Phil F.
If you’re reading this, you may not realize how many people are walking beside you.
I have put a lot of miles on these tired old size 13’s.
From the red clay roads of Rocky Mount to the polished hardwood in Chapel Hill, from NBA arenas to quiet mornings back home — it’s been a long walk.
But I’ve never walked alone.
Some of my earliest memories aren’t about basketball at all. They’re about the smell of my mother’s biscuits rising in the kitchen before church. They were warm, steady, dependable —just like her. Before I ever learned how to run an offense, she taught me how to stand firm. Before I ever heard a crowd cheer my name, I heard her praying over my life.
My mother didn’t just raise a basketball player. She reared a young man who understood humility, faith, and gratitude. When my feet first began carrying me somewhere special, she made sure my heart stayed rooted.
In Rocky Mount, basketball was joy. It was freedom. It was afternoons on cracked pavement, imagining bigger courts. But even then, I wasn’t alone. Coaches who volunteered their time. Teammates who believed in each other before anyone else did. A community that saw potential in a skinny kid with quick hands and big dreams.
Then came Chapel Hill.
When I stepped onto campus at the University of North Carolina, I didn’t just join a team — I entered a brotherhood. And standing there was Coach Dean Smith.
Coach Smith was more than a legend. He was steady ground beneath my feet. When he made me the first freshman he ever started at point guard, that wasn’t just confidence in my ability — it was belief in my character. That kind of trust can lift you. And there were times I needed lifting.
Because leading at Carolina isn’t light work.
I walked alongside legends — Walter Davis gliding down the court with grace, Mitch Kupchak anchoring us with strength, Tommy LaGarde bringing toughness every night. Every assist I made had someone else finishing the play. Every success was shared. The headlines might have mentioned my name, but the victories belonged to all of us.
And there were hard nights too.
Games when shots didn’t fall. Seasons when expectations pressed heavy. Moments when I questioned myself. In those times, I felt hands on my back — teammates encouraging me, Coach Smith reminding me to breathe, my mother’s voice steady in my heart. Many times I needed someone walking beside me, steadying me, lifting me up.
When we won the ACC Tournament my freshman year and I was named MVP, I knew the truth — you don’t hold trophies alone. You hold them with every person who poured into you.
The Four Corners offense became known across the country, but what people didn’t always see was the trust it required. Patience. Discipline. Unity. That was Carolina basketball. That was Coach Smith’s way. And I was just one part of something much bigger.
Even when I moved on to the NBA, when I was blessed to be named Rookie of the Year, I carried all of them with me. I carried Rocky Mount. I carried my mother’s faith. I carried Coach Smith’s lessons. I carried my teammates’ trust.
Injuries came later. Challenges came. And once again, I learned what it meant not to walk alone. The game humbles you. Life humbles you. And in those seasons, I leaned on the same foundation that first shaped me — family, faith, and the Carolina family.
Coming back to Chapel Hill as a coach felt like completing a circle. Now I was the one walking beside young men, steadying them, reminding them that wearing Carolina blue means something sacred. It means you are part of a line of legends — not just because of talent, but because of character.
When I think about the miles behind me, I don’t think first about the points or the assists.
I think about biscuits in the morning and a mother’s prayers.
I think about Coach Smith’s quiet wisdom.
I think about teammates who trusted my hands and lifted my spirit.
I think about walking with legends — and being carried by them when I needed it most.
I have walked many miles.
But every step was shared.
And I remain, now and always,
A proud Tar Heel.
Phil F., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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