Sports Legends of the Carolinas

Former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly serves as the season finale of Season 3 of "Sports Legends of the Carolinas." Drafted No. 9 overall out of Boston College by the Panthers in 2012, Kuechly had such a remarkable eight-year NFL career that you still see his No. 59 jersey every Sunday at Panthers' home games. Kuechly was the AP's Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012, the AP's Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 and one of the keys to the Panthers' run to the Super Bowl in 2015. In his first year of eligibility, he's currently a semifinalist for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Kuechly retired early from the NFL, at age 28 in January 2020. In this conversation, he talked about the reasons behind his surprise retirement, as well as about his old Carolina teammates like Cam Newton, his love for bowhunting and what he'd like to do next in his life.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A three-time Olympic gold medalist, Heather O'Reilly was also one of the all-time greats at one of the all-time greatest dynasties in college sports -- the UNC women's soccer team. O'Reilly helped lead UNC to two NCAA championships, in 2003 and 2006. She was already a member of the U.S. Women's National Team while in school at Chapel Hill and played on that squad for 14 years, from age 17 to age 31. Besides winning gold medals with the USNWT in 2004, 2008 and 2012, she also won the women's World Cup in 2015. After a long national and international soccer career, the 39-year-old O'Reilly has returned to Chapel Hill, where she coaches soccer, pursues a variety of business interests and chases after her two young sons. She talks in this podcast about juggling soccer and family life, as well as her hatred of penalty kicks and how she and her husband helped save the 100-year-old Carolina Coffee Shop on Franklin Street from going out of business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NASCAR hall of famer Rick Hendrick is an ultra-successful businessman in the automotive world. But what he's known for in sports circles is a NASCAR dynasty that is celebrating its 40th year in existence of 2024 and ranks as the winningest team in Cup Series history. Hendrick's 14 Cup series season titles have come with five different drivers: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. Hendrick is also a leukemia survivor and has overcome a number of personal tragedies, including a plane crash that devastated both his NASCAR operation and his family 20 years ago. At age 75, he remains in charge of both Hendrick Automotive Group - which employs almost 11,000 people - and the Hendrick Motorsports racing operation, which is in contention for another championship in 2024.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Nantz is one of the most famous sports broadcasters in America. Since being hired by CBS Sports in 1985 at age 26, he's become a 5-time national sportscaster of the year and has provided the play-by-play soundtrack for many of the most iconic moments in sports. Nantz has called multiple Super Bowls, Final Fours and the Masters. The Nantz family also has deep roots in North Carolina. Nantz, 65, not only was born in Charlotte, but both his mom's and dad's families are deeply embedded in our state. Nantz was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2024.  For his "Sports Legends of the Carolinas" interview, Nantz sat with us in Greensboro, where he was broadcasting a golf tournament. We spoke about his family, the time he called a Super Bowl featuring the Carolina Panthers and the origin story about why he opens every telecast with the phrase “Hello friends.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the oldest head coach in college football's top division, UNC's Mack Brown now anticipates the question about when he's going to retire long before recruits or their parents pose it. “It gets asked before they say hello now,” Brown said.  Brown will turn 73 on Aug. 27th, two days before the Tar Heels' 2024 season opener at Minnesota. Now that Alabama's Nick Saban has retired, Brown stands alone as the only Division I head football coach in his 70s. He's also the winningest active coach in college football with 282 victories, piled up during head-coaching stops at Texas, Tulane, Appalachian State and North Carolina (twice). Brown won a national championship at Texas and has taken UNC to a bowl game in each of the five years since his return to Chapel Hill prior to the 2019 season. He spoke during this podcast episode about the massive changes that are rocking college football, growing up in Cookeville, Tenn., and the way he's going to retire when he decides to do so. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julius Peppers, a fearsome pass-rushing defensive end, was one of the greatest Carolina Panther players ever. We caught up with Peppers at his home in Coral Gables, Fla., where he lives with his wife and children. He is preparing for a big weekend -- on Aug. 3rd, Peppers will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was elected in his first year of eligibility after 17 total seasons in the NFL -- 10 of them with the Panthers. Peppers finished his career fourth all-time in NFL sacks. Before that, he grew up in Bailey, N.C., and was both a football and basketball star for the UNC Tar Heels. Peppers is one of the rare athletes to have played in both the Super Bowl and the Final Four, and he thinks he could have been an NBA player if he pursued that avenue. He also talks about chasing Michael Vick, Carolina's 2003 Super Bowl season and what being a hall of famer means to him. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's almost time for the Summer Olympics to take over the sports world, as it does every four years. The opening ceremonies are July 26th in Paris. And so for the first time in the three seasons of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” we went poolside to have a a candid conversation with Olympic swimmer and two-time gold medalist Cullen Jones. Formerly a star college swimmer at N.C. State, Jones previewed the Paris swimming competition, talked about his own experiences in the Olympics and told us his origin story as to how he became one of a handful of African-American swimmers to succeed in the water at the sport's highest levels. Jones owns both two gold medals and two silver medals from the Olympics, where he competed for Team USA in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London. He also said the most important lessons from his athletic career came not during his record-setting wins, but from his losses. "Losing is great," he said at one point. Now 40 years old, Jones lives in Charlotte with his wife and their five-year-old son. Our interview came at Life Time's fitness center in Charlotte, and that excellent facility also let us borrow one of its several pools for our photo session. