Keeping It Heel recently sat down with former basketball team manager Allison Braxton. Allison was nice enough to give us an inside look into what it’s like to be a manager for one of the most prestigious programs in college sports, North Carolina basketball. Allison shared so much with us, we broke up our interview into two parts, don’t miss Part I on Keeping It Heel now.
KIH: Is Bill Guthridge really as funny as they say he is?
AB:I would say yes, but I honestly didn’t get to work with him very much. He was the Varsity coach when I was a J.V. manager so I had limited interaction with him. He would always say hello though and it does seem like he always had some kind of wisecrack when he walked through the tunnel after Varsity practice. We would all be waiting in there for J.V. practice to start and I remember always feeling so nervous when he would walk through. (I wanted to make a good impression.)
KIH:Which game do you remember most vividly while as a manager and why?
AB:There are many “parts” of games that I remember very vividly…certain plays, dunks, etc. Most of them were Carolina/Duke games both at home and away. However, the one game that probably stands out the most is UNC vs. Duke on March 9, 2003. It was senior night in Chapel Hill and I was recognized at center court as a senior manager.
I had spent so many hours with the team over the last 5 years and so much of my college experience was wrapped up in this so it was extremely emotional for me knowing that it was coming to an end.
It was an extremely heated game and was also the game where the Coach Doherty and some of the UNC players got into a little scuffle with the Duke bench and some of their assistant coaches. We ended up winning by 3 points and the students rushed the court. I remember going home that night with blue paint all over my black suit and I couldn’t have been happier.
KIH: Did you have to sign a confidentiality agreement or was it just understood that what you saw and heard had to be on the DL?
AB:We were not required to sign a confidentiality agreement. I think we were probably told early on that everything was confidential, but honestly, I think it was mostly understood. You have to remember that each of the managers loved Carolina Basketball very much and we were all so incredibly dedicated that we would never have done or said anything to damage the team or the team’s reputation.
There were many times during my years that I had friends and family inquire about what was going on with the team, but you had to keep it to yourself. It was very much the concept of family…everything stayed within the family. We were all very conscious that the Carolina Basketball program was under intense scrutiny at all times and I think we all felt very protective of it.
KIH: Who was the best dunker you saw during your tenure as manager?
AB:That is very difficult…I don’t think I can pick just one. Julius Peppers had some of the most memorable dunks but I also remember Jawad Williams having quite a few himself.
KIH:Do you still stay in touch with fellow managers?
AB:I do. It seems as though not as much as we did in the first few years after college but we do keep in touch. Most of us are married, a few have kids, and many have moved out of state so it’s definitely not as easy as it used to be. We usually catch up at one another’s weddings and see each other during basketball season as there are many of us who make it back to a lot of the games.