July 9, 2004

By Adam Lucas

Carolina basketball players get used to answering questions with very little emotion. They've heard the same queries over and over again, sometimes even know what questions are coming before they're asked. By the time they're sophomores, they know which player will be in the highest demand after a game, know what the media will be looking for and how to handle the questions.

Sometimes, though, they get a query that makes their eyes light up. Such was the situation this spring when they were asked about longtime Carolina basketball academic advisor Burgess McSwain, who died this morning after a long battle with colon cancer. The Tar Heel players are scattered across the country right now, some in the second session of summer school and some working various basketball camps. Once the news spreads, though--and be thankful you're not the one who has to call them and tell them, because it's not easy to watch a basketball player cry--they'll quickly reassemble in Chapel Hill.

And it won't just be current players. Jerry Stackhouse's World's Greatest Alumni Game just became the second biggest Tar Heel hoops alumni gathering this summer.

Ask the players about her, and it automatically causes a wide smile. Outsiders sometimes don't understand. Here's a 60-year-old woman relating to a pack of 18-to-22-year-olds. Why does that work? What do they have in common?

Remember, though, that these 18-to-22 year-olds spend their college careers wondering if their peers want to get to know them merely because they're hoping some of that basketball player stardom will reflect on them. It can be a difficult adjustment. But there was always one person, one familiar face, who they absolutely knew didn't care one whit whether they had scored zero points or 30 points the night before.

Back in May, Melvin Scott was asked what McSwain meant to him. He broke into a grin that lit up the Smith Center locker room.

"She loves us more than basketball," he said. "Her heart is so pure. When someone's heart is pure with love, it's easy to relate to them, no matter what the age difference."

Remember those hard times Rashad McCants had as a freshman, the times when he wasn't sure how much he enjoyed playing basketball for Carolina? He got through them with guidance from McSwain, who wasn't just book smart, but also people smart. She understood what to say and when to say it.

Don't think, though, that she coddled the players. You might think so, might believe she was a pushover if you saw her strolling through the basketball offices with her beloved dogs, Brandy Nan and Lillie Langtry, both of whom were usually decked out in the latest in doggie fashion. Players might even try to test her when they were still raw freshmen. It only took one test, though. Earlier this season, a player was standing in the Smith Center talking to some friends. It was getting close to exam time, and McSwain happened to walk by.

"You coming to study hall?" she asked.

"I think so," he replied.

"You think so?" she said with a raised eyebrow. "You'll be there."

And he was.

Everyone wants to know the inside scoop about Carolina basketball, wants to know who's happy, who's unhappy, and what's going on behind the scenes. Burgess knew all that. She knew it all for over the past two decades, and this is how much of it she ever talked about in public:

None.

That's what made the players love her. That's why when Jonathan Holmes was making his senior speech at the basketball banquet in April of 2003, he almost didn't finish his remarks. Burgess was very sick at the time, was battling a cancer so tough no one was sure she would recover. And as Holmes tried to talk about her, he lost his composure.

"I just want everyone to pray for her," he said through his tears. "Because she's tough, and she's going through a tough time."

She made it through that battle, got to see another Carolina hoops season. She got to see the trio of Melvin Scott, Jawad Williams, and Jackie Manuel, a group she guided through the most tumultuous time in UNC basketball history, make it to the doorstep of their senior seasons. Those three took it especially hard when they heard the news. All have said she has been an essential part of their Carolina experience, all have benefited from her counsel. They'll have heavy hearts in the weeks to come, but eventually, time will bring back those smiles they showed this spring when they were asked about her.

Jawad Williams isn't one to exaggerate his feelings. He's not given to outward displays of emotion, not one to give up more information than what is requested. He is, by his own admission, shy.

And this was his response when asked about Burgess McSwain two months ago.

"I love her. I just love her."

Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly, click here.