It’s a tradition that the North Carolina Tar Heel’s men’s basketball team participates in every season.
Monday marked the unofficial end to the North Carolina Tar Heels offseason conditioning program as members of the basketball team participated in the “Carolina Mile Run” at a nearby high school in Chapel Hill.
Each year, every member of the basketball team is required to run the mile and finish at a time set by head coach Roy Williams and his staff. The goal is known as a “tough time” for each individual player on the roster.
Players who do not meet the mark will run the mile again during the season until they can reach that goal.
Like last year, it was Luke Maye who posted the best time at the Carolina Mile Run.
Maye won the event last season posting a 5:06 mark as a sophomore. This year he shaved 7 seconds off his time, finishing the event at 4:59.
Freshman Andrew Platek came the closest to beating Maye’s time, finishing with a mark of 5:05 and was the fastest freshman of the day.
Senior Joel Berry was also a player who shaved time off his mark from last year.
Berry finished his 2017 mark eight seconds better than the one he posted last year, a big improvement as the reigning Final Four Most Valuable Player gets ready for his final season at UNC.
Columnist Adam Lucas shared a pretty cool moment from the event involving Shea Rush:
Most players needed a minute or two to collect themselves when finishing the run. But when Shea Rush saw a teammate struggling to finish, he sprinted to the opposite end of the track and tried to pace the player across the line.
The Tar Heels will begin practice on Monday, October 2 for the first time this season. They will host the annual Late Night With Roy event on October 13.
The season opener is November 10 against Northern Iowa as UNC begins its journey to defend their national championship.
Check back for more coverages on the UNC Men’s Basketball team as we approach the upcoming season
