Brice Johnson is screaming — again. Fists clenched, arms flexed. You know how he gets.
But this time is different; it’s more than a basketball play. There’s a minute and change left in the No. 8 North Carolina men’s basketball team’s eventual 75-70 win over Syracuse, but at the time, UNC is only up three points.
Joel Berry pulls the trigger from deep, uncorking a shot just behind the arc. It clanks — hard — off the rim. Find the ball, get to the ball. Who has the ball?
This is where Johnson comes in. He leaps in the air, one white shirt in a mob of orange ones, and somehow manages to get his hands on the ball.
“What other person would you expect to get that rebound?” Kennedy Meeks said.
Now it’s Berry’s turn to wait, but there’s no mad dash for the rebound this time. Johnson hops back up and lets go of a floater. Swish.
“Thank God he’s down there getting the rebound,” Berry said. “I don’t know what the score was at that point, but we needed it to close out the game."
Syracuse snagged a late steal, but Johnson’s bucket ultimately was too much for the Orange to overcome. Another post move? Yes, technically.
But by all accounts, it was much more. In that one moment, Johnson epitomized four years of growth, of pushing and being pushed to the brink, and finally coming out on top.