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In North Carolina's mountains, a football coach named Jerry Moore led Appalachian State to new heights two decades ago. Now 84, Moore coached the Mountaineers from 1989-2012 and built a dynasty in Boone, N.C. In 2005, 2006 and 2007, he directed the Mountaineers all the way to the top of the mountain, winning three straight national titles at the FCS level. Those were the first three NCAA football championships any institution from the state of North Carolina had won, at any level. Moore also coached the Mountaineers to arguably the most famous upset in college football history — a 34-32 win against No. 5 Michigan, in the 2007 season opener. Moore earned his way into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014. In this interview, Moore talked about all of those championships, the brilliance of star quarterback Armanti Edwards and the upset in Ann Arbor, as well as making peace with his difficult departure from Appalachian State after the 2012 season and why he again fully embraces the program today.  Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Long before he became one of the biggest names in footwear, Stan Smith dazzled on the tennis court. Smith, 77, is a tennis hall of famer who won both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the early 1970s and was once ranked as the world's No. 1 tennis player. He grew up in California but has lived for more than 50 years in Hilton Head, S.C., where he remains very active in the community and in his Smith Stearns Tennis Academy. But if you're not a tennis fan, what you likely know Stan Smith for is the iconic Adidas shoe that bears his name — a classic white leather shoe with green trim around the heel that also includes his likeness and signature. In fact, the name of his 2018 book was: “Stan Smith — Some people think I'm a shoe.” Smith is much more than a shoe, though, and LeBron James' production company recently made a documentary about him. We traveled to the S.C. coast to talk to him in the latest episode of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jimmie Johnson is, without question, one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. Three drivers rank at the very top of the all-time NASCAR Cup series champion standings, each with seven season titles apiece. They are Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Johnson. Of those three legends, Johnson is the only one who won five titles consecutively, from 2006-2010. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte in January. Johnson is now 48 years old, the same number that he made famous driving for Hendrick Motorsports. He still competes in select events and plans to do so in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Sunday, for Legacy Motor Club, which he co-owns. This interview with Johnson, where he spoke about racing, family and the two times he thought his life might be over, was conducted in Daytona Beach, Fla. It occurred before the recent announcement that Johnson plans to pull off an unusual double on Sunday. He will first be part of NBC's announcing team for the Indy 500, then will fly directly to Charlotte in time to drive in the Coke 600. Johnson and his family — wife Chandra and their two daughters, Genevieve and Lydia — plan to return to live in Charlotte later this year, but are spending this school year overseas in London. Chandra is also an art connoisseur and founded SOCO Gallery, based in Charlotte. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity; a longer version is available on the “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” podcast. The Johnson podcast episode is sponsored by Queen City Audio, Video and Appliances. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Muggsy Bogues remains the shortest player ever to play in the NBA, at 5-foot-3. Bogues stayed in the league for 14 years, most notably as the point guard for the exciting Charlotte Hornets teams of the 1990s that also starred Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning and Dell Curry. At age 57, he still lives in the Charlotte area today. We sat down in Bogues' home, inside a memorabilia room full of keepsakes from his career. We discussed Bogues' experience being shot as a child; the neighborhood recreation center Bogues says changed his life; and the former star's insistence that he really could dunk. In addition, we discussed Bogues playing himself in the movie Space Jam; his watching dumbstruck as Latrell Sprewell choked coach P.J. Carlesimo; and Bogues gives us the inside scoop on what Steph Curry was like as a child. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Dell Curry is now known in public mostly for being the father of two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steph Curry, he had his own stellar NBA career. Known for his three-point sharpshooting at a time when the NBA was far less enamored with that long-distance shot, the elder Curry had a 16-year NBA career that included 10 years as a player for the Hornets from 1988-98 -- the team's first 10 seasons. Curry earned the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award in 1994 and retired as the Charlotte Hornets' all-time leading scorer (a record that stood for 20-plus years before it was broken by Kemba Walker). He and Muggsy Bogues both came to the Hornets via the 1988 NBA expansion draft and quickly became fan favorites in Charlotte. Curry has served as the Charlotte Hornets' color analyst on the team's TV broadcasts since 2009. Now 59, Curry grew up in rural Virginia and has lived in Charlotte since his 2002 retirement from the NBA. He is the father of two current NBA players -- Steph and Seth -- and talks in this interview about the time Steph nearly quit basketball in frustration. We conducted this conversation in between sessions at a basketball camp Dell Curry has conducted for decades at Charlotte's Levine Jewish Community Center. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the NFL Draft approaches, the Carolina Panthers can only hope to hit a second-round home run like they did with Muhsin Muhammad. The Panthers hold two high second-round picks — the 33rd and 39th overall — in the draft that starts April 25. In 1996, Muhammad was a promising wide receiver out of Michigan State that Carolina nabbed with the 43rd overall pick. “Moose,” as most everyone calls him, went on to play 14 NFL seasons, including 11 with Carolina, and was known for his physicality, great hands and knack for making the biggest plays in the biggest games, He still owns the Super Bowl record for longest touchdown catch, at 85 yards against New England in the 2003 postseason. Now 50 years old, Muhammad and his wife Christa have raised their six kids in the Charlotte area, and those kids have produced numerous college diplomas and athletic accolades. The Panthers, meanwhile, inducted Muhammad into the team's Hall of Honor in 2023, and his name is now displayed at the top of Bank of America Stadium. We met Muhammad at his office in Charlotte for his “Sports Legends” interview. He talked about shushing the crowd in Philly, his thoughts on the 2024 Panthers and Nick Saban's viral comments about Moose that are still making the rounds on social media a decade later. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ahead of the Women's Final Four, in this special rebroadcast episode (originally aired on October 5th, 2022), Scott Fowler sits down with legendary USC coaching legend Dawn Staley. Dawn Staley, star of this week's episode of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” has had one of the most sensational careers in women's basketball history. Currently the head women's basketball coach at South Carolina, Staley's Gamecock squads won national titles in both 2017 and 2022 and lead the nation in women's basketball attendance every year. Under Staley, USC has also made the Final Four in four of the past seven seasons, and will be favored to repeat as national champions during the 2022-23 season.  Before her standout coaching career, Staley, 52, was the ACC Player of the Year in 1991 and 1992 at Virginia; a three-time WNBA All-Star for the Charlotte Sting; and a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Staley looks back at her road to South Carolina; the possibility of someday coaching in the NBA; and why her former players think she's going soft. Then, Staley talks about sharing pieces of her national championship nets with Black coaches and journalists; her 5-year-old gray-and-white Havanese rescue dog, Champ, who's become a star in his own right; and how she motivates players who have already won a national title. This episode was originally published in two parts, with the second exclusive to premium subscribers. Now, for the first time, the full interview is combined here. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alonzo Mourning would have become the greatest player in Charlotte Hornets history — if he had only stuck around. Mourning played his first three NBA seasons with Charlotte after the Hornets drafted him No. 2 overall in 1992. He quickly turned into an intimidating, 6-foot-10 star for a Charlotte team on the rise. His scowl could scare you. His dunks could dent the hardwood. But a salary dispute led to the Hornets trading Mourning in November 1995 to Miami, where he became an even bigger star, won an NBA title in 2006 and eventually made the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2014. For his “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” interview, we met Mourning in Miami, where he still lives and works for the Miami Heat, now as the team's vice president of player programs. Mourning, 54, discussed his years in Charlotte in detail and said he wanted to stay in Charlotte badly enough that he would have given the Hornets a substantial financial discount if they would have valued him correctly and kept him. “I'm going to be extremely transparent to everybody out there,” Mourning said at one point in our interview. “Listen, I was willing to take a lot less money than I received in Miami.” Mourning also discussed his life-threatening kidney disease and subsequent transplant in 2003, as well as his memory of making the greatest shot in Charlotte Hornets history in 1993. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Gastonia, Leonard Hamilton remembers restaurants he wasn't allowed to come inside due to his skin color. He sat in the balcony of a movie theater because Blacks weren't allowed to sit downstairs. He drank from one water fountain; whites drank from another. With the help of faith and family, Hamilton rose from those circumstances to a coaching career that has now spanned more than 50 years. At age 75, Hamilton has directed the Florida State basketball program since 2002 and will lead the Seminoles in the ACC tournament, which begins Tuesday in Washington, D.C. He previously was the head coach at Miami, Oklahoma State and, for one season, with the NBA's Washington Wizards. A major gospel music fan, Hamilton also has his own gospel music recording label. In his “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” interview, the three-time ACC Coach of the Year opened up about Gastonia, segregation and a coaching career where Hamilton has always been entrusted with teams that need “a little fixing up.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The siren song of a bouncing basketball led Bobby Cremins all over the Carolinas. Cremins crisscrossed both states during his hoops journey. He played basketball under Frank McGuire at the University of South Carolina in the late 1960s. He left for North Carolina to become the head coach at Appalachian State at age 27. At the end of his career, he would coach at the College of Charleston. It was in between those two jobs where Cremins made his greatest mark nationally. Cremins coached Georgia Tech from 1981 to 2000 while earning multiple ACC championships, winning three ACC Coach of the Year honors and directing the Rambling Wreck all the way to the Final Four in 1990. After 31 years as a college basketball head coach, Cremins now lives in Hilton Head, S.C., not far from the beach, with his wife, Carolyn. At age 76, he's as charming as ever and surrounded by memorabilia from his career. His pickleball paddles are stowed by the front door. He remains a huge fan of the “March Madness” NCAA Tournament and claims he will fight anyone who ever tries to mess with basketball's greatest month. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard Petty is 86 years old now, and his seven NASCAR Cup championships and record 200 wins at the sport's highest level came long ago. But Petty is still going strong in Level Cross (pop. 3694), which sits right in the middle of Charlotte and Raleigh. Petty lives a stone's throw from the house where he was born, and that house sits right next to the Petty Museum that houses an incredible amount of his stuff. Nicknamed “The King” and a member of the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Petty long ago developed a signature look that is all his own: cowboy hat, black sunglasses, oversized belt buckle and cowboy boots. He showed up wearing exactly that to our interview.  Honestly, I would have been a little disappointed if he didn't. This interview with Petty serves as the Season 3 kickoff for the “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” multimedia project. Petty and I sat inside his museum, on two high-back chairs, and talked about life, death, racing, autographs, Daytona, family and the time his own father took his first race win away from him via protest.  After we were done, a surprisingly spry Petty hopped off the chair and said: “You got my whole history, didn't ya?” Not quite, but we did hit a lot of the highlights. On the eve of the 2024 NASCAR season and the Daytona 500, there's no better way to rev up the racing anticipation than a visit with “The King.”  