INDIANAPOLIS, IN – It “hasn’t exactly been Maui,” North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said, when describing the Tar Heels’ experience so far this week preparing to play Friday in the NCAA Tournament.

Williams has taken 29 Kansas and UNC teams to the big dance before, and none of those experiences would recognize what teams are dealing with this week. This is the NCAA Tournament, and the outside world is excited for that sense of normalcy returning some, but inside the NCAA bubble in which the teams must live this week, it’s unlike any other.

UNC arrived in Indianapolis, where each of the 68 teams is staying, on Monday evening and by 5 pm all team personnel were in their hotel rooms. They couldn’t leave until 6:30 the following evening, when the Tar Heels were finally allowed to practice.

Meals were dropped off at everyone’s doors, and other than that, each player, team manager, medical staff, and coaches were left to their own inside their rooms. No visiting others’ rooms. They were held up, as if they went into some kind of Federal hiding program. Though congregating in the halls did take place some.

"I watched plenty of movies,” senior forward Garrison Brooks said. “So, I pretty much been in my room just watching movies. Dudes (are) playing cards in the hallway. I mean, so it's pretty much been kind of just hanging out in the hallway; not been in everybody's room. Everybody is pretty much doing our thing.”

The eight-seed Tar Heels passed all of their COVID tests so the team is a full go for Friday night versus No. 9 seed Wisconsin in the first round of the South Regional, a game that will be played 75 miles northwest of Indianapolis at Mackey Arena at Purdue in West Lafayette, IN.

UNC practiced in the Indianapolis convention center makeshift facilities Tuesday evening, and the Heels also got 45 minutes to lift weights. On Wednesday morning, they were allowed to visit Victory Field, home of the Cleveland Indians AAA team. Located in downtown Indianapolis, Victory Field is widely recognized as one of the best, if not the top, minor league baseball ballparks in the nation.

“We walked around on the warning track to home plate just circled the place,” Williams said.

Later Wednesday afternoon, the Tar Heels bused to Mackey, which is about two-and-a-half hours round trip. Needless to say, that isn’t typical for the NCAA Tournament experience.

“We're getting on a dadgum bus and driving an hour and 15 minutes to West Lafayette to get out and go in and practice at Mackey Arena,” Williams said. “I didn't realize West Lafayette was even a site I thought we were all staying here in Indianapolis.”

Irritants for sure, but perhaps most disappointing to Williams is his players won’t get the typical NCAA Tournament experience. Pomp is one way to describe it. An overriding buzz, an air of excitement and fanfare is another.

In pre-pandemic times, every nuance of the experience for teams can be carved out as special and certainly unique. From bands and cheerleaders always greeting teams at their hotels as they leave and arrive from practices and other activities, to the swarm of fans and media, and then the practice open to the public the day before first-round games.

The Tar Heels typically draw large crowds and they don’t disappoint. Shoot arounds, drills, a dunking contest, capped by the team ending their 50-minute session early so the players can go up to fans at the rails in the stands to pose for pictures and sign autographs. Williams loves it, not just because it’s fun for him, but he clearly appreciates the moment for his players. Win or lose, those experiences never go away.

But they don’t exist this week. No open practices, very little fanfare, though downtown Indianapolis is decorated with NCAA stuff, including a massive bracket adorning the JW Marriott just blocks from Lucas Oil Stadium. The hotel has 36 floors and stands 376 feet high, the bracket is 47,000 square feet.

“I think it's missing something,” Williams said. “There's no question. I think that the two games that we enjoyed in the Smith Center the most were the games we had those 3000 fans there. The pageantry, the things that our teams have done. In the past during the NCAA Tournament, when we go back after that first round, they talk about those kinds of things.”

Only three current scholarship Tar Heels have even played in an NCAA Tournament game. Garrison Brooks started three times in 2019 and overall has played in five games totaling106 minutes, 31 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists and is 11-for-23 from the field.

Senior guard Andrew Platek has also played in five games totaling 16 minutes with six points. Junior wing Leaky Black played 17 minutes in three games in 2019 but didn’t score, missing his only field goal attempt.

This week is much different from before, but Brooks, a native of Lafayette, AL, which is pronounced Luh – FET, is just taking it in stride.

"Yeah, I mean its fine we're driving to Lafayette,” he said, when asked about the bus ride to practice and other differences from years past. “So, I'm kinda excited. Let's say this is different to Lafayette for me. But we just got to do (it), we didn't choose it.

“We didn't choose to drive that far, but we will have to play there. So, you might as well get used to.”

And that is pretty much the attitude the team has adopted,

“I'm super excited just having the chance to be out here,” sophomore forward Armando Bacot said. “Obviously, it's not the conditions any of us are really used to, but I'm definitely excited.”

Tip time Friday is 7:10 EST, and at least then the Tar Heels can feel kind of normal for a couple of hours.

After finding the clip that is posted above, I decided to find some more from the last several years. I am posting all I shot that I can find.