UNC faces Maryland in ?nal home game for Tyler Zeller

When North Carolina takes the court Wednesday against Maryland, the Tar Heels will look quite a bit different than usual.

Yes, the Tar Heels will don the one-time-only silver Nike Platinum alternate uniforms.

But the starting squad wearing those jerseys will also be different. As is tradition, all five seniors will start for the final home game of the season.

Tyler Zeller will start as usual, but joining him for the opening tipoff will be Justin Watts, Stewart Cooper, David Dupont and Patrick Couch.

“(Senior Day) probably does mean more to me than it does some other coaches,” coach Roy Williams said. “But I’m corny. I think that playing in the Smith Center the last time in front of those fans that supported you for four years is extremely important.”

Tonight marks the last time that Zeller gets to work in the Carolina blue key that has become a second home for him.

The Washington, Ind., native has had a stellar season to cap an up-and-down career at UNC.

Zeller saw significant playing time as a freshman before breaking his wrist. He missed 23 games, but returned for the final 13 contests to help the team win the national championship.

In the following season, he missed 10 games while UNC went 20-17 and ended the season with a disappointing NIT bid.

But as the Tar Heels rebounded the next season for a regular-season ACC championship, Zeller saw his role on the team grow.

“Coming in my freshman year, I was a role player, even my sophomore year I was a role player,” Zeller said. “Being able to kind of progress from a role player more into somebody they could rely on last year and then this year, I think I’ve become pretty reliable.”

As the team leaned on Zeller more for his play, it also looked to him for leadership.

“I’ve kind of learned that I can be a good role model with the way I work, the way I compete,” Zeller said. “If I can find a way to get my teammates to step up, I know we can be an even more competitive team.”

Zeller will only have two guests in Chapel Hill for his last hoorah in the Smith Center — his parents. But that’s not a big deal for him.

In fact, Zeller hasn’t even thought about the fact that this will be his last home game.

“Playing the last game is going to be interesting,” he said. “I’m not a very emotional person, so we’ll see what happens.

“After the game I’ll be able to reflect a lot more. Right now I’m just kind of thinking about the game and what we need to do in that.”

Although it hasn’t hit him yet, Zeller knows how special his experience has been. He said he has tried to leave a legacy as both a great person and player.

Win or lose against the Terrapins, nobody can argue that he hasn’t left his mark. Williams just wants to make sure his final impression is one to remember.

“The memories that you’re going to have from those four years are going to be extremely important,” Williams said. “The last time you do it, you want it to be special.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.