UNC Basketball: Videos of Senior Night speeches in the Dean Dome
By Zack Pearson
UNC Basketball seniors give their senior speeches in their final home game in the Dean E. Smith Center following a win over Duke on Saturday night
Before we get started, we here at Keeping It Heel would like to say a simple Thank You to our seniors this year. Thank you for doing what you do, for putting in the extra work every day of the season and for making it enjoyable to watch you guys play every single game.
Saturday night was a big one in the Dean E. Smith Center as seniors Luke Maye, Cameron Johnson and Kenny Williams as they played their final home game. Not only did the Tar Heels sweep the regular season series from Duke but they also earned a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title.
The trio came up big in the 79-70 win over Duke, marking the 16th win this season in conference play for the Tar Heels.
Williams led the trio with 18 points, including draining 4 of his 7 three-point attempts. On the defensive side of the ball, he was matched up with freshman R.J. Barrett and drew three charges in the game.
He joined UNC’s 2015 recruiting class as the 96th-ranked recruit overall and was once a VCU commit but decided to back out after Shaka Smart took the Texas job. Four years later, Williams has become a key player in UNC’s rotation.
Following Saturday’s win, Williams addressed the Dean Dome crowd:
For Luke Maye, he was the other recruit in UNC’s two-man 2015 recruiting class and he virtually came out of nowhere. A Huntersville, North Carolina native, Maye wasn’t even ranked in the Top 150 as a three-star recruit.
But he worked his ass off as a preferred walk-on and hit one of the biggest shots in UNC Basketball history back in the 2017 Elite 8 to send the Tar Heels to the Final Four. A year later, Maye had his breakout season averaging a double-double and was named First-Team All-ACC.
Maye thanked the Dean Dome crowd, his family, his teammates and coaching staff in his emotional senior speech:
Cam Johnson didn’t commit to North Carolina but instead transferred to the program from Pitt back in 2017 and has proved to be a key piece to UNC’s success this season.
Following an impressive 2017-18 campaign, Johnson has been lights out and one of the best shooters in the country this season. He’s doing it coming off of off-season knee surgery and is a big reason why the Tar Heels are where they are at this season.
Here’s Johnson addressing the crowd for his senior night speech:
As Williams mentioned in his speech, the job isn’t finished yet. While UNC accomplished their first goal of winning the ACC regular season title, there is still work to be done.
The end goal is to win another national championship and the way the Tar Heels are playing, they have as good of a shot as any team.
For more on the UNC Basketball program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.