Mission for Pinson: Keep Heels loose
GLENDALE, ARIZ . There is nothing quiet or subtle about Theo Pinson.
He quite literally burst onto the national scene a year ago, crashing a news conference that featured coach Roy Williams and his five North Carolina starters in between games at the East Region in Philadelphia.
“I was just sitting in the locker room, looking at my phone, thinking I’m bored,” Pinson said last week. “I just got up and walked into the hallway and asked the dude who was guarding the room where the press conference was. I walked over there, got in front of the door and was like, ‘I’m about to go in.’ All the players saw me first. They were like, ‘What are you doing?’ Coach looked at me, and I had no idea what he was going to do to me. I didn’t care, because I was so bored.”
Pinson let out one of his big, contagious laughs. He hasn’t done anything that dramatic this time. “But I haven’t toned down at all,” he said of the 2017 NCAA tournament run. “It’s just more under the radar.”
And there’s no need to crash news conferences when you’re there in the first place. Pinson is invited these days, since he’s a starter and a key contributor for North Carolina as a junior after struggling through early-season injuries. He’s averaging 6.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He also has contributed in small ways — such as tipping out the rebound from Kennedy Meeks’ missed free throw with five seconds left in Saturday’s national semifinal to senior guard Joel Berry II, who was promptly fouled, or driving to set up Luke Maye’s Elite Eight game-winner.
Or just keeping the team loose. That’s Pinson’s specialty, whether it’s videobombing his coach during a postgame interview or making fun of teammates to their faces. Or anything in between.
“He bothers my vertigo because I’m always trying to figure out where he is,” Williams said. “You know, a ‘Where’s Waldo?’ coming in behind me kind of thing.”
Over the weekend, Williams sat at a po- dium answering a question about Pinson’s personality — deadpanning, “He is a very shy youngster. ... It’s very difficult for him to be involved in crowds” — when Pinson burst into the news conference and nearly tripped over his coach’s chair.
“That’s harder than he ran back on defense all year,” Williams said, laughing. “The truth hurts, big fella. But I do think he’s good for our team. Everybody’s got their own personality, and I do try to let guys be themselves as long as it’s not harmful or takes away from what we’re trying to do. He’s a guy everybody truly enjoys. And people enjoy laughing at him — as well as they do with him. And he’s fullfledged. He gives you reasons for both.”
Pinson considers it his responsibility, his role on this team, along with his defensive effort and good decision-making on the court. He thinks it’s up to him to make sure everyone remembers college basketball isn’t a job and isn’t work. And this trip to Arizona isn’t a business trip — a refreshing approach considering how many teams in similar positions take themselves too seriously with so much at stake.
Take Monday night’s national championship game against Gonzaga. A chance at redemption, a way to make up for falling just short a season ago.
“I’ve got to make sure I keep everybody relaxed,” Pinson said. “Coaches get stressed out, too, so I have to make sure I get them to relax a little bit, too. I want everyone to enjoy these experiences. You don’t want anyone to take these moments for granted. Some teams might take things so seriously, like, we’ve got to be in mean faces all week. But we’re kids. We should enjoy the experience and have fun.”