Excerpt: Redemption: Carolina Basketball’s 2016–2017 Journey from Heartbreak to History

Today marks the official publication of Redemption:  Carolina Basketball’s 2016–2017 Journey from Heartbreak to History by Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner, and Matt Bowers.  We’re celebrating the Tar Heels’ national championship with the official companion book.

Redemption is a behind-the-scenes look at the Tar Heels’ ride to the 2017 national title. Featuring some never before published, exclusive photographs that will take readers from the practice court to the team bus to the locker room, this book is the most complete chronicle of a UNC national championship ever made available. In addition to the full-color images, the book also includes interviews with the players and coaches that can only be found here, a foreword from head coach Roy Williams, and all-new stories from Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner, and Matt Bowers, who accompanied the team every step of the way.

It is the story of a national championship that was a year in the making. And a must-have book for Tar Heel fans everywhere.

Here’s snippet from the book.  You can read entire excerpt on GoHeels.com.

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The unofficial first road trip of the season took place in October on a quiet trip to Fort Bragg to practice in front of the base’s soldiers. By March, road trips would all seem routine. But in October, especially for the newcomers, it was a new experience. Subconsciously, the players left open the seats usually occupied by Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige.

“Wait a minute,” Joel Berry said as the team sorted through the seating arrangement. “Marcus and Brice aren’t here.”

The comment echoed a stern point made by Roy Williams at a practice earlier that week. When the Tar Heels lackadaisically pursued a rebound, Williams blew his whistle and stopped practice. “Do you see Brice out here?” he asked of the 2016 All-America who grabbed over ten rebounds per game. “He’s not here! He’s not coming back!”

In one very important way, however, the presence of Johnson and Paige did linger. When that duo had arrived in the summer of 2012, along with classmates Joel James and J. P. Tokoto, the Tar Heel chemistry was different. It wasn’t a bad environment, but on a 16-player roster, there were several different groups that rarely mixed. They were close-knit in the locker room, but you would rarely find upperclassmen like Reggie Bullock or Leslie McDonald mixing with rookies like Paige or James …

For more, click over to GoHeels.com.

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