The Chronicle Rivalry Edition 2025

ADULT & YOUTH SIDELINE

From kid to Man Man: Khaman Maluach is the next dominant Duke center

By Caleb Dudley Associate Editor

“The big boy blocked Hunter [Sallis]’s layup in the first half, it looked like a solar eclipse. The basket, the ball and Hunter disappeared, it was amazing. Great play by him, he’s a really good player.”

That’s what Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes had to say about Duke freshman center Khaman Maluach after Saturday’s matchup. And Forbes is right. While it hasn’t necessarily been smooth sailing, the youngster has developed into the force down low the Blue Devils need him to be.

Former assistant coach and big man developer

Amile Jefferson left to take a position with the Boston Celtics before Maluach got to campus, but another previous Blue Devil big man in Justin Robinson has assumed that role for the post player. He has taken responsibility for most of the skill development for not just Maluach, but all of Duke’s bigs.

“A lot of the hand-eye coordination, just getting him used to that, getting him comfortable, getting his grip strength, and then we would build from there,” Robinson told The Chronicle.

He’s going to be a key guy for us down the stretch as we get closer to the tournament.

Having an elite big man is quite the luxury in college basketball. While the back-to-the-basket center is largely antiquated, high-major programs look to find bigs who can handle the ball in space, operate on the perimeter and, above all else, protect the rim.

Justin Robinson Director of player development

However, this caliber of center doesn’t just appear out of thin air, especially not at 18. Despite that, Duke in recent years seems to have mastered the development of its bigs en route to becoming bonafide presences down low and eventual starting-caliber players in the NBA, even if they only stay a year or two.

With the exception of last year’s squad — when head coach Jon Scheyer elected to switch forward Kyle Filipowski to the center spot — every Duke team since 2014 has featured a center who would eventually play in the NBA, a strong number of them lottery picks. While former post anchors like Marques Bolden and Vernon Carey Jr. saw limited time in the association, Wendell Carter Jr., Dereck Lively II, Mark Williams and Jahlil Okafor all were drafted in the top half of the first round after spending one or two years on campus.

The adjustment from the high school level to the collegiate ranks is nothing to laugh at, especially down low. The game speeds up significantly from a mental standpoint, while opposing players are bigger, faster and stronger than young centers have ever seen, no matter how tough their prep schedules. While the 7-foot-2 Maluach already had experience playing top-flight talent both at the NBA Academy Africa and 2024 Paris Olympics, college has still been a major adjustment.

This could be due to his relative inexperience with the sport. Maluach did not begin playing basketball until 2019, putting him developmentally behind most of his peers.

“I’m now playing against more athletic guys, faster guys, so it’s different from what I played before, because all the guys move differently,” Maluach said at preseason media day.

Soccer was Maluach’s first sport, a game that requires a much different skill set than basketball. One of the program’s main goals was to get the big man acclimated to the fundamentals of basketball as quickly as possible.

To help ease the adjustment to college, Robinson was there for Maluach every step of the way, even following him back to Africa to help him prepare for the Olympics with the South Sudanese team.

His game has progressed drastically from the time the young center stepped on campus in the summer. With Maliq Brown out due to injury, Maluach has successfully assumed the brunt of responsibility down low both offensively and defensively. In back-to-back contests against Notre Dame and Miami, he added two double-doubles, chipping in a season-best 19 points against the Fighting Irish and 15 boards against the Hurricanes.

“To find a 7-foot-2 guy that has the motor that he has, the fact he can guard one through five, I think he’s shown that now with his switching while still protecting the rim. I think his rebounding has really progressed and come on, and I think his offensive stuff is going to keep getting better,” Scheyer said at a Jan. 13 availability.

As of Jan. 26, Maluach has the second-best offensive rating in the nation according to KenPom at 147.2. While his defensive impact came along much faster due to his size and natural instincts, he has become a dependable piece for Duke to count on down low on both ends.

Instead of just adding a few blocks here or there, Maluach now affects shots at will in the paint, and he continues to grow more comfortable switching onto smaller guards on the perimeter. This has transformed the Blue Devil defense from a good unit into a ruthless force, stifling opponent after opponent through conference play.

“He already is, but he’s going to be a key guy for us down the stretch as we get closer to the tournament. Where I really want him to develop right now, and I think he really can, is on defense with his ability to protect the rim,” Robinson said. “He obviously has a natural gift for it, with his size, his length, but to really work the mental side of it … there’s a little bit more of a mind game that I think he can learn.”

He also continues to increase his shot diet as Scheyer expands his offensive role, as the youngster has gone from just a lob threat to being able to handle quick passes down low and score in the post.

“On offense, I want him to continue to just keep the ball high and be able to finish in traffic. We can hit him now on shorter rolls, and he can go and take one dribble and go finish, or just power up and finish over guards who try to go and help,” Robinson said.

The Rumbek, South Sudan, native has a lot in common with former Duke centers Williams and Lively, both in terms of pedigree and playstyle. All three entered as highly touted recruits with measurables off the charts, and they excel at protecting the rim and running the floor as a lob threat. But despite their value as recruits, all three were raw talents when they came to Durham.

To help overcome deficiencies as freshmen that often come from a lack of game reps — Lively, Williams and Maluach are at no physical disadvantage — coaching becomes a major factor.

Luckily for Williams and Lively, they had Jefferson to guide them on their journey. After Williams’ freshman season — where Duke finished 13-11 and failed to make the tournament — the former big man and only three-time captain in program history was brought in as the team’s director of player development.

At the end of his rookie season, Williams finished strong despite Duke missing the dance, going for 23 points and 19 rebounds in an ACC Tournament matchup with Louisville to close the campaign. After an offseason working with Jefferson, Williams was primed to take the ACC and nation by storm.

In a 2022 interview with The Chronicle, Jefferson said, “I think one of the most fulfilling things for me about being a coach is when you teach somebody something, they retain it, and then you see them do it on the court. I mean, it’s a cool feeling.”

The Virginia Beach, Va., native’s game improved tremendously in his second year. He won ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ranked 12th nationally in blocks as the Blue Devils rolled to the Final Four.

The same fortunes came to Lively during his lone year in Durham, this time with Jefferson serving as assistant coach. While the preseason ACC Rookie of the Year did not quite live up to those expectations, only averaging 5.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, he still overcame a leg injury that delayed his progression to become indispensable to Duke down the stretch, landing on the ACC All-Defensive team and eventually the Dallas Mavericks with the 12th pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Perhaps most importantly to Duke faithful, he chipped in a historic performance against North Carolina with eight blocks and 14 rebounds.

Maluach’s development is far from over. Both Robinson and Maluach himself would tell you that. But while there is much to work on, the South Sudan product is ascending rapidly to the level of recent elite Duke bigs, a development that both bodes well for his future career and the Blue Devils’ chances for cutting the nets down in April.

Column: This year proves it’s finally time to admit Scheyer is a class above Davis

I’ve been spending a lot of time on LinkedIn in the past year. Such is the song and dance of a college senior who hasn’t figured out what he’s doing postgrad.

Between the competition, networking and a skyrocketing cost of living, the search for employment is rarely an easy or smooth process. Even if you’re excited about it, getting a job is scary. Especially if that job was previously occupied by arguably the best person to ever do that job.

With that, I present Hubert Davis and Jon Scheyer — two head coaches tasked with carrying on two of the most un-carry-on-able dynasties in college basketball. For Davis, that’s following up on Dean Smith and Roy Williams’ five combined national titles. For Scheyer it’s chasing a sixth banner after Mike Krzyzewski hung five.

With Davis in his fourth year at North Carolina’s helm and Scheyer in his third at Duke’s — at rival blue bloods separated by just a 15-minute drive, no less — the pair of first-time head coaches have understandably been pitted as each other’s yardstick and nemesis.

That positioning is apt, but I think it’s time to admit their “rivalry” is not equally yoked, even if the circumstances of their hiring and the programs they inherited are similar. This season is the most separated Duke and North Carolina have been in years: As Scheyer propels his Blue Devils toward their best shot at a national title since 2015, Davis’ Tar Heels are in danger of a second tournament snub in three years.

The reasons for this are multiple. Scheyer is a better and more consistent recruiter, a better developer of talent and a better in-game manager. With Scheyer’s embrace of the transfer portal in a substantive way, his teams are also more balanced. But most importantly, Scheyer’s progression as a coach is clearer and the positive changes he’s made as a result of his past shortcomings are more evident. That’s an encouraging sign for those in Durham and a damning one for those in Chapel Hill. Better or worse, depending on your preferred hex code, looking at both coaches’ careers indicates little chance either’s trajectory will change anytime soon. The important thing with both these coaches is to see progression, and the simple fact is that Scheyer’s is clear and Davis’ isn’t.

In addition to a lot of time on LinkedIn, I’ve also become quite invested in Formula One in the last year or so. If the hours I’ve spent watching races has taught me one thing, it’s that crashes are sudden. The things that cause them, however — worn-out tires, driver fatigue, poor preparation and bad strategy — are not. ***

I should acknowledge that of the two coaches, Davis has gotten far closer to raising a banner. That infamous 2021-22 run to the championship game is the crowning achievement of Davis’ career and a legendary piece of Tar Heel lore, particularly the bit where they effectively retired Krzyzewski twice.

But if you look beyond the emotion of that run — which is certainly relevant — Davis’ first season was

See COACHING on Page 14

ABOVE: Amy Zhang, News Photography Editor Khaman Maluach dunks in Duke’s win against Boston College.

RIGHT: Alyssa Ting, Staff Photographer Khaman Maluach swats a Virginia Tech shot attempt.

Andrew Long

A look back at Duke’s top 10 plays of the last 25 years in the Tobacco Road rivalry

Marvin Bagley III slams home game-sealing alley-oop

Duke legend Grayson Allen’s last career home game in 2018 saw the fifth-ranked Blue Devils overcome a 13-point secondhalf deficit against defending national champions and No. 9 North Carolina, forcing a 60-60 tie with six and a half minutes left. The freshman quartet of Bagley, Trevon Duval, Gary Trent Jr. and Wendell Carter Jr. each converted clutch baskets in the final minutes, with the latter nailing a rare contested three to give Duke a 70-62 lead.

By Rodrigo Amare Assistant Blue Zone Editor

Jayson Tatum posterizes Kennedy Meeks with thunderous dunk

Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum boasts an incredible resume — five NBA All-Star appearances, four All-NBA honors and the 2024 NBA championship. Once upon a time in 2017, Tatum spearheaded No. 18 Duke as it welcomed No. 8 North Carolina on Coach K Court.

Two minutes after the triple, with his team up six, Duval dribbled towards the paint. He drew three Tar Heel defenders, before deftly casting the ball towards a rising Bagley III. The future No. 2 overall pick jammed the alley-oop over Luke Maye, sending the Cameron Crazies into a frenzy. The Blue Devils closed out a 74-64 victory as a tearful Allen embraced legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski before exiting Cameron Indoor Stadium one last time.

After failing to score a single point in the first half, Tatum received a pass from Grayson Allen, faked a three and slid through two Tar Heel defenders towards the basket. North Carolina senior Kennedy Meeks prepared to meet Tatum at the rim, but the Blue Devils’ star freshman elevated through the outstretched Meeks to slam home the finish, giving Duke a 53-46 lead. The Tar Heels would come back to tighten the encounter, but a pair of late-game threes from Tatum and Allen clinched an 86-78 Blue Devil victory. 10 10 99

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Chris Duhon flies through the court for game-winning bucket

Before its 2004 Final Four run, No. 1 Duke clashed with the 19thranked Tar Heels in a back-and-forth contest for the ages. At the end of regulation, North Carolina forward Jawad Williams nailed a contested 3-pointer to even the match at 74 points apiece, sending the game into overtime. Then, after a pair of JJ Redick pressure free throws, the Blue Devils led 81-78 with just 22 seconds left.

North Carolina immediately responded by racing down the court and nailing a game-tying three. However, just as the Dean Dome exploded in glee, Duke senior Chris Duhon sprinted through a distracted Tar Heel defense at lightning speed. Duhon flew from one end of the court to another in just six seconds, before smoothly converting a reverse layup to retake the lead. The Tar Heels’ lastditch attempt fell short of the basket, and the Blue Devils survived with an 83-81 win.

2020 part two: Wendell Moore Jr.

Jones continued his spectacular play in the extra period, scoring six more points in the first two and a half minutes. North Carolina came roaring right back though, embarking on an 11-1 run to seize a 96-91 advantage with just over 20 seconds left. A pair of quick buckets from Jones and Moore paired with two critical Tar Heel turnovers meant the ball lay in Jones’ hands with just 10 seconds, trailing by one point.

The sophomore drove to the rim and was fouled, immediately tying the game by swishing the first free throw for his 29th point of the night. However, in a near disaster, Jones’ second shot rimmed out, but Moore somehow tapped the ball back to the Blue Devils. From nearly the same spot as his previous buzzer beater, Jones released another potentially-game winning jumper. The ball didn’t even hit the rim, instead falling to an uncovered Moore, who tipped it into the unguarded basket as the clock expired. The Duke bench erupted after the Blue Devils improbably nailed back-to-back buzzer-beaters, seizing a 98-96 win.

77

Derryck Thornton deflects Joel Berry II’s last-ditch attempt

A young, 20th-ranked Blue Devil squad traveled to Chapel Hill in 2016 to take on a much more experienced and heavily favored No. 5 North Carolina. Despite trailing for much of the game, a late 3-pointer from freshman Luke Kennard gave Duke a 72-71 advantage with just under three minutes remaining. Both teams then added two points to their totals, and with 20 seconds left, the Tar Heels collected a Grayson Allen miss and headed down the court looking for a game-winning shot.

The Blue Devil defense would not give. North Carolina guard Joel Berry II collected the ball at the top of the key and took on Duke freshman Derryck Thornton, spinning his way into the paint and attempting a mid-range jumper. Thornton stuck with his man the whole way through and just managed to deflect the shot up into the air. The Blue Devils won the fight for the rebound and the game, 74-73.

55

Shane Battier chases down and emphatically blocks Joseph Forte

No. 2 Duke — the eventual national champions — and No. 4 North Carolina fought in a tight struggle early in the second half of the 2001 regular-season finale. Despite the absence of star center Carlos Boozer, the Blue Devils managed to squeeze a narrow sixpoint lead with 17 minutes remaining, but the Tar Heels responded with an and-one from All-American center Brendan Haywood to make it a 50-47 game.

On the ensuing possession, North Carolina’s other All-American, Joseph Forte, stole the ball from sophomore Mike Dunleavy Jr. and raced towards Duke’s basket to slam the fast break home. Seemingly out of nowhere, Naismith Player of the Year Shane Battier launched himself into the air and swiped the ball out of Forte’s hand just as the latter reached the rim. Duke followed up Battier’s jaw-dropping block with a Jay Williams three and rode that momentum to an emphatic 95-81 win.

33

2020 part one: Tre Jones

Before the 2020 season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seventh-ranked Blue Devils trailed by 10 points with two minutes remaining at unranked North Carolina. On the back of six consecutive points from sophomore guard Tre Jones and five missed Tar Heel free throws, Duke steadily reduced the deficit but still trailed 84-81 with six seconds left.

