The tree stump that could stands at the intersection of Columbia and Franklin. It could become "The Championship Tree" if Dwight Bassett has his way.

The tree was damaged during the street celebration that ensued after the UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels Men's Basketball Team won the NCAA Championship. The tree canopy had to be cut off, leaving a remaining seven-foot stump. The tree was originally an 11-foot Green Ash that had been recommended for removal by Bartlett Tree Experts, arborists hired by the Town to inventory downtown trees in 2007.

During a site inspection of the street the following morning, Mayor Kevin Foy had an idea. Why not make art from the remaining stump?

That's where the Chapel Hill Public Arts Administrator Jeffrey York enters the picture. York approached Dwight Bassett, the Town's economic development director, who also happens to be a master wood carver, with a proposal to sculpt the stump into something symbolic. Bassett envisions a vertical segment of a player with arm extended and holding a basketball.

"We are working on what's left of a tree and creating something of symbolic importance for the Town and University," Bassett said. "It is a gift from the Town to the University and the people of Chapel Hill."

Says York: "We envision this as a temporary tribute, something that creates interest on the street; art as a conversation piece."

The artist will begin on the carving this afternoon and expects to work again on Friday when his artistic vision will emerge.