[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10390]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA: A NATIONAL POWER IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Miller) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MILLER of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, there are a few things in 
life about which I am certain.
  I am certain that the word ``barbecue'' means chopped pork with a 
vinegar-based sauce.
  I am certain that ordering grits north of Richmond is a terrible 
gamble.
  And I am certain that the order of the universe, the plan of 
salvation, provides that the University of North Carolina will be a 
national power in college basketball.
  Mr. Speaker, it was tough for a couple of years, but order has been 
restored.
  With the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre) I attended this 
year's Final Four in St. Louis. I honored the tradition begun by Roy 
Williams, who was then an assistant to Dean Smith, at the Final Four in 
New Orleans in 1982: I spat in the Mississippi River for luck.
  I went to the top of the Gateway Arch, and I spat in Mississippi. I 
visited the Museum of Westward Expansion, and I spat in the 
Mississippi. I visited the old courthouse where the Dred Scott case was 
tried, and I spat in the Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I went through the 
weekend with a cotton mouth. At times I was dizzy from dehydration, all 
from the constant spitting, but my efforts were amply rewarded in the 
semifinal against Michigan State and in the final against Illinois.
  North Carolina played tough defense. They hustled they played team 
ball and they won it all.
  I am proud of my alma mater, and I am proud of our basketball 
program. I am proud that our program has always taken academics 
seriously, and even those players who left early for NBA careers have 
usually returned to summer school to complete their degrees. I am proud 
that our program has taken NCAA rules seriously, and of course, I am 
proud of our victories.
  I want to congratulate the coaches and the players from the 2005 
National Championship team, as well as the students, the faculty and 
staff, the alumni and the fans. I thank our players for the joy they 
brought all Carolina fans by their victory.
  Next year may be tough, with our seven leading scorers all either 
graduating or leaving for the NBA, but Jawad Williams, Jackie Manuel, 
Melvin Scott, Sean May, Rashad McCants, Raymond Felton, Marvin 
Williams, but Mr. Speaker, I am confident that we will again be back to 
the Final Four and soon.
  We have talented young players from this year's team, this last 
year's team, who are returning, who welcome to our program a strong 
class of incoming freshman. They are very talented high school juniors 
who are now contemplating scholarship offers and the opportunity to be 
part of the Carolina basketball tradition.
  All these incoming players will come to understand what the Carolina 
basketball tradition means. It is about winning championships, but it 
is also about making us proud, proud of them as athletes, as students 
and as human beings, and Mr. Speaker, it is about maintaining the order 
of the universe.

                          ____________________