North Carolina chose to foul Jones, sending the ACC Player of the Year to the line. Jones made the first free throw, then intentionally missed the second before he grabbed his own rebound. Jones dribbled to his left, split two Tar Heel defenders and just managed to put up a midrange jumper with milliseconds left on the clock. Blue Devil fans held their breaths as the shot found its way home at the buzzer, sending the contest into overtime.

88

JJ Redick swishes dagger three to silence the Dean Dome

JJ Redick’s historic senior season saw Duke’s all-time leading scorer average a staggering 26.8 points per game on his way to earning consensus first-team All-American and 2006 Naismith College Player of the Year honors. With just under two minutes left in the sharpshooter’s final game inside the Dean Smith Center, a clutch Redick three extended the second-ranked Blue Devils’ lead over No. 24 North Carolina to four points.

Then, a minute later, Redick received the ball with Duke up 81-77. The Blue Devil icon dribbled to his right, crossed over a Tar Heel defender and launched a contested 3-point attempt. The ball swished through the net with ease, and the clamors of 21,750 fans suddenly gave way to celebrations of Redick’s 35-point performance and an eventual 87-83 Duke win.

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Zion Williamson wrecks North Carolina’s title chances at the rim

After suffering a knee sprain in 2019’s first edition of the Tobacco Road rivalry, freshman phenom Zion Williamson and the thirdseeded Blue Devils got another crack at the second-seeded Tar Heels in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Despite Williamson’s dominant 31-point performance, North Carolina hung in with Duke’s starstudded squad, taking a 73-72 lead with 48 seconds left.

The Blue Devils responded by handing the ball to Williamson, getting out of his way and letting him go to work. The future No. 1 overall NBA draft pick dribbled to the elbow and spun around into the paint, releasing a contested layup attempt. The ball rimmed out, but just as the Tar Heels targeted the rebound, Williamson bullied his way up through three defenders, converting the put-back and sealing a 74-73 win en route to Duke’s ACC Tournament title.

Austin Rivers’ last-second three vanquishes the Tar Heels

Like in the previous two plays on this list, No. 5 North Carolina led No. 9 Duke 82-72 with just over two minutes left in the Dean Dome’s 2012 iteration of the rivalry. Two Blue Devil threes and a deep mid-range jumper reduced the deficit to two in under a minute, and junior Ryan Kelly’s errant 3-pointer was deflected into the basket by North Carolina’s own Tyler Zeller. Following 1-of-2 free throws from Zeller, the Blue Devils handed the rock to freshman Austin Rivers, down 84-82 with the clock reading 13 seconds. Rivers dribbled down the court to the left, then crossed over to his right before stopping in front of Zeller, letting the clock run. Rivers did not settle for a 2-point attempt, instead releasing a contested three over the top of the center with less than two seconds left in regulation. The ball arced gracefully through the air and hit nothing but the net. A stunned North Carolina crowd watched as the Duke bench stormed the court to celebrate the Blue Devils’ 85-84 victory and one of the most memorable plays in Duke basketball history.

Jesús Hidalgo The Chronicle

Simran Prakash Former Chronicle photographer

Bre Bradham | The Chronicle

Chronicle File Photo

Jack White | The Chronicle

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For teammates and strangers, from New Orleans to Durham, Sion James always shows up

By Sophie Levenson Sports Managing Editor

Duke was 24 points ahead of Miami when the Hurricanes prepared to inbound the ball to begin the second half in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Any chance of an upset was already gone. Still, Austin Swartz was smiling.

Sion James’s 220-pound frame defended Swartz as the visiting guard readied himself to get open by the sideline. But James’ menacing size doesn’t match his endlessly pleasant demeanor, the kind of personality that had Swartz, in a blowout, on the edge of laughter.

Nor does his play. James, in his coach Jon Scheyer’s words, “is a dog.” In that very Miami game, the graduate guard clocked three blocks and a steal to put down one of his best defensive performances of the season. It was not, however, an anomaly for James, who has made his impact clear since day one at Duke. Scheyer has said repeatedly that James belongs in the NBA, perhaps most because, as he quipped at a Jan. 23 availability, “Sion is the ultimate connector.”

James is a big guy to play point guard, but he thrives at that spot because of this “connector” spirit, a kind of instinct that makes him an intuitive passer and playmaker. Indeed, James boasts the secondmost assists on the Blue Devils.

Of course, when Scheyer calls James a “connector,” he’s talking basketball. But connecting is the Sion James M.O., the very core of his commitment to giving back. Though he would never taut it as an accomplishment, nor bring it up unprompted, James thrives when he’s serving the underserved.

Sandwiches on Saturdays

Despite the frequent behest of a friend, Sandy Ryan had no interest in being a basketball manager until he met James. After that, he thought to himself, “I’d be okay with wiping up someone’s sweat if that’s the caliber of human being that’s on that team.”

Ryan, two years his elder, was James’ freshman resident assistant at Tulane. They met on a walk to the mail room in the early days of James’ career, the newcomer looking to an older student for guidance. Both their lives changed on that walk to the mail room. As he got to know James, Ryan decided to apply for a manager position on the basketball team, a choice that ultimately earned him a walk-on spot and now a career in Tulane athletics. James, in return, met the friend and future roommate who would launch the passion for service he has since carried to Durham.

Tulane’s 2022-23 season ended, in a word, poorly. Memphis knocked the Green Wave out of the AAC Championship with a 40-point defeat, leaving Ryan, James and their teammates on a decidedly low note. But with the season over and time suddenly on his hands, Ryan started to notice the people in New Orleans dealing with far worse. He asked James to join him in a McDonald’s run for sandwiches to pass out to the homeless.

Since Hurricane Katrina ravaged it in 2005, New Orleans has suffered from severe poverty and displacement. When Hurricane Ida hit in 2021, James was a freshman and had to leave Tulane for more than a month while the city once again worked to get back on its feet. According to a count by UNITY last year, there are still more

than 1,400 people experiencing homelessness in New Orleans.

Sugar Hill, Ga., is a “nice, suburban area,” according to James. He did not grow up in a place like New Orleans, where, in much of the city, its high poverty rate is visible. It did not escape James, then, that while he could drive home to Georgia to escape Ida, plenty of others were stuck in its ruins.

So a year later, when Ryan asked him to help deliver sandwiches, James didn’t hesitate to say yes. They bought 12 sausage biscuits, and didn’t just pass them out — this was key for Ryan and James — they used their sandwiches as an opening for conversation with people living on the streets. An hour-long discussion with a homeless man named Harry was what it took to make this Saturday whim of Ryan’s a commitment from the two teammates.

“He was sharing his dreams for how he wanted to reunite with his daughter, how he wanted to get back on his feet,” Ryan told The Chronicle. “It took away all the stigmas that surround the homeless.”

On the car ride back to their apartment, James and Ryan decided they would go see Harry again the following Saturday. Between the two of them — just two college students — they felt the best thing they had to offer was their ability to “show up.”

So they went to see Harry, and others, the next weekend. And the weekend after that. They kept going, just two guys delivering McDonald’s sandwiches bought with pocket money, striking up conversation and listening to people often ignored tell the stories of their lives.

‘How do I help make this happen?’

It was New Year’s Eve, and the Blue Devils were giving Virginia Tech a pretty nasty end to 2024. James drove from the 3-point line on the right side of the court until he was underneath the basket, then passed the ball, dart-like, to an open Tyrese Proctor, standing ready on the other side of the arc. The Hokie defense had lined up to prevent James’ layup, though the point guard found Proctor open. Even when Proctor missed his three, James was one step ahead of the defense: He lunged for the rebound and put the ball straight into the basket, wasting no time with a dribble.

“He’s incredibly smart,” Scheyer said. “He’s a very cerebral, smart player, and he makes others better on the floor in many different ways.”

So much of James’ appeal as a basketball player goes hand-in-hand with his appeal as a community member. After several weeks of sandwich deliveries, James and Ryan started looking for funding to keep their operation alive, and then to grow it. They lucked into a huge donation from Walmart, and stacked the front room of their shared apartment with so much stuff that it reached the ceiling. James made a spreadsheet to budget their resources for the rest of the semester, putting their vision and supplies into real help for the homeless.

“He really brought the order to Ryan’s Giving Tree,” Ryan said of James. “That’s just consistently something that he’s good at: Hearing a dream, hearing a vision, and then asking the question of, ‘How do I help make this happen?’”

Ryan’s Giving Tree is what Ryan and James ultimately dubbed their organization, en route to getting it certified as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Their distribution numbers soared from 12 to 200

sandwiches a weekend — a number that provided a serious impact without becoming so big that James and Ryan didn’t need to sacrifice the conversations that had inspired them in the first place.

To be a Duke men’s basketball player is no small feat. James’ commitment as a point guard on the No. 2 team in the country means fulltime, full steam ahead. Yet he also runs his own foundation, on top of taking classes (“all over the place,” he said, subject-wise) in his continuing studies program.

“I think he’s blessed with a knack for selfreflection,” Ryan said. “He’s not afraid of … dealing with whatever he has to deal with within himself, to become the best he can be.”

At just 22, James has the kind of discipline that makes him as versatile with his time as he is on the basketball court. He did most of his planning for service events before this season started so that his charity work does not take away from his team commitments. James runs on routine and strawberry protein shakes, waking up early on mornings when he doesn’t have class to give his energy to various service endeavors. If anything, his community involvement has brought his teammates closer together — they’re always asking him how they can help.

“Sion was always looking for ways to show up for his teammates and show up for the people around him,” Ryan said.

“He’s one of those selfless people,” Slyder said. At least some of James’ kindness comes from his parents. His mother raised him on the adage, “What we have is not our own.” Ryan called the Jameses “A lovely family … very kind hearted people, the kind of people that make you feel like family the moment you start talking to them.” Growing up, James’ mother took him and his brother, Jehloni, to volunteer at the Special Olympics every summer. As a teenager, James volunteered to read to and mentor elementary school kids.

Sion was always looking for ways to show up for his teammates and show up for the people around him.

Sandy Ryan

Co-founder of Ryan’s Giving Tree

“Playing sports is really, really cool. I’m glad we get to do this for a living,” James told The Chronicle. “But there are a lot of things a lot more important than a ball going into a basket.”

‘Our responsibility’

Before Ron Hunter ran the men’s basketball program at Tulane, he coached at IUPUI, now IU Indianapolis, where he got involved with a young nonprofit called Samaritan’s Feet. The organization, which supplies shoes to children suffering from poverty all over the world, was founded by Manny Ohonme, who grew up in Nigeria and didn’t receive his first pair of shoes until he was nine years old. Ohonme won that first pair in a shooting contest hosted by a missionary; nine years later, he used those same skills to earn a basketball scholarship to Lake Region State College. In 2003, he founded Samaritan’s Feet with his wife.

Hunter’s program in Indianapolis was the first connection Ohonme made with a basketball team.

In 2008, Hunter coached one of his games barefoot. In 2009, 300 other basketball coaches, ranging from the high school to the Division-I level, went shoeless on their sidelines, too. More than a decade later, Hunter’s dedication to raising awareness for Samaritan’s Feet was still going strong: In the summer of 2023, he brought his Tulane roster, which included James, to Puerto Rico for a service trip to provide more than 1,000 children with a new pair of shoes.

Kathy Slyder, head of regional development and sports initiative manager for Samaritan’s Feet, was on that trip with James.

“After one of the distributions … he just had this huge smile on his face,” Slyder said. “You could tell he was just really loving this.”

As soon as he was back in the U.S., James signed up to be a student-athlete ambassador for Samaritan’s Feet. In June, he had attended an NIL Summit in Atlanta. By the end of that summer, James was learning about using NIL to benefit other people rather than just himself. He sees NIL charity partnerships as an “untapped market”; service is not often part of the NIL conversation.

“For a lot of us, this is the biggest platform we’ll ever have, right?” James said.

In the same summer he registered Ryan’s Giving Tree as a nonprofit, James made his deal with Samaritan’s Feet. In a matter of months, his life had taken shape around a desire to serve those in need. It still holds that shape: James knows that, in one way or another, he will continue this work wherever he goes.

But the summer of 2023 did not come about because of a change in James’ character. Instead, James’ burgeoning involvement in community service bloomed like the natural result of some seed that had always been there.

Service has always had a place in his world, and he could have just left it at that. Instead, two summers ago, James cast community service in a leading role, simply because he realized how much he could help.

Faith fuels him, too. James and Ryan, who still talk on the phone every week, used to ask each other, “How do we practically live out our faith?” Both of them subscribe to Christianity without a particular denomination.

“I believe in a God who serves and who literally came to earth to serve us, and I feel like it’s our responsibility to do the same,” James said. He and Ryan found the answer to that question — how to live out their shared faith — waiting for them in the McDonald’s drive-thru.

‘Teaches you how to serve’

Darren Harris was guarding a middle school boy in neon basketball shoes and a Duke-blue trucker hat. James scribbled his signature on a mini Dukethemed basketball and fist-bumped a kid barely the height of his waist. Behind him was a giant, inflatable menorah and a string of Star of David flags.

At the Levin JCC on W. Cornwallis Road, the Sion James Foundation had piled up around 1,800 toys for underprivileged children in Durham. James, in a colorful “One 4 All Toy Drive” t-shirt, spent a December Saturday with his teammates and kids from around Durham, shooting hoops and auctioning off private tours of Cameron Indoor Stadium to add to the holiday haul.

Moving from New Orleans to Durham didn’t halt James’ community involvement at all — on the contrary, the move expanded his impact. In the fall, he was still collecting shoes to send to children in New Orleans while also learning about Durham’s needs. He committed to fundraising for 4,000 pairs of shoes for local children. Recently, he connected with the Emily K Center (educational support) and the 5K Foundation (gang violence prevention). He founded his namesake foundation at the beginning of 2024 with the mission of “strengthening local communities by supporting the most disadvantaged groups within them,” according to its Instagram page. Because he loves working with children, James’ first initiative with the Sion James Foundation is to “remove barriers to advancement for school-aged kids.”

Basketball, James said, “teaches you how to serve others.” Maybe that’s not the most typical take on the game, but it’s certainly typical for him.

James’ style of play reflects this remarkable understanding of the game. Slyder certainly sees it. “He always comes at everything from the viewpoint of service,” she said. “I think that’s how he plays basketball, too.”

James’ gift is this ability to see such a competitive sport as an avenue to serve, even when looking at it granularly, at the passes and shots and blocks. What Ryan, Slyder and Scheyer have all identified as “humility” in James seems, instead, the natural product of his radical worldview, one that sees people in need and can’t help but respond. When Ryan asked him if he would help pass out sandwiches, “Why?” never crossed James’ mind. He is hardwired to do good.

“It’s all about doing things not for yourself, and kind of forgetting about yourself a little bit and really pouring into the people around you,” James said.

Believe it or not, that’s just what he has to say about basketball.

Amy Zhang News Photo Editor

Sion James (14) helps up Kon Knueppel in Duke’s game against Boston C.ollege.

GO DUKE! SHOOTERS II

By Dom Fenoglio Sports Managing Editor

Breaking down the mechanics behind Duke’s defensive dominance

“Something you can’t simulate.”

