Survive, Advance, Then Eat
HOUSTON – The national semifinals may not be until Saturday, but the competition between the four teams here at the Final Four began not long after arrived Wednesday.
While teams are well-traveled by the time they reach the final weekend of the madness, UNC guard Justin Jackson is simply returning home.
The 6-8 wing grew up in Tomball (pronounced Tom-ball) Texas, a suburb about 30 minutes outside of Houston. Jackson (and the Tar Heels) has the opportunity to win the National Championship on his home turf.
Playing Division I basketball, especially for a program with the prestige and success of UNC, demands not only player’s time, but it consistently interferes with family time. Players sacrifice not only their summer, but other school designated breaks like Thanksgiving, winter and spring break, for the love of the game. Times with friends and family, especially for students far from home like Jackson, are few and far between.
The Final Four, itself, is a once-in-a-career opportunity. Playing the Final Four back home in front of family and friends, that’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. How does he Tomball, TX, native describe it?
“It feels cool. Whenever I am able to see some family and friends it adds on to it,” Jackson said. “Right now to be in the Final Four in general is a great feeling, but to be here at home is pretty cool.”
While this is a business trip, nonetheless, Jackson and crew have a separate goal in mind: Food.
The team was exposed to barbecue at the salute dinner last night, but barbecue is far from the only Houston specialty.
According to Kennedy Meeks, Jackson has emphasized the Texas queso and has yet to take the boys out for a good ol’ sit down meal.
“When we’re back home, we used to talk about Texas queso a lot, but we haven’t had any since we’ve been here so I’m looking forward to getting a taste of that,” Meeks said. “Other than that, I think every food tastes the same, except for like specialties.”
Theo Pinson has another option in mind.
“Me and Justin we’re really big fans of Whataburger,” Pinson said, smiling. “So we got to make sure we get that before we leave.”
As for Jackson, he isn’t picky.
“We had some barbecue yesterday at the salute dinner,” he said. “But I’m definitely gonna have to get something as far as what I’m used to, whether that’s Whataburger, whether that’s Mexican food, whatever it is.”
The Houston agenda for the Heels is simple, survive and advance and eat.
While Jackson won’t be able to return to his hometown of Tomball, he will play in front of many of his family and friends, and with a little luck get to take his teammates out to grab queso, Whataburger, and anything other kind of Houston cuisine.