Delgado presents North Carolina with piece of college basketball history

Ahead of tonight’s NCAA Basketball Championship game in New Orleans, Delgado presented the University of North Carolina with a unique piece of its history this morning…a slab of the court from the 1982 Final Four championship game that the Tar Heels won forty years ago this week in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

College basketball fans will remember the moment that basketball legend Michael Jordan, then a 19-year old freshman at North Carolina, nailed a jumper shot with :17 remaining to lift North Carolina to the title over Georgetown. Following the game, the court found its home at Delgado Community College’s Michael Williamson Center, where it hosted hundreds of Dolphin basketball games and events until it was removed following the 2018 season. Prior to its demolition, the historic boards were salvaged to eventually be shared with the Tar Heels.

This morning, the pieces of the court were presented to North Carolina’s legendary Coach Roy Williams, who served as an Assistant Coach on the 1982 team before going on to become one of the most recognizable, successful coaches in college basketball history. He graciously accepted the pieces of history that will later be presented to NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan with another piece being placed in a permanent home in the Carolina Basketball Museum, located inside UNC’s home arena, the Ernie Williamson Athletic Center.

A plaque on the boards reads: “This floor plank was originally a portion of the 1982 NCAA Final Four basketball court that hosted North Carolina’s historic 1982 National Championship at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. Following the event, the court found its home at Delgado Community College in New Orleans, where it served as the Dolphins’ home court until it was decommissioned in 2018.”

Delgado Athletic Director Joe Scheuermann, Women’s Basketball Coach Eddie Fields, Men’s Basketball Coach Cliff Barthe’ and Tyler Scheuermann made the presentation on behalf of the college.