Mavs Bullock, Pinson Fired Up For Tar Heels in National Championship Game
North Carolina upset Duke in the Final Four on Saturday night, handing Mike Krzyzewski a loss in the final game of his career. The back-and-forth battle sparked plenty of reactions from the NBA world, with players with ties to both sides taking to social media.
The Dallas Mavericks have two players from North Carolina -- Reggie Bullock and 2017 national champion Theo Pinson. Pinson shared his pride Saturday night, while Bullock had mixed emotions on the handshake drama after the game.
Following the final buzzer, some Blue Devils appeared to leave the floor before shaking hands with UNC players and coach Hubert Davis. Bullock was not impressed.
North Carolina will play Kansas for the national championship Monday night. Looking for their eighth title, the Tar Heels are 4-point underdogs. The NBA world will certainly watch, as no games are scheduled to keep the focus on the college game.
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Bullock and Pinson are joined by 10 other former UNC players currently in the NBA: Cole Anthony, Harrison Barnes, Tony Bradley, Ed Davis, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, Cameron Johnson, Nassir Little, Day'Ron Sharpe and Coby White. Some notable former NBA from UNC include Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Vince Carter and Bob McAdoo.
Davis also played for the Mavs for parts of four seasons from 1997-2001. His best scoring season in the NBA came with Dallas in 1997-98, as the UNC alum averaged 11.1 points in mostly a reserve role.
He went into coaching in 2012, joining Roy Williams' staff at North Carolina. Davis was elevated to head coach this season following Williams' retirement.
Kansas had 13 former players on NBA rosters to start the season.
It's also crunch time for the Mavericks, with only three regular season games remaining. Dallas (49-30) will practice at home Tuesday before going to Detroit for the final road game of the season Wednesday.
The Mavs need to win one of their final three games to reach 50 on the season.
