Some of the people on this thread apparently don’t care if UNC hangs any more banners as long as they can look at the coaches on our bench and reminisce fondly about the banners our coaches hung 15, 25, or 35 years ago.
There’s a balance. I could just as easily say by your posts that you don’t care what happens to Dean’s or Roy’s legacy and the pipeline of alums and family environment that has lasted most of our lifetimes, provided you get what you consider to be a “better” shot at more banners (flimsy as that shot might turn out to be). And I mostly believe that for some of you who speak with such cynicism and rancor about HD and his supporters, parsing every detail of his exit to hungrily expose flaws of a wounded Tar Heel even though they don’t really know shit about shit and the players sentiments are what matter most, and many players have expressed gratitude and sadness. That matters far more than some internet dorks with pitchforks clutching their pearls over what so and so said that so and so heard about when he left and who he may or may not have talked to at a time deemed satisfactory to them.
My take, from the very beginning of any rumbling about Hubert, has been that I will gladly tolerate more inconsistency in the W’s column and with XO’s in order to maintain the culture, while allowing HD to evolve into the very, very tricky new landscape that many of you underestimate just because a handful of coaches you point to (which rotates every couple years) has had some recent success.
So, yes, if it meant a few less W’s and deep tourney runs, I was satisfied to keep watching it play out. But then my ego is not so dependent on the banners hung up by a bunch of teenagers. I’ve been in it all these years for that, for sure… but mostly, and especially as I’ve gotten older and have seen what’s happened to sports at all levels, I value the tradition and legacy of something that was truly unique in ALL sports, not just college basketball.
So if that’s using Dean as a trump card, then call it what you want. But what it authentically means to me is thinking in terms of his principles, and Roy’s principles, and their *modesty and humility* and letting those be the beacon. Regardless of how you think those principles don’t “suit the era.” And not just impetuously chasing immediate gratification (which is not even close to guaranteed and could actually cause a quicker spiral than HD ever would’ve), just because my ego doesn’t haven’t the patience to bear any fewer wins than I think I’m entitled to.
