Reflections from #BeatDuke Week
Growing up in Charlotte--and this may sound obvious--most everyone I knew had an allegiance to one of the schools in the Tobacco Road Rivalry. Because of local Charlotteans' investment in college hoops, the city will always be considered a small market in the NBA. That won't change regardless of how much Charlotte's got and how much the population grows.
Yet, as a kid, I was in the minority: I had no preference for either UNC or Duke. This was due in part to my parents being from New York and Texas, respectively, in part to going through a weird skateboarding phase in middle school, and in part to a devotion to football in high school (here's a lovely shot of me donning the ol' helmet and pads in 2011). As a native North Carolinian, neutrality in the Carolina-Duke rivalry made me a bit of an outsider. A renegade. A pariah. (these are overly-dramatic descriptions, but you get the point).
I was only 2 years old when Jerry Stackhouse dunked all over Duke in Cameron. And while I remember friends in middle school making bets on the game, where the loser had to wear the other team's gear to class the next morning, I can't say that I recall the Tyler Hansbrough - Gerald Henderson brouhaha. And man, do I wish I was paying better attention when Danny Green secured his spot in every UNC highlight montage ever with his legendary poster on Greg Paulus.
But alas, you can't change time. So most of my UNC-Duke memories don't start until the spring of 2011. En route to Breckenridge, Colorado, for my high school's senior trip, I watched the second half of an 81-67 drubbing of the Blue Devils among my classmates in the Denver airport. Five months later, I enrolled at Carolina, and the rest is history. So here are five notable memories (good and bad) from the nation's best rivalry over the last eight years.
Honorable Mention:
Duke 73 UNC 68, February 13, 2013, in Durham
Duke 73 UNC 68, February 13, 2013, in Durham
Hairston's Garbage Time Dunk in Cameron
The game ended in a loss for the Tar Heels, but sophomore guard PJ Hairston finished the game with this dunk. Although his thundering slam ultimately proved meaningless, Hairston said in a post-game interview that he sought to communicate that his Carolina squad wasn't going to just give up. I respect Peej's heart...but boy, that 2013 team wasn't pretty.
So why does such a forgettable UNC team get an honorable mention? Well, it was the first Carolina-Duke game I watched with my then-girlfriend now-wife Natalie (a lifelong UNC fan who got more into the games than I did in when we were in college). We were both sophomores and had only been dating for a few weeks at the time. Even though the contest ended in heartbreak, it's still a special memory for me.
5. UNC 82 Duke 78, February 8, 2018, in Chapel Hill
Roy's Defensive Adjustments in Front of a Raucous Dean Dome Crowd
Everything about this game was blissful for UNC fans. The Heels had just snapped a three game losing streak by beating Pittsburgh the week earlier; but in case you forgot, Pitt didn't win a single ACC game last year (still hilarious), so most national media outlets still lacked faith in Carolina. The average viewer most likely perceived the Tar Heels as huge underdogs (low-key, myself included).
Down 4 at the break, Carolina rallied in the second half behind junior guard Kenny Williams' hot shooting (6 for 12 from 3) and Theo Pinson and Cam Johnson's savvy defense on Duke's Marvin Bagley III. Roy Williams' defensive scheme to double Bagley in the post with those two rangy, athletic wings contained the 2018 ACC Player of the Year better than any other team did last season. Bagley finished with 15 points, down six from his season average of 21.
And Pinson's tomahawk was the cherry on top of the 2018 Heels' piece de resistance.
4. UNC 90 Duke 83, March 3, 2017, in Chapel Hill
Joel Berry 🔥🔥🔥
Carolina's 2017 National Championship team had to make the list. This was supposed to be Duke's year, as sports pundits heralded this Blue Devils squad as one of the most talented rosters ever put together in the history of college basketball. But as the season unfolded, the team proved to be more dysfunctional than dominant. Defensive lapses and all-around bad chemistry doomed their postseason hopes. Look at prediction #17 in this preseason article: "Jayson Tatum leads Duke in assists." Jayson Tatum averaged 2.1 assists and 2.6 turnovers per game his lone season in Durham; and it appeared that a small part of him died every time he passed the ball. I miss this Duke team so much.
