UNC Basketball: Joel Berry, Theo Pinson delivered senior night speeches

Joel Berry and Theo Pinson give their Senior Night speeches following a disappointing game

It wasn’t the ending we hoped for on Tuesday night and it’s not how the team wanted to send out Joel Berry and Theo Pinson in their final game in the Dean E. Smith Center.

Berry drained a three-pointer with under 10 seconds left to tie the game as we appeared to be going into overtime.

But Miami and Ja’Quan Newton had other ideas. Newton drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Miami the win.

After the game, the crowd stayed in the Dean Dome to listen to speeches from the senior class and head coach Roy Williams.

The 2014 recruiting class is one of the best in the Roy Williams era and really contributed a lot to this program. Pinson, Berry and Justin Jackson were all Top 25-ranked recruits that were told not come to UNC due to the NCAA investigation.

Instead, they decided not to listen to those doubters and took their talents to Carolina. In the first three years, they’ve reached the Sweet 16 three times, the Final Four twice and have won a National Championship.

They still aren’t done yet.

The Tar Heels are entering March figuring to be at least a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament and will have the chance to make another Final Four or win a National Championship. It won’t be easy but this team has the experience and knows what it takes to do it.

For Berry, his time at UNC has been memorable. He was named the 2017 Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four. Following the game, Berry thanked the fans, head coach Roy Williams and his teammates for supporting him throughout the four years.

Following Berry’s speech, it was time for Pinson to take the floor.

Pinson took a different route, using some jokes to ease into his speech. The wing also talked about Williams allowing Pinson to be who he is. That includes crashing some press conferences over the years.

Check out Pinson’s speech below:

As for the finale, it was Williams’ turn to talk.

The head coach always takes the mic on Senior Night to appreciate his gratitude for the players over the years.

As always, Williams’ delivered an emotional speech that we will remember forever. Williams mentioned how important this 2014 recruiting class was:

The Tar Heels will have a few days off before taking on Duke in Durham in their regular season finale on Saturday.

For more coverage on the UNC-Duke game, please check back with Keeping it Heel.