Rapid Reactions: 1982 championship
If there had been an internet in 1982, the GoHeels.com Rapid Reactions might have looked like this…
1. What an incredible finish to Carolina’s first national championship since the undefeated 1957 team.
2. You know he doesn’t want it to be about him, but how relieved are you to never have to hear about how Dean Smith can’t win the big one? Point guard Jimmy Black said all week the Tar Heels wanted to win it for Smith, and the senior was emotional after the game after accomplishing his goal. Quite a redemption moment for Carolina after losing the 1981 championship game and then returning to win it in 1982. We’re almost certain to never see a redemption like that again.
3. The shot by Mike Jordan with 17 seconds remaining instantly becomes one of the biggest in Carolina history. Jordan showed plenty of poise and aggressiveness and could be a nice complement to headliner Sam Perkins on next year’s team.
4. Jordan made the final shot, but it was junior James Worthy who claimed Most Outstanding Player honors. Worthy was sensational in the Gastonia vs. Gastonia matchup with Sleepy Floyd (who was not heavily recruited by most ACC schools) and also threw down a ferocious one-handed dunk that bounced off Floyd’s head as it zipped through the basket. Worthy set a career high with 28 points in the game.
5. Key stretch late in the second half when Carolina held the ball for nearly two full minutes with a one-point lead. Jordan capped the possession with an incredible layup high off the glass over Patrick Ewing, who had four fouls.
6. Carolina didn’t shy away after Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing tried to intimidate with five early goaltends. The Tar Heels continued to pound away in the paint rather than settling for uncharacteristic long-distance 17- or 18-footers.
7. Interesting use of the bench by Dean Smith in the first half. The ’82 Tar Heels aren’t deep, but Smith got some minutes from Christ Brust, Jim Braddock and Buzz Peterson early in order to be able to push his starters in the second half.
8. Jordan’s big jumper will deservedly get most of the attention, but he had a couple other very impressive second half baskets: a follow basket in transition off a Black miss that gave Carolina a three-point lead, and an incredible drive and layup high off the glass later in the period. Jordan also had a key offensive rebound off a Worthy missed free throw that led to a beautiful Matt Doherty assist back to Worthy for a dunk, and then kept another Worthy miss alive that turned into two Black free throws.
9. Big momentum shift midway through the second half, as Peterson committed a turnover with Carolina down four and Floyd had a run-out that would’ve given Georgetown a six-point lead. But Floyd missed, and Perkins knocked in a baseline jumper to cut the lead back to two. Peterson made up for that miscue by picking up a loose ball a couple minutes later that led to Worthy’s highlight dunk.
10. Hope you were one of the many Tar Heels who turned down the sound and got to hear Woody Durham call Smith’s first national championship. If Twitter had been invented yet, it would have been on fire with Billy Packer commentary, including informing us that Jordan “looked shaky” right before his drive and score against Ewing.
11. Underrated storylines: Black’s seven assists, Carolina’s 28-20 rebounding advantage (including a team-high nine for Jordan), Carolina’s clock management in the final five minutes, and–fortunately–the Tar Heels’ hiccups at the free throw line in the second half (the Heels shot 13-for-22 in the game).
12. Who knows where the future will take us, but it’s hard not to imagine that we didn’t just watch one of the best NCAA championship games in history. Tight all the way, with great performances on both sides and great coaches on both sidelines, that’s a game they’ll probably still be talking about 40 years from now when they’re flying around in their hovercars.
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