The North Carolina men’s basketball team hosted an open practice only for students at the Smith Center on Tuesday. The practice was followed by a meet and greet opportunity for the fans to meet some UNC players.
Hundreds of students, clad in their blue and white Tar Heel garb, flocked to the Smith Center for a unique opportunity to catch a glimpse of how a practice looks and talk to their favorite players. This event generated a buzz of excitement among the students that attended.
“I think it’s really cool,” first-year Josh Dixon said before the event started. “I’m excited to see what a real practice looks like."
First-year Christian Clark said he thinks the open practice was a great idea.
“It’s important to get the fans involved,” he said. “This gives them a unique opportunity to watch an actual practice and check out the new recruits.”
There is quite a bit of excitement surrounding this year’s North Carolina squad, and that energy was reflected in the atmosphere at practice. As the crowd was instructed not to cheer, an intense hush fell over them as they took in as much of the practice as they could. Despite the rule to keep quiet, most could not help letting small “oohs” and “aahs” from escaping their lips after a slick pass or powerful slam.
“This team has the potential to make a run to the Final Four,” Clark said.
Clark hails from Midlothian, Va., the hometown of senior guard Kenny Williams. Williams might be his favorite player, but he wasn't the only one Clark was itching to see.
“I’m hype about the freshmen,” he said, referring to UNC's highly touted trio of Nassir Little, Coby White and Leaky Black. “I’m also excited to see how Cam Johnson will do now that he’s healthy.”