“Really impacted what we were able to do offensively.”

“Every shot will be challenged.”

This season, head coaches Bill Courtney (Miami), Chris Markwood (Maine) and Andy Enfield (SMU) all experienced firsthand what it is like to play against — and lose to — Duke’s defense. The Blue Devils boast what is not only the best defense in the ACC, but one of the most efficient in the nation.

Despite starting three freshmen, head coach Jon Scheyer’s team has managed to allow just 59.5 points per game and held six opponents to a season-low output. Talent and size alone do not create that kind of dominance. Defense takes buy-in, communication and focus.

“The thing that I love about coaching this entire team [is] they respond,” Scheyer said at a Jan. 23 media availability. “... It just comes down to a toughness and a mindset guarding the ball, trying to protect your paint as much as you can. And then, most importantly, how do you cover each other? That’s been our biggest thing.”

like Syracuse’s 2-3 zone under retired Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, ran unique systems that made offenses uncomfortable.

The most remarkable thing about Duke’s dominance on defense this season is its simplicity. The Blue Devils are not in the top 200 teams nationally in steals per game. They almost exclusively play man-to-man — at least outside of their recent win at Wake Forest — and rarely make significant changes to what they do between games. Scheyer’s team has locked down the competition by playing sound, fundamental defense until the other team simply cannot take it anymore.

It is hard to score on the tallest team in the country, after all.

It just comes down to a toughness and a mindset guarding the ball.

That is where it begins for Duke: Every single player that receives regular playing time is at least 6-foot-5. This creates major problems for players looking to score, starting when the shot clock starts ticking down and rarely ceasing before its unforgiving shrill 30 seconds later. In fact, the Blue Devils’ opponents have the sixth-longest average possession length, according to KenPom.

in rotation. An off-balance three contested by Kon Knueppel sailed right for an air ball, and even after Louisville was gifted another try, its second shot — which Khani Rooths barely got off — was swatted away by Maliq Brown.

“I think we turned it over on like 22% of our possessions. We want to be at 15% or less,” Cardinals’ head coach Pat Kelsey said after the game. “Against a good team like that, you can’t have that many empty possessions. But give Duke credit, they’re a very, very good defensive team.”

When you’re 6-foot-6 or above across the board switching, it doesn’t hurt you.

options, ranging from double-teaming — or blitzing — the ball handler to dropping off the screener to dare a 3-pointer. The most basic coverage scheme is switching, where the two defenders exchange guarding responsibilities to nullify the screen. Switching a ball screen is most effective when the two defenders involved in the screen could feasibly guard either offensive player, but it can fail if a point guard is matched up with a center and vice-versa.

The goal of a great defensive unit is to control the decisions the offense makes. Some teams, like perennial defensive powerhouse Houston, do this by pressuring opponents into mistakes. Others,

Duke put together a defensive clinic against Louisville on the road Dec. 8. On one possession, all five Cardinals touched the ball but none of them could hit the rim. Defenders pestered every offensive player as soon as they caught the ball and positioned themselves perfectly

The Blue Devils begin to guard as soon as the other team touches the ball. Point guard Sion James, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound defensive force of nature, frequently picks up his counterpart fullcourt, simultaneously wearing down the legs of the backcourt and bleeding precious seconds off the clock. Once a team makes it into the halfcourt, Duke uses its length on the perimeter to plug up driving lanes.

Typically, when a player is guarding someone away from the ball handler, they are taught to split the difference between their man and the ball, plating an area known as the gap. A wingspan of nearly 7-feet helps shrink this region and let a defender guard both offensive players at once.

When direct drives are hard to come by, a team will set ball screens to create an advantage. Both defenders in coverage have a number of

Amy

“We’re just committed to not giving them layups. When you’re 6-foot-6 or above across the board switching, it doesn’t hurt you,” Scheyer said of the gameplan in beating thenNo. 2 Auburn. “For us, we were willing to take the switch.”

Size is rarely a concern for James, who routinely switches onto forwards. It’s even easier for 6-foot-9 freshman sensation Cooper Flagg, who has guarded one through five on a nightly basis. The most interesting defender in switches this season, though, has been freshman Khaman Maluach.

The 7-foot-2 center will make plenty of money in the NBA for his ability to guard the rim, and for good reason. But the Rumbek, South Sudan, native has shown an equally impressive ability to hang with guards outside the paint — especially since the injury to Brown. While Maluach has a height advantage against nearly all of his opponents, smaller guards often look to exploit his lateral quickness to draw fouls. He has shown repeatedly that this is not a winning strategy.

Maluach is not a usual center and Duke is not a usual team. As soon as a ball handler breaks the 3-point line with Maluach trailing, the Blue Devils send help in from the gaps to stop penetration. Malauch is adept at recovering from this position, too, and at times picks up blocks from behind a shooter. In a blowout Jan. 7 win against Pittsburgh, Duke effectively shut down the backcourt duo of Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett, and Malauch was a key reason why. On just the second play

DEFENSE on Page 14

Jon Scheyer Duke head coach

Jon Scheyer Duke head coach

LEFT: Alyssa Ting, Staff Photographer Tyrese Proctor and Khaman Maluach rise to contest a jumpshot in Duke’s win against Pittsburgh.

ABOVE:

Zhang, News Photo Editor Three Blue Devils look to swat away a Boston College layup try.

Cameron Crazies: The origin stories of basketball’s favorite villains

By Rachael Kaplan & Abby DiSalvo Senior Editor & Assistant Blue Zone Editor

In 2003, several Duke students discovered that Maryland guard Steve Blake had written an essay about the Johnny Rockets restaurant chain. A so-called “Cameron Crazie” drove all the way to Washington, D.C., stopping at every location to collect the fast-food burger joint’s signature paper hats. When Blake showed up for Maryland’s game against Duke, he found one atop the head of every fan in the student section.

It wasn’t unusual behavior. The student fans of Cameron Indoor Stadium had already developed a reputation as some of the most dedicated in college basketball, known for their raucous energy and creative stunts.

“At the end of the day, nothing they did surprised me,” former head coach Mike Krzyzewski told The Chronicle.

HEARTY WELCOME’

‘A

In 1980, Krzyzewski arrived in Durham to a lackluster men’s basketball team and an uninspired student fanbase. Although Bill Foster finished his reign with three strong years, Duke went 38-47 in Krzyzewski’s first three seasons. Student support was far from the frenzy now associated with Cameron Indoor, and the new, young head coach wasn’t exactly drawing crowds.

The students weren’t going to Krzyzewski, so Krzyzewski went to them.

“What I tried to do is go out to fraternities, sororities … and [I] asked them for support,” Krzyzewski said. “I just wanted, especially when we were losing, for them to get to know me, not just see me on the sidelines or getting our butts beat. [See] that we’re trying to build something, and we wanted them to be a part of the process to build it.”

In Krzyzewski’s fourth season, the team started winning, and the students bought in. Leading the charge were a Bunch of Guys — BOG. The fraternityalternative living group was indeed just a bunch of guys, and they loved Duke basketball. The “Boggers” would station themselves behind the opponent’s bench — which used to be part

of the undergraduate student section — and heckle visiting teams.

“The ACC was filled with incredible stars and villains,” said Eric Rothschild, who spent 1986-89 as a member of the group. “There were people in trouble over shoplifting or cheating on a test. The Cameron Crazies just had so many targets.”

With endless material at their fingertips, the Crazies entertained themselves with a wide variety of “antics,” according to Krzyzewski. This included throwing tennis balls over the court from Section 19 to 17 — back when the students claimed both — and jangling keys at opposing players with criminal speeding records. When N.C. State forward Lorenzo Charles was accused of stealing pizzas, the BOGs and their fellow students threw empty pizza boxes onto the court. Chris Washburn, accused of stealing a stereo, had records flying in his direction. Students tossed twinkies at Georgia Tech’s Dennis Scott and uncooked noodles at his teammate Craig Neal.

“They would throw too many things on the court,” Krzyzewski said.

The Crazies were at their rowdiest, at least according to the University, on Jan. 14, 1984. Maryland forward Herman Veal had recently been reinstated by the team after sexual assault allegations. The students, with the same independent creativity and spontaneity that Krzyzewski raved about, tossed condoms and women’s underwear onto the court. The Washington Post took note, and suddenly the Crazies were under national scrutiny.

At the end of the day, nothing they did surprised me.

The University’s president at the time was Terry Sanford, known as “Uncle Terry” to the students. Although he supported the students, Sanford wrote the “Avuncular Letter” to the Crazies; he knew a line had been crossed.

“I suggest that we change. Talk this matter over in your various residential houses. Think of something clever but clean, devastating but decent, mean but wholesome, witty and forceful but G-rated

best food on any planet

for television, and try it at the next game,” Sanford wrote in the letter.

That next game in Cameron Indoor happened to be against top-ranked North Carolina. The students took Uncle Terry’s words to heart.

“We all made halos out of aluminum foil and wore halos into the game,” Kim Reed (‘86) said. “[We] had signs that said, ‘Welcome honored guests. We’re pleased to have you, Dean Smith,’ you know. ‘Referees are never wrong,’ things like that.”

The Crazies were “good” that game, politely disagreeing with the referees instead of shouting profanities. One sign offered “A HEARTY WELCOME TO DEAN SMITH,” and students attempted to deliver the rival coach a bouquet of flowers before tip-off. When North Carolina players stepped up for free throws, students remained quiet and raised signs that said ‘please miss.’ The Crazies waved and smiled at the Tar Heels even while Duke lost the game.

“I always wanted them to cheer for us, not against them,” Krzyzewski said.

‘Krzyzewskiville: Established 1986’

In 1986, a game of quarters changed the Crazies’ trajectory. While tossing coins the Tuesday night before the North Carolina game, several residents of the Mirecourt selective living group began debating what time they should get in line to reserve second-row seats. Some suggested Saturday night, expecting high

attendance at Sunday’s game. Others lobbied for Saturday morning. It didn’t take long to work backwards through the week, and the group eventually reasoned that they should head to Cameron right away.

Reed, a senior, drove to the U-Haul store in search of pup tents the group could pitch for temporary shelter the next morning. After setting up on the sidewalk in front of the student entrance, she and her friends took turns camping out. They soon decided their tent city needed a name: Krzyzewskiville.

“It was sleeting almost the entire time, just freezing cold, well below 32 degrees,” Reed remembered. “But we stuck it out. We just thought it was funny. We didn’t have any intention of starting anything.”

Krzyzewski remembered it differently: “It wasn’t just pitching a tent. It was like Woodstock.”

“There were hot tubs out there,” he added. Reed graduated and went on to law school at the University of Virginia, but drove down the following year to watch the rivalry game. Some of her friends, who had been juniors during the first tenting stint, camped out again.

That’s when the TV stations picked up on the story. An ABC affiliate in Durham drove out to the stadium to film for two days, and other students began bringing tents and golf umbrellas of their own. The frenzy — which lacked rules or group numbers — was still far from organized. But as Reed returned each

Mike Krzyzewski Former head coach

Courtesy of Cathy Dipierro

year for the game, she noticed more and more tents cropping up on the lawn.

“There were only, you know, 40, 50, 60… I thought it would peter out,” Reed said. “What really got out of hand is when people started pitching tents the day after fall exams ended. That was just insane.”

As demand for coveted spots in K-Ville grew, so did regulation. Soon, students had to wait until the new year to pitch tents. Even then, construction began at 12:01 a.m.

“The rules have grown up to kind of circumscribe the insanity,” Reed said. “There have been years when hundreds of Duke students had mono because it went around K-Ville … so when that started happening, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is crazy.’”

‘The great home court’

As Duke basketball gained national attention, so did its most loyal fans. The Boggers, still cheering in full force, leveraged Cameron’s courtside proximity to pester players with tailored insults and yell from behind the visitors’ bench whenever possible.

would say BOG was the

goofiest

The Boggers had other memorable moments as well. When Steve Hale played in Cameron with a collapsed lung in 1986, they taunted him with an “in-hale, ex-hale” chant. That replaced the famous “airball” chant, which originated against North Carolina in 1979 (Six years before the introduction of the shot clock, the Tar Heels had held the ball for 12 minutes before Rich Yonakor finally took a left-handed shot that sailed completely over the basket).

The BOGs camped outside for most games, and they weren’t afraid to mess with players. One member found himself kicked out of Cameron after stealing the ball from Arizona’s Brian Williams in warm-ups and driving past him for a layup.

It wasn’t just pitching a tent. It was like Woodstock.

Mike Krzyzewski Former

head coach

The group developed a close relationship with the Krzyzewskis over the years — sometimes getting lunch with Mickie or inviting the team to quad barbecues — but BOG eventually disbanded in 1990 after accumulating too many penalty points under the University’s system.

“I remember thinking to myself, ‘How is this my life? This is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me,’” Dipierro said.

Dipierro and her classmates lived through the heartbreak of the national title loss to UNLV and the redemption in the 1991 Final Four. She and her roommate Pam Peters watched Christian Laettner’s shot in the Philly Spectrum. Just as students did in 2022, Dipierro and Peters stood on the court in Cameron Indoor with the Final Four games projected onto the big screen. Everyone jumped and screamed as if their team was playing right in front of them.

When Duke won, the entire Durham community packed the stadium to welcome the champions home.

Oh, baby!’

That excitement faded as the championship years passed. By the time 2006 rolled around, the Crazies needed something new.

A group of line monitors found unlikely inspiration in a beer commercial. After watching actors hold up various basketball sign pairings — “D” and a fence, “B” and a lock — they decided to brainstorm their own combination for Duke’s next game. One senior named Dan Baum wanted to make signs with “O” and a baby, in reference to the catchphrase of street basketball commentator Duke Tango. His friends disagreed, opting for the letter “S” and a lamb.

on. They established an informal choreography of claps and fist pumps within three or four games. When not busy establishing new traditions, the Crazies upheld their reputation with unparalleled creativity. In 2004, students provided an infamous welcome to North Carolina’s new head coach, Roy Williams, who had just joined the rival program from Kansas. Williams arrived to find a yellowbrick road outside Cameron and ruby-red shoes on his chair.

“All the students just really leaned super hard into a ‘Wizard of Oz’ theme, because Roy wasn’t in Kansas anymore,” Baum said. “There were people in full ‘Wizard of Oz’ outfits all throughout the student section, and we all learned the ‘Rock Chalk, Jayhawk’ chant so that we could do it during the game.”

I have those memories that we made together, and they were all possible because of Duke basketball.

Cathy Dipierro Cameron Crazie

The Crazies pulled off the joke without any formal planning. Once a group of senior tenters mentioned the idea in K-Ville, Baum’s tent secured yellow fabric. Student creativity blossomed from there, and the collective effort delivered a memorable game. That same dedication to the Duke-North Carolina rivalry made Baum’s job as a line monitor more difficult. Ahead of the game, he caught students sleeping in Cameron and sneaking through the tunnels dressed as managers. While he turned them away, he did his best to pack Section 17 with as many tenters as possible.

“One of our biggest things was manic screaming during timeouts,” Rothschild said. “So much so that some teams started to pull their team onto the court to huddle up for timeouts, rather than sit on the bench where we were making all that noise.”

