Chase DENSON

Best High School Sports Moment

I was fortunate enough to have a handful of great memories from playing basketball at Lone Oak High School, but one week in particular stands out—the week of the 2005 Regional Tournament. We had a tough draw and had to beat Calloway County, Graves County, and Paducah Tilghman to become the only team in the history of Lone Oak High School to win the Regional Tournament and advance to the State Tournament. And we did it! Getting the opportunity to play at Rupp Arena was something I will never forget, and I, obviously, like to remind everyone that I scored 24 points in the first half. We ended up losing to Corbin in overtime, but that was one of the best weeks of my life.

BEST LATE-NIGHT SNACK

Don’t laugh, but it is handsdown pizza rolls. We were recently introduced to the air fryer, and it has been a game changer for our late-night snacking. But if we are picking up something on the way home from a night out, then it would be Taco Bell for sure!

BEST PROFESSIONAL (UNC) SPORTS MOMENT

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a North Carolina basketball junkie. I have been a fan for as long as I can remember. Who didn’t idolize Michael Jordan in the 80s and 90s? Fast forward a couple of decades, and I’ve been lucky enough to see in person some of the most iconic moments in UNC history. Two in particular stand out. First, the 2017 Elite Eight game in Memphis between UNC and, as luck would have it, UK. Luke Maye hit the game winning shot to secure the win over UK, sending UNC to the Final Four and eventually to their 6th National Championship. The car ride home from Memphis with my friends who are UK fans was fun for me—not so much for them. The other moment was more recently at the 2022 Final Four in New Orleans. My entire family made the trip, including my kids, Hallie and Ty (who was only three months old at the time). The best rivalry in basketball, UNC vs Duke, met on the biggest stage for the first time ever during March Madness. Caleb Love hit a three-pointer with just under 22 seconds left to put the game out of reach. That was by far the best UNC sports moment for me. It didn’t hurt that we also witnessed the end of Coach K’s coaching career. Go Heels!

Best Movie Ever

My favorite movie of all time will forever be Remember the Titans. A close second is My Cousin Vinny. My wife Whitney and I can carry on an entire conversation using one-liners from it, and we still laugh every time. If you haven’t seen both of these movies, we can’t be friends.

Best Golfing Experience

This past September I went on the golf trip of a lifetime. My fatherin-law, Ed Wilson, his best friend Mike Mazzone, and I went to St. Andrews, the home of golf. We were there for 12 days and got to play at Eden, Jubilee, Kittocks, Castle, New Course, Kingsbarns, Carnoustie, and The Old Course. Walking the grounds at The Old Course with all of the game’s history will be hard to top on any golf trip EVER. It was truly a bucket list experience!

Best Dog Name

Whitney and I got married in August 2013, and by November she wanted us to rescue a dog from the McCracken County Humane Society. I was on board with it as long as I could have the naming rights. I LOVE when pets have human names so it was an obvious choice for me being an avid UNC fan. Welcome home, Roy! Fast forward to that 2022 Final Four in New Orleans. At halftime of the championship game when UNC was up 15 points on Kansas I said to Whitney, “Looks like we will need to start looking for another dog and his name will be Hubert.” I guess it was a blessing in disguise that we ended up losing that game and not having to add another canine member to our family.

Best Advice

Love what you do and do what you love. Life is too short to spend it doing something you are not passionate about.