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Sports Legends of the Carolinas: Exclusive Photographs and In-Depth Conversations

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EXCLUSIVE PHOTOGRAPHS AND IN-DEPTH CONVERSATIONS WITH THE SPORTS ICONS OF OUR TIMES by SCOTT FOWLER and JEFF SINER


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Contents Introduction ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4

Erin Matson ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 99

Debbie Antonelli ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 7

Cedric Maxwell �������������������������������������������������������������������� 103

Jay Bilas ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 13

Bob McKillop ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 107

Muggsy Bogues ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 17

Greg Olsen ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 111

Tommy Burleson ������������������������������������������������������������������� 23

Chris Paul �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 117

Dell Curry ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 29

Bill Polian �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 123

Steph Curry ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 35

Bobby Richardson ������������������������������������������������������������ 127

Thomas Davis ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 41

George Rogers ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 131

Jake Delhomme ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 47

Judy Rose ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 137

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ���������������������������������������������������������������� 53

Charlie Scott ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 141

Armanti Edwards ������������������������������������������������������������������ 59

George Shinn ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� 147

Danny Ford ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 63

Charlotte Smith ������������������������������������������������������������������� 151

Phil Ford ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 69

Steve Spurrier ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 155

Jeff Gordon ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 73

Dawn Staley ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 161

Tyler Hansbrough ���������������������������������������������������������������� 79

Wesley Walls ����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 167

Torry Holt ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 85

Roy Williams ���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 171

Mike Krzyzewski �������������������������������������������������������������������� 89

Acknowledgments ����������������������������������������������������������� 176

Davis Love III ������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 95 OPPOSITE: Former UNC men’s basketball coach Roy Williams (left) speaks with Scott Fowler for “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” Williams won three national titles at UNC before retiring in 2021. J EFF SINER / THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

SPORTS LEGENDS OF THE CAROLINAS • 3


Introduction By Scott Fowler | The Charlotte Observer interview people face-to-face once again, Charlotte

into the coffee-table book you’re holding right now.

We’ve saved you a seat at the table.

Observer visual journalist Jeff Siner and I came up

More than 30 sports icons participated, includ-

The concept of this book is simple: exclusive one-

with the idea for an ambitious project to explore and

ing Steph Curry, Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski,

celebrate the Carolinas’ rich sports history.

Dawn Staley, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Danny

Welcome to “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.”

on-one conversations with and photos of legendary sports icons who made their mark in the Carolinas.

We have more than 60 years of experience at

Ford, Tyler Hansbrough, George Rogers, Armanti

Our goal for this book was for it to feel like you

The Charlotte Observer between us, and many

Edwards, Greg Olsen, Chris Paul, Jake Delhomme

were talking across the kitchen table with a friend

times on assignments we had found ourselves tell-

and many others.

about the stuff that really matters the most in life.

ing each other stories about the greatest things

Each interview became a Q and A for online and in

We wanted to listen to answers to the questions

we’d ever seen or the most fascinating people we’d

print, as well as a short video excerpt produced by

we’ve always wanted to know. And we wanted you,

ever encountered.

Siner and a podcast episode thanks to the remarkable

dear reader, to be right there with us.

So how about if we crisscrossed the Carolinas and

creativity of Kata Stevens, Loumay Alesali and Davin

Because of that, we asked all of the legends in this

tracked down some of the most legendary living

book for several hours of their time — in person.

sports figures around, doing in-depth, in-person

The QR codes for those podcast episodes can also

We’re grateful that all of them complied, because

interviews about their lives and careers at each stop?

be found in this book with each chapter. You can

Our editors approved the idea and, thankfully, gave

use a laptop or smartphone to hear, for free, the

That’s a good guideline both in life and in doing

us the time to see it through. The result was “Sports

extended “director’s cuts” of the interviews with the

interviews as a journalist. Zoom doesn’t cut it.

Legends of the Carolinas,” a multimedia project that

sports legends that most interest you. In the book,

FaceTime doesn’t cut it. Text messages don’t cut it.

debuted in The Charlotte Observer in August 2022.

the questions and answers for all interviews have

People are social creatures. Virtual reality, no matter

The series has won multiple awards and became so

there’s no substitute for being there.

how lifelike, isn’t the same as actual reality.

