The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the parents, fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The Sweet 16/Elite 8 are taking place in 4 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from Los Angeles with an interview of North Carolina basketball alum/father Pearce Landry about his son Rob.
You attended UNC and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1995: how was your college experience in Chapel Hill? Phenomenal! Best experience ever. I played 2 years of JV and then made the team as a junior. Having grown up a huge fan of Coach Dean Smith and UNC while living in the state of North Carolina, it was a dream come true. I married my high school sweetheart Anne right after graduation, and the fact that she was able to come to all my games and we were able to share all the joys/memories of UNC together makes it even more sweet.
What made Coach Smith such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? As a coach, he was an innovator/visionary: always reworking his strategy based on the talents of his team and staying a few steps ahead of the opponents. He also viewed his primary job as producing great men rather than winning games. He was a perfectionist in practice and super-competitive. We had a thought for the day before every team practice which had to do with life, not hoops. I learned MANY things through those quotes and discussing them. But the thought for the day on the first day pf practice every year (which Coach Hubert Davis has continued) has always stuck with me: it is amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the result. This year’s team is the embodiment of that.
In 1993 you won the NCAA title over Michigan, and in 1995 you were team captain as your team made the Final 4 before losing to Arkansas: what was your reaction after Chris Webber called his infamous timeout, and what is the key to being a good leader? So…while I played a game on that year’s varsity team, I spent 1992-93 mainly as a JV player due to an ACC rule that counted my scholarship (the Morehead-Cain Scholarship) as an athletic scholarship which put the team over the limit. A good leader is a servant leader who puts his own good behind the good of the team: better to serve than to be served.
You are now the Chief Investment Officer of Granville Capital and have over 25 years of investing experience: how is the investing business these days? I am privileged to have a small set of wonderful ultra-high-net-worth clients and wonderful partners/staff. Combine that with a good economy and wonderful areas of innovation and business is better than I deserve. Our company is fantastic and focuses on being a great steward of wealth and of our position in our community by serving and giving back whenever we can.
Your son Rob grew up in Greensboro, NC: what made him choose your alma mater? Rob received a full scholarship offer from the Business school at UNC. That, combined with the possibility of playing on the JV team…and perhaps a shot of trying out for the varsity team one day, influenced his decision to attend UNC. Like me, Rob was a student and scholar and true fan before making the UNC team. In fact, due to COVID he had not played basketball for nearly 2 years before trying out for the team in October 2022.
In the 2022 Final 4 the Tar Heels had a 4-PT win over Duke before a 3-PT loss to Kansas: where does that win rank among the highlights of your life, and where does that loss rank among the lowlights of your life? All-time best win ever, and always will be the best win…but it was only a silly game so I would not rank it among the best moments of my life. The loss was not even in the worst 25 because the game that mattered was the semifinal: if you live in the state of North Carolina then you understand.
How many of your son’s games did you get to see in person this year, and which was your favorite 1? All but 4. It has been such a fun team: they are unselfish, play hard, are tough on defense, find multiple ways to win, and are just a group of good kids/families. My favorite games were beating Dook at Dook and an easy victory at home vs Syracuse when the walk-ons got to play/score.
After only making 2 FGs during his college career, he played 1 minute vs. Wagner in the 1st round and made his only FG attempt: what was it like to see your son make a basket in the NCAA tourney?! Just a truly special undeserved gift from the Lord. His whole experience has been an undeserved gift but that was a sweet moment. Hopefully there are more wins to come for the team but that was special. Duwe Farris, Rob’s roommate, made a great pass and displayed really unselfish behavior: many walk-ons would have shot it themselves but Duwe found Rob wide open under the basket.
There are 3 other ACC teams that made the Sweet 16 (Clemson/Duke/NC State): where do you think the conference ranks among the best in the nation this year? We will find out soon!! I know that Pitt deserved to be in the NCAA tourney: they were 1 of the toughest/hardest teams we played all year. It is unfortunate that stats/NET/other statistical measures are being relied upon so heavily rather than simply getting the best 68 teams into the bracket.
Any predictions for the game vs. Alabama tonight? UNC in a close one.