The Boggers started a couple other timeless Cameron traditions, including the jumps before tipoff and the infamous “See ya!” directed at fouled-out players. North Carolina center Eric Montross, who the Crazies thought resembled Frankenstein, inspired the high-pitched “whoop” and arm motions after turnovers.

Members of the BOGs also mastered the art of dirt sheet insults long before physical ones began circulating. They would dig up any information they could; no target was off-limits.

After one opposing coach’s wife complained about taunting, the Boggers received a temporary ban from their usual behind-the-bench seats in Section 19. They reluctantly headed across the court for the next few games, chanting “Our seats” to make their displeasure known. That earned the BOG president a meeting with Krzyzewski — but he remained sympathetic to the Boggers, and the group soon returned to its rightful spots.

“There was some affection, some appreciation, that we were a big contributor to making Cameron the wild place — the great home court — that it was,” Rothschild said. “I

‘Tent check!’

By 1990, the team was good — really good. The dedication from the Crazies was just as strong. Reed’s successors were still pitching tents outside Cameron Indoor, and now there were a lot more of them.

Cathy Dipierro, née Corbitt, was an active participant as soon as she stepped on campus. As a freshman, she and her friends set up their tent outside Cameron Indoor. They decorated the front of it with duct tape, and wrote their number in line on the side — easier to keep track that way.

“You went out, you pitched a tent, it was kind of like the honor system,” Dipierro said.

Four years after its inception, tenting became tradition. Line monitors existed, but they were usually tenters who volunteered to help keep order.

As a sophomore, Dipierro started helping the line monitors.

“I used to go out at like, 2:30 in the morning with my flashlight and be like, ‘Bang, bang. Tent check!’” she said. “I had my clipboard, my list of everybody in every tent … It was a selfgoverning organization.”

There was no temperature or weather grace, no established order or regulation. The students camped outside no matter what — except for one instance, when someone let them inside.

That night, in the middle of winter during Dipierro’s tenure, it poured.

“We literally had [two inches of] water in the bottom of our tent and no way to get rid of it,” Dipierro said. “I think they just took pity on us.”

The tenters were ushered out of Krzyzewskiville and into the Cameron Indoor concourse. They piled in, filling each nook and cranny along the walkway with their soaking-wet belongings. By the time Dipierro and her roommates made it inside, it was full. There was nowhere else to lay down on the concourse.

They had nowhere to go but inside. So Dipierro and her roommates walked into the stands, climbed up onto a camera platform and tucked themselves in.

“I just didn’t see that really working,” Baum remembers. “So they tried out S-Lam, and I drove to Walmart.”

The store he stopped at had one baby left in stock. It happened to be wearing a light blue onesie, so Baum wrote “GTHC” across the front and covered it with a child-sized Duke t-shirt. The doll was game-ready by the time S-Lam fizzled out with students.

It made its debut at home against George

Mason on Dec. 19, 2006. The Crazies immediately fell in love with their new child.

Some Blue Devil fans had concerns. Baum’s former summer employer, Kevin Trapani, approached him after a few games. He worried about the appearance of Duke students bullying a Carolina baby.

“He gave me a $20 bill and told me to fix it,” Baum said. “So I, just cracking up the entire time, went to the Duke store after the game, when it was packed, and tried onesies on the baby doll.”

Once satisfied he had averted any PR crises, Baum made sure the baby appeared for the rest of the season. He passed it down to a line monitor in the class below him, who did the same after her own graduation. Over the years, the sign with the “O” eventually disappeared, and line monitors found new ways to involve the baby in Crazie traditions. Baum soon lost track of the lineage.

“Every time I come back, every time the baby makes it on TV, it’s always fun to see what’s happening,” Baum said. “The students have come up with great things to do that I had no part in.”

“Everytime We Touch” also made its first appearance in Cameron in 2006. Once the band decided to play the German pop song and American nightclub hit, Crazies quickly caught

“We would swipe every third card or so backwards,” Baum explained, “so that when the fire marshal came and said, ‘It’s too full’ ... we were still way under capacity.”

‘Our team’

Not much has changed in Section 17 since Baum and the baby’s birth. Athletics replaced the bleachers, getting the cheapest ones they could find. Cheaper bleachers were narrower, and they fit two extra rows in the same space. The traditions begun by the Boggers are staples in a choreographed attack each game, led by the students painted blue. They still don’t sit, even if only for the fact that there isn’t room.

While dirt sheets are now comprehensive, the Crazies still have their spontaneous moments. After Reed’s daughter, Erika Pietrzak, was thrown out of a 2024 game against Notre Dame, her classmates began chanting “FREE BANANA,” in reference to the fruit-themed costume she always wore to games. The rigor of tenting also allows for more collaboration with the program; Sion James and Stanley Borden, along with Krzyzewski’s daughter Debbie Savarino, were the judges for the firstever K-Ville talent show. While the relationship looks different now than when Krzyzewski had the Boggers at his house for backyard barbecues, the two rely on each other.

“I always refer to them as ‘our team,’” Krzyzewski said of the Crazies.

Peters, Dipierro’s roommate, was with her in the rafters that rainy night when the Crazies slept inside Cameron. In their four years, the two tented together, heckled behind the opponents bench together, attended “The Shot” game in Philadelphia and witnessed their team bring home a national championship while standing on their home court.

Peters passed away in 2017 due to cancer, and Dipierro began collecting photos and recalling memories. She realized that nearly all of them had a common theme: Duke basketball. She wrote down her memories with Peters and their time in Cameron Indoor and Krzyzewskiville, and she sent an email of gratitude to Krzyzewski.

“We remember your talks before the Carolina games, sleeping in the rafters at Cameron in the pouring rain and the two national championships, watching them on the big screen in Cameron,” Dipierro said she wrote in the letter. “I don’t have her anymore to do that with, but I have those memories that we made together, and they were all possible because of Duke basketball.”

Krzyzewski wrote back. “We always respond,” he said. “Duke basketball and the Duke student body are one.”

rowdy and

edge … sort of like the vanguard of the escalation of the Cameron Crazies.”

Courtesy of Cathy Dipierro

Courtesy of Dan Baum

Courtesy of Dan Baum

Crystal Han, Staff Photographer

BOTTOM RIGHT: Khedron Mims , founder of Rivals Barbershop, poses inside his shop.

‘Bring barbering to basketball’: A look inside Rivals Barbershop, a Durham hub for all Tobacco Road Rivalry fans

By Ranjan Jindal Sports Editor

When a customer walks into Rivals Barbershop, they are surrounded by North Carolina college basketball.

The entire floor of the shop is modeled as a hardwood basketball court. The lane on either side highlights two of the biggest rivalries in the state. Duke and North Carolina blues split the paint closest to the door, while the opposite side is taken up by the Aggie gold of N.C. A&T and Durham’s own N.C. Central maroon.

The wall sports five North Carolina-shaped placards, each with the logo and colors of one of the four teams above plus N.C. State. A mini basketball hoop hangs from the top of a closet door, and every barber chair features the Rivals logo: The outlines of two basketball players — one colored in Duke blue, one in North Carolina blue — jumping for an opening tip.

On the far wall, a backboard is adorned with signatures of frequent Rivals customers and supporters of the shop. But the biggest signature is inscribed on the floor; LeVelle Moton, longtime N.C. Central basketball head coach and frequent customer of Rivals, is the court’s namesake.

It’s a lot to take in, but owner Khedron Mims meant it this way.

“I just didn’t want to go with any other form,” he told The Chronicle. “I was like, ‘let’s make it feel real.’ I wanted to put the chairs alongside so every seat is courtside.”

‘An ultimate experience’

This location, opened on Durham’s 727 N. Mangum Street in 2020, is the second Rivals Barbershop. Mims opened the first one in 2010 on N.C. 98 Highway, but wanted to be closer to downtown Durham and both universities.

Mims worked at and opened various barber shops throughout his lifetime. Years in the business made him realize he should open one focused on basketball.

“I noticed that customers would talk about UNC and Duke all the time … like every time they came to get their hair cut,” Mims said.

At Mims’ first shop, Changing Faces, Mims and customer Patrick Douthit, the

Grammy-winning producer known as 9th Wonder, noticed how much people talked about basketball and started hosting Duke vs. North Carolina watch parties. Douthit is currently a Duke faculty member in the Department of African and African American studies.

“I had visualized one day putting a basketball court in a barber shop and making it an ultimate experience for people to come have a good time,” Mims said. “I kind of wanted to bring barbering to basketball and sports.”

So, he got to work, and through a multi-year process, created the barber shop that flourishes today. Durham Mayor Pro Tempore Mark-Anthony Middleton gave Mims the idea to name the store “Rivals,” and the catchy branding and iconic logo became an instant hit.

The community has responded, as big names from both sides of the rivalry took notice of Mims. From North Carolina, Rivals’ customers include Armando Bacot, Kenny Smith Jr. and TJ Logan, while Chris Carrawell and Amile Jefferson come in from Duke.

Mims’ barbers include Nicholas Bailey, a selfdescribed “basketball savant,” who grew up playing multiple sports and living around the rivalry. The rivalry runs through his family; Bailey’s dad (and customer) worked at Duke Hospital and staffed North Carolina basketball and football games.

“[My dad’s] birthday is actually a couple weeks before the game,” Bailey said. “It’s kind of been like our little tradition. I think he passed that down to me unintentionally, the love of sports.

As a “die-hard Tar Heel fan,” Bailey’s favorite rivalry memories are former North Carolina sharpshooter Danny Green dunking on Greg Paulus and Tyler Hansborough’s bloody nose — both infamous moments in local basketball circles.

At Rivals, he enjoys the social aspect of barbering; cutting hair is an opportunity to engage with his home state and people of all ages.

“It gives a sense of like old school meets new school, and it bridges the gap in the community of Durham,” Bailey said. “The barber shop in general has always been a place … to come and talk sports. Shoot the breeze about who the best player in the league is, the upcoming stars, the youth. And

it’s just a safe place and a safe zone for the whole community.”

The Duke-North Carolina tilt is, however, not the only rivalry highlighted at Rivals. With N.C. Central and N.C. A&T — the two biggest historically Black colleges and universities in the state — only 55 miles apart, there is no love lost between the Eagles and Aggies. The two teams’ colors are represented throughout the shop as well; an N.C. Central jersey hangs on the wall. By naming the court after Moton — N.C. Central’s head coach — Mims rewards all that Moton has done for Durham.

Bailey attended A&T for some time before pursuing a full-time career in barbering. Beyond the rivalry is pride; the comradery of HBCU fans watching others succeed.

“Being an AfricanAmerican myself … It’s a beautiful thing to see people that look just like you, day to day trying to achieve their goals, whatever that may be like,” Bailey said.

Mims’ passion for service comes back to barbering. A three-row bookshelf — with everything from children’s books, the Black experience in America and sports history — stands immediately upon entry to the shop. Rivals partnered with the Durham Literacy Center to focus on building habits of reading and literacy amongst the Durham youth. At Rivals, children can read biographies of famous African Americans, like Nelson Mandela and Jackie Robinson, or “The Giant Book of Questions and Answers” while waiting to get their hair cut.

Mentorship is personal to Mims; while he was surrounded by friends who got into trouble growing up, he found mentors who changed his life and supported him to pursue barbering school. He wants to pass that down to others.

The rivalry is just so strong, it’s just so competitive and it’s so allegiant to this great state of North Carolina

Khedron Mims Owner of Rivals Barbershop

‘What Durham means to me’

Barbering isn’t the only way Mims brings people together. As a lifelong songwriter, Mims used music as an outlet during COVID-19 when his shop was closed to express his feelings about his hometown.

In 2022, Mims wrote “Bull City Anthem,” an upbeat, inspiring song about the promise of Durham. He wanted to write a song that people “could all join in.” The music video features Durham youth, business owners and even Mayor Leonardo Williams.

“I just think our culture here is a different from other cities. We’ve had issues here in our city with gun violence, and I just didn’t want that to overshadow what Durham means to me,” Mims said.

His next venture, a documentary called “Bull City Turnaround,” focuses on those who have had a past dealing drugs and have changed their life trajectory. Many of them were formerly incarcerated, and Mims wants to tell “the story of transformation.” Just like with the song, he is working with Durham leaders on the project. It is set to be released in spring 2025.

“I love to give kids opportunities to sweep up here where we’re able to pour into them and give them some mentorship,” Mims said. “There’s so many impactful individuals that they can bump into and they can see success. They might not be experiencing success at home or in their neighborhoods, but if they come in here, we’ll say, ‘Hey, man, what do you think about this? What’s your dream? What are you doing next?’”

At Rivals, each patron is treated with care and respect, and customers have a brotherly relationship with the barbers, including Mims himself. He was introduced to the rivalry by growing up and watching Michael Jordan, making him an avid Tar Heels fan. But his favorite part about the rivalry is the community, the theme behind his business.

“The rivalry is just so strong, it’s just so competitive and it’s so allegiant to this great state of North Carolina,” Mims said. “It gives a lot of people joy and something to look forward to. I don’t think anybody has anything like we do as far as basketball here in the cities of Durham and Chapel Hill.”

No matter which side they are on, customers walk out of Rivals Barbershop with a fresh cut, a smile and maybe a new friend or mentor. Inside this small shop on the corner of N. Mangum Street, the Duke-North Carolina rivalry can be a force for good.

up-and-down. If you zoom out, his whole coaching career has been.

In 2021-22, North Carolina had exactly two ranked wins and was a bubble team until a fivegame win streak to close the regular season secured a berth. It escaped a 25-point blown lead in the Round of 32 against Baylor and failed to escape a 16-point blown lead in the title game against Kansas. Both of the Tar Heels’ runs, once to secure a tournament spot and the other in the tournament itself, rested on abnormally good shooting from Caleb Love and Brady Manek, the likes of which neither has come close to replicating.

The following season, Davis’ Tar Heels were preseason No. 1 with four returning starters and highly sought-after transfer forward Pete Nance. They went 20-13, lost to Duke twice and missed the tournament, the first time a preseason No. 1 team was excluded since 1985.

North Carolina bounced back in 2023-24 by securing a No. 1 seed in the tournament with a National Player of the Year contender in RJ Davis and an elite supporting cast, won the ACC regular season title and took down Duke twice. Even still, the Tar Heels exited in the Sweet 16 to No. 4-seed Alabama as the Blue Devils upset No. 1-seed Houston and made it to the Elite Eight with an inferior roster and no true center.

And finally we arrive at 2024-25, where the Tar Heels are yet again an enigma: unranked, 13-8, on the bubble, winning games they should lose and losing games they should win.

This backslide boils down to a few factors, many of which are Davis’ responsibility. For one, he failed to sufficiently refresh the roster.

The gaping hole left by Armando Bacot in the post was not filled last offseason and has gotten bigger as teams exploit it. Davis’ production has decreased since 2023-24. North Carolina has all the tools to compete with the best of them on the recruiting trail, but Davis’ recruits have largely underwhelmed, with Seth Trimble not taking enough of a leap in production to compensate for the loss of Harrison Ingram and Elliot Cadeau remaining a complete non-factor on the perimeter. Ian Jackson has been great as a freshman and Drake Powell has been serviceable, but neither have set the team on fire the way Duke’s cohort of Cooper Flagg, Khaman Maluach and Kon Knueppel have this year.

