More Notes From the FSU/UNC Game

Player's Mom sings National Anthem - Bernard James is a special young man. He dropped out of high school - got a GED - enlisted in the Air Force. Served 6 years including time in Iraq. He started playing basketball in the service - got offered a scholarship at FSU. Coach Hamilton asked his mom to sing when he saw her on YouTube. She did a fantastic job.

Though FSU has been bragging about a sellout - 12,100 seats - it was not true.

There were several superboxes - each holding maybe 30 seats - that were empty. I counted 6 boxes just across from us on the other side - let alone those behind me - and in the ends. All of them empty.

Tickets outside were cheap. I turned away a nice pair for $15 each. The two guys were in front of me and I chose the tickets in section A for $21 each instead of in section L for $15. There were a lot of people trying to sell printouts too. I doubt if anybody paid over face outside.

I can't blame the FSU fans. FSU lost 6 of the last 10 games - losing by 20 to Clemson - and it looked like they quit.

All in all - it was a great turnaround. You saw it all on HDTV. What you did not see was Barnard James's mother singing the national anthemn. Leonard Hamilton asked her to sing it after seeing her on youtube. She is tall - skinny - and pretty. And she really belted it out. The "12,100" really loved it.

Roy Williams was really scared for himself. He tried running off the court - even without the team. Then he remembered and came back for them. How do you justify pulling your "scholarship" players and leaving the walk-ons there to take the abuse. Also - the players leaving covering their heads - another coward's move. Martin Luther King says - I judge a man's character - not by when things are going good - but by when things are tough. Those Tar Heels acted like coddled cowards.

Now Roy Williams and Coach K have something in common. This is why they lobby to get a schedule that does not go to Tallahassee. Both of them have been run out of the Tucker Center before the game clock expired.

More photos and video coming.