It was a simple electronic photo album Nate Britt and his sister were making for their paternal grandfather that day: Each would record a short, verbal message to remind him that they loved him, and Ned Britt would cherish it forever.
After all, there never was nor ever would be anything in the world that Ned loved more than the two of them.
So Nate chose his words wisely.
“I said, ‘Thank you, Grand-pop-pop,” the North Carolina sophomore guard said after UNC’s 93-83 victory over Syracuse (14-8, 5-3 ACC) Monday.
“I said Grand-pop-pop like three times, so it was like, ‘Grand-pop-pop-pop,’ and my mom and sister just constantly kept making fun of me about that.
“I think that’s one of my greatest memories about him.”
But now Ned, a native of La Grange, N.C., is gone. At 81 years old, he died Jan. 14 — the same night the No. 13 Tar Heels (18-4, 7-1 ACC) defeated N.C. State 81-79 and exactly a day after Nate’s 20th birthday.