Joel Berry reflects on his career at UNC, and how 'real love' helped him through it

Joel Berry's career ended in March with an 86-65 runaway upset loss to Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

But in an article he submitted to The Players Tribune, which gives players a platform for connecting with their fans, Berry seems to grasp the bigger picture: his career had low points to go with the highest of highs, and his coaches and fans supported him through it all.

“I’m always going to be a part of this program and do all that I can to help us continue our tradition of excellence and to show my appreciation for all that UNC has meant to me,” he wrote in conclusion. “… Thank you all for being so great to me over the past four years.”

Berry, who is expected to enter the NBA draft this summer, made it clear the article shouldn’t serve as a goodbye letter. He has memories and ties to Chapel Hill that will last a lifetime, including proposing to his girlfriend in the Dean Dome in February.

In his Player's Tribune story, he revisited his highlights with the Tar Heels – a list topped by playing in two NCAA championship games and helping UNC win one of them, a 71-65 victory over Gonzaga in which he scored 22 points. He also wrote about being part of a pair of ACC titles, and surpassing Michael Jordan for the 13th spot on UNC’s all-time scoring list.

His single most memorable moment? That 2017 national championship game against Gonzaga, but it wasn't the glory or the celebration that followed that he remembers.

Instead it was the raw emotion he felt in the final seconds of that game, in the moments before he and his teammates won the national title that they missed out on against Villanova the year before. .

"I was standing on the foul line getting ready to shoot some free throws, tears rolling down face," Berry wrote.

Coach Roy Williams had a ref ask Berry if he needed a timeout to get himself together before taking those free throws.

“Coach was just being who he is; always putting others before himself,” Berry wrote. “In that crazy moment when everyone was so emotional, he was just thinking about me, and what he knew was best for me in that moment.”

Berry also shared things in the story he said the limelight didn’t catch, like how he questioned his place at UNC as a freshman in 2014-15 despite his mother being convinced it was his destiny.

Early struggles on the court and then a groin injury that season presented Berry with the opportunity to do some soul searching.

“While I was hurt, I worked hard with our strength and conditioning coach, Jonas Sahratian, and spent a lot of time watching and learning and studying the game,” he wrote. “I had hit a low point, yes, but I knew that I was going to bounce back. When I returned from that injury, everything was different for me.”

While Berry said Williams and his staff helped him develop as a person and player, he singled out former UNC guard Marcus Paige as “the one who had the most influence during my early years.”

From the minute he got to campus, “(Paige) went out of his way to help me learn, adapt and improve,” Berry wrote.

He also tipped his hat to Tar Heel Nation. “I couldn’t forget you all,” he wrote of the fans.

The way his career ended, with the No. 7 seed Aggies' 86-65 upset of the No. 2 Tar Heels in the tourney in March, was “devastating.”

The crowd still showed him and fellow senior, guard Theo Pinson, love as they checked out of a game for the final time as Tar Heels.

“I applaud you all right back,” Berry wrote. “We’re all in this together, and I am so proud to have played for you during my time at Carolina. I could not be more appreciative and thankful.”

He said that support never faltered even at the lowest times for the Tar Heels, like after Villanova defeated UNC 77-74 at the buzzer in the 2016 national title game.

“That is real love,” Berry wrote. “Having that feeling and knowing that everyone had our backs during a time like that was incredible. I can only hope that we were able to make up for it by going back out there the year after and getting redemption.”

This story was originally published May 3, 2018 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Joel Berry reflects on his career at UNC, and how 'real love' helped him through it."