Davis’ scheming, preparation and in-game management have also been subpar. North Carolina sits 156th nationally in rebound margin, 297th in scoring defense and 88th in assist-to-turnover ratio this year. While scoring can come in spurts and often

relies on players’ individual performances, defense, rebounding, playmaking and turnovers are more coachable aspects that translate between games. Duke, with a similarly competitive schedule to the Tar Heels, sits eighth, fifth and 10th in those respective metrics.

This isn’t to say the Blue Devils are perfect, but it is illustrative of a more comprehensive plan on Scheyer’s end to build a balanced roster and instill a cohesive playing philosophy.

Scheyer’s three recruiting classes so far have sat first, second and first nationally, with another topranked class on the way in 2025-26. Each is wellbalanced, mixing high-volume scorers like Knueppel, Kyle Filipowski or Jared McCain with high-upside defenders like Tyrese Proctor, Maluach or Dereck Lively II. Each team has had flaws, as any does — Scheyer’s inaugural team lacked explosiveness, his second team lacked a dominant post player (Filipowski is a natural forward) and his 2024-25 team has a tendency to start slow — but by years’ end he has consistently amended those flaws.

Despite a fraught 2022-23 campaign, Scheyer still found a way to win the ACC Tournament and close the season on a 10-game winning run. His team’s exit from the NCAA Tournament to Tennessee in the Round of 32, by players’ own admission, helped it become tougher, resulting in an Elite Eight run through a grind-it-out, physical win against Houston. In just his third year, as a direct result from the faults of his first and second, Scheyer has put together arguably the best squad in the nation with a realistic path to a championship.

That improvement has coincided with Scheyer’s development as an in-game coach, with more proactive substitutions, extended minutes for players on hot streaks and ruthless lineup changes that better combat the strengths of Duke’s opponents. ***

I don’t think Davis has underperformed because he hasn’t won The Big One. I think he has underperformed because his programbuilding is lagging.

If recruits don’t develop year-to-year in a large enough capacity to fill the shoes of departed upperclassmen, if defensive efficiency is lagging and his players are wasteful with the ball, that’s a sign that the coach isn’t doing what he needs to. Scheyer isn’t perfect, but it’s clear that his recruiting, in-game management, approach to roster construction and development of talent is improving.

Matchups between Duke and North Carolina always matter, but this year more than most, the game is a point of inflection between perpendicular lines. The upward slope belongs to Scheyer, the downward slope to Davis.

If the Blue Devils dominate as their resume says they should, it will be as much a kudos to Scheyer’s growth as an admonition of his rival’s lack thereof.

of the game, he got switched onto Lowe after a ball screen. The shifty sophomore danced sideto-side trying to find a way past Maluach, but had to settle for a pass down low after James came to help. After swift rotation by the other Blue Devils, Maluach immediately closed in on Cameron Corhen in the post and forced a bad miss moments later.

“He’s a little bit of a unicorn, right?” Scheyer said postgame. “Because you want to keep him at the rim and protect, but we’ve known from the beginning he can move his feet. And even if you get by him as a guard, even if you get a step, you still have a 7-foot-2 guy that can move in timing that’s coming to chase after your shot.”

The final piece of Duke’s juggernaut defense is its ability to recover when it does make a mistake. Just as the Blue Devils do on ball screens, defenders often switch when their man gains an advantage. In other words, offensive players work hard to get past the 6-foot-6 Tyrese Proctor, only to be matched up with Flagg.

That is exactly what happened to Auburn guard Denver Jones in Cameron Indoor Stadium Dec. 4. Jones used a well-timed screen to get past Proctor and into the paint, but he made the crucial mistake of driving on Flagg. While the 6-foot-4, 205-pound senior does not lack for strength, he tried to muscle the ball through Flagg’s chest on his way to the hoop. This allowed the savvy freshman to poke the ball out of his hands, leading to an and-one dunk from James that gave Duke a massive influx of momentum.

Plays like this most often happens when an offensive player picks up their dribble. With the ball dead, or unable to be dribbled, the Blue

Devils will press even further into coverage, effectively sealing gaps airtight. As the shot clock begins to run inside 15, then 10 seconds, the offense can get desperate. More often than steals, Duke forces shot attempts with little to no chance of going in. Yet again, the team’s length helps ensure it gets the rebound.

Brown, the Blue Devils’ Swiss Army knife, has barely been mentioned to this point. He is currently sidelined with an injury, but the 6-foot-9 Syracuse transfer showcased his defensive prowess throughout the beginning of Duke’s season. Brown takes every defensive principle to an extreme, hounding guards and bigs alike and repeatedly poking the ball away.

“Maliq, he does so much for a team without necessarily putting up numbers in the box score,” Scheyer said after the team’s win against Virginia Tech. “To have him and Khaman as this onetwo punch defensively, they’re so different, but they’re both still so impactful.”

With or without Brown, the Blue Devils have made lives difficult for opposing offenses. The effect of Duke’s gap integrity, length and switching compounds over the course of a game, especially if shots are not going in early. Offensive struggles take their toll physically, but also mentally wear on teams unable to find a spark plug. Fatigue eventually leads to poor decision-making, which the Blue Devils are ready to capitalize on.

Duke has only grown on offense as the season has worn on, and its scoring is beginning to rival its ability to get a stop. That does not make the Blue Devils unbeatable — Kentucky and Kansas proved that in November — but it does not put them high on a coach’s list of desired opponents either.

A great defense may not be as flashy as a high-flying offense, but ask any coach and they will tell you: It is every bit as beautiful.

Wanyu Zhang | Features Photography Editor Maliq Brown blocks a shot attempt from George Mason.

BATTLE-TESTED BLUE DEVILS SOAR IN ACC PLAY

By Dom Fenoglio

FRESHMAN NERVES

The Blue Devils’ exceptionally young roster learned some tough lessons early on in the season, as both of Duke’s two losses this season came before freshman Cooper Flagg’s 18th birthday. Against then-No. 17 Kentucky Nov. 12, Duke — without Sion James and Khaman Maluach down the stretch — hung around in a tied game with 1:14 to play. However, Flagg lost two key turnovers in the final 15 seconds that sealed a 77-72 defeat. Two weeks later against then-No. 1 Kansas, Flagg again faltered down the stretch, and fellow rookie Kon Knueppel could not successfully convert on an opportunity to take the lead with three seconds remaining. After the losses, Duke was in dire need of an offensive spark coming out of Feast Week.

WIN OF THE YEAR

Luckily for the Blue Devils, freshman Isaiah Evans lit Cameron Indoor on fire just a few games later against then-No. 2 Auburn. The Fayetteville, N.C., native connected on six firsthalf 3-pointers against the Tigers after not seeing the court against the Wildcats or Jayhawks. Even though Evans cooled down in the second half, Duke finished the game shooting 50% from the field and 40.9% from deep. Syracuse transfer Maliq Brown was crucial in containing All-American Johni Broome, and Flagg paced the Blue Devils with 22 points. In the end, Duke did not need any final-second theatrics, as a few key shots from junior Tyrese Proctor helped secure a 84-78 victory.

ROAD TEST IN LOUISVILLE

Riding high from the victory against Auburn, the Blue Devils immediately had to turn around and hit the road to take on Louisville. After losing its ACC road opener against Georgia Tech last season, Duke left no doubts against the Cardinals. A slow start — including a 14-point deficit — saw the Blue Devils head into the halftime locker room trailing by four, but they found another gear on both ends of the court in the second half. Duke shot 55.2% from the field in the final 20 minutes while holding Louisville to just 30.8% shooting. That combination led to a dominant 76-65 finish in a win that is looking better and better.

COASTING THROUGH THE CONFERENCE

Since then, the Blue Devils have kept it rolling. The Cardinals were the first of five straight ACC teams to lose to Duke by double digits, and both SMU and Pittsburgh lost by more than 25. Notre Dame was the first team to get back within 10 against the Blue Devils, but an ACC freshman record 42 points from Flagg kept Duke’s conference sheet spotless. Despite losing Brown to injury, the Blue Devils have continued to stifle the opposition while lighting up the scoreboard.

VS.

Riding a four game winning streak, the Tar Heels hosted Stanford in the first-ever conference matchup between the two teams on Jan. 18. A close first half ended in a one-point halftime lead for North Carolina, but Jaylen Blakes and Maxime Raynaud both had double figures at the break. And it was Blakes — a Duke transfer — who sealed the game for Stanford, running the length of the floor and hitting a pull up jumper over Trimble for the game winner as the Cardinal won, 72-71. UNC then traveled to take on Wake Forest. After falling behind by 10, North Carolina attempted a comeback, but it was too little, too late. The Tar Heels fell, 67-66, marking the first time since 1968 that UNC lost back-to-back games by one point.

STANFORD AND WAKE FOREST

UCLA

North Carolina’s schedule didn’t get any easier. The Tar Heels fell into a three-game losing skid. After staging a 21-point, second-half comeback against Dayton in the first round of the Maui Invitational in November, the Tar Heels finished the tournament 1-2. UNC fell to then-No. 4 Auburn and came up short in overtime to Michigan State. In all three games, North Carolina fell into doubledigit deficits in the first half and mounted furious comebacks. Only one comeback succeeded. UNC returned to Chapel Hill for the ACC/SEC Challenge in December, taking on then-No. 10 Alabama. The Tar Heels were slaughtered, 94-79. Facing the tenth toughest schedule in the nation according to KenPom, North Carolina came away with zero Quad 1 wins through this stretch. In December, North Carolina finally earned that elusive Quad 1 win. But it didn’t look like the Tar Heels would pull through. UNC committed 11 first-half turnovers. The team also fell behind early, shooting 37.5 percent from the field in the first half. The same trends continued into the last 20 minutes. After falling behind by 16 points in the second quarter, the Tar Heels went on a run with just over 12 minutes remaining. UNC outscored UCLA 33-15 in the remaining minutes, snapping the Bruins’ nine-game winning streak. The match marked first-year guard Ian Jackson’s breakout game. The guard scored a thenseason-best 24 points. He went 8-13 from the field and recorded four rebounds. The game ignited Jackson, and the first-year scored 20 or more points in six of the next seven games.

NON-CONFERENCE WOES

Preseason No. 9 UNC traveled to Allen Fieldhouse in November, where a then top-ranked Kansas awaited. The Jayhawks dominated in the first half. Hunter Dickinson exposed North Carolina’s size disadvantage on his way to scoring 20 points. At half-time, the Tar Heels faced a 15-point deficit, unearthing familiar feelings of the 2022 national championship game. Cue the second half comeback. The trio of North Carolina veteran guards — graduate RJ Davis, junior Seth Trimble and sophomore Elliot Cadeau — rallied to each contribute double-digit points. As time expired, Cadeau missed a 3-pointer with a chance to tie it in front of UNC’s bench. The Tar Heels showed flashes of the team they could be.

COMING UP SHORT IN FIRST TEST

By Caroline Wills, Emma Moon and Matthew Maynard

CAROLINA THROUGH DIFFICULT SCHEDULE

INCONSISTENCY STUNTS

For North Carolina to leave Durham with its best win of the season over No. 2 Duke, everything will have to go right — from the guards to the bigs to the coaching. And despite these rivalry games always ending up close, especially when you least expect it, North Carolina likely won’t be able to keep up.

However, UNC can’t just rely on him. Recently, first-year guard Ian Jackson has served as a litmus test for the Tar Heels. When he plays well, and scores more than 18 points, UNC has won all but one game. Jackson’s shot selection and poise will need to be near perfect against a talented Duke team.

Despite Davis’ shooting struggles this season, he will still be a key piece in this matchup. If Davis can find his footing — in a place where he scored just nine points last season — the Tar Heels have a chance at keeping it close.

The Blue Devils present a plethora of problems for the Tar Heels. Duke’s roster is riddled with top-ranked talents and projected first round NBA Draft picks that all pose a matchup nightmare for UNC. But, North Carolina graduate guard RJ Davis has been here before. He’s been on a team with its back against the wall, needing a big time win at Cameron Indoor Stadium against the Blue Devils. He’s been on a team that’s gotten it done — and one that hasn’t.

Tar Heels won’t survive this trip to Durham.

Ian Jackson receiving extra defensive attention, the

UNC is entering Cameron Indoor Stadium outsized and outmatched. Duke is on a tear. The Blue Devils are undefeated in the ACC and on a 13-game win streak. North Carolina’s eight losses in its first 20 games are its most since the 2019-20 season. Now, the Tar Heels are 13-8 and 6-3 in ACC play. It’s no secret North Carolina has a size problem. The tallest player — junior forward Jalen Washington — stands at 6-foot-10. Duke has not only height, but an abundance of talent in the frontcourt. The average height of its roster is 6-foot-7. It’s an edge the Blue Devils will exploit on Saturday. Ultimately, this matchup is going to come down to whether the UNC guards make shots — and do so often enough to keep up with Duke’s highpowered offensive weapons. And with graduate RJ Davis still facing shooting struggles and first-year

By Matthew Maynard Assistant Sports Editor

Otherwise, it’s looking pretty bleak.

4 in the nation — the best defensive team UNC has played so far. Although the Tar Heels had a second-half comeback that ultimately fell short, they trailed by as much as 20 in the first half. Even with an improbable second half comeback, it still wasn’t enough. So, it’s hard to say what the Tar Heels need to overcome the Blue Devils when they lead in almost every major statistical category, but UNC needs to be firing on all cylinders and rely on the magic that somehow makes these rivalry games close.

Earlier this season, North Carolina lost to Kansas, 92-89. The Jayhawk defense ranks No.

Along with having multiple offensive weapons, this year’s Duke team is a defensive powerhouse. The Blue Devils rank No. 3 in the nation in defense, according to KenPom. They hold opponents to an average of 59.3 points per game and are the tallest team in the nation. Duke is in the top-30 for overall rebounds while UNC ranks 89th.

Sports Editor

By Caroline Wills

DTH sports editors predict a double-digit UNC loss

between plays during a close game against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse

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It’s do or die. DTH FILE/HEATHER

Isaiah Denis and Derek Dixon — but right now, winning is what matters.

Sure, it helps that he landed five-star forward Caleb Wilson in the 2025 class — along with other top recruits

Questions surrounding Hubert Davis’ job security have already been swirling this season, but a win over Duke would calm all those nerves.

The bigger question for Head Coach Hubert Davis’ squad is the height matchup down low. After having multiple seasons to find a replacement for Armando Bacot who graduated last year, Hubert Davis failed to find a true successor. While he was adamant in the preseason about not missing out on any bigs in the portal and that he was happy with his roster, it’s come back to haunt him. The Tar Heels rank No. 89 in rebounds per game, far from what is typically expected of a UNC team. So, against a Duke team that features 6-foot-9 Cooper Flagg and 7-foot-2 Khaman Maluach, junior forwards Jalen Washington and VenAllen Lubin have the chance to prove everyone wrong. Or right.

The Tar Heels lost Heading into Duke and relying on a first-year who has never played in one of the most storied rivalries is not ideal.