Coburn at McClatchy Audio.

been edited for clarity and brevity.

popular that we continued it for a second season in

Our very first “Sports Legends” interview came

So when COVID finally receded, the world re-

2023. We have compiled the best of the photos and

with former Charlotte Hornet star Muggsy Bogues

turned to semi-normalcy and we reporters could

interviews from those two “Sports Legends” seasons

at his home in Charlotte, who was gracious and

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set a great tone for the series. We ended Season

“I think some real legends

1 with Steph Curry, the global superstar who said

must have turned you down,”

he’d be glad to make time for us but that we would

Bilas said, “if you had to scrape

need to meet him in Houston on an off day in his

the bottom of this barrel to

NBA schedule.

get me.”

That flight to Houston was the only time we got on a plane. Everything else became a road trip in Siner’s Honda CR-V.

Did everyone say “Yes”? Not quite. But more than 90% of the

Among the notable journeys: We drove on Jeff

people we asked did agree

Gordon Expressway on our way to meet the actual

to participate and were very

Jeff Gordon in Concord, N.C. We drove to Columbia

generous with their time and

to interview Staley and Rogers; to Sea Island, Ga.,

their unvarnished honesty.

to talk to golfer Davis Love; to Mooresville for

Earnhardt Jr., now 49, was among our most in-

Dale Earnhardt Jr.; to Durham for Coach K (where

trospective interview subjects. When asked what

Observer reporter Alex Zietlow ably subbed in for

he would tell Dale Jr. in his mid 20s, Earnhardt

me), to Winston-Salem for Chris Paul, to just outside

Jr. said: “If I could talk to that version of myself, I

Atlanta for Charlie Scott and to the Clemson, S.C.,

would slap the s--- out of me. I would. I’m so angry

area, to find Danny Ford on his 174-acre farm.

with that person.”

Staley brought her extremely cute dog Champ

Think about that one for a second.

along for our interview. Ford picked some of his

What would you tell your own 24-year-old self?

homegrown cucumbers for us (delicious!). Rogers

We had a lot of fun doing this project, and we

let us pick up his Heisman Trophy to feel its heft

greatly appreciate anyone who read a “Sports

(“Grab it by its legs!” Rogers said).

Legends” story, looked at a photograph, watched a

ESPN analyst Jay Bilas looked at us when we

ABOVE: Steph Curry (right) sits down with Scott Fowler in Houston for his “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” interview. Curry, the former Davidson star who was barely recruited out of high school, later became a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and four-time NBA champion. JEFF SINER / THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

video or listened to a podcast.

knocked on his front door in Charlotte and laughed

This book is the culmination of that work.

when I mentioned to him once again that the title

Come take your seat at the table with us.

of the series was “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.”

We’ve got a lot to show you.

Throughout the book, you’ll see QR codes you can scan with a smartphone to take you directly to each full podcast interview. Some of them also have an extended Part 2 episode. We hope you enjoy these candid conversations with sports legends as much as we did! SPORTS LEGENDS OF THE CAROLINAS • 5


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Steph Curry It would have been hard to foresee that Steph Curry would become a global superstar when he was playing in high school at Charlotte Christian. A spindly teenager with a sterling pedigree but not much size, Curry was famously not recruited by in-state college powerhouses like Duke or UNC. Davidson College, however, understood what he might become, and it was there Curry first skyrocketed to prominence. Then, in the NBA, Curry became a two-time Most Valuable Player and a four-time NBA champion, all with the Golden State Warriors. He revolutionized basketball with his mastery of the 3-point shot. It’s rare that Curry sits down to discuss his basketball career in depth — he’s still in the middle of it, after all. But he did so for us in a hotel in Houston on a day he had already watched his daughter’s volleyball practice in California and then had flown halfway across the country to prepare for the Warriors’ next game.

