You know where I was from 9 to 11 p.m. last night? In front of the TV, cheering on Rashad McCants and doing the "Tar... Heels" chant along with the fans at the Dean Dome.
That's right. For the next three weeks, count me in as a Carolina fan.
I want to see Felton draining threes in defenders faces. I want to see Doherty coaching with the best of them. I want to see Byron Sanders not be a complete and total liability in the paint. But most importantly, I want to see the boys in light blue cutting down the nets at Madison Square Garden in April.
"Why?" you ask. It's not because I'm rooting for all of the ACC teams--I really couldn't care less about Virginia and Georgia Tech. And it's not because I want to ensure that Doherty is back next season, screwing up on the sidelines. And it's certainly not because deep down I have a secret yearning to be a Tar Heel fan.
It's much simpler than that. The reason why I want North Carolina to win the NIT this year is because come next fall, it will mean that a "2003 NIT Champions" banner will grace the rafters of the hallowed Dean E. Smith Center.
What could be more perfect than that?
This one can go right up next to the one commemorating UNC's 1971 NIT title. It will provide a visual reminder of Doherty's great coaching legacy--one which, thus far, includes an upset loss to Penn State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament followed by the worst season in Carolina history. With an NIT championship, Doherty could cement his status as a disgrace to the UNC program.
It's not surprising that in past weeks there was a movement among Tar Heel fans encouraging the school to turn down its upcoming NIT bid. These fans insisted that UNC was too good for the tournament. Not too good this season, when the Heels went 17-15 and lost to teams such as Iona and Miami, but just as a program in general.
This is a program with a legacy as storied as any in college basketball. The Dean Dome's rafters currently hold banners commemorating three NCAA Tournament titles and Michael Jordan's 23, as well as all the other numbers of Tar Heel greats. The building's namesake is known as one of the greatest to ever coach collegiate basketball.
Given its proud past, it would be only too fitting for its present team and coach to add to that tradition with a banner that states loud and clear: The 2003 Tar Heel squad was the year's best... that didn't receive an NCAA bid.
Maybe the Heels are on to something. Maybe they're better off being the best of the rest than they were two years ago, when the Nittany Lions upended them, or even four years ago, when Weber State ousted Carolina in the NCAA's first round. This year, UNC made sure to avoid such competition. They've shown that they can beat DePaul, a team that entered Tuesday's game with a 16-12 record after placing fifth in Conference USA's American division.
Now it's off to either Eastern Washington or Wyoming for my beloved Heels. Only four more victories before the 2003 NIT Champions banner can fly high.
Say it with me now: "Tar... Heels! Tar... Heels!"
Evan Davis is a Trinity senior and senior associate sports editor. His column appears every Wednesday.
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