But problems arise for Carolina when he doesn’t shoot well. Against Stanford and Wake Forest, Jackson scored six and seven points respectively.

his elite senior season, or his struggles in his final year in Chapel Hill? Meanwhile, it looked like all of Cadeau and Trimble’s offseason work had paid off in UNC’s seasonopening win against Elon. The pair combined for 32 points and, along with RJ Davis, helped put the game away in the closing minutes. But after Trimble missed three games with a concussion, he looks hesitant. Cadeau’s outside shot hasn’t gotten to where it he needs to be. He’s hitting on just 29.4 percent, which is close to an 11 percent increase from last season. There’s one player that’s lived up to the hype — Jackson. After spending most of the early season coming in as a substitute, Jackson earned his place in the starting lineup during Trimble’s absence. He’s been on a tear since then.

ACC Player of the Year award, it begs the question: will people remember

And although his jersey will forever hang in the rafters after last season’s

help UNC win when they need it most.

In his last Duke game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, RJ Davis has the chance to do what he’s done before:

42.8 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from beyond the arc.

But RJ Davis has struggled. The reigning ACC Player of the Year has averaged just over 39 percent from the field and is hitting only 29.5 percent of his 3-pointers. His average last season?

Seth Trimble and first-year guard Ian Jackson were slated to be one of the best backcourts in the country.

RJ Davis, along with sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau, junior guard

Entering the season, North Carolina ranked as the No. 9 team in the country.

The Tar Heels had high expectations entering this season with returning All-American graduate guard RJ Davis and after bringing in two top-15 recruits. They haven’t lived up to the hype at all. The lack of a true inside presence hasn’t helped either. And now, the Tar Heels have their backs against the wall.

On Saturday, North Carolina has the chance to tally its best win of the season as it travels to take on Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

After a difficult non-conference schedule featuring five top-25 matchups, the Tar Heels wanted to enter ACC play on a better note. And for a while, it looked like they found their groove. But back-to-back losses to Stanford and Wake Forest added yet another blemish to UNC’s already battered NCAA resume. UNC has just one Quad 1 win in eight games and one Quad 2 loss so far. And for a team that is sitting on the bubble for the NCAA tournament, this upcoming game against Duke is do or die.

North Carolina men’s basketball is in a do-or-die situation Do or die. It’s the theme of this year’s rivalry issue, but it’s also the theme of UNC’s season entering its first matchup with No. 2 Duke.

Assistant Sports Editor sports@dailytarheel.com

By Matthew Maynard

Head Coach Hubert Davis hugs UNC then-sophomore

DTH FILE/HEATHER DIEHL

UNC graduate guard RJ Davis (4) pauses

on Nov. 8, 2024. UNC lost 92-89.

DUKE 82 — UNC 67

By Emma Moon

Assistant Sports Editor

DUKE 72 — UNC 61

DUKE 78 — UNC 63

DTH/ANNA CONNORS

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Overall: A X: dthsports@

Brown’s injury is a huge blow to the team’s depth, as he was averaging just under 18 minutes per game. But forward Mason Gillis, who averages over 14 minutes, will see an increased role in Brown’s absence. The bench backcourt duo of Foster and Evans will need to step up for the Blue Devils. Both guards are talented scorers that lack consistency, but if either can find their rhythm, Duke’s bench unit might become even scarier.

Bench: B+

The duo help elevate the rotation to one of the best in the country.

Proctor and James make up the starting backcourt, giving the lineup playmaking and perimeter shooting.

While the Blue Devils have three first-years in the starting lineup with Flagg, Knueppel and Maluach, don’t take their inexperience for weakness. The trio is one of the best starting frontcourt combinations in the nation, averaging over a combined 40 points per game — more than half of Duke’s average scoring output.

Starters: A

Evans, but the players must become more consistent to increase the backcourt’s production.

Caleb Foster and first-year Isaiah

Tulane transfer, Sion James, has been a pleasant surprise, averaging over three assists per game and shooting over 37 percent from three.

Guard Tyrese Proctor leads the way for the Blue Devils’ backcourt, averaging almost 11 points per game and shooting just under 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Backcourt: B+

National Player of the Year, giving the Blue Devils one of the best frontcourt players in the country. The Blue Devils run through Flagg, but their other two first-years, Knueppel and Maluach, bolster Duke’s formidable frontcourt.

First-year, and potential future first-overall pick, Flagg has led the way for the Blue Devils. Flagg leads the team in points, rebounds and assists per game, while also being an elite defender. The forward is the odds-on favorite to win

Two words: Cooper Flagg.

Frontcourt: A+

team’s rim protection.

Khaman Maluach to improve the

Devils must rely on 7-foot-2 center

The addition of All-ACC defender forward Maliq Brown has bolstered Duke’s defensive tenacity, with Brown averaging two stocks a game. However, while Brown is out with a knee injury, the Blue

37 percent from the field, coming in at fifth best in the country.

While the offense runs through Duke’s frontcourt, Proctor and James help maintain Duke’s scoring attack. The Blue Devils have talent off the bench with sophomore

While the team’s offense has been effective thus far, Duke’s defensive prowess has been the main story.

Defense: A+

Another first-year, forward Kon Knueppel, is averaging 12.8 points per game, providing the Blue Devils with another go-to scoring option.

First-year forward Cooper Flagg leads the way, averaging over 19 points and four assists per game.

Offense: A Duke boasts one of the most efficient offenses, ranking sixth in the country. Ball distribution is a big part of the Blue Devils’ offense, averaging over 17 assists per game, which is the 14th most in college basketball. But Duke’s offensive talent is what separates them from the rest.

As UNC prepares for its game against Duke in February, here are letter grades for each aspect of the team over halfway into the season:

Over two months into the season, the Blue Devils are 17-2 and sit atop the ACC with an undefeated conference record.

The No. 2 Duke men’s basketball team may be the best in the country.

sports@dailytarheel.com

Staff Writer

By Brian D’Aguanno

The Blue Devils allow 59.3 points per game, which is third best in the nation. Opposing teams shoot just

Blue Devils boast efficient offense and defense

Despite youth, Duke’s balanced roster dominates the ACC

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Overall: C+

Tar Heels prepare for a must-win game against the Blue Devils, the bench’s production is a cause for concern.

North Carolina’s bench has shown flashes of potential with Withers and junior forward VenAllen Lubin, but has remained somewhat inconsistent. UNC’s bench only averages 23.38 points per game and ranks 135th in the nation. The bench’s overall contribution has been limited, putting additional pressure on the starting lineup to carry the load. As the

Bench: C+

North Carolina’s starting lineup has seen some shifts throughout the season, and has just recently found some sort of stability. Firstyear guard Drake Powell replaced graduate forward Jae’Lyn Withers in the lineup against Alabama in December and has remained in that role since. Powell averages 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Jackson replaced junior guard Seth Trimble in the lineup against Campbell in December, as Trimble was suffering from an upper-body injury. Jackson has since held onto his spot in the starting five. Despite these early adjustments, the overall core of UNC’s lineup remains largely unchanged, with veterans such as Davis, Washington and sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau anchoring the squad. So far, the trio has averaged a combined 35 points per game.

Starters: B

Despite this, UNC has started to lean on its defensive blocks. The team has 82 blocks for an average of four per game. They have mostly been handled by junior center Jalen Washington, who leads the team with 24. His most notable block came at the end of North Carolina’s game against N.C. State to secure UNC’s 63-61 win. Duke is ranked No. 6 in the nation in scoring defense. If the Tar Heels want to compete against the Blue Devils, they will need to step up defensively.

Defense: C The defense continues to be North Carolina’s Achilles’ heel, allowing 76.4 points per game. A big contributor to the defensive disparity is the team’s inability to rebound. UNC ranked 89th in total rebounds and No. 265 in offensive rebounding in the country.

The offense struggled to find a consistent rhythm at the start of the season but has found its tempo more recently. UNC is ranked No. 29 in the nation, averaging 82.5 points per game.

Offense: B

ACC test of the year, let’s look at how UNC has fared this season.

So before facing the toughest

UNC could be on the bubble of NCAA tournament selection.

North Carolina is 1-4 against ranked opponents this season. While it seemed like the Tar Heels were figuring things out during a four-game winning streak, UNC suffered its only Quad 2 defeat of the season against Stanford in a one-point loss. And in February, the Tar Heels will be tested again against the No. 2 team in the nation. But this time, it’s not just a ranked opponent on the court — it’s UNC’s biggest rival, Duke. And this year the Tobacco Road rivalry has more at stake than just crowning the “better blue.”

Heels have failed to meet them.

No. 9 in the pre-season — the Tar

Although there were high expectations for UNC — who ranked

By Shannen Horan Staff Writer

Graduate guard RJ Davis has been a key player throughout his five years at UNC, but he’s been underperforming during his final season. Despite averaging around 17 points per game, he hasn’t been playing at the same caliber as previous seasons. He recorded a season-low seven points against California in January. Compared to last season, his 3-point percentage is down by over 10 percent, and he’s averaging almost four less points per game. This has allowed first-year guard Ian Jackson to step up. Jackson has already cemented himself in North Carolina’s record books by becoming the first Tar Heel to score 23 or more points in four straight games in his first season. Additionally, Jackson’s 20 points against California pushed him to record 159 points in the last seven games. The total is one shy from tying the UNC scoring record for a first-year in seven straight games, which was set by Tyler Hansbrough in 2005-06. Jackson averages 15 points per game. With Davis underperforming, the Tar Heels have shot under 33 percent from behind the arc.

sports@dailytarheel.com North Carolina’s

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Photos courtesy of Wany Jiang, Alex Long and Nicole Nie.

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Photos courtesy of Cassidy Toy Reynolds, Nate Skvoretz and Viyada Soukthavone.

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“You grow up in [North Carolina], and it’s like you are taught to be either a Duke or a UNC fan.”

“Rivalries are historic, and they have gone back for years and years,” May said.

From volleyball to wrestling to tennis, games against Duke always have a deeper meaning.

“It’s obviously iconic,” redshirt junior Lachlan McNeil said. “There’s a little bit more emphasis, when we wrestle Duke, on making sure we get bonus points and showing dominance. The rivalry alone spurs us on to really kind of push in these duels.” Understanding and appreciating the competitive nature of UNC and Duke across sports is important in building context to the stories of the historic rivalry.

The mindset of wrestlers changes when facing off against Duke. In such a heated match, preparation and performance elevates.

This mentality permeates through other teams as well. The North Carolina men’s wrestling team has not lost to Duke since the 2015-16 season, meaning no current Tar Heel wrestler has ever lost to the Blue Devils.

team’s a lot more energetic and I think the whole atmosphere just changes a little bit because of how deep rooted it is.”

Tanguilig said. “The adrenaline definitely pumps for sure just because of the legacy of the rivalry and knowing you only have four years to do it. Definitely in those big moments you are a lot more locked in,

“It makes it a little bit more exciting,”

But still, there’s a different feeling associated with Duke matches.

Heels winning their last three matchups with the Blue Devils.

The UNC-Duke rivalry in women’s tennis has been one-sided recently, with the Tar

“The rivalry is strong, but we also know people on their team, so it was a mixture of respect but also knowing the rivalry runs deep,” women’s tennis senior Carson Tanguilig said. “At the end of the day, we want to be the better blue.”

Due to skill, location and scale of team, Behrendt said players that are getting recruited by UNC are also likely getting recruited by Duke. This can foster the rivalry before even stepping foot in Carmichael Arena.

Then, the Tar Heels won it, defeating the Blue Devils 3-2 and squashing Duke’s NCAA tournament hopes.

But then, UNC won four straight points to take a 25-24 set lead. May threw her arms into the air. Players at the net jumped in the air. The players watching from the bench slid onto the ground. After trading points, North Carolina eventually took the fourth set 28-26 to force a fifth.

The Tar Heels found themselves down 24-21 in the fourth set.

“Let’s just do what we can to keep them out of the tournament, try to crush their faith of having a postseason,” Behrendt said. “And we were like, let’s do it, one, because we don’t want them to play the postseason and two, because it’s Duke.”

In that match, UNC had one goal in mind.

Zoe Behrendt will never forget.

senior libero Maddy May and junior setter

However, the Tar Heels did not go down without a fight in the second matchup, ultimately defeating Duke, 3-2. It’s a match

In 2023, Duke took the first match, 3-1.

Blue Devils in 2024, they did not conquer this feat last season.

Although the volleyball team swept the

Since 2024, UNC has a 19-11 record over the Tobacco Road rival.

While men’s basketball oftentimes gets the majority of the attention, the rivalry holds meaning across every sport at North Carolina.

When people first think of the UNC-Duke rivalry, they most often think about men’s basketball. It is one of the most famous and legendary rivalries in the sports world.

By Brian D’Aguanno Staff Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

The infamous feud isn’t contained to just basketball season

DTH FILE/NATE SKVORETZ

UNC senior Carson Tanguilig strikes the ball during a singles match against Duke at Ambler Tennis Stadium on March 30, 2024. UNC won 4-1.

DTH FILE/VIYADA SOUKTHAVONE

UNC volleyball players celebrate a point together during the game against Duke on Oct. 4, 2024, at Carmichael Arena. UNC won 3-0.

and Sofia Szostczuk Staff Writer

I wish I could’ve done that. I think I only got one in Cameron. Kudos to him.

Pinson: I mean, just the intensity. It’s just a mutual respect between two schools. We all understand what goes into it. The fans are really into it. The game is just a little more loud than usual. You can play anybody else, and it’s loud, but you play Duke, it’s going to be rocking and there’s literally nothing like it. It’s just a different feeling. We always remember the wins, but we do remember the losses also — only [Tyler Hansbrough] is the one that got lucky and won all four in Cameron. That’s legendary. For him to do that, that’s elite.

DTH: You are currently hosting the podcast “Run Your Race” with AJ Richardson. In your conversations with former UNC players and coaches on the podcast, what have been your favorite stories you’ve heard about the UNC-Duke rivalry?

Pinson: Personally, my last one [in 2018] was probably the most fun just because it was a 50-50 split of fans, it kind of went back-and-forth and we ended up coming out on top and winning. It was my last game versus Duke, so you’re only as good as your last game, and I won it. I played pretty well in it too.

DTH: Do you have a favorite UNC-Duke game from your time on the team?

I honestly love the fact that we had it on days we go to class because they can see we’re regular people. I have to come [to class], and the teacher is looking at us like, “Big game tonight.” I’m like, “Oh, really? Duh.”

Pinson: It starts when you go to class, people kinda look at you like, “You got a big game today and you’re just in class like it’s nothing.” I’m like, “Bro, look, I’ve been playing basketball my whole life. This probably means more to you than me, honestly.” I’m going to go out there and do what I need to do to win this game.

DTH: What was it like walking onto the court for a rivalry game? What was the atmosphere and what were the emotions running through the tunnel, warming up for those games?

I’ve had in my life.

Pinson: One is going into Cameron Indoor Stadium and winning our regular season championship [in 2016]. That kind of boosted us to make a run to the national championship, but we ended up losing to Villanova unfortunately. That year, since that game, when we won in the Duke game — that run from there to the national championship was probably the most fun

DTH: Reliving your rivalry days, what are some of the moments that have stayed with you from those UNC-Duke games?

