Movies may never be made about J.B. Tanner, Patrick Moody and their careers as walk-ons with the North Carolina basketball team.
But did “Rudy”
get a ring at Notre Dame?
Two former Western North Carolina high school players — Moody (Roberson) and Tanner (West Henderson) — return as college national champions for this weekend's ACC/Crossfire All-Star games at the Asheville Civic Center.
Tonight's game begins at 6, and another takes place at 2 p.m. Sunday. There are no more free tickets available to either game.
“I remember going to these games when I was younger,”
Moody said.
“It was always in the back of my mind that I'd like to play in one some day. I look back on everything here (at UNC) and know I made the right decision to come here. It's hard to describe how great the past few weeks have been.“
Undoubtedly, the main draw for both Crossfire/ACC games is the arrival of Tar Heel starters Danny Green and Tyler Hansbrough.
Tyler Hansbrough scored the most points in ACC history (2,872) and was the 2008 national player of the year.
Green averaged 13.1 points a game this season for UNC, which romped past Michigan State, 89-72, for its fifth national championship on April 6.
Crossfire Ministries co-founder Randy Shepherd said Friday that every Tar Heels player who originally committed to playing would be in attendance this weekend.
“There's definitely a buzz around the community,”
Shepherd said.
“It's a double blessing for us, getting to deliver our message and allow Western North Carolina to see such good talent play.”
Pushing Tar Heels' stars like Green and Hansbrough every day in practice was one of the chief responsibilities for Moody and Tanner.
Neither was remarkable enough in high school play to be named to many regional or statewide all-star teams.
But both eventually caught the attention of UNC coach Roy Williams, who is a Roberson alumnus like Moody.
Moody, a 6-foot-4 forward, and Tanner, a 6-foot guard, started out on the Tar Heels' junior varsity team.
“I just think back on how blessed I've been,”
Tanner said.
“It was an amazing experience for us to contribute. We played the best basketball we could this year, and we knew (a national championship) could be the result. Everybody I know that has ever been a Carolina fan at any point in their life is an even bigger one now.”
