More than three years after the conclusion of his North Carolina basketball career, Brice Johnson will compete against Duke once again.
Johnson will host day one of the third annual Teen Cancer America Hoop-a-Thon on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Smith Center practice facility. The former All-American forward will compete against former All-American Blue Devil guard Nolan Smith, who will host day two of the event on Sunday at 11 a.m. at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Fans can register online for $25 to shoot hoops for "Team Brice" or "Team Nolan." Funds raised will help support TCA programs in development at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Duke Cancer Institute. Donations to either team can be made online, too.
Smith, Duke’s director of basketball operations and a 2010 national champion, became a TCA ambassador in 2016 and has hosted Hoop-a-Thons at Duke for the past two years.
This is Johnson’s first year as a TCA ambassador, sparking the idea for the first-ever rival Hoop-a-Thon.
“Brice has supported the TCA Hoop-a-Thon since the beginning, showing a side of the Duke-Carolina rivalry that most folks never see,” Smith said in a statement. “I was so excited when he became a TCA ambassador, and we started planning these competing events, which will raise even more money for Teen Cancer America and the amazing work they do.”
Participants will receive a 2019 TCA Hoop-a-Thon Rivalry T-shirt and will have two minutes to shoot hoops. The school that raises the most money for TCA will receive a traveling trophy to display until next year’s event.
“Nolan’s work with TCA, helping young people fighting cancer at Duke and UNC Hospitals, definitely inspired me,” Johnson said in a statement. “I’m counting on all my Tar Heels out there to register for the event in Chapel Hill or go online and make a donation so we can beat Duke!”
