Post-practice shooting contests propel Jackson in UNC men's basketball win over Louisville

Picture this.

The Smith Center’s empty. Well, not quite empty, but most of the North Carolina men’s basketball team has trickled out after practice. There’s a few coaches, some managers milling about, but there’s no serious basketball being played now. Now is the fun part.

The group always changes — sometimes Kanler Coker joins, other times Brandon Robinson and Shea Rush — but there’s two stalwarts: Joel Berry and Justin Jackson.

They’ll roll out a trolley of balls, divvy them up. Then, they pull up.

First to five “deep” 3-pointers wins.

“There’s really no set length to it,” Jackson said after No. 8 UNC’s 74-63 win over No. 7 Louisville on Wednesday.

Sometimes Jackson wins. Other times Berry gets the better of him. Either way, they trade barbs and bombs, one-upping each other from seemingly inconceivable range.

“I can hit this one, and he’ll come right back and hit another one,” Berry said. “We just go back and forth, back and forth.”

But against the Cardinals, there was no real competition. Berry scored 15 points, sure, but they came on layups and floaters — not those deep after-practice ploys.

Instead, it was Jackson who won the on-the-court contest from deep, burying four of his nine attempts from 3-point land. From the corner, from the top of the arc and yes, even one of those way-out shots you’d only expect to see after shootaround — Jackson kept burying shots.

Arguably none was more determinant, more decisive than that one practice-esque heave.

There were less than five minutes to play, and UNC’s lead was already growing. The Tar Heels passed the ball around, went in, went out, ran through the same basketball motions every team does. They did it for five seconds, then 15. Then they were stuck, no clear shot or easy pass with three seconds left. So Berry lobbed it back out to Jackson, standing almost near midcourt.

Two seconds. One.

Jackson did what he had to: he elevated and let one of those silly-far shots go. And then, unlike all the ordinary basketball motions from half a minute before, something extraordinary happened.

It went in.

“Justin made one that was pretty (and) made one that looked like a brick that hit right in the flange and still fell in,” head coach Roy Williams said. “A couple of big-time 3’s.”

Jackson couldn’t help but let out a smile, one of those wide grins that tugs at your cheeks and pulls the corners of your mouth back to your ears. Louisville called timeout right after to try to stop Jackson’s momentum — but at that point, there wasn’t much the Cardinals could do. Jackson finished the game with 21 points.

After the game, Jackson and Berry sunk into seats across from one another in the interview room. They answered the routine questions, and then Jackson brought up their post-practice contest.

So, who’s won more? Who’s the better 3-point shooter from deep?

Berry went to answer, and Jackson slid him a smirk. Berry saw, read the “you know who” from his teammate’s eyes.

“I think I’ve won more deep-3 competitions than him, man,” Berry said with a smile.

Jackson waved it off and went back to answering reporters. But Berry hadn’t finished.

“In game, he’s had more than I have — I’ll give it to him,” Berry said. “He’s doing his thing right now, and I’ve just got to respect that and honor it."

“We need it.”

@BrendanRMarks

sports@dailytarheel.com