Berry The Rim Protector?

LOUISVILLE, KY – Ray Spalding is tall and long at 6-foot-10 and he’s quite athletic, too.

So when the Louisville junior broke free for an uncontested dunk to cut North Carolina’s lead to 6 with 2:31 remaining Saturday night, it brought down the house filled to the rafters with more than 21,000 fans at KFC Yum! Center.

Only it didn’t actually work out that way.

Joel Berry, UNC’s little-big engine that seemingly always can, did once again.

Berry raced in from behind, and just as Spalding was about the flush the basketball, Berry smacked it away. If Louisville was going to have a last chance at challenging the Tar Heels, it had to convert that dunk.

It didn’t, and UNC ended up closing out the Cardinals on a 15-5 run to win, 93-76.

“That’s all he talked about in the locker room. He was yelling 'Rim protector' and all this kind of junk…,” UNC Coach Roy Williams said afterward, having some fun at his leader’s expense. “He’s had nine or 10 blocks for us this year. I don’t want him trying to think that, but that was a heck of a play.”

As big as that singular play was, the sequence it triggered was even bigger. Or rather, a dagger.

Luke Maye rebounded the block and gave the ball who Berry who pushed it up the court along the left side. And at the 2:03 mark, Maye drilled a 3 for an 86-75 lead, and Louisville was pretty much done.

It was yet another warrior-like play from Berry, whose knack for doing whatever it takes on the biggest stages is uncanny. It’s also something the Heels rely on.

“He’s that guy we look to to make those plays,” fellow senior Theo Pinson said.

For Berry, it was just him doing what he always does. He has a personal standard, and that play simply fit the script.

“That’s just hustle and the heart that I have and just me being competitive,” said Berry, who led the Heels with 23 points while also adding 8 rebounds and 5 assists to his totals. “That’s what I pride myself on. Even though me blocking that shot was a big-time play, but Luke stepped up and hit big-time 3s – the one when the shot clock was going down, he stepped up and knocked that one in. That shot just added to the plays that we made down in the clutch.

“Those are the plays that are the difference between winning and losing.”

Of course, Pinson joked Berry now must be brought down a peg or two. There’s only so much chirping the rest of the Heels can handle.

“I’m going to have to hear about it a lot, bottom line,” said Pinson, smiling broadly. “Somebody is going to have to dunk on him in practice, not in a game, but somebody is going to have to dunk on him in practice just to bring him back to earth.”

All joking aside, the Heels love that Berry’s drive reaches levels few can compete with. Evidence?

The blocked shot. Berry isn’t exactly a rim protector, but in that moment it’s what Carolina needed, and as usual, he delivered.