Ghosts Of Carmichael Coming Back To Life For A Day
CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina is turning back the clock Sunday, back to a time when short shorts ruled the hardwood and Dean Smith ran the most admired and copied college basketball program in the land.
From 1965 through the first half of the 1985-86 season, the Tar Heels played their home basketball games in Carmichael Auditorium, owning a record of 169-20 in what was considered one of the loudest arenas in college basketball. On Sunday, Roy Williams’ Tar Heels will take on Wofford in what is now called Carmichael Arena, the first regular season game the men have played there in nearly 34 years.
“It was just a great place to coach. The enthusiasm, the noise, it was a tremendous home court advantage, which is what I liked,” Williams said Friday, before telling a quick story.
“You may have heard the story when coach (Dean) Smith asked the staff, ‘is there anything you guys want in this new building?’ And my reaction was I want the closest seat in the Smith Center to be just like closest seat was in Carmichael and he said, ‘Well, go measure.’ So, I did, came back and gave it to him and supposedly that’s what they did. But, the enthusiasm, the noise factor, the attention from the crowd was just off the charts.”
With Carmichael as Carolina’s home, the program soared, as Smith led the Heels to seven Final Fours – 1967-69, 1972, 1977, 1981 and 1982 – including NCAA title game appearances in '68, '77, '81 and winning it all in '82 with a lineup that included Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins. Some hoops historians say that club remains UNC's best ever.
The UNC profile exploded and Smith’s program became a brand during this period. He coached the Olympic team to the gold medal at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, a team that included four Tar Heels and longtime Smith assistant Bill Guthridge as one o that squad's assistants.
Charlie Scott played and helped change local culture and minds there. Larry Miller also played there. So did Bob Lewis, Bob McAdoo, Walter Davis, Mitch Kupchak, Brad Daugherty, Al Wood and Kenny Smith. So did a kid from Rocky Mount named Phil Ford. Nobody has worn No. 12 since.
The Four Corners offense and philosophy lived there. So did the tired signal, pointing to thank the passer, huddling before free throws, tip outs, standing at the top of the key during free throws, timeouts after made baskets, the bench standing, a hand-operated scoreboard in the corner of the court near the UNC bench, and a slew of miracle comeback victories.
Williams cut his teeth as an assistant under Smith in the building before the Heels moved from 10,000-seat Carmichael into the 21,750-seat Smith Center in January of 1986. Numerous memorable moments took place in Carmichael, even for its relatively short time as the Heels’ hoops home, among them what took place following the last regular season game in the building.
UNC defeated N.C. State, 90-79, and the thing most fans remember ame right after the game ended. Smith and Wolfpack coach Jim Valvano shook hands before Jimmy V grabbed the ball from an official and proceeded to shoot a layup, effectively scoring the last basket ever in the building.
It was classic Valvano, and Friday, Williams’ response to that moment was classic Roy.
“Yea, if I had known that I would have ran over and blocked the sucker,” he said, smiling. “Nobody knew he was going to do that but I thought it was great for Jim. And I could have blocked his shot. We were both old, but I was younger I think at that time.”
Moments later… “Coach Smith came back out and waived at the crowd and thanked the crowd,’ Williams said. “That’s what I remember."
The Tar Heels have played in the building once since that night, an 80-72 victory over William & Mary in the 2010 NIT. Sunday’s game is being played there because the Smith Center is hosting graduation ceremonies and this was the only date UNC and Wofford could work out fulfilling their three-game contract.
As for doing this more often, it’s doubtful.
“There’s so many things that go into it,” Williams said. “The season ticket holders are not getting games, they’re not getting in there necessarily. There’s no simple answer to it.
“Clint (Gwaltney) and I talked about it for years about having a game in there but this building (the Smith Center) is used for a lot… We’ve talked about it, but there’s no huge plan to do anything that I know of.”
So this might be it for the foreseeable future. But for a day, anyway, it will seem like old times and O’Koren, Bradley, Kuester, Wuycik, Grubar, Clark, Jones, LaGarde, Black, Chamberlain, Bunting, Guthridge, Fogler and the maestro himself with be there in spirit.