangers as he was attractive to the comely coeds and the squealing teens.
Charlie Scott was welcomed to the first place he had ever lived with mostly white people. He could have gone to the old ABA after his junior year but wanted to play more college basketball for Dean Smith.
Through the ‘70s, from Steve Previs to Phil Ford to Mike O’Koren and all their teammates who walked Franklin with well-deserved swag. In the ‘80s, even when James and Michael and J.R. left after their junior years, we knew they would be back by summer. The ‘90s proved a little different when more early first-rounders made the game seem transient. We appreciated the long haulers even more.
We got a touch of that over the last two decades when Tyler Hansbrough stayed four years as did Marcus Paige and Joel Berry, on teams that won ACC and national championmships.
Other factors were involved for sure, but Black and his mates who decided to return as upperclassmen not only gave us chills on the court, but also a thrill on the Hill that most of us haven’t felt in a long time.
Thanks, guys, it’s nice having you all around town again.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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