'It's a Big Deal': Freshmen prepare to fulfill some childhood dreams in tournament

Now that he's long gone from Mount Tabor High, C.J. Harris can confess to ditching school.

But at least he had a good reason … and a little help.

"My mom used to let me go home early from school to watch the ACC Tournament," said Harris, now a freshman guard at Wake Forest. "That was a big deal, and it still is a big deal. I left early on a few occasions to watch the games in the afternoon on TV."

On days when Harris didn't make it home early from school, some teachers took pity on their students.

"The teachers sometimes let us watch TV and we'd catch some of the games," he said, "so that was kind of cool."

The tournament will be a much bigger deal this week for Harris and other ACC freshmen who will get their first chances to play in it.

"I can't wait," Harris said. "I've been watching the tournament since I can remember, and I've never been there before in person."

Even though the freshmen have already been through the rigors of a full regular season, the atmosphere of the ACC Tournament is much different. There's more pressure with the NCAA Tournament looming and teams trying to make statements, and there's the history of the past 56 years.

Freshman John Henson of North Carolina, who was born in Greensboro and grew up in Round Rock, Texas, said he watched a lot of the tournament growing up. Now, he and his teammates are hoping that it will give them new life.

"When I was younger, my father always wanted to go to the ACC Tournament," said Henson, whose father, Matt, played at Norfolk State and in the CIAA Tournament. "We never got the chance, but since I'm going to be playing in it, he's going to be here this year.

"When you think about it, you've got all the teams in the ACC together at one spot playing each other. (My father) always wanted to go because it was a great chance to see everybody play. He's very excited about seeing this tournament."

Scott Wood, an N.C. State freshman from Marion, Ind., hasn't seen much of past ACC Tournaments but said he did watch on occasion.

"It's something I definitely watched when I had the chance, but a lot of times we were busy with high-school playoffs," Wood said. "I know that it's a very big deal to play in it, and what people have told me having all the teams in one place really makes it exciting."

The Wolfpack will go into the tournament on a roll, having won three of its final four.

"Everybody is 0-0, and it's a chance to kind of redeem yourself," Wood said.

As for handling the nerves of playing on such a big stage, Wood said that he and his fellow freshmen at State already have been through a lot.

"We've seen a lot this season, so I don't feel like I'll be nervous," he said. "I look at it as an opportunity because we get to keep playing ball."

Assistant coach Jeff Battle of Wake Forest, a veteran of nine ACC Tournaments, said that freshmen have a tendency to get a little shell-shocked.

"The biggest thing is you can't let the freshmen try to do things they aren't capable of doing," Battle said. "You can't let them get out of their element or forget what got them there. As long as they stay within the realm of their roles, they'll be fine."

Battle said that the publicity surrounding the ACC Tournament and the stakes raise the intensity level.

"It's a big stage and you have a tendency to try to do too much," he said. "The freshmen really have to watch out for that."

Another Wake Forest freshman who will see the ACC Tournament in person for the first time is Ari Stewart, who grew up in Marietta, Ga., but, unlike Harris, didn't watch much of it on television.

"I've never watched much college basketball growing up," he said. "I guess I started watching a little bit my junior year of high school."

Stewart admitted not knowing much about the ACC Tournament's rich tradition, but he does know what's at stake.

"It's going to be more intense than the regular season," he said. "We're looking forward to possibly facing teams that beat us earlier in the year."

Stewart agreed with Battle that not trying to do too much will be key.

"The hype and excitement that you are actually in the tournament and playing, that's the biggest thing, but you can't let it get to you," Stewart said. "It's a blessing and honor to play in the ACC Tournament."

Harris said that the regular season was good preparation.

"We've been in a lot of battles already, but there are more to come in the tournament," Harris said. "There's a time limit on a lot of teams as to how much longer they'll play this season, and the ACC Tournament will be it for a lot of teams."

jdell@wsjournal.com


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