Anyway, senior big man Isiah Hicks (a highly underrated Tar Heel in my opinion...the dude committed 15 minutes after Roy offered him. Give Zay his respect.) finished with 21 points and 9 boards--a wonderful story, after he missed part one of the series in Cameron with an injury. But one thing I will never forget is junior point guard Joel Berry shooting 5 from 5 from the 3 point line in the first half. Berry finished with a game high 28 points.
3. Duke 84 UNC 77, March 7, 2015, in Chapel Hill
Tyus Jones Rips My Heart Out, Stomps On It, Puts It Back in My Chest, Sews It Up, then Rips It Out Again
Ah, my senior year. Duke rolls into Chapel Hill right before spring break. A less-talented Heels team took the Blue Devils to overtime in Cameron a few weeks prior, before ultimately coming up short. Surely they would avenge the loss at home.
Nope.
We were winning this game for a large portion of the second half. I believe Carolina was up 7 with around six minutes left in the game. But then freshman Duke point guard Tyus Jones hit back to back threes, and I knew we were going to lose. As he sunk the second three of his own 6-0 run, I remember clutching the UNC shirt I was wearing and ripping it in half, out of exasperation. That made for a slightly embarrassing walk back to my house. And then a month later, Duke won the national title. Happy senior year to me.
2. UNC 74 Duke 66, February 20, 2014, in Chapel Hill
The Infamous Weather-Delayed Game
This showdown was supposed to occur eight days earlier, but inclement weather (read: mild snowfall) led to a postponement. Roads throughout North Carolina were bad enough that season-ticket holders who didn't live on or near UNC's campus (i.e. not students) would not be able to attend--this would have freed up more seats for students, most notably in the lower level of the Smith Center. Yet on the evening of the game's originally scheduled date, the roads from Chapel Hill to Durham seemed pretty clear. Suspicion arose in UNC circles/on random Tar Heel fan Twitter accounts that Duke bore responsibility for the delay, with many suggesting Coach K feared his team playing in the pandemonium of a Dean Dome maxed out with loud, roaring college students.
We will never know the true reason why the contest was rescheduled. But what we do know is that a scrappy Tar Heel team triumphed over the Jabari Parker-led Blue Devils. A longstanding tradition in Chapel Hill involves students rushing Franklin Street (the main street that runs through campus) whenever we beat Duke. Here's a photo from my and Natalie's first time partaking in that glorious custom (I'm wearing the UNC shirt that I ripped down the middle a year later, for those curious).
1. UNC 76 Duke 72, March 5, 2016, in Durham
Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige Finish Their Senior Year with an ACC Title
Senior big man Brice Johnson capped his All-American year with his first ever win in Cameron. Like a snapping turtle striking its prey with lightning-quick jaws, Johnson snatched every rebound out of the air with force and deftness. He finished with 18 points and 21 boards. For all the talk of Zion's explosiveness, Brice was pretty darn bouncy himself.
But the highlight that sticks with me is Brice embracing his best friend, UNC guard Marcus Paige in a post-game interview.
Heels by 5000 tonight.
Roy's Defensive Adjustments in Front of a Raucous Dean Dome Crowd
Everything about this game was blissful for UNC fans. The Heels had just snapped a three game losing streak by beating Pittsburgh the week earlier; but in case you forgot, Pitt didn't win a single ACC game last year (still hilarious), so most national media outlets still lacked faith in Carolina. The average viewer most likely perceived the Tar Heels as huge underdogs (low-key, myself included).
Down 4 at the break, Carolina rallied in the second half behind junior guard Kenny Williams' hot shooting (6 for 12 from 3) and Theo Pinson and Cam Johnson's savvy defense on Duke's Marvin Bagley III. Roy Williams' defensive scheme to double Bagley in the post with those two rangy, athletic wings contained the 2018 ACC Player of the Year better than any other team did last season. Bagley finished with 15 points, down six from his season average of 21.
