NFL
By: Greg Rector
It’s Final Four time. For 42 years there’s always been something missing in the great rivalry between the University of North Carolina and Duke University. They have never met in the NCAA tournament, until next weekend that is. Finally the dream matchup with the chance for a National Championship game berth. We all know the names, of coaches Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams. Players from Bob McAdoo, James “Big Game,” Worthy, and some guy named Michael Jordan, all are enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. while Grant Hill is the only former Blue Devil enshrined. In the College Basketball Hall of Fame add 5 more Tar Heel players and 5 coaches, while again only one Blue Devil (Christian Laettner) has been inducted. However, Duke was never a real basketball power until 1980 when Coach K left Army and took over the Blue Devil program. Since that time the schools separated by just 10 miles year in and year out have competed for supremacy in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the basketball version of the SEC.
I write this as a die-hard Tar Heel fan. Carolina Blue is my favorite color, Dean Smith, and the “Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons From a Lifetime of Coaching, by Dean Smith,” was my basketball bible, and off the court, the lessons he gives in that book are life lessons all can certainly benefit from. While it might have been Kareem Abdul- Jabbar who got me interested in the game, it was the University of North Carolina and Dean Smith that I learned the actual intricacies of the game from. To be willing to sacrifice your own success for that of the team, has always been paramount at Chapel Hill, even Jordan had to sacrifice while Worthy and Sam Perkins, the veteran Tar Heels led UNC to Coach Smith’s first National Title in 1982. Many others like Vince Carter and other great Tar Heels have also been successful in the “Carolina Way,” even under the coaches who succeeded our beloved Dean Smith. Coach K has a 50-46 (84 ACC games and another 12 times in the ACC tournament) record vs UNC, however, his record against Coach Smith was just 14-24.
Famous Moments January 18th, 1986
The “rivalry,” didn’t really heat up until the mid-eighties. It first gained steam in 1986 after Duke had fallen short in both 1984/85 in the NCAA tournament, but on the night of the Tar Heels opening their new arena which is fondly known today as the “Dean Dome,” officially the Dean Smith Center.UNC was ranked No. 1, while Duke came to Chapel Hill ranked No. 3. The two teams traded shots throughout the game, but it was the Tar Heels that defended their new home arena with a 95-92 finish.
Feb. 28, 1998, and March 5th, 1998
The Tar Heels bested the Blue Devils in the first game as No. 2 UNC took down No. 1 Duke 97-73 in a lopsided affair at Dean Smith Center in the first year of Bill Guthridge’s tenure. Coach K would notch his 500th career win though in the rematch 77- 75 as two different Tar Heels would go 0-4 from the free-throw line with under 10 seconds to play.
Feb. 5, 2004
In the first game of the Roy Williams vs Coach K era, No.1 Duke led in the first half of the first Krzyzewski-Williams clash, 42-37, but No.17 North Carolina stormed back, as Jawad Williams scored a late three to tie the game at 75 which sent the game to overtime. UNC’s Rashad McCants tied the game with 13.5 seconds left on a 3-pointer, Duke’s Chris Duhon drove down the length of the court and made a reverse layup to put Duke up with 6.5 seconds. Duke went on to win 83-81.
Feb. 8, 2012
No. 5 UNC faced off against No. 10 Duke and in a classic game that Duke fans cherish and Tar Heel fans cringe at the memory of UNCs Tyler Zeller knocking a ball into his own basket as Duke stormed back from 10 points down to beat UNC when Austin Rivers ( Doc’s son) made a buzzer-beating 3 pointer to give the Blue Devils an 85-84 victory.
Feb. 8, 2020
Eight years to the day after that classic, the two schools went at it again when a struggling UNC (10-12) faced No.7 Duke. The Tar Heels jumped out to a 44-35 halftime lead and the upset alert was on. The Blue Devils went on a 15-5 run to end the game capped off by another buzzer-beater from Tre Jones, sending the game into overtime. Tied at 96 and with the clock nearing zeroes, Jones again tried to win it for Duke, his jumper though was an airball, trouble for UNC though? The missed jumper went straight to Wendell Moore and the Blue Devil had an easy put back to hand Duke the 98-96 victory.
March 5th, 2022
Coach K entered his final game as the Duke head coach at Cameron Indoor Arena facing the unranked Tar Heels in his last regular-season ACC contest. One month earlier Duke had won the first game at Chapel Hill by twenty points. So in true rivalry fashion UNC spoiled the occasion by humbling the Blue Devils 94 – 81 defeat. You better believe there was a celebration in Chapel Hill that lasted well into the next morning. only twice has an unranked opponent in this rivalry gone into the rival’s homecourt and come out victorious. The Tar Heels have done it twice. Both times UNC coach Hubert Davis has been involved, this year as head coach and as a player for UNC in 1990.
Bad Blood
If you’re ever on U.S. Highway 15 – 501 also famously called “Tobacco Road,” you drive ten miles and you’ve gone from one school to the other. The bitter rivalry stems a lot from the very type of institution each school is. Duke is a “Private University,” while UNC is a public university. That alone creates harsh feelings. For those of us who despise Duke, it’s also been the ” Star,” driven Duke program versus our beloved team-first mentality. For all the stars at Duke, the Laettner’s, Hill’s, and Zion’s, it’s funny to us how the Tarheels are still the more storied program, this is a record 21st Final Four appearance for UNC, while Coach K is there for the 13th time. See the difference? At Duke, it becomes about the individual, while at UNC it’s far more about the program. Overall UNC has won 142 games while Duke has won 115 games. Next Saturday, April 2nd, the rivals for the very first time will tip-off though on the biggest stage in college basketball for those of us who have longed for this to happen what a great way for it to happen. As much as I and the rest of Tar Heel Nation cannot stand our neighbors, we respect Coach K, we know he’ll be ready for this game. For all the “Dookies,” out there good luck. That’s as nice as I will get this week. Nothing will be sweeter than ending Coach K’s career the same way the Tar Heels spoiled the last game at Cameron Indoor. The Tar Heels will also want to prevent Duke and Coach K from their 6th national title, which would tie them with UNC. This is the game’s biggest rivalry and to meet on this stage finally is amazing given the circumstances.
Prediction
I give the Blue Devils their due, but my Tar Heel fandom has me taking the upset, UNC 75 Duke 72 in what should be an absolute classic. #BEATDUKE is my mantra for the week.
As always you can find me on Twitter @GregCowboys
