bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668
CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina's mascot, Ramses, repelled from the Smith Center ceiling, the Tar Heels did their best Elvis impersonations, danced in their boxers "Risky Business" style and sported gold lamé suits.
And oh, there was some basketball, as well.
The 100th year of UNC basketball officially began Friday as teams were allowed to practice for the first time this season. And the Tar Heels, coming off a national championship in April, kicked off their season with their "Late Night with Roy" event.
The night featured plenty of skits, dances and videos from both the men's and women's basketball teams, as well as intrasquad scrimmages by both to entertain the crowd of 18,700.
"It was good," senior Marcus Ginyard said. "We all just had a good time out there, but we'll be ready to get in here tomorrow morning and get to work."
The 20-minute scrimmage, in which the Blue team defeated the White team 36-32, was the first look at UNC's talented group of freshmen and they didn't disappoint.
John Henson (6-10, 195) was the most impressive of the bunch, showing why he might have a key role on this year's team. He had a couple of dunks, used his long arms to block shots and finished as the White team's top scorer with 10 points.
While most of Henson's points came inside the paint, he wasn't afraid to pull up for a jumper, which is why Coach Roy Williams said he could provide valuable minutes at the three position this year.
"That was actually probably one of the guys that I didn't really like to cover this summer during pickup," Ginyard said. "He's just so tough to defend. You take away his inside game, push him outside, and he's very comfortable on the perimeter shooting the ball. And then you force him inside, and he's just got that size advantage over you so he's going to give some teams matchup problems, and he's going to be a huge help to this team."
Junior Will Graves, who is returning from a suspension that lasted most of the 2008-09 season, showed why Williams called him one of the team's best shooters a day earlier. Graves hit three 3-pointers to finish with 12 points to lead his Blue team to the victory. Sophomore Ed Davis was the third player to finish in double figures, chipping in 10 points for the Blue.
The women's basketball team also took part in the "Late Night" festivities with a skit featuring a danceoff between the classes. Then the players were split into Blue and Pink teams for a 10-minute scrimmage, which was won by the Pink.
Ginyard said the best part of the night for him was a video poking fun at former UNC star Tyler Hansbrough's lost dog commercial for AT&T, which also drew some of the biggest laughs from the crowd.
In the actual Hansbrough commercial, he helps a little girl locate a missing dog. In the video parody, the current team members help Henson -- wearing a pigtail wig -- locate the missing national championship trophy.
"That was actually [freshman] David Wear's idea," Ginyard said. "I've got to give him credit for that."