And Pinson's tomahawk was the cherry on top of the 2018 Heels' piece de resistance.
4. UNC 90 Duke 83, March 3, 2017, in Chapel Hill
Joel Berry 🔥🔥🔥
Carolina's 2017 National Championship team had to make the list. This was supposed to be Duke's year, as sports pundits heralded this Blue Devils squad as one of the most talented rosters ever put together in the history of college basketball. But as the season unfolded, the team proved to be more dysfunctional than dominant. Defensive lapses and all-around bad chemistry doomed their postseason hopes. Look at prediction #17 in this preseason article: "Jayson Tatum leads Duke in assists." Jayson Tatum averaged 2.1 assists and 2.6 turnovers per game his lone season in Durham; and it appeared that a small part of him died every time he passed the ball. I miss this Duke team so much.
Anyway, senior big man Isiah Hicks (a highly underrated Tar Heel in my opinion...the dude committed 15 minutes after Roy offered him. Give Zay his respect.) finished with 21 points and 9 boards--a wonderful story, after he missed part one of the series in Cameron with an injury. But one thing I will never forget is junior point guard Joel Berry shooting 5 from 5 from the 3 point line in the first half. Berry finished with a game high 28 points.
3. Duke 84 UNC 77, March 7, 2015, in Chapel Hill
Tyus Jones Rips My Heart Out, Stomps On It, Puts It Back in My Chest, Sews It Up, then Rips It Out Again
Ah, my senior year. Duke rolls into Chapel Hill right before spring break. A less-talented Heels team took the Blue Devils to overtime in Cameron a few weeks prior, before ultimately coming up short. Surely they would avenge the loss at home.
Nope.
We were winning this game for a large portion of the second half. I believe Carolina was up 7 with around six minutes left in the game. But then freshman Duke point guard Tyus Jones hit back to back threes, and I knew we were going to lose. As he sunk the second three of his own 6-0 run, I remember clutching the UNC shirt I was wearing and ripping it in half, out of exasperation. That made for a slightly embarrassing walk back to my house. And then a month later, Duke won the national title. Happy senior year to me.
2. UNC 74 Duke 66, February 20, 2014, in Chapel Hill
The Infamous Weather-Delayed Game
This showdown was supposed to occur eight days earlier, but inclement weather (read: mild snowfall) led to a postponement. Roads throughout North Carolina were bad enough that season-ticket holders who didn't live on or near UNC's campus (i.e. not students) would not be able to attend--this would have freed up more seats for students, most notably in the lower level of the Smith Center. Yet on the evening of the game's originally scheduled date, the roads from Chapel Hill to Durham seemed pretty clear. Suspicion arose in UNC circles/on random Tar Heel fan Twitter accounts that Duke bore responsibility for the delay, with many suggesting Coach K feared his team playing in the pandemonium of a Dean Dome maxed out with loud, roaring college students.
We will never know the true reason why the contest was rescheduled. But what we do know is that a scrappy Tar Heel team triumphed over the Jabari Parker-led Blue Devils. A longstanding tradition in Chapel Hill involves students rushing Franklin Street (the main street that runs through campus) whenever we beat Duke. Here's a photo from my and Natalie's first time partaking in that glorious custom (I'm wearing the UNC shirt that I ripped down the middle a year later, for those curious).
1. UNC 76 Duke 72, March 5, 2016, in Durham
Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige Finish Their Senior Year with an ACC Title
Senior big man Brice Johnson capped his All-American year with his first ever win in Cameron. Like a snapping turtle striking its prey with lightning-quick jaws, Johnson snatched every rebound out of the air with force and deftness. He finished with 18 points and 21 boards. For all the talk of Zion's explosiveness, Brice was pretty darn bouncy himself.
But the highlight that sticks with me is Brice embracing his best friend, UNC guard Marcus Paige in a post-game interview.
Heels by 5000 tonight.
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