A lot of good times.

Best rivalry in sports. Never misses, regardless of what records are, what players are there. My last dunk in my senior year at home. So, just good times.

Theo Pinson: Battles. It never fails — the anticipation, build-up. Best college game.

The Daily Tar Heel: When I say UNC-Duke, what comes to mind?

Staff writer Anna Laible spoke with Pinson in late January ahead of the first UNC-Duke game of the year. This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

“Run Your Race” podcast host Theo Pinson — a 2017 national champion and one of 12 Tar Heels to play in two national title games — has experienced countless memorable UNC-Duke rivalry moments.

By Anna Laible Staff Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

You are sitting there a little antsy, waiting on the game to start and to get to the game, but it’s cool seeing everybody saying, “Good luck tonight,” and, “Get the win.” The buildup is always fun.

2017 national champion remembers notable games, campus atmosphere

Theo Pinson discusses UNC-Duke rivalry

DTH FILE/NATHAN KLIMA

UNC forward Theo Pinson (1) dunks the ball in the final seconds of UNC’s win over Duke on

Feb. 8, 2018, in the Dean E. Smith Center. UNC won 82-78.

X: anna_laible@

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID WELKER

forward Theo Pinson (1) strips the ball from

Trevon Duval (1) during

“Now it’s fun because we can walk around campus and see the players and just know way too much information about them.” - Legare

- senior Annika Socia

“We all had to take a pretty specific basketball test on all the players — obviously all their stats, but then random facts about them that includes a lot of stalking, like in-depth Instagram, TikTok, crazy stalking, which is a little weird.”

Tell me about the “tenting test.”

“There’s a lot of time to hangout with friends. We play card games. A lot of homework. Honestly just walking around this area, like we have A Boogie

What kind of activities do you do to pass the time while camping out?

“As fun as it is to hangout with other seniors, it’s annoying to be like, ‘Oh, I just had class. Time to sit in a cold tent for three hours.’” - senior Isabella DiMeo

What’s been the hardest part of this experience?

wit da Hoodie concert tonight, so I was checking that out. Just kind of messing around, I’d say.” - Piesman

“I’ve also never done it before and all of my friends were doing it. It’s senior year, so why not.” - senior Marianna Mavares

“This is my third time tenting, so I know how worth it is to be in Cameron for the UNC game. I just couldn’t lose that opportunity for my last year.” - senior Kareena Legare

“It’s part of the tradition. I think a lot of it is about this year specifically. We have an incredible team. Last year we lost to UNC twice, so this is like their revenge year. The team’s really good. UNC’s really bad. There’s that. No offense.” - first-year Sam Piesman

What made you want to camp out?

One tent even had a hand-made chicken coop with hay lying around to match the “Kon on the Cob” theme. Sitting between snow and empty boxes of booze are over 200 tents like these. The Crazies camp out for weeks through the cold and discomfort for a chance to watch one of the most anticipated games of the year. And here’s how they justify doing it:

“The Konfu Panda Dojo,” featuring characters from the movie but with players’ heads cropped onto them.

Speaking of decorations, there’s the “K-Ville Time KONnections” tent with the popular word game plastered outside of it. There was also

Looking onto the patches of grass outside Cameron Indoor Stadium, it’s clear Duke students in “K-Ville” love decorations, especially themed after Blue Devil first-year guard Kon Knueppel. Named after former Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski, K-Ville is the site where Blue Devils live in tents for the weeks leading up to the UNC-Duke game in Durham.

By Megan Smith Senior Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

How over 200 tents of students are passing time until Feb. 1

What is it like to camp in K-Ville?

WORD ON THE STREET

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“No,” Moore said. “We’ll meet you on Franklin Street.”

As masses of people began rushing out the Smith Center, Moore responded quickly.

“Do we rush the court?” Jackson asked.

Drake Powell and Ian Jackson sat in front of the roommates. At that moment, the pair knew more about the rivalry and its traditions than the players. Powell and Jackson will take the court for their first rivalry game on Saturday. In that moment, Jackson asked Sevier and Moore a question.

“I’m tired of them thinking they’re smarter,” Jones said. “I’m tired of them thinking they’re better at sports. I’m tired of this, that and the other. We are better. We are Carolina. We are the school.” And on that night and in that specific game, North Carolina proved it was better. As Sevier and Moore readied themselves to celebrate following the win, eventual first-year UNC players

But after what feels like years, the doors to the Smith Center finally opened. Sevier and Moore were the first students inside. The pair planted their feet on Roy Williams spots on the baseline. Whitley was also somewhere near the court. Jones sat in the upper level. And the rest was a blur.

Granola bars ahead of concession stand runs.

Then came the waiting outside the stadium and figuring out when to eat.

An RJ Davis 3-pointer here. An Armando Bacot dunk there. The players and bench hitting the “too small” over then-Duke center Kyle Filipowski all en route to a 93-84 victory over the Blue Devils. Although it’s hard to put the rivalry into words, Jones described it as a justification for everything. There’s pride on the line and history at stake. No one can understand the feeling unless they’re inside the arena.

Still, the conditions don’t hinder the anticipation.

Last year, then-junior Abby Moore’s excitement started four days ahead of the game when she saw nine numbers listed in a Microsoft Excel sheet. The sheet was created by Carolina Fever, an organization that provides students assured admission into the UNC-Duke game for attending different sporting events throughout the school year. It’s simple: The more sporting events a student goes to, the more points they earn. Moore hadn’t missed one game. The nine numbers in the spreadsheet were Moore’s PID, her student identification number. Her roommate, Caroline Sevier, saw her PID as well. The information drove them out of their bedrooms and into the kitchen. They secured two tickets to a top10 matchup against Duke and would be the first 200 people inside the arena. The pair later found out they would hold the first and second spots. “We were running around the kitchen, screaming, texting everybody,” Moore said. “We’re gonna be the first ones in. This is crazy.” And preparation for the game commenced. Jones’ pair of lucky socks — the ones he wears every UNC game day — were ready. Junior Ansel Whitley laid out his white Jordans 3s he reserves for North Carolina basketball games. Moore and Sevier made themed posters until midnight the night before the game. Sevier laid out her head-totoe Carolina Blue outfit, even down to her underwear. Then, she entered her bedroom, turned all the lights off, lit a candle and gathered her UNC-themed pins. Sevier hovered each pin over the flame, manifesting good intentions to the tune of “Hark the Sound” playing on a speaker. It’s her tradition. “I want to win,” Sevier said. “We want to win. So I do that with mine and my housemates’ pins, which is kind of weird, but it was something I did and still do.”

Although UNC students don’t leave the comfort of their bedrooms to stay in tents like the Blue Devils ahead of rivalry games, they experience one long day of discomfort. When Duke and UNC play at 6:30 p.m., students wake up more than 12 hours earlier. They attend College GameDay, with lines forming as early as 7:30 a.m., and then they wait. Oh, and they wait some more, scattered around locations like UNC’s business school, the Koury Natatorium or just outside the doors of the arena. In March, the Tar Heels will do it all again to see the two teams square off in the Dean E. Smith Center.

“It wasn’t like we were suffering,” Jones said. “But there were complaints. It wasn’t the most fun waiting experience.”

Matt Jones didn’t expect his game day to smell like chlorine. He didn’t expect to be trapped inside a natatorium for two hours. The air was sticky with no AC to break up the humidity. Jones, alongside fellow UNC students, jammed themselves into “very vertical” seating — the type of seats that promise back pain before you ever sit down. Knees were crunched to chests. Clothes clung to skin. “You’re just sitting there in this room, uncomfortable, squished in like sardines,” Jones said. “I just want to watch Carolina beat Duke.” Eventually, Jones’ frustration culminated into one wish. He shared it with his friend, Matthew, who bore the natatorium’s conditions with him. Jones wished for his AirPods. The silence was driving him crazy. He couldn’t take it anymore. Matthew pulled out his own pair from his pocket. One AirPod in Jones’ ear. One in Matthew’s. Country artist Zach Bryan soothed the friends, making the time go faster ahead of opening tip.

Long lines and lucky rituals dictate Tobacco Road rivalry preparation By

DTH FILE/CASSIDY TOY REYNOLDS

UNC students cheer on the men’s basketball team as they prepared to play Stanford at the Dean E. Smith Center on Jan. 18. UNC lost 72-71 in the final seconds of the game.

DTH/OLIVIA PAUL

A tent in K-Ville is accessorized with “Barbie” decorations and posters with

Duke players.

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DTH/HEATHER DIEHL

Duke juniors Julian Diaz, Erin O’Rourke and Nickhil Arayath play Yahtzee in their tent to pass the time on Friday, Jan. 24.

DTH/HEATHER DIEHL Students occupy the hundreds of tents that make up K-Ville.

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The Tar Heels have to balance their attention on Flagg and Maluach with a group rebounding strategy to keep the towering firstyears from pushing the game out of reach.

The quartet of UNC forwards — first-year Drake Powell, junior Ven-Allen Lubin, graduate Jae’Lyn Withers and junior Jalen Washington — have to work in tandem to force the Blue Devils out of the paint, especially against Flagg.

Duke ranks 39th in the nation in total rebounds. The Blue Devils are second in combined rebounds and first in combined opponent rebounds within the ACC. UNC ranks outside of the top-150 in total rebounding percentage.

Duke and FSU are tied for the tallest teams in the nation, each averaging 6-foot7 per player. The Blue Devil’s 6-foot-9 Cooper Flagg and 7-foot2 Khaman Maluach make up a lot of the team’s height.

North Carolina has faced issues all year in the paint due to the lack of a true center.

The battle down low

From baseline to baseline on both sides of the floor, a complete performance from the first-year is key to a UNC victory.

During conference play, North Carolina’s wins are seemingly due to the contributions of first-year guard Ian Jackson.

Ian Jackson

Efficient play from first-year guard

Jackson logged a seven-game stretch in December and January where he scored 18 or more points in every contest. UNC won six out of those seven games, including a win over a ranked UCLA squad — North Carolina’s only Quad 1 victory. While the 6-foot-4 guard has proven himself as dynamic around the rim, his outside shooting has been key to the recent Tar Heel wins. If North Carolina wants to have a chance at leaving Durham with a win, Jackson is going to need to have a big game.

UNC must return to the speed it showed early in the season to obtain a resume-boosting win.

A game with opportunities to get out in transition is likely to favor the Tar Heels, who rank in the top-25 in fast break points.

Pace could easily determine who comes out on top in Durham.

The Blue Devils boast a top-10 scoring defense. However, their pace of play ranks amongst the slowest in the nation. The team routinely holds its opponents to season-lows.

UNC plays at one of the fastest paces in the country, ranking within the top-20 in possessions per game. But in ACC play, the pace has slowed, giving the Tar Heels fewer opportunities to score. Against teams like Kansas and Florida, UNC scored 89 and 84 points, respectively. Against conference opponents, North Carolina is averaging 75 points per game.

Increase the pace

Heading into the game, here are three keys before the rivalry matchup:

A win against Duke could turn the entire season around, but a loss could be disastrous.

The UNC men’s basketball team has had a rough season. The Tar Heels have eight losses, including seven Quad 1 losses and one to Quad 2 Stanford. After coming into the preseason ranked No. 9, they have underperformed. Now, North Carolina will face a seemingly invincible Duke squad on Saturday in Cameron Indoor Stadium. With UNC teetering on the bubble ahead of the NCAA tournament, it’s do or die.

sports@dailytarheel.com

Staff Writer

By Marvin Lee

The Tar Heels face an uphill battle against the No. 2 Blue Devils

PREVIEW

DTH DESIGN/SARAH FENWICK

Photos courtesy of Olivia Paul, Connor Ruesch and Nate Skvoretz.

“[I’ll] continue to do the little things that I’ve been doing all year, that’s when the big things are going to come,” Trimble said.

“Today kind of felt like a complete Seth Trimble performance, just from my energy to my intensity on the defensive end,” Trimble said following the win. Coming up, Trimble will get another stab at Duke. In last year’s home matchup, he recorded 10 points in 20 minutes. But his role is different now. He’ll have a chance to channel this newfound momentum — to show the improvements his early season performances teased — against UNC’s rival.

Then, a two-game losing skid warranted a lineup change. Hubert Davis told Trimble the team needed him to get back to his identity from earlier in the season — back to a version of himself that was “relentlessly attacking, shooting without hesitation and craving to get stops on the defensive end” in order to find success. Against Boston College, the junior guard’s name was called during the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 21. He played 43 out of 45 minutes in the overtime thriller. He scored 18 points. He had a career-high 12-rebound double-double, the second of his career. He scored four points in 18.6 seconds — two of which came from the game-tying layup to force extra time.

“His energy, effort, attention to detail, he was all over the place.”

The next game against California, he broke through for 12 points, six rebounds and three steals. Trimble had found his rhythm again, even if he wasn’t starting. “I just felt that Seth was off the charts,” head coach Hubert Davis said after the win over Cal.

Post-concussion, Trimble struggled to find the bottom of the net, scoring zero points in his return game and a pair of four point performances off the bench. He was frustrated. But Trimble refused to surrender to the setback.

This time, it was with a head injury suffered in practice. He missed three games.

At UNC, he just had to wait his turn. Through the first 12 games of the season, Trimble ranked second in scoring on the team, averaging 14.8 points and scoring in doublefigures in all but one game. He exploded for 27 points against Dayton and led UNC to its first ACC win against Georgia Tech with 19 points. But after recording 12 points against UCLA, Trimble was confined to the bench once more.

After the performance, he said he’s been “that guy” on offense since high school.

And in North Carolina’s preseason exhibition game against Memphis on Oct. 15, Trimble’s work immediately showed. He eclipsed the 30-point mark with an assertive one-handed slam in transition — in typical Trimble fashion.

“We get at it,” RJ Davis said. “We just get into each other’s heads.”

and-forth between stops and scores during their one-on-ones.

Graduate guard RJ Davis frequently went head-to-head with Trimble during offseason practices. RJ Davis detailed the constant back-

Trimble focused on getting more on-ball reps, coming off screens and hunting 3-point shots to enhance his drive-first identity.

He spent eight hours there daily, devoting three to honing his individual craft with assistant coach Marcus Paige. Green took Trimble under his wing. They worked out together at UNC for two weeks in the summer. Then, Green invited the junior to L.A. to train even more.

Over the offseason, Trimble lived in the gym.

“I didn’t feel that type of love from any other school,” Trimble said. “It was meant to be.”

North Carolina: from not earning a starting role until his senior year to later embarking on a 15-season NBA career. It resonated with Trimble. Two weeks later, he withdrew from the portal.

After Trimble announced his intention to transfer, Danny Green was one of the Tar Heels who took time to reach out. In their conversation, Green explained his journey at

Following UNC’s loss to Alabama in the Sweet 16 last season, Trimble found himself at a crossroads. He entered the transfer portal on April 9, looking for a place to fit in offensively. But nowhere else felt quite right.

“With this team, the offense that we play, I’ve been able just to really strive and take the steps that you guys haven’t seen, but that I know they’ve seen every day in practice,” Trimble said after his 33-point performance against Memphis in October.