NBA highlights • World champion with Golden State (4x) • League’s Most Valuable Player (2x) • Holds all-time record for made 3-pointers • 7th overall draft pick of 2009 NBA draft • All-NBA selection (9x) • First player to be unanimous NBA MVP (2016) • NBA Finals MVP (2022)

Other highlights • Led Davidson to Elite Eight in NCAA tourney (2008) • Davidson’s all-time leading scorer

OPPOSITE: Steph Curry, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and four-time NBA champion, photographed

for “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” on Nov. 19, 2022, in Houston. The son of Charlotte Hornets legend Dell Curry, Steph Curry grew up mostly in Charlotte and first rose to prominence at nearby Davidson College. JEFF SINER / THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

• Graduated from Davidson (2022) • Son of former Charlotte Hornet Dell Curry • Host of ESPYs (2022) • With Klay Thompson, part of the “Splash Brothers”

SPORTS LEGENDS OF THE CAROLINAS • 35


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Thomas Davis Thomas Davis is one of the most popular players in Carolina Panthers history, as well as one of the toughest. The Panthers’ all-time leading tackler, Davis is also the only player in NFL history to successfully come back from three ACL surgeries on the very same knee. Not only that, he played in Super Bowl 50 following the 2015 season after breaking his arm only two weeks before. Now 40, Davis was the Panthers’ first-round draft choice in 2005 and played the next 14 years for the Panthers as a heat-seeking linebacker who was a devout community servant off the field. What he calls his highest individual honor came in 2014, when he was named the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year for his community service. Remarkably, Davis had his best seasons in the NFL late in his career, with all three of his Pro Bowl appearances coming after his three ACL surgeries. He played elsewhere in 2019 and 2020 before returning to Charlotte, where he always has kept his permanent home. In March 2021, he signed a one-day contract so he could retire as a Panther.

NFL highlights • Played first 14 seasons with Carolina Panthers • 14th overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft • 16-year NFL career (last 2 seasons

with LA Chargers, Washington) • 1st NFL player to come back from 3

ACL surgeries on same knee • Played in 2015 Super Bowl 2 weeks after breaking arm • 3x Pro Bowler (2015–17) • Panthers’ all-time leading solo tackler (789) • Recovered onside kick to seal Panthers’

playoff win over Seattle (2015)

Other highlights OPPOSITE: Former Carolina Panther linebacker Thomas Davis, photographed on Aug. 15, 2023, at Bank of

America Stadium. Davis was a three-time Pro Bowl linebacker with the Panthers, with all three of those honors coming after he had three ACL surgeries on the same knee. He also played in Super Bowl 50 with a broken arm. JEFF SINER / THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

• Walter Payton “Man of the Year” (2014) • All-American at Georgia (2004) • Started NFL career as safety; quickly switched to LB • Retired as a Panther on one-day contract (2021)

SPORTS LEGENDS OF THE CAROLINAS • 41


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Dale Earnhardt Jr. A NASCAR Hall of Famer who has made his own indelible mark in the family business, Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains deeply involved in his sport even though he has retired from driving a racecar. Earnhardt — or “Dale Junior,” as his fans call him — is the son of legendary racer Dale Earnhardt Sr., who won seven NASCAR Cup titles before dying in a last-lap crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001. Now 49 years old, Earnhardt Jr. is a well-known TV broadcaster, team owner and podcast host. He and his wife, Amy, have two young daughters. We spoke at his race shop in Mooresville, N.C.

Racing highlights • 26 wins in NASCAR’s Cup Series • 15x NASCAR Most Popular Driver (2003–17) • NASCAR Cup competitor (1999–2017) • 2x Series Champion (1998, 1999) • Founder and co-owner, JR Motorsports • 2x Daytona 500 winner (2004 and 2014) • 10 of 26 career Cup wins came

at Daytona and Talladega • Won 1st Cup race in 12th career start

Other highlights • Son of racing champion Dale Earnhardt Sr.

OPPOSITE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. (left) and Dale Earnhardt Sr. sit on the back of the latter’s transporter, discussing

Earnhardt Jr.’s preparation for a race in May 1998. Earnhardt Jr. says that his father’s death in 2001 left a hole in his life. “That was very dangerous and scary. Like, where’s my leader? Where’s my leadership? My leadership is gone,” Earnhardt Jr. says now, recalling those moments. J EFF SINER / THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

• Grandson of racing champion Ralph Earnhardt • Host of podcast “Dale Jr. Download” • NBC Sports racing analyst • Appeared in movie “Talladega Nights”

SPORTS LEGENDS OF THE CAROLINAS • 53


I wouldn’t say I was satisfied with my career

No. I don’t remember John Wall ever being on a

as a whole. I had more expectations. In Indiana,

visit here. And I’ve also talked to all my teammates

my rookie year got off to a rocky start (due to a

and none of them really even remember him com-

worsening of the shin injury he had all season as

ing around.

