The loudest cheers rained down on Ed Davis, Deon Thompson, Marcus Ginyard and then, a little later, coach Roy Williams.
Sure, there was plenty of applause Friday night at North Carolina's "Late Night with Roy" at the Dean Dome for sophomore guard Larry Drew II, but the fans here — as they do everywhere else — prefer to draw out his last name, as if they were booing him.
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They weren't, and they won't, of course. But if Drew can simply be the Tar Heels' next point guard, the successor to Ty Lawson, he'll be treasured here.
And he doesn't even have to be great. With UNC's loaded frontcourt (more on that in a moment) Drew can be simply competent and the Tar Heels might have a realistic shot at repeating as national champs.
Seriously.
After an episode of musical chairs, a pull-up contest, a period of time devoted to the women's basketball team, a fan T-shirt toss, the UNC mascot, Ramses, dropping from the ceiling and a series of dancing skits by the men, the Tar Heels finally commenced with a 20-minute scrimmage.
Drew, a sophomore from Encino, Calif., made his entrance earlier in the night wearing a pair of black shades with his arms crossed. He had the Hollywood look, but is he ready to be a star — for real?
Last year, in extremely limited duty, Drew handed out 74 assists and committed 45 turnovers. When Lawson was hurt late in the season, though, Drew's minutes increased, and he responded, finishing with 13 assists and just three turnovers in 72 minutes of ACC and NCAA Tournament action.
And now, as the only experienced ballhandler on the team, the job appears to be his.
"I'm going to let things come as they come," he said Thursday during media day.
