by Adam Lucas, Tar Heel Monthly

It's the first day Quentin Thomas has ever worn a University of North Carolina basketball jersey with his name on it, and his response is better measured by his eyes than by his words.

Just one day after the shipment arrived from Nike bearing this year's batch of jerseys, Thomas and fellow freshman Marvin Williams were summoned for a photo shoot on the floor of the Smith Center.

The players took turns as photo subjects, and while Williams followed the directions of the photographer, Thomas was asked how he felt when he pulled on the bright number 11 jersey (He wore 33 in high school, a number already retired by Antawn Jamison, and also likes the number three, which is taken by Reyshawn Terry. So he picked his new number by subtracting his sister Asha's age, seven, from his age, eighteen).

His words were important -- "Oh man, it's amazing" -- but something else was more telling. When asked about the jersey, his eyes went wide. Then he tilted his head back, soaking in the blue and white banners ringing the top of the building. Fully appreciating the atmosphere, he cracked a broad smile.

He won't be wide-eyed for long. Starting point guard Raymond Felton played the second-most minutes in the Atlantic Coast Conference last year, so Thomas's immediate task is clear: provide some relief for Felton.

In order to provide quality help off the bench, he's trying to soak up as much knowledge as he can from the incumbent.

"I've learned so much from him just in the short time I've been here," Thomas says. "I'm constantly asking him questions. There are probably going to be times this year when I get on his nerves with all the questions I ask. When a lot of freshmen come in, they want to do well right away because the expectations are so high. I want to do that, but I also want to learn. These guys have been here two or three years, so they already know a lot that I don't know."

What exactly did he learn during the first session of summer school and the early part of the fall semester? Daily pickup games -- once he fully recovered from knee surgery -- taught him an important lesson.

"I've learned a lot from the way Raymond sees the floor," Thomas says. "You can't push everything all the time. You want to push, but you can't always do that, and you have to make sure if you think you see a play it's really there."

The 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard -- who has the same kind of wiry build and long arms Derrick Phelps used to become an excellent defender -- won't be allowed to ease into his freshman year. His first intercollegiate competition will come when the Tar Heels open the season in Oakland against Santa Clara.

The game was scheduled as a natural stopover on the way to the Maui Invitational. But it's got an added benefit, as Thomas will play in front of a bevy of family and friends in his hometown. He knew when he signed with the Heels that he'd eventually get a game in front of the home folks, but he had no idea it would be the first contest of his career.

"There are no words to express how that is going to feel," he says. "To be in this uniform and be at home in my first game, it's a dream come true. It's going to be unbelievable."

And Quentin, how many tickets do you think you'll need for that game?

Again, that broad smile.

"I'm going to need every seat in the place."

Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. His book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about the book, click here.