This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From 1987-89, Steve Spurrier was the head coach at Duke, leading the Blue Devils to an ACC Football Championship in 1989. As a player, he won the Heisman Trophy in 1966 at the University of Florida. Coach Spurrier then returned to Florida as its coach in 1990. Known as an offensive mastermind, Spurrier led the Gators to multiple SEC titles, as well as the national championship in 1997. Spurrier has deep connections to both Carolinas, because after Florida and a 2-year stint with Washington's NFL team, Spurrier came to South Carolina, where he was the head coach of the Gamecocks for a decade, beating Clemson five straight times at one point, before abruptly retiring in the middle of the 2015 season. We'd like to thank the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club for providing space for this interview. This episode is sponsored by Audi Charlotte. Celebrate the season with holiday savings on new Audis. You belong in an Audi from Audi Charlotte. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a once-in-a-generation quarterback at Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., Armanti Edwards led the Mountaineers to FCS national championships in 2006 and 2007 as well as an extraordinary road win over then-No. 5 Michigan, often called the biggest upset in college football history. Lightly recruited out of Greenwood, S.C., Edwards would become the first two-time Walter Payton winner as the FCS National Player of the Year. He was also a four-time All-American and led App State to a 42-7 record as a starter. Edwards then became a third-round NFL draft pick by the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers employed Edwards from 2010 to 2013, trying to switch him from a star quarterback to wide receiver and punt returner with little success. That was a period where Edwards said he experienced “the darkest time in my football career.” In our "Sports Legends" interview he also discussed in detail for the first time the circumstances of his release from the Panthers in 2013. Edwards would then have a strong career as a wideout in the Canadian Football League, where he once played on a team that won the CFL's equivalent of the Super Bowl. He now lives in Charlotte with his wife and two children. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steph Curry, the all-everything point guard for the Golden State Warriors, is still in the prime of his career and already a “Sports Legend of the Carolinas.” In this deeply personal retrospective, the eight-time All-Star, four-time NBA champ and two-time league MVP offers Scott Fowler never-before-heard details about Curry's high school career for the Charlotte Christian Knights; leading Davidson College to the Elite Eight in 2008 — and in the process, giving Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski a glimpse of the talent UNC and Duke never bothered to recruit; the challenges for Curry of following in the NBA footsteps of his famous father, Dell; the biggest wins of his own sterling career; and the one thing that could get Curry to leave Golden State. This special bonus episode of Sports Legends of the Carolinas is free for all listeners in its entirety. The episode is sponsored by Parker Poe, a law firm representing many of the Southeast's largest companies and local governments in business and real estate transactions, regulatory issues, and complex litigation. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Dell Curry is now known in public mostly for being the father of two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steph Curry, he had his own stellar NBA career. Known for his three-point sharpshooting at a time when the NBA was far less enamored with that long-distance shot, the elder Curry had a 16-year NBA career that included 10 years as a player for the Hornets from 1988-98 -- the team's first 10 seasons. Curry earned the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award in 1994 and retired as the Charlotte Hornets' all-time leading scorer (a record that stood for 20-plus years before it was broken by Kemba Walker). He and Muggsy Bogues both came to the Hornets via the 1988 NBA expansion draft and quickly became fan favorites in Charlotte. Curry has served as the Charlotte Hornets' color analyst on the team's TV broadcasts since 2009. Now 59, Curry grew up in rural Virginia and has lived in Charlotte since his 2002 retirement from the NBA. He is the father of two current NBA players -- Steph and Seth -- and talks in this interview about the time Steph nearly quit basketball in frustration. We conducted this conversation in between sessions at a basketball camp Dell Curry has conducted for decades at Charlotte's Levine Jewish Community Center. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kicking off Season 2 of Sports Legends of the Carolinas, this week's guest is Greg Olsen, who lit up opposing defenses for nine years as a Pro Bowl tight end for the Carolina Panthers, and has had an extraordinary start to his second career: calling color for the NFL on FOX. Olsen lives in Charlotte with his wife Kara and their three children — Tate, Talbot and T.J. He is almost as well known in the Queen City for his charity work as he is for his football and broadcasting prowess. We did this interview at a Charlotte steakhouse called “Steak 48,” which on Feb. 27 will host an Olsen charity event to benefit his “The HEARTest Yard” initiative. In this conversation, Olsen discussed Tom Brady (before Brady retired from the NFL on February 2); the upcoming Super Bowl; T.J.'s continued improvement after his heart transplant in 2021; and why Carolina's loss to Denver in Super Bowl 50 still gnaws at Olsen. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tommy Burleson was the literal centerpiece of one of the best college basketball teams in the history of the Carolinas — the 1974 N.C. State Wolfpack. Burleson, point guard Monte Towe and high-flying forward David Thompson led that N.C. State team to a national championship, ending UCLA's streak of seven consecutive NCAA titles in the national semifinal in double overtime and then beating Marquette in the final.  Anxious to christen Burleson as college basketball's tallest player, N.C. State listed him at 7-foot-4. Burleson was actually 7-2, but he was also a far more athletic center than most people assumed. A mountain of a man, Burleson grew up in a tiny town called Newland in the mountains of western North Carolina. As a teenager, Burleson was nicknamed the “Newland Needle” due to his skinny build. Burleson played for the U.S. Olympic team in 1972, where he had a terrifying experience. He was later named the two-time MVP of the ACC tournament, starring in one of the greatest college basketball games ever in the 1974 ACC tourney final against Maryland — a 103-100 Wolfpack win. After a seven-year NBA career that ended in 1981, Burleson returned to North Carolina and his beloved mountains. Now 71, he's been a larger-than-life presence in his home county of Avery, where he served as a county planner for decades and also had a Christmas tree farm with his three sons that helped fund his missionary work. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1994, Jeff Gordon won his first race in NASCAR's signature series, taking the checkered flag at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway at age 22. Gordon would win 92 more times after that, becoming racing royalty and a NASCAR hall of famer. Now he's our latest subject of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” the multimedia project in which we interview sports stars about their journeys to iconic status and their struggles along the way. Somehow, Gordon is 51 years old. He's been a household name in NASCAR for the past three decades. After a six-year stint in the TV broadcast booth, he now works as vice chairman at Hendrick Motorsports, the place where he launched his own career in the sport. He and his family live in Charlotte. In his racing prime, Gordon turned into such a crossover star that he became the first NASCAR driver to ever host “Saturday Night Live.” In this interview, which we conducted in his office at Hendrick Motorsports, he talked about his favorite character from that SNL appearance, as well as teaching his daughter how to drive, his early days as a breakdancer (yes, seriously) and his rivalry with Dale Earnhardt Sr. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a child growing up in Gibsonville, N.C., Torry Holt occasionally pulled tobacco for $5 an hour. Holt would later grow up to make millions in the NFL after starring at N.C. State, where the wide receiver was named the ACC's Player of the Year in 1998. Our interview subject this week for “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” Holt once scored five touchdowns in a single game for the Wolfpack against Florida State. Following an All-American senior season at N.C. State, he was drafted No. 6 overall by the St. Louis Rams in 1999. Holt quickly won a Super Bowl with the Rams as a rookie and became an essential part of an offense quarterbacked by Kurt Warner and known as “The Greatest Show on Turf.” He made the Pro Bowl seven times and had six consecutive seasons of 1,300 or more receiving yards. Now 47, Holt has moved back to the Raleigh area. There, he and his brother Terrence, also a former NFL player, run Holt Brothers Inc., and are involved in a variety of business and philanthropic ventures, including a successful construction company and a charitable foundation that supports children who have a parent with cancer. This conversation was conducted while Holt was visiting Charlotte, serving in his role as an NFL global flag football ambassador for a USA Football event. The interview is edited for clarity and brevity. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Sports Legends of the Carolinas, Alex Zietlow interviews Coach Mike Krzyzewski, or Coach K. Mike Krzyzewski served as an astonishing basketball coach for 47 years and has impacted the game and this state forever. In his 42 years coaching the Blue Devils, he led the team to 5 national titles, 13 Final Fours and 1,202 wins — the most all-time. As if that was not enough, Coach K was Team USA's head basketball coach in three straight Olympic Games, earning gold medals every time, and he has a remarkable story attached to each and every one of his accomplishments. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. Our interns on this production are Christina Silvestri and Zoe Williams. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 age 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 also a community servant off the field. for much of that time, he was paired with Luke Kuechly to form perhaps the NFL's best linebacker tandem. But what he believes is 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 and his family have long kept their permanent home. Davis signed a one-day contract in March 2021 so he could retire as a Panther and now owns and operates a sports bar and lounge called TEN58 in uptown Charlotte. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not too many former college football players can point to a Heisman Trophy sitting in their TV room and persuade you to pick it up to feel its weight, but former South Carolina running back George Rogers can. As we anticipate Saturday night's season opener between South Carolina and North Carolina in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium, one of the greatest Gamecock athletes of all time is the star of this week's “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” Rogers had 27 games in which he rushed for more than 100 yards for USC. In 1980, he won that Heisman Trophy (which turns out to be surprisingly heavy) after an extraordinary senior season. Following his college career at USC, Rogers became the first overall pick of the 1981 NFL draft by the New Orleans Saints and immediately led the NFL in rushing yards as a rookie. He played for seven seasons in the NFL, for New Orleans and Washington, and was a two-time Pro Bowler who once scored 18 touchdowns in a single season. In his final NFL season, in 1987, Rogers won a Super Bowl ring with Washington. Now 64 years old, Rogers and his wife, Brenda, live about 20 minutes from Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. A 13-foot statue of Rogers stands near the stadium. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erin Matson was arguably the best field hockey player in NCAA history. While at UNC, she led the Tar Heels to four national championships, and three times she was named the national player of the year. Then came a startling twist -- at age 22, only one month after graduation, Matson was named the head coach of the very UNC team she had been starring for, replacing Karen Shelton.  Shelton won 10 NCAA titles at UNC, so Matson (now age 23) begins her coaching career with big shoes to fill. Think of it like this: What if Mia Hamm had finished her college career at UNC and then had immediately started coaching the Tar Heels' women's soccer team? That's what has happened here, just in a different sport. In this interview, Matson talks about coaching players who some cases are literally older than she is, as well as her upbringing in Pennsylvania and the part of coaching she just hasn't mastered yet. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bobby Richardson, this week's star of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” was a notable New York Yankee who never really left his South Carolina hometown. Born and raised in Sumter, S.C., about 110 miles southeast of Charlotte, Richardson still lives there today, with his wife Betsy, in a house he built in 1960. He turns 88 years old in August but still has a remarkable memory, especially for the time he spent wearing the Yankees' famous pinstripes. Richardson played for the Yankees for his entire major league career from 1955-1966, competing in seven World Series and winning three of them with teammates like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Yogi Berra. He was a seven-time All-Star, then retired at age 31. Richardson remains the only World Series MVP in a losing cause, winning the award in 1960 despite Pittsburgh winning the World Series that year. After retirement, Richardson would become a college baseball coach for three different teams -- including the University of South Carolina -- as well as a well-known Christian speaker who evangelized alongside Billy Graham and spoke at a dozen of his former Yankee teammates' funerals. We spoke in the family room of his home in Sumter, surrounded by mementos of his career. