North Carolina, come on and raise up.
That familiar refrain will echo around the Spectrum Center at halftime of the Charlotte Hornets' home opener tonight when Petey Pablo takes the stage to perform North Carolina's unofficial anthem.
Grant Williams, a Charlotte native, is as fired up as anyone to have Petey Pablo in the building this weekend.
"I love that song, man," said Williams in a sit-down with Charlotte Hornets On SI. "I think it should be a staple (at Hornets games) in the same way that people used to get crunk to Whoop That Trick in Memphis and all different things. I think that same energy needs to be brought to Petey Pablo and that song."
Although Williams will be in street clothes due to a hamstring injury, don't expect him to try to sneak out of the locker room during halftime to turn up alongside Hornets fans.
"I think Charles (Lee) would kill me if I tried to go outside," Williams joked. "I'd rather stay in the locker room and just see the video from my fiance or my mom after."
Petey Pablo will have The Hive jumping at the halftime intermission, but Williams and his teammates have been imploring fans to bring the noise from the second they step foot in the building.
"Gotta be rowdy," said Liam McNeeley when asked about his expectations for the home-opening crowd. "Pull up, and show out!" echoed Brandon Miller.
If the crowd pulls up and shows out like it did the last time Charlotte played a meaningful game at the Spectrum Center, the unforgettable Play-In victory over the Miami Heat, Miller, McNeeley, Williams, and the rest of the Hornets will get their wish.
"It helps you, you know? You'll never need motivation to go into a game, but there's never an issue or problem having a level of support around you like there was that night," opined Williams when reflecting on the heart-stopping overtime win against Miami.
"The fans were there (for the Play-In Tournament). They were loud. They were intimidating...And we we're the team that started it. And so now for them to join us and feel comfortable and to have that same intensity and care for the organization that we do, it just makes you even more proud to be a part of it."
Williams recently welcomed his first child into the world, a baby girl, and I asked him about fatherhood, and how his emotional perspective on playing basketball in his home city in front of his family and friends has changed now that he'll have a daughter in attendance.
"It's a special time. A special thing to witness, you know? It's just a unique experience that's hard to describe in words until you have it yourself." Williams' speechlessness resonated with me, a father of a two-and-a-half-year-old boy, and at the risk of just pulling an "if you know, you know," I'm sure other parents reading this can sympathize with the 27-year-old power forward.
"Mostly I feel really, really confident. Not just in a sense of, you know, being fortunate to be able to play in my hometown, but also confident in this team, and confident in what the organization is building...It's going to be a really, really fun year for the city of Charlotte, but also for a guy like myself who grew up here and really wanted to change this organization around and be a part of that."
Williams won't directly impact the result of Friday night's game with his play on the floor, but the veteran big man has been working hard behind-the-scenes to get back onto the court as soon as possible while also ensuring that his young teammates are as prepared as possible for these pivotal early-season contests.
"My voice has really come down to empowerment, you know?" I've been in the league long enough now where I know how the league should operate from examples at each level (of a team-building process). I'm a guy that's played for a high-level franchise, I've come into a team that's developing, and been on a team that's kind of in-between, so I've seen what's worked and what hasn't."
"So giving my insight in that capacity, giving my honest opinion, giving them perspective, but also allowing them their freedom of thought to grow themselves and make mistakes...I'm learning that myself, even as a leader, that you can't take the brunt of everything."
It's safe to expect that the sidelined Williams will be one of, if not the, loudest people in the building when the game tips off, because he knows what it used to be like at professional basketball games in Charlotte. He grew up during the Bobcats era, long-after tuxedoed men and gown-clad women had the Charlotte Coliseum on Tyvola Road rocking night-in, night-out.
Williams remember "being able to walk out to any seat that was available," at Bobcats games of his youth, and he's not expecting that to be the case at a Hornets game any time soon.
"As a former fan of the team versus playing for it now, I think it's grown so much and it's going to continue to do so. I think year-over-year as we continue to improve, the city of Charlotte, the state itself, and the states surrounding us are going to continue to buy into the team."
Williams left me with this: a message to Hornets fans across the Carolina who may still be on the fence about attending tonight's game.
"I expect a huge crowd. I'd ask the fans to show up and show out. This is going to be a great year for them to truly buy into this organization and the players that are within it. I believe that they're going to see a competitive basketball team that's going to leave it out on the floor, but also a team that is going to be very fun to watch and be really, really successful."
"Come on and join us. Be a part of the wave from the beginning to the end."
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/hornets/onsi as North Carolina, Come On and Raise Up: Grant Williams Shares Excitement for Petey Pablo, Hornets' Home Opener .
