In 1981, the NCAA championship game was greatly overshadowed by a significant crisis: President Ronald Reagan had been shot earlier in the day by John Hinckley, a mentally disturbed man who hoped to impress actress Jodi Foster with his act, and Reagan’s survival was not all certain.
Hinckley shot the president (and three others) at 2:27. Indiana learned of the shooting at 3:00 and UNC probably around the same time. Between 5:00 and 6:00, the NCAA discussed the situation and considered postponing the game or declaring co-champs.
At 5:30, Reagan was out of surgery and stable, and the various parties agreed to hold the game after all.
Smith said afterwards that he was upset that the NCAA seemed more concerned about TV issues than the actual health of the president and that if Reagan had died, they should not have played the game under any circumstance.
Notably, James Worthy was held to seven points. Also, Mike Pepper started at one guard.
This was the peak of “Dean can’t win the big one,” but the following season, Pepper would be replaced by Michael Jordan and Smith would win his first national championship as one of the great competitors in the history of the game emerged.