YouTube Gold: Texas Game Winner Against UNC

Why stop a good thing?

Last season, as Duke fans probably remember and UNC fans surely do, the Tar Heels had several gut-wrenching losses at the buzzer. Virginia, Virginia Tech, Clemson and most of all Duke, just ripped the beating heart out of Roy Williams and his Tar Heels.

In the finals of the Maui Classic Wednesday night, Texas left one more wound in the Tar Heel psyche as Matt Coleman hit a shot near the foul line that fell through with 0:01 left, and teaching RJ Davis a valuable lesson about the importance of defensive intensity (Duke’s film session about this may still be going on after Michigan State taught Duke similar lessons Tuesday night).

Best of all though, Bill Walton went full Walton, comparing it to “the soft touch...the soft touch that Bruce Hornsby has on the 88 keys...and with that stepback, James Harden in the land of the sky, the land of the beards with Corey Alexander, James Harden...”

The best part there was Walton pausing to find some kind of soft touch (Walton thinking...not Dickie V for charity...don’t go there...not the soft touch of magic mushrooms...focus Walton! What’s the go-to? Of course! Go for the Dead connection. Hornsby’s perfect!) which we think most people would agree was a bit odd, but not nearly as odd as the “Land of Beards” and pairing the newly hirsute Corey Alexander, rocking his pandemic beard on the webcam (see? Walton just infects the very act of thinking) with James Harden.

What we really love is the idea of Ol’ Roy rewinding this play in the team meeting and listening to Walton’s hornswaggle and saying something like, “Gol Dang, ah knew ol’ Bill was weird but ah think he spent a little too much time around Jerry and Bob Weir. Good freakin’ thing that Pigpen is dead or we’d be gettin’ old blues references all freakin’ game long and this game has made me blue ‘nuff ta kick Matt Doherty’s dog for him.”

Then RJ Davis raises his hand and asks...”coach, just wondering, but who the hell is Bruce Hornsby?”