a senior at UNC). Then my second year I felt like

That’s not a disrespect to John Wall. But I

I really had a really good year, but those Indiana

wouldn’t do that. I don’t believe it happened. I

teams were pretty good.

mean the whole story — sitting with my home-

Small ball wasn’t something that I fit, and the

boys? Anybody that knows me well knows that

NBA (began to) really embrace small ball. I wasn’t

would have been my teammates. I don’t know

a 3-point shooter. And physically I’m not 7-foot-1

who my homeboys are.

and jumping off the backboard, and that’s what the NBA wanted. They wanted four wing players that

You later tweeted regarding this incident and

shot the three and then a seven-foot center. I didn’t

where Wall attended college: “I’m sure the

really fit that mold.

Bank of Calipari had nothing to do with him going to Kentucky.”

John Wall said on a podcast that you big-timed

(Laughs) Now that was something I couldn’t

him when he took a recruiting trip to UNC

resist. But there’s nothing to that. That was just

and that’s why he went to Kentucky instead

kind of a joke.

of Carolina. Is that true?

OPPOSITE: After one of his finest moments as a collegian, North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough runs upcourt wildly celebrating his game-winning shot against Virginia Tech in the 2008 ACC Tournament semifinals in Charlotte. DAVID T. FOSTER III / THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

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SPORTS LEGENDS OF THE CAROLINAS • 83


The last game of your career came against UNC in the 2022 Final Four. How do you look back on that whole experience now? I feel very fortunate that I was in that moment. I could have ended my career not making the NCAA Tournament or losing in the first round. Our run in the NCAA Tournament was magical … For me, it wasn’t a Duke-Carolina thing. We were trying to win a national championship. You’re within a play of it going either way, and they made that play. Storybook endings don’t happen that often. And it would have been a storybook ending to win the whole thing. But to get to that position? I’m very proud of that.

RIGHT: Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski (center bottom) rallies his team during a timeout. PATRICK SCHNEIDER / THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER OPPOSITE: In 1998, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski celebrated a victory by hugging senior guard Steve Wojciechowski following a 77–75 comeback win over North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium. CHRISTOPHER A. RECORD / THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

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Erin Matson At UNC, Erin Matson was a legendary field hockey player. Three times Matson was the national player of the year. Four times she was a national champion, establishing a Carolina blue dynasty in the sport. Five times — like many athletes, she received an extra year of eligibility due to COVID — she was an ACC star. So Matson was a remarkable player. But her story became even more remarkable when she graduated from UNC in December 2022 and then was named the Tar Heels’ head field hockey coach in January 2023. Not an assistant coach. The head coach, directing the very team she had just finished playing for only weeks before. Matson was 22 at the time. She succeeded Karen Shelton, who won a record 10 NCAA titles coaching UNC and then retired. She began her coaching career at age 23, in August 2023. Think about it like this: What if Mia Hamm had finished her college career at UNC and then immediately started coaching the women’s soccer team? That’s what has happened here, just in a different sport. OPPOSITE: UNC field hockey legend Erin Matson, photographed on June 29, 2023, in Chapel Hill, N.C., while holding

a stick that commemorates some of the Tar Heels’ national championships. After a stellar playing career that included being named field hockey’s collegiate player of the year three times, Matson was named head coach of the UNC field hockey team in early 2023. At the time she got the job, she was 22 years old. J EFF SINER / THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

College highlights • 4x NCAA champion as player

(2018, 2019, 2020, 2022) • 3x recipient of Honda Sport Award

as National Player of the Year • All-time scoring leader in ACC history • 5x All-American (received extra year

of eligibility due to COVID) • 5x ACC Offensive Player of the Year • All-time scoring leader in NCAA tournament play • Named as one of top 10 female

athletes in ACC history (2021) • Started for 3 of the 5 undefeated

teams in UNC history • Member of U.S. national team since age 17 • Graduated from UNC in December 2022 • Scored goal to win 2022 national title • Wore No.1 because usually she was smallest on team

