Odell Beckham Jr. may have gone to high school in New Orleans and played at LSU before joining the New York Giants in 2014, but the all-world wideout has always been a North Carolina basketball fan. That explains why he was whooping it up for the Tar Heels before and during their Final Four showdown with Oregon at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale on Saturday night.
And it’s why he’ll be there again on Monday night when the Tar Heels face Gonzaga in the national championship game.
“I always said if I ever was to play basketball or pursue basketball, the only way is if I had an offer from UNC to play basketball,” he told USA Today’s For the Win. “I went to Roy Williams’ camp when I was younger. I still remember walking in there and everything like that. I’ve just always been a UNC fan.”
Williams remembers, apparently. The two shook hands prior to the Oregon game:
And Beckham hopes the Tar Heels can do on Monday what they just missed out on a year ago after Villanova hit a last-second shot to beat UNC in the 2016 title game.
“The past five, six years we haven’t been as good, but last year we made it all the way and lost,” Beckham said. “I was at the house watching it with my little bro, Ben, and he was a Villanova fan. It was upsetting. I’m real happy to be here and see them.”
Beckham is an otherworldly NFL talent whose athleticism extends to the basketball court.
In case you’re wondering, Beckham’s favorite players after Michael Jordan are on the current roster: Joel Berry and Kennedy Meeks.