donbosco
Legend of ZZL
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The evening of January 6, 1965 was a dark one for 4th year Carolina basketball coach 34 year old Dean Smith. His Heels, led by 6-6 All American Billy Cunningham and Super-Sophomore 6-3 Bob Lewis fell to Wake Forest that day as Bones McKinney’s Demon Deacons laid the wood on Carolina to the tune of 107-85. The loss evened UNC’s record up at 6-6.
In true ‘what have you done for me lately’ fashion the insult added to the injury came in the form of an unmistakably proboscis-prominent effigy swinging from a campus tree that greeted the team bus as it pulled up to Woolen Gym after the long loser-ride back from Winston-Salem. Coach Smith pretended not to see the spectacle as he instructed his team about the following day’s practice before turning them off the bus. Years later he remarked, “I could tell it was me because of its long nose.”
Cunningham and seldom used sub Billy Galantai (both New Yorkers recruited by Frank McGuire) rushed from the bus and ripped down the dummy - they believed in their coach. “‘I remember the team was just very hurt by this because we realized it wasn't Coach Smith's fault,’ Cunningham recalled. ‘It was our fault. It was the players' fault.’”
Carolina had won six games after all, one of which was an impressive away victory over an Adolph Rupp guided and highly touted Kentucky Wildcat squad. Unfortunately losses to good Alabama, Florida, Indiana, and Georgia teams had stung the triumph-spoiled Tar Heel faithful and the drubbing by in-state Baptists on that early January night was just too, too much.
Carolina went 9-3 the rest of the way and probably most importantly to the Tar Heel Nation, swept the team from Durham. They also avenged the Wake loss in Chapel Hill and likewise also split with Everett Case’s then powerhouse State College to go 4-2 in Big Four regular season contests. A second defeat by the Demon Deacons in the ACC Tournament ended Carolina’s season (15-9).
Interestingly (ironically?) Coach Smith once remarked about that 1964-65 early gauntlet of tough games, “I almost scheduled myself out of a job."
Glad he didn’t. And thank yous to Cunningham and Galantai.
In true ‘what have you done for me lately’ fashion the insult added to the injury came in the form of an unmistakably proboscis-prominent effigy swinging from a campus tree that greeted the team bus as it pulled up to Woolen Gym after the long loser-ride back from Winston-Salem. Coach Smith pretended not to see the spectacle as he instructed his team about the following day’s practice before turning them off the bus. Years later he remarked, “I could tell it was me because of its long nose.”
Cunningham and seldom used sub Billy Galantai (both New Yorkers recruited by Frank McGuire) rushed from the bus and ripped down the dummy - they believed in their coach. “‘I remember the team was just very hurt by this because we realized it wasn't Coach Smith's fault,’ Cunningham recalled. ‘It was our fault. It was the players' fault.’”
Carolina had won six games after all, one of which was an impressive away victory over an Adolph Rupp guided and highly touted Kentucky Wildcat squad. Unfortunately losses to good Alabama, Florida, Indiana, and Georgia teams had stung the triumph-spoiled Tar Heel faithful and the drubbing by in-state Baptists on that early January night was just too, too much.
Carolina went 9-3 the rest of the way and probably most importantly to the Tar Heel Nation, swept the team from Durham. They also avenged the Wake loss in Chapel Hill and likewise also split with Everett Case’s then powerhouse State College to go 4-2 in Big Four regular season contests. A second defeat by the Demon Deacons in the ACC Tournament ended Carolina’s season (15-9).
Interestingly (ironically?) Coach Smith once remarked about that 1964-65 early gauntlet of tough games, “I almost scheduled myself out of a job."
Glad he didn’t. And thank yous to Cunningham and Galantai.