Coaching highlights • Named UNC’s field hockey coach at age 22 (2023) • Replaced her former coach Karen Shelton, who

was UNC’s field hockey coach for 42 years

SPORTS LEGENDS OF THE CAROLINAS • 99


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I’d been running the football ever since I was in high school and then in college, and then seven years in the pros. Getting hit by the best people out there. You’ve said this publicly before, but did drug abuse come close to wrecking your life? Oh, it did. Back in the day, I was just trying to act out. I was feeling bad, feeling sorry for myself. Can’t nobody tell me what to do. I wouldn’t want nobody to be in the situation I was in. Just thinking about yourself, and that was dead wrong. Because I’ve got kids, and I would love to be around. And I am around now, because I made the choice between doing drugs or loving God. So I chose God. How is your health these days? Actually, I’m doing good. My blood pressure is good. I do need to lose some weight. I’m used to eating hot dogs, hamburgers — but Brenda (Rogers’ wife) is trying to make sure I eat vegetables. Squash, you know. Stuff that you don’t like. But she’s trying

you near Williams-Brice Stadium?

to keep me healthy. I do go to the gym, though, 2-3

I think it is. (Laughs) This is something you’re

times a week. I do have memory issues sometimes.

supposed to have when you ain’t around. But then I look at the statue and I see just how much the

Is it weird to see a statue of yourself in

university poured into that, and into my teammates.

Columbia, or to drive on a road named for

And you know what? We delivered.

ABOVE: George Rogers (left) with South Carolina head coach Jim Carlen, who recruited Rogers in part by promising him a chance to start as a freshman. THE STATE OPPOSITE: George Rogers runs for yardage for South Carolina against Clemson in 1980. Rogers won the Heisman Trophy that season. THE STATE

SPORTS LEGENDS OF THE CAROLINAS • 135


better — he suffers from only-child syndrome. But I don’t think he’s willing to give up his space in the household or on the bed at night. Did you grow up with dogs? No, I don’t even like dogs. I just like Champ. Does he understand that he’s a dog? No, not at all … He goes to a lot of places and honestly people don’t see me anymore. They just gravitate toward Champ … I don’t know what my life was like before him. Seriously.

ABOVE RIGHT: Dawn Staley coaches her South Carolina team

during a home game at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia in 2021. T RACY GLANTZ / THE STATE

OPPOSITE: Dawn Staley celebrates with the net after her South Carolina team won the national championship against UConn in Minneapolis on April 3, 2022. It was Staley’s second national title as a coach. The first came in 2017. T RACY GLANTZ / THE STATE RIGHT: Dawn Staley talks to South Carolina’s Sania Feagin (20) during a 2022 home game. South Carolina has led the nation in women’s basketball attendance for nine straight years. TRACY GLANTZ / THE STATE

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Roy Williams A Hall of Fame basketball coach who became an icon for all those who bleed Carolina blue, Roy Williams won three national championships in 18 years as the head coach of the University of North Carolina from 2003–2021. He grew up in western North Carolina, graduated from UNC in the early 1970s, spent 10 years as an assistant coach for the legendary Dean Smith in Chapel Hill and then left to become the Kansas head basketball coach from 1988–2003. Williams won 418 games at Kansas before returning to UNC in 2003, where he united Tar Heel fans and won 485 more games and those three national titles before suddenly retiring on April 1, 2021. As he had hoped, Williams was replaced as head coach by Hubert Davis. Now 73, Williams remains the only coach in college basketball history to win at least 400 games at two different schools.

Career highlights • 3x national champion as UNC’s head

coach (2005, 2009, 2017) • Head coach for 33 years (15 at Kansas, 18 at UNC) • Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2007) • Only Division I coach to win 400-plus games

at 2 schools (418 at Kansas, 485 at UNC) • 903 career wins at D-I level • UNC assistant coach under Dean Smith (1978–88) • Assistant coach on 1982 UNC

NCAA championship team • 9x National Coach of the Year • 9x Final Four coach (4 at Kansas, 5 at UNC) • Began career as high school coach in NC • Played on UNC’s freshman basketball team (1968–69)

OPPOSITE: Former UNC Tar basketball coach Roy Williams, photographed in Charlotte on Sept. 6, 2022. Williams led

the Tar Heels to three national championships before retiring in 2021. J EFF SINER / THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

• Holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UNC • Retired from coaching on April 1, 2021

SPORTS LEGENDS OF THE CAROLINAS • 171


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