UNC Basketball: Pete Nance’s “Tar Heel Moment” is one to remember
On Saturday afternoon, Pete Nance provided a signature “Tar Heel Moment,” one that UNC basketball fans will remember for a very long time.
There have been plenty of big-time shots in the history of the UNC basketball program.
Of course, a lot of them have come during NCAA Tournament play, as players (such as Luke Maye and Caleb Love) have earned their place in Tar Heel lore by knocking down game-altering spots.
As a Yankees fan, it’s often that you hear that a player “earned their pinstripes.”
Well, in the case of Pete Nance, he certainly earned his Carolina Blue on Saturday afternoon.
PETE NANCE SENDS IT TO OVERTIME AT THE BUZZER IN MSG. WHAT A GAME! 😱
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) December 17, 2022
(via @CBSSportsCBB)pic.twitter.com/MIBRWFnKoZ
The Tar Heels erased a 14-point deficit in the second half of play but were trailing by two with just two seconds left on the clock. After Leaky Black made a halfcourt pass to RJ Davis, who proceeded to call a timeout, North Carolina set up a play for the final shot.
Many expected Davis or Caleb Love to take the final shot, but assistant coach Jeff Lebo drew up a play (as seen below) to get the ball to the team’s fifth-year senior.
Here’s the play Jeff Lebo drew up in the huddle.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) December 18, 2022
He saw Penn State run something similar earlier this year and tried it on a whim.
Armando Bacot and Leaky Black almost bailed on it.
Then Pete Nance shot Leaky a look—and the Garden burst. pic.twitter.com/mBkAnpbFIA
It was risky, as everything had to go perfectly for it to work. Fortunately, it did, as Nance sank the jump shot to send the game into overtime.
From there, the momentum fully went in the Tar Heels’ way.
Give credit to Leaky Black, who made two perfect passes while inbounding the basketball in the final moments. Without him, the shot never happens.
For Nance, that shot serves as an early season “signature moment.” This is exactly why he came to Chapel Hill, to begin with: to compete in some big-time moments.
Playing against the No. 23 ranked team in the country at the world’s most famous arena would fit the description of that!
It’s certain that you’ll see the shot a bunch of times over the following days (heck, it came in at No. 1 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays on Sunday morning!), but the shot will go down as one of the notable ones in UNC basketball history.
That moment is not one that will be forgotten. In fact, expect to see it for many years to come.
Next. UNC basketball outlasts Ohio State in OT thriller. dark
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