Stillman White, Patrick Crouch, David Dupont(Grimsley High School), Stewart Cooper and Jackson Simmons……
Those were the five Tar Heels left behind on Saturday, when North Carolina lost by 33 points to Flordia State, down in Tallahassee…Coach Roy Williams intended for his entire team to follow him to the locker room and get out off of the court at FSU, before the Seminole fans stormed the court at the end of the game….But five Tar Heels stayed on and finished the contest and Coach Williams says he didn’t even realize that White, Crouch, Dupont(Grimsley HS), Cooper and Simmons had stuck around to end, until later on when he reviewed the game film…
Coach Williams was trying to protect his players and staff, but the ‘Five Tar Heels Left Behind’ did not retreat…..They stayed on and faced the bitter end…..Coach Williams has apologized to his men and he is ready to move on…..Has he done enough or should these young men, that stuck around and took one for the visiting team, be given more recognition for their noble efforts in the face of adversity?????
It may be to time to erect a special plaque outside the Smith Center, for the ‘Five Tar Heels Left Behind’…..They put their be-hinds on the line every day in practice and when the other Tar Heels walked away, they stayed on to finish ‘The Battle in Tallahassee…..These men fought the good fight and they should start the next game for the Tar Heels, to honor their work at the time when others would not be there for them…..And even though their other teammates were not there for them, the ‘Five Tar Heels Left Behind’ did not walk away…..Many feel that Coach Williams abandoned his ship as it was going down and left others to fend for themselves, as the ship was sinking….Fortunately there were five survivors and this story had an ending, maybe not a happy ending, but all of the team/crew was accounted for and they returned safely to Chapel Hill…..
Like the oceans off of the Florida coast, this is a very deep subject and what do you say today, after you have had time to reflect back upon what took place on Saturday? Was this a mutiny or just a formality that comes at the end of a blowout ballgame???(Many say the captain should never leave the ship, under any circumstances.)
Your thoughts as this event begins to settle down, or does it???
Again, we pay tribute to the ‘Five Tar Heels Left Behind” and you???
CLICK HERE to read more and to see all the comments on this one from WRALSportsFan.com….Around 435 comments on this one…..
Leonard Hamilton does the decent (and smart) thing vs. UNC
By Reid Cherner, USA TODAY Updated 1d 11h ago
With 14 seconds left in their basketball game, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton had fears for the safety of his opponent.
So Hamilton, whose FSU team beat No. 5 North Carolina 90-57, suggested to Roy Williams that he clear the arena of his Tar Heels knowing fans were going to storm the floor after the upset victory.
Williams left five walk-ons to finish the game and had everyone else return to the locker room.
The assistant coach was supposed to bring those five players off the court as well, No one was intentionally “left behind.”
Who really believes that Roy didn’t know the players were still on the court. That is nonsense. Just the UNC SID trying to cover the butt of WIlliams. That is an embarassment. To leave your team on the court and go back to the locker room. Every coach in the country recruiting against WIlliams was on the phone Saturday night telling that story to the recruits. No way to spin it. A HUGE mistake. Shows his arrogance and selfishness. If that would have been my child left out there he would have had some questions to answer. Hopefully it doesn’t cost them any recruits.
He may be arrogant, he may be selfish,but if you watch the clip do you see him instructing those five players to stay or do you see him motioning everyone over to shake the hands of the FSU players? Did you see the five players left behind shake hands as well? If the opposing coach tells me that it’s in my teams “best interest” to leave the court before they got mobbed, I am going to error on the side of caution and heed his warning. It was an unfortunate incident those guys being left to hold the bag, but looking at the incident in it’s entirety, is the only way to come to a conclusion. UNintentional.
The captain is always the last one to leave the sinking ship—–not with Roy in charge
After watching David Dupont play for Coach Darren Corbett at Grimsley Hiigh School, I knew that David would not leave his post….This young man is a warrior and he stayed on to help hold down the fort and to try and quiet the Seminoles….Nothing like this will stain the Dupont image, it will only increase his power to to go hard as he enters the paint……..Good job David Dupont and how does the rest of the public see the overall image that this is creating for the leader of the Heels, coach Roy Williams????? Was this the right move or was this bailing out? Many readers are seeing this many different ways…..
Sink or swim???
These were not Italian waters but they(UNC) were facing very rough seas….Did they do the right thing by the Five that chartered a very tough course/stiff waters?
Fact Finder, if he wanted the 5 kids to follow him then why did he call them off the bench and have them go to the scorer’s table and check in? Do you you check in when you are going to the lockeroom?
Sounds like the captain of the cruise ship that ran aground near Italy and he left the ship. Captain said he was coordinating the evacuation from land. I guess Roy was coaching from the lockeroom.
There is no way to spin this. Roy screwed up.
Wonder how long Roy will stay. First he blasts his own fans on his radio show, now this. He also has health issues too. Makes you wonder since he has nothing left to prove.
We are starting to hear from the public on this topic and this is where they need to come and sound off….
How would Williams feel if he walked in Monday morning and the five were in his office and turned everything in and said “Coach you gave up on us, we’re giving up on you”! This is awful, whether it was a mistake or not! Criminals don’t get off the hook by saying “Oops that is not what I intended to happen”! So in retrospect, Williams should start those five against Duke, as all of the vets have started against Duke and the Freshman will have many more opportunities to start the greatest game every year in college basketball. They bust their ass EVERYDAY……for the name across the front of the jersey so why not give them an opportunity to stand on the front line and be the face of the “University of North Carolina’s” basketball program on its grandest stage in Chapel Hill against Duke with Dickie V and Mike Patrick calling it for ESPN. Segments should be done on these five to give them the recognition they deserve. Period end of story……
Just a quick thought and I’ll leave this at that…..Maybe the head coach should not be the first person to walk off the court in a situation such as this….Maybe he should be the last person to walk off the court, to make sure everyone else got out OK/safely and I mean everyone and no ‘one’ or’ five’ left behind…..Too much confusion and miscommunication swirling in this one, when you consider the experience(time spent coaching) of the UNC coaches involved…..
I think this will come back to haunt the Heels and that they will lose to the Hokies in Blacksburg on Thursday night. This will be very hard to bounce back from and they will lose again on the road. It might be close but they will lose to Virginia Tech.
Sounds like a bunch of State Fans and Dook Fans looking for something. You will get your chance!!!!