UNC Basketball: Joel Berry, Theo Pinson leave to standing ovation
By Zack Pearson
Joel Berry, Theo Pinson exit to a standing ovation after losing to Texas A&M
Sunday’s loss to Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament is disappointing to say the least.
The North Carolina Tar Heels were placed in the West Region as the No. 2 seed and were looking to make another run at a national championship. But those dreams were all dashed on the first weekend.
After beating Lipscomb, UNC played one of their worst games of the season against a really good Aggies team. They shot poorly, got outrebounded and just had no answer for the Aggies.
The loss not only ended the Tar Heels season but it ended the careers of seniors Theo Pinson and Joel Berry.
The duo arrived at UNC as part of the 2014 recruiting class that also featured Justin Jackson. The three were all top 25 players and an important class for Roy Williams. Jackson left UNC after his junior season but is a huge part of the Tar Heels success.
Both Berry and Pinson decided to return for their senior seasons as they were coming off a national championship by beating Gonzaga. The class has achieved a lot in the four years at UNC including reaching the Sweet 16 three times, the Final Four twice, winning the ACC Tournament in 2016 and winning the ACC regular season in both 2016 and 2017.
Following that national championship loss to Villanova in 2016, the Tar Heels were out for redemption in 2017. They achieved that in April of 2017 as Berry and Pinson led the Tar Heels to the program’s sixth national championship.
On Sunday, they exited the court for the final time and were given a standing ovation by the crowd in Charlotte.
https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/975513570497540096
The duo exit Carolina as legends and two of our favorite players to ever play in Carolina Blue.
Following the game, the duo address the media and thanked the fans, teammates and coaches for their time here.
Check it out below:
They’ve provided plenty of memories for UNC fans over the past four years and delivered winning basketball. It’s not how we all imagined it all ending but we are thankful for these two and what they have done.
It’s a loss. It stings. It hurts. But Carolina will be back next October for another ride. We just have to wait it out.
For more on the Tar Heels please check back with Keeping It Heel.