UNC bench warmer steals show at White House
Posted: Monday, May 11, 2009 6:10 PMMarch Madness , ACC
Jack Wooten, take a bow.
The North Carolina senior spent the last two seasons as a little-known reserve on the men’s roster. In 37 career games, he played 70 minutes, scored a total of 15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished five assists. The Burlington, N.C. senior got his championship ring like the rest of the squad when the Heels beat Michigan State
Yet, it was his role during a scrimmage last spring
Wooten decided to guard Barack Obama. And I mean guard.
In April 2008, Obama, then a democratic candidate for president, stopped by the UNC campus, got a tour of the Heels’ facility and got in a quick game.
Most players were smart enough to give the future president a wide berth – except Wooten.
The 6-2 guard wasn’t about to get burned on defense. From Robbi Pickeral’s season recap story
“I subbed in, and everyone was matched up, and the only guy left unguarded was Sen. Obama,” Wooten said. “So I was like, ‘Well, I guess I've got this guy.' I scouted him the first game, and he only went left. So I forced him right ... didn't let him have any room and blocked a couple of them.
“But then I got some dirty looks from the coaches and some of the guys sitting, like, ‘What are you doing?' so I kind of relaxed the defense a little bit.”
More than a year later, Obama welcomed the champion Heels to the White House. He was presented a jersey by coach Roy Williams, joked a bit (“If somebody could please present me a jump shot, I need one of those for “salvaging my bracket and vindicating me before the entire nation
Then, he told the crowd what he remembered from the scrimmage. Like Wooten’s defense.
“He stole the ball from me, he blocked me shot, he fouled me once,” Obama said. “Coach Williams had to remind him there were guys with guns around.”
Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and the rest can have their NBA careers. Wooten got name dropped by the president. Not bad for a bench warmer.
