Lights out at Smith Center?

From Sunday's College Basketball column:

North Carolina hopes to have plenty of lights-out performances this season. The question is: Will its games begin with lights-off introductions?

The athletics department used $1 million from of its recently announced Nike contract to install a new sound system and enhance the lighting system in a way that will make NBA-style player introductions possible.

Coach Roy Williams and athletic director Dick Baddour have not discussed or decided on the likelihood, but the crowd-revving intros could serve as a good recruiting tool, considering N.C. State, Wake Forest, and Virginia are among the ACC schools that already do it.

It would also be just plain fun.

"There's no question that [when] we're on the road and we see some of the video boards and the presentations, the motorcycles out on the court and whatever, those things are pretty neat," Williams said. "And I don't want us to be so stuck in tradition that we wouldn't look for other options that might help us."

There are other updates occurring at the Smith Center. Upgrades to the weight and training rooms should be finished before this season; and next spring construction should begin on the coaches' offices, where the department wants to enlarge and enhance meeting and recruiting space. Funds for the $7 million to $8 million project are being raised by the Educational Foundation (Rams Club), Baddour said.