Eric Montross, a humble star, lived the spirit of Christmas | Opinion

At the center of a live nativity scene at University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill this Christmas Eve will be a carved wooden manger made by a very tall man who was better known for making baskets at the Smith Center.

Eric Montross, a UNC basketball star in the early 1990s, was also a woodworker and a perfectionist. The manger on display this year was his third attempt at getting the humble resting place of the baby Jesus just right.

At church services, the big man sat in the last pew so he would not block anyone’s view. He will not be there this Christmas. He died on Dec. 17 from cancer at age 52, leaving behind his wife, Laura, and his two grown children, Sarah and Andrew.

There is a sharper edge to the sorrow when someone dies during this season of light and hope when families draw close to celebrate and share. Yet, with Montross, that sorrow is consoled by faith. For he lived the hope and summons of Christmas.

Montross taught high school Sunday school, accompanied young people on church retreats to Montreat, ran a Father’s Day Basketball Camp that has raised more than $1.7 million for UNC’s Children’s Hospital and personally bonded with young cancer patients from his days as a player and afterward. During his senior season in 1994, he wore the initials “J.C.” on his sneakers in honor of one of those patients, Jason Clark, who died at 16.

The Rev. Meg Peery McLaughlin, co-pastor of University Presbyterian Church, told me she will see the manger Montross made with new eyes this Christmas.

“I just think it is really beautiful and symbolic of him. At Christmas we’re celebrating God’s love come down. It’s an embodied, enfleshed love and I think that’s a lot of who Eric was,” she said. “His faith was very important to him, but it’s also something that he lived out in the community with his family, his church and everywhere he went.”

Montross’ athletic accomplishments were as long as he was tall: A McDonald’s high school All-American out of Indianapolis, an All-ACC center, the leading scorer on the Tar Heels 1993 national title team and a first-round NBA draft pick who spent eight seasons in the league. Afterward, he came back to Chapel Hill, where he served as an incisive radio analyst for UNC basketball for 18 seasons.

I didn’t know Montross, but his actions and the esteem with which he was held make it clear who he was – a man with so much to be proud of who was known for his humility.

Terrence Jordan, a UNC-CH graduate, recalled in a post on the BustingBrackets website the time he met Montross a few years ago. Jordan was a FedEx delivery man and he got on an elevator with Montross in a building next to the Smith Center. The towering 7-footer smiled, extended his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Eric Montross.”

Jordan later wondered why someone so recognizable would introduce himself, but he concluded, “If I knew who he was, then he knew it would give me a thrill to shake his hand and introduce myself back. If I didn’t, then he was just a friendly stranger who was brightening someone’s day. … It’s a small moment, but one I won’t forget. Rest in peace, big man.”

In keeping with Montross’ humble way, there will not be a big funeral. The service will be private. There may be a public memorial later.

Although there will not be a public eulogy, co-pastor McLaughlin noted that her church’s retired pastor, the Rev. Bob Dunham, said Montross should be remembered as one who demonstrated the nine fruits of the spirit as described in St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

“What (Dunham) said was, ‘I think many of us who think of ourselves as reasonably faithful may look at such a list and say, well, I’m hitting four or five of the nine. But the thing about Eric was that he hit ‘em all. He was loving, he was kind, he was gentle, he was all of them, he was joy and he was peace.’ “

Eric Montross’ basketball triumphs enshrined his jersey in the Smith Center’s rafters, but the message of his life will live on in a manger.

Associate opinion editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-404-7583, or nbarnett@ newsobserver.com