Trimble’s offensive numbers have skyrocketed. His points per game have more than doubled, increasing from 5.2 to 12.4. As one of the four UNC players averaging double figures, his minutes have followed suit, nearly doubling from 17.1 to 30.3. He has started in 13 games. But it’s an increase that almost never happened. And now, Trimble has become a key piece of a UNC team looking for a statement win against No. 2 Duke on Saturday.

But this season has been different.

The next season, his minutes never dipped below double digits. The defensive advantage of having Trimble in the lineup became evident, but he still struggled offensively, averaging just five points per game.

During his first-year, Trimble cobbled together a few minutes here and there. Stuck behind veteran guards, he averaged just shy of 10 minutes and two points per game.

His explosive dunks and mind boggling lay-ins were tell-tale signs of an impending breakout. But the junior guard had to be patient.

It’s always been there for Seth Trimble.

By Alexandra Jones Staff Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

piece for UNC basketball

FEATURE The junior guard found his place after withdrawing from the transfer portal

DTH FILE/OLIVIA PAUL

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If they can’t, it will be a long night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

To slow down one of college basketball’s hottest players, Davis will need to depend on his small-ball lineup. Recent starting lineups have included 6-foot-6 Drake Powell as UNC’s second tallest player on the court. With quicker perimeter defenders, the Tar Heels can shrink Duke’s offensive game, leaving it up to the big men to step up on the defensive end.

His guard-esque handles and shot allow him to open up the floor, and his combination of size and athleticism make him a nightmare to meet at the rim.

Shooting a staggering 78.8 percent from the floor, the first-year has recorded three double-doubles this season and showcased great patience on the defensive end. And then there’s Cooper Flagg. The first-year phenom has had the nation’s attention since his high school days, and it’s evident why. The 6-foot-9 forward leads his team in every major statistic.

in offensive and total rebounding percentage. Losses to Florida and Louisville this season both feature UNC conceding crucial offensive rebounds in crunch time — not ideal for a team that could be on the bubble this March, especially with the talent on this year’s Duke squad. At 7-foot-2, Khaman Maluach will be a tough matchup for the undersized Tar Heels. The No. 3 ranked recruit has a 9-foot8 standing reach and has been nearly unstoppable over the top.

Long gone are the days of the post feed to Bacot for a layup or an open kick-out 3-pointer. This team rarely even looks for postups this season, looking to their guards instead. Rebounding woes have slowed down the Tar Heels as well. A team that flew in the transition game last year now ranks outside the top-150

UNC also brought in junior Belmont transfer Cade Tyson as a stretch-four candidate. Tyson averaged 16 points last season, shooting over 46 percent from outside the arc. While he scored 23 points against LaSalle in December, the forward has yet to see consistent playing time or efficiency since. The lack of size caused ripple effects on the team’s style of play.

North Carolina locker room. With the Tar Heels, he is averaging 6.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

While athletic with a solid post presence on both ends of the floor, Lubin’s 6-foot-8 stature did not help the lack of height in the

Junior Ven-Allen Lubin offered efficiency at the rim, averaging 12 points while leading Vanderbilt in field goal percentage last season.

Both Washington and Withers started during UNC’s season-opener against Elon, but Davis has since experimented with the frontcourt rotation, utilizing a pair of transfer forwards from Nashville schools.

rebounds over the outsized Tar Heels. The questions remained unanswered entering the Maui Invitational, where Johni Broome’s 23 points and 19 rebounds highlighted Auburn’s dominant win over UNC. Now, North Carolina must prepare for a game against one of the best teams in the nation on Saturday: No. 2 Duke.

center posted 20 points and 10

route to claiming the program’s alltime rebounding title, once held by former forward Tyler Hansbrough. It was clear his absence would be felt this season. Eyes turned to head coach Hubert Davis to see how he would patch this hole. Internally, it was “next man up.” Heading into his junior year, forward Jalen Washington appeared poised to make the leap.

He made four all-ACC teams en

Armando Bacot — a man who once said he “would die for this school” — walked off the floor for the last time.

High school highlights showcased shifty footwork and a smooth jump shot. Paired with a 7-foot-4 wingspan, the once five-star recruit appeared a viable replacement. Graduate forward Jae’Lyn Withers was another name expected to step up to the plate. Despite averaging just 12 minutes per game last season, Withers made noticeable impacts on the glass and recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Wagner. But both players have not contributed in the ways many thought they would. Questions began to rise after North Carolina’s losing effort to a Hunter Dickinsonled Kansas team. The 7-foot-2

entered this season with a question the program hadn’t asked for the past five seasons: who’s going to be the starting center?

sports@dailytarheel.com

By Dylan Stalter Staff Writer

replacement at center

Hubert Davis has not found a suitable

Lack of size hinders North Carolina frontcourt

Boston College in the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday, Jan. 25. UNC won 102-96.

UNC sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau (3) dribbles the ball during a game against

DTH/VIYADA SOUKTHAVONE

X: dthsports@

UNC’s key to slowing down Flagg is smothering him. Flagg’s handle, while solid, is by no means elite, and he can often be forced to settle for difficult 3-pointers and pull-up jumpers. Forcing Duke’s star to take tough jump shots will minimize his impact. In order for North Carolina to come out on top, solid guard play will be a key factor in both of UNC’s matchups with Duke this season.

9, 205 pounds, Flagg can get to his spots all over the floor, allowing him to lead the Blue Devils in all major statistical categories. Recently, Flagg broke the ACC first-year single-game scoring record with a 42-point game against Notre Dame.

However, Powell’s primary assignment will be matching up against one of the nation’s best wings in Cooper Flagg. At 6-foot-

First-year guard Drake Powell has emerged as one of the North Carolina’s most versatile players this season. Powell’s stocky 195-pound frame allows him to stonewall smaller guards or bully his way into the paint on the offensive end. Powell is averaging 6.8 points per game, while shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from deep.

First-year guard Ian Jackson quickly became one of North Carolina’s best scorers this year. Jackson exploded onto the scene with a 23-point outing against Alabama and has not slowed since. Against UCLA, he led a 16-point comeback, scoring 24 points on 8-13 shooting. Following that game against the Bruins, Jackson has scored 20 or more points five times. Jackson is a pure bucket-getter, and that’s precisely what UNC needs against the Blue Devils this year.

Sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau has shown flashes of being an elite playmaker. With a lightningquick first step and shifty handle, Cadeau can force his defender off balance before launching a dime to an open teammate. Cadeau leads UNC in assists with 6.1 per game and is the first Tar Heel to have three career games with at least 10 assists since Kendall Marshall. Additionally, Cadeau’s most significant development in the offseason was his long-range shooting, with his 3-point percentage going from 18.9 percent to 29.4 percent. When receiving a kick-out pass, Cadeau often hesitates to shoot from outside the arc. If Cadeau can play confidently, he can take the Tar Heels’ offense to another level.

So far, he is hitting on 37.9 percent of his 3-pointers, averaging just over six attempts per game. If Trimble can run Knueppel off the line, Duke’s offense will take a significant hit.

Trimble will likely be tasked with marking Duke’s first-year guard Kon Knueppel. Knueppel has established himself as one of the Blue Devils’ best sharpshooters this year, featuring a smooth jump shot. With his high release point, Knueppel can knock down jump shots in small pockets of space.

Junior guard Seth Trimble is one of UNC’s most formidable defenders, leading the Tar Heels with nearly two steals a game. His combination of stamina and explosiveness makes him an excellent perimeter defender.

What the Tar Heel guards lack in height, they make up for in speed and athleticism. UNC’s backcourt intensity will be a key factor in shutting down the Blue Devils when they face off on Saturday. Graduate guard RJ Davis leads the Tar Heels in scoring with 17.7 points per game and is second in assists at just under four per game. According to Kenpom, the Blue Devils only allow 87.2 points per 100 possessions, second best in the country. UNC’s all-time leader in 3-pointers will have his work cut out for him against Duke’s elite defense. While Davis is shooting a career-low 29.5 percent from deep, he’ll need to bring his best if the Tar Heels are going to win this one.

Coming into the season, UNC had an evident game plan: run, run and run some more.

sports@dailytarheel.com

Staff

Writer

By Kendall Allen

Both teams bring talented guard play to rivalry game

North Carolina

When the Tar Heels fell to

Alabama in last season’s Sweet

Sixteen, then-graduate center

So, as The Chron sits down to watch footage of them losing a pickup game, enjoy these photos of The DTH celebrating its win.

In the annual DTH-Chron basketball game, The DTH won two out of three games. Despite wearing matching pennies and bringing out the mascot, The Chron couldn’t muster the talent needed. A Chronicle videographer with a Steadicam rig filmed it all. He filmed as Cade Shoemaker notched assist after assist. He recorded Connor Gould giving it his all. Maybe he finally put the camera down when Ansel Whitley hit the game-winning three.

Writer Aidan Lockhart sent a behind-the-back pass to staffer Jack Morris on the corner. Silence. Bang. Twenty DTH staffers on the sideline erupted. Forty Duke Chronicle writers stood silent.

— Emma Moon

DTH/VIYADA SOUKTHAVONE

X: carolinewills03@

Read the full story online.

This puzzled Lucas.

as you do about Carolina sports,” Hazen told him.

“The people who sit in those seats feel the same way about the law

100 seats emptied. Lucas trudged his way over to his professor. Hazen gestured to the empty seats.

His professor, Thomas Hazen, asked a few questions. Lucas didn’t have the answers. He watched a basketball game instead. Hazen requested Lucas stay after class.

One morning in his contracts class, Lucas was cold-called.

basketball games started to interfere with his 8 a.m. courses.

Watching 9 p.m. North Carolina

everyone he knew told him to go to law school.

Across campus at the UNC School of Law during the 2000-2001 basketball season, Lucas was in his second semester at the University. Because he was a talented writer,

“Being able to be that conduit to the program for a lot of people, whether that’s football or basketball and being the voice that they associate with the games, with the commentary,” Angell said. “It’s a responsibility that I don’t take lightly because I know how important that person was to me when I was a younger fan.”

Angell stepped into his place.

After Angell graduated in 2001, he was contracted to broadcast UNC women’s soccer, women’s basketball and then baseball for ten years. Then Durham retired in 2011.

on

Angell spent most of his college career at UNC in a small studio tucked inside the Dean E. Smith Center —the home of the Tar Heel Sports Network. Inside, Angell practiced using radio equipment. As an intern for the radio show, he filmed footage, edited audio and edited video. Then, he earned the chance to practice on-air. He learned how to act when the red recording light started flashing. Former play-by-play announcer Woody Durham — the voice Angell listened to growing up during men’s basketball and football games — mentored him.

One of the most iconic moments in the UNCDuke rivalry would unfold in front of their eyes a few hours later. It was April 2, 2022. At 9 p.m. ET, the Tar Heels would face the Blue Devils on the hardwood of Caesars Superdome with a trip to the national championship on the line. For the first time in the history of the rivalry, the teams would meet in the NCAA tournament — in the Final Four, no less.

Time moved slowly, so Lucas did the only thing he could: he turned to writing. The article went live on GoHeels.com that afternoon, as an apology for his anxiety-level for the next few hours. Fans reached out to share how much they related.

2001: The beginning

“There is just a different feeling, a different excitement, a different edge [leading up to a rivalry game],” Angell said. “You’re writing down your notes a little bit faster. You’re just doing everything at a little higher level because there is an energy around this game.”

North Carolina has played over the last 20 years, Angell and Lucas were there to tell the story. In addition to serving as the play-byplay announcer on the Tar Heel Sports Network, Angell co-hosts the Carolina Insider Podcast with Lucas — a columnist for UNC Athletics, author and frequent contributor to Jones’ broadcasts. And through their various forms of storytelling, the two have left a mark on the UNC-Duke rivalry.

And like at every other game

Jones Angell was nervous for the first time in his entire color commentating career. Angell did all of his usual preparation for the broadcast. He filled out the centerpiece of his research — the spotting board — with stats, the depth chart and all the names on each roster on his computer to refer to during the game. He watched Duke’s film. The nerves persisted. He wasn’t the only one. In his hotel room in New Orleans, Adam Lucas was pacing back-and-forth, occasionally glancing out the window.

By Caroline Wills Sports Editor sports@dailytarheel.com

Storytellers have left their mark on UNC basketball for 20 years

PHOTO COURTESY OF ADAM LUCAS

Adam Lucas and Jones Angell pose for a portrait with UNC junior forward Jalen Washington after speaking with him

the Carolina Insider Podcast on Monday, Jan. 13.

X: cadeshoemaker23@

“I’m so thankful and fortunate that we all had a chance to experience what that feels like and what that felt like to be in that building, playing in a big-time game, and be able to come on the winning side of that game,” Manuel said. “There’s a lot of people that play this game, and they can’t say that my last home game ‘We won.’” Although UNC went on to win the 2005 national championship that season, it’s Marvin Williams’ gamewinner that lives in UNC-Duke infamy and still gives Roy Williams goosebumps 20 years later.

“Because I wanted those guys to go out with a win.” Thanks to Marvin Williams’ heroics they did. UNC captured the ACC title, and the win became a defining moment in the careers of the Tar Heel seniors.

“That’s the most pressure I ever felt, was Senior Days,” Williams admitted.

After the game, North Carolina cut down the nets in the Smith Center. Williams had asked the team if they wanted to the game prior, when UNC clinched a share in the ACC title, but the seniors voted against it “because they were focused on beating Duke.” This added an extra burden for Roy Williams in the days leading up to the game.

A senior group, including Manuel, Jawad Williams, Melvin Scott and others endured an 8-20 record their first season at UNC. They lost to the Blue Devils seven times during their career, winning only once before the 2005 game. For them, this win over Duke wasn’t just another rivalry game but cemented the fact that UNC basketball was back on the national stage.

UNC’s victory was triumphant. Not because it was the first win against Duke in Roy Williams’ tenure at North Carolina, but because of what it meant for the seniors playing in their final home game.

Former UNC men’s basketball head coach

Roy Williams

“The moment was surreal.”

“It was like the roof came off. Literally, off the top of the Smith Center,” Jackie Manuel, a former guard on the 2004-05 team, recalled.

The Dean E. Smith Center exploded.

His attempt banked off the glass and fell through the net as the referee’s whistle blew.

Sean May, bouncing toward UNC’s bench. Then first-year forward Marvin Williams grabbed it near the right block. In one motion, he elevated toward the basket, released a shot, and was fouled.

It glanced off of Tar Heel center

He got the ball back for the second attempt, took two right-handed dribbles, spun the basketball in his left hand and let the game-tying free throw fly. Instead, Felton’s shot sprung off the back of the rim and into a swarm of arms vying for the rebound. The ball popped out in the scuffle.

“The Smith Center, at that moment, is the loudest I’ve ever heard it in my entire life. And that’s a memory that sticks with me forever.”

After sinking the ensuing free throw, North Carolina defended Duke for the remaining 17 seconds and forced two missed shots to seal the game.

“The Smith Center, at that moment, is the loudest I’ve ever heard it in my entire life,” Roy Williams said. “And that’s a memory that sticks with me forever.”

Marvin Williams’ game-winning shot not only completed UNC’s improbable comeback but gave Roy Williams his first career win over Duke, 75-73, as the