Obama shows home court advantage to UNC

WASHINGTON, May 11 (UPI) -- Members of the 2009 NCAA basketball champion University of North Carolina got some high-fives from the nation's hoopster in chief Monday at the White House.

President Barack Obama, sporting a light blue tie, jokingly thanked the team and Coach Roy Williams "for salvaging my bracket" en route to winning its fifth national championship.

Obama recalled playing some ball with the team during a visit to Chapel Hill, N.C., more than a year ago.

"And I'm not sure whose luck rubbed off on who," he said. "I think there was just a good vibe going on there, because they're now national champions and I'm now president."

Obama said Williams instills the importance of academics with his players because "they didn't just plow through the tournament field; they also had the highest graduation rate of anybody in the Final Four."

The team also knows about giving back to the community -- such as running a Special Olympics basketball clinic and fundraising for North Carolina charities -- and understands that "being a champion doesn't stop when you step off the court."

Williams and the team's seniors presented Obama with a plaque and basketball jersey with "Obama" written across the back.