NCAA Champion Tar Heels Meet President Obama

"If somebody could please present me a jump shot, I need one of those!" Obama quipped in a celebration ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House.

Obama, a fervent basketball fan who grew up playing hoops in Hawaii, told his visitors they'd all done pretty well since he famously scrimmaged with them during a North Carolina campaign stop in April 2008.

"I'm not sure whose luck rubbed off on who - there was some good vibe there - because they're now the national champions and I'm now the president," Obama said to laughter outside the White House.

Obama thanked the Tar Heels, who waltzed through the NCAA Tournament this year, "for salvaging my bracket and vindicating me."

Obama filled out his March Madness brackets on live TV, picking UNC to win it all.

At the ceremony Monday, Roy Williams held up a blue-and-white Carolina jersey with "Obama" and the number 1 on it.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Obama crowed.

The five seniors who graduated Sunday presented Obama with a large framed photograph of the then-candidate in sweatpants posing with the team 13 months ago after their widely covered scrimmage in Chapel Hill.

"Tyler (Hansbrough) chose not to block my shot," Obama said to more laughter. "Of course, I was so intimidated by him being near me that I missed the shot."

Obama met privately with the team inside the White House before the ceremony.

Ty Lawson said afterward that Obama had complimented his play during the championship run.

"We didn't talk too much because I know he's a busy man," Lawson said. "I must have been doing something right that he was paying attention to my game."