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill Polian made it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015, honored as one of the NFL's most extraordinary general managers. The subject of this week's “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” interview, Polian was a team-builder with a gift for pinpoint player evaluation and crisp contract negotiation. He revitalized the fortunes of three different NFL teams — Buffalo, Carolina and Indianapolis. He pushed the Panthers to the NFC championship game in their second year of existence, in 1996, and won a Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Polian was named the NFL's Executive of the Year by The Sporting News a record six times. Now 80 and still keeping his hand in the NFL with several media gigs, Polian has lived in the Lake Norman area just north of Charlotte for decades. He still closely follows the Panthers. A longtime mentor to new Carolina head coach Frank Reich, Polian employed Reich as a QB in Buffalo, immediately saw his coaching potential and eventually got Reich his first coaching job as a low-level assistant in Indianapolis. In our interview, Polian spoke about Reich, current and past Panthers teams and the pros and cons of the Panthers starting 5-foot-10 rookie quarterback Bryce Young. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Paul has done nearly everything there is to do on a basketball court. He grew up in Winston-Salem, starred at Wake Forest, was drafted No. 4 overall in the 2005 NBA draft and then went on to become a 12-time NBA all-star and a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Team USA. Paul has only one major hole in his basketball résumé -- an NBA championship. After being traded to Golden State in the summer of 2023, the 38-year-old point guard hopes to rectify that in the company of fellow stars like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Paul recently published a bestselling book called "Sixty-One: Life lessons from Papa, on and off the court” to honor his grandfather, Nathaniel Jones, who was murdered in Winston-Salem in 2002. The book is named for a specific game that Paul played in 2002. Then a high school senior in Winston-Salem, Paul scored exactly 61 points in his first high school game after the murder -- one for each year of his grandfather's life. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a once-in-a-generation quarterback at Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., Armanti Edwards led the Mountaineers to FCS national championships in 2006 and 2007 as well as an extraordinary road win over then-No. 5 Michigan, often called the biggest upset in college football history. Lightly recruited out of Greenwood, S.C., Edwards would become the first two-time Walter Payton winner as the FCS National Player of the Year. He was also a four-time All-American and led App State to a 42-7 record as a starter. Edwards then became a third-round NFL draft pick by the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers employed Edwards from 2010 to 2013, trying to switch him from a star quarterback to wide receiver and punt returner with little success. That was a period where Edwards said he experienced “the darkest time in my football career.” In our "Sports Legends" interview he also discussed in detail for the first time the circumstances of his release from the Panthers in 2013. Edwards would then have a strong career as a wideout in the Canadian Football League, where he once played on a team that won the CFL's equivalent of the Super Bowl. He now lives in Charlotte with his wife and two children. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. Our interns on this production are Zoe Williams and Christina Silvestri. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on Sports Legends of the Carolinas, Alex Zietlow interviews Coach Mike Krzyzewski, or Coach K. Mike Krzyzewski served as an astonishing basketball coach for 47 years and has impacted the game and this state forever. In his 42 years coaching the Blue Devils, he led the team to 5 national titles, 13 Final Fours and 1,202 wins — the most all-time. As if that was not enough, Coach K was Team USA's head basketball coach in three straight Olympic Games, earning gold medals every time, and he has a remarkable story attached to each and every one of his accomplishments. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. Our interns on this production are Christina Silvestri and Zoe Williams. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Debbie Antonelli, a 1986 NC State graduate, has been a major influence in the women's college basketball circles for 35 years and has served as an analyst for ESPN in numerous capacities. Her announcing career also includes calling games for CBS, Fox Sports Net, Big Ten Network, NBATV and Westwood One, as well as WNBA games. The Cary, N.C. native became the first woman in nearly 22 years to call an NCAA men's basketball tournament game in 2017 and now regularly broadcasts "March Madness" games for both men and women. Antonelli was a four-year letterwinner with the Wolfpack under the guidance of legendary head coach Kay Yow, helping NC State to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Sweet 16 berths. In addition to her ACC Network women's basketball duties, Antonelli also serves as an analyst on men's college basketball telecasts and sometimes calls both women's and men's games in the same day. She now lives in Mount Pleasant, S.C, with her husband Frank. They are the parents of three boys.  Her charity work includes an annual free-throw marathon where Antonelli makes 100 free throws every hour for 24 straight hours in her driveway. By doing that and soliciting contributions for each free throw made, the 58-year-old Antonelli has raised close to a million dollars for the Special Olympics. In this conversation, Antonelli talks about motherhood, the start of her broadcasting career in Kentucky, and the evolution of women's basketball. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. Our interns on this production are Christina Silvestri and Zoe Williams. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1994, Jeff Gordon won his first race in NASCAR's signature series, taking the checkered flag at the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway at age 22. Gordon would win 92 more times after that, becoming racing royalty and a NASCAR hall of famer. Now he's our latest subject of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” the multimedia project in which we interview sports stars about their journeys to iconic status and their struggles along the way. Somehow, Gordon is 51 years old. He's been a household name in NASCAR for the past three decades. After a six-year stint in the TV broadcast booth, he now works as vice chairman at Hendrick Motorsports, the place where he launched his own career in the sport. He and his family live in Charlotte. In his racing prime, Gordon turned into such a crossover star that he became the first NASCAR driver to ever host “Saturday Night Live.” In this interview, which we conducted in his office at Hendrick Motorsports, he talked about his favorite character from that SNL appearance, as well as teaching his daughter how to drive, his early days as a breakdancer (yes, seriously) and his rivalry with Dale Earnhardt Sr. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

George Shinn, who conceived the Charlotte Hornets and brought the NBA to Charlotte, remains a busy man at age 81. Shinn was the Hornets' original owner and — because of Charlotte's great attendance and merchandising success, also indirectly had a hand in the NFL deciding the Queen City was worthy of a pro football franchise. The young boy from Kannapolis who finished dead last in his high school graduating class found his pro sports opportunity in the late 1980s and capitalized on it, although he now is out of the ownership business. In Charlotte, Shinn was complicated. Controversial. Charismatic. While the Hornets are here largely because of him, they also left the city for a time, largely because people lost confidence in him. That happened when Shinn was sued for sexual assault. His trial was nationally televised in 1999. A jury acquitted Shinn, but on the witness stand the devout Christian had to admit to questionable behavior — including two sexual relationships with women other than his then-wife.  The trial was part of the reason Shinn's relationship with the city and Hornets fans soured. In 2001, voters in Charlotte rejected a referendum that would have built the Hornets a new arena. Soon thereafter, Shinn moved the original Hornets franchise to New Orleans.  But the NBA was enamored with the Charlotte market by then and put a new team in Charlotte in 2004, which was first called the Bobcats but later re-adopted the “Hornets” nickname.  None of that would have happened without Shinn's original dream, which is why he's our latest guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tyler Hansbrough needs no introduction to UNC fans. Hansbrough finished his UNC basketball career in 2009 with a national championship and as both the Tar Heels' and the ACC's all-time leading scorer, with 2872 points. Hansbrough then played seven years in the NBA and for three years after that in China. Now, at age 37, Hansbrough is figuring out what comes next in a life that was so devoted to basketball for so long. Renowned for his relentless determination as a player, Hansbrough is also famous among UNC fans for going 4-0 as a player at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium. His No.50 jersey hangs in the rafters at the Smith Center. In our "Sports Legends" interview, talks about his favorite win at UNC (which wasn't the national title game) and his new sports passion, which gets him more nervous than basketball ever did. He also discusses the "cheap shot" Gerald Henderson directed at him in an unforgettable UNC-Duke game, being in China when the COVID pandemic began, why his NBA career didn't go as well as he had hoped and whether this past season's Tar Heels should have taken that NIT bid after being excluded from the NCAA Tournament field. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cedric Maxwell, the second interview subject for the 2023 season of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” was an All-American big man who led the 49ers to the 1977 Final Four. That remains the school's only Final Four appearance, and Charlotte might have won it all that year but for a controversial non-call at the buzzer against Marquette. In Maxwell's four years at Charlotte, the 49ers had a remarkable 58-0 home record. After his star turn in March Madness, Maxwell became a first-round NBA draft pick with the Boston Celtics. Teaming with players like Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, Maxwell was an essential player on Boston teams that won NBA championships in both 1981 and 1984. He was the NBA Finals MVP in 1981, and the Celtics retired his jersey number in 2003.  Now 67, Maxwell serves as the radio analyst for the Celtics, but maintains deep ties to the Charlotte area and lives in the Queen City during the summer. In our “Sports Legends” interview, Maxwell discusses how he got the nickname “Cornbread,” the 49ers' run to the Final Four, playing with Bird, the fight he got into with Charles Barkley and how he found out who his biological father was only a few years ago. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kicking off Season 2 of Sports Legends of the Carolinas, this week's guest is Greg Olsen, who lit up opposing defenses for nine years as a Pro Bowl tight end for the Carolina Panthers, and has had an extraordinary start to his second career: calling color for the NFL on FOX. Olsen lives in Charlotte with his wife Kara and their three children — Tate, Talbot and T.J. He is almost as well known in the Queen City for his charity work as he is for his football and broadcasting prowess. We did this interview at a Charlotte steakhouse called “Steak 48,” which on Feb. 27 will host an Olsen charity event to benefit his “The HEARTest Yard” initiative. In this conversation, Olsen discussed Tom Brady (before Brady retired from the NFL on February 2); the upcoming Super Bowl; T.J.'s continued improvement after his heart transplant in 2021; and why Carolina's loss to Denver in Super Bowl 50 still gnaws at Olsen. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Loumay Alesali, Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To tie a bow on the first season of Sports Legends of the Carolinas, Scott Fowler sits down with visual journalist Jeff Siner, Charlotte Observer executive editor Rana Cash, and lead podcast producer Kata Stevens to revisit their favorite moments from this season of legends. This special bonus episode of Sports Legends of the Carolinas is free for all listeners in its entirety. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steph Curry, the all-everything point guard for the Golden State Warriors, is still in the prime of his career and already a “Sports Legend of the Carolinas.” In this deeply personal retrospective, the eight-time All-Star, four-time NBA champ and two-time league MVP offers Scott Fowler never-before-heard details about Curry's high school career for the Charlotte Christian Knights; leading Davidson College to the Elite Eight in 2008 — and in the process, giving Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski a glimpse of the talent UNC and Duke never bothered to recruit; the challenges for Curry of following in the NBA footsteps of his famous father, Dell; the biggest wins of his own sterling career; and the one thing that could get Curry to leave Golden State. This special bonus episode of Sports Legends of the Carolinas is free for all listeners in its entirety. The episode is sponsored by Parker Poe, a law firm representing many of the Southeast's largest companies and local governments in business and real estate transactions, regulatory issues, and complex litigation. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” we welcome legendary former University of North Carolina men's head basketball coach Roy Williams. Over nearly 50 years of coaching at various levels, Williams won three national titles; then retired in 2021 as the only head coach in college basketball history to win more than 400 games at two different schools. On Part 2 of our conversation, Williams talks about the fellow Tar Heel namesake for his son, Scott; his current role as a doting grandfather; and why it seemed like he never used those dadgum time outs.  Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” a guest who earned that descriptor throughout a basketball coaching career that spanned half a century at various levels of the game: former University of North Carolina men's head coach Roy Williams. Williams won three national titles as the head coach of the Tar Heels, and retired in 2021 as the only head coach in college basketball history to win more than 400 games at two different schools — 418 at Kansas, and 485 at North Carolina, his alma mater. Williams was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame back in 2007 — before two of his three championships — and the court at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill is named for him. On Part 1 of this wide-ranging interview, Williams reflects on his sudden retirement, his rivalry with former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and consoling Marcus Paige after the heartbreaking 2016 title game loss to Villanova. On Part 2 of our conversation, Williams talks about the fellow Tar Heel namesake for his son, Scott; his current role as a doting grandfather; and why it seemed like he never used those dadgum time outs. For that, subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlotte Smith, this week's guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” is about to enter her 12th year as Elon's women's basketball coach. On Part 2 of our conversation, the all-time winningest coach at the school looks back at the road to her “blessed place,” Elon; getting posterized in the movie Juwanna Mann; and the immense strength she has found in asking for help.  Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlotte Smith, this week's guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” is about to enter her 12th year as Elon University's women's basketball coach. But the all-time winningest coach at the school is arguably better known for her own college playing career, thanks to making one of the most remarkable shots in NCAA tournament basketball history — a buzzer-beating three-pointer that won the 1994 NCAA title for the University of North Carolina. After college, the Shelby, N.C., native's pro career led her to Italy, where Smith was MVP of the Italian All-Star Game in the 1995-96 season, and then to the WNBA's Charlotte Sting in 1999. In Part 1 of our conversation, I talked to Smith about overcoming fear to meet the moment on the court; the life-changing role of coaches off the court; and her being a pioneering slam dunker in the women's game. On Part 2 of our conversation, Smith looks back at the road to her “blessed place,” Elon; getting posterized in the movie Juwanna Mann; and the immense strength she has found in asking for help. For that, subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jay Bilas, this week's guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” is ESPN's leading college basketball analyst, and in many ways, the conscience of the sport. On Part 2 of our conversation, the 58-year-old Bilas looks back at his acting career, the toughest opponent he ever faced on the hardwood, and the leap of faith that made his broadcasting career a reality.  Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jay Bilas, this week's guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” is ESPN's leading college basketball analyst, and arguably the preeminent voice in the entire sport. A former Duke basketball player who started for the 1986 Blue Devils team that made it to the NCAA finals, Bilas' journey to national prominence included far more than basketball: He got a degree from Duke Law School after his playing career ended, and has long advocated that college athletes be paid for their labor. In Part 1 of our conversation, I talked to Bilas, 58, about his start calling Duke basketball games for $200; his role today as, in many ways, the conscience of college basketball; and a highlight of Bilas' legal career: a courtroom battle with Barney the purple dinosaur. On Part 2 of our conversation, Bilas looks back at his acting career, the toughest opponent he ever faced on the hardwood, and the leap of faith that made his broadcasting career a reality. For that, subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Phil Ford, one of the best players in University of North Carolina basketball history, is this week's guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” The 1978 National Player of the Year, Ford held UNC's scoring record for 30 years until Tyler Hansbrough broke it in 2008. In Part 2 of our conversation, Ford reflects on following in the footsteps of fellow "Sports Legend of the Carolinas" Charlie Scott, playing against other collegiate greats, and the loss he can't forget.  Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Phil Ford, one of the best players in University of North Carolina basketball history, is this week's guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” The 1978 National Player of the Year and a longtime assistant basketball coach at UNC, Ford held UNC's scoring record for 30 years (despite playing in an era with no three-point shot), until Tyler Hansbrough broke that record in 2008. He still ranks No. 2 all-time on UNC's scoring list and has his jersey hangs in the rafters. Now 66, Ford also had a seven-year career as an NBA player, and was then an assistant coach for three NBA teams before retirement. In Part 1 of our conversation, Ford and I talked about his being recruited by Dean Smith, making the Four Corners famous in Chapel Hill in the 1970s, and the injury and alcohol addiction that ended Ford's NBA career. On Part 2 of our conversation, Ford reflects on following in the footsteps of fellow "Sports Legend of the Carolinas" Charlie Scott, playing against other collegiate greats, and the loss he can't forget. For that, subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts. Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices