LAURINBURG — For Laurinburg’s Jordan Brigman, basketball is serious business.
An avid Carolina fan, his dream was not only too see his favorite team play, but to experience one of the biggest rivalries in basketball history, UNC vs. Duke.
The recent Scotland High School graduate is all too familiar with tough fights.
Days before he would join his fellow classmates in his cap and gown last June, doctors had found a brain tumor or medulloblastoma.
After undergoing multiple surgeries, traveling to Ohio for a special type of radiation, and receiving four stem cell transplants and chemotherapy, doctors think he has the illness beat. He went into remission in February.
With that battle behind him, Jordan was more than happy to spend this past weekend watching his beloved UNC play. But the teenager was not just any fan.
The 19-year-old got to to go behind the scenes of UNC basketball as a part of a program called Dream on 3, which grants sports-related wishes to young people with life-altering conditions.
The Tar Heels rolled out the blue carpet on Friday and gave Jordan a full-access tour of the Dean Dome, let him show off his hoop skills on the court, meet coach Roy Williams and the team and even hold the National Championship trophy.
The trip of a lifetime also included watching the Hurricanes play hockey Friday night.
The next morning, Jordan took part in on court pre-game meet-and-greets with Tony Romo, David Robinson, Larry Fitzgerald, Seth Curry and ESPN Gameday Crew.
“It was an amazing experience, my favorite part was watching the game and meeting all the players,” Jordan said.
At the game, Duke students posed for pictures and cheered on the teenager and the Duke players welcomed him to their bench.
“It was really cool, all the Duke fans were extremely nice,” he said.
UNC ended up falling to Duke, but that did little to dampen any of the trip’s joy for Jordan, his mom Joy Jacobs and younger sister, Reagan.
“It was an awesome experience and we couldn’t have asked for a better trip, even if Carolina didn’t win we still had a great time,” Jacobs said.
The wish-granting organization Dream on 3 was started in Charlotte by Brandon and Elizabeth Lindsey in 2013.
The trip was also made possible by Beers and Burpees Charity Event, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Sigmon’s, and AC Hotel by Marriott Chapel Hill Downtown.
As a Duke Energy Scholarship recipient, Jordan plans to attend Richmond Community College where he will pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering. He finished in the top 20 percent of the Class of 2017 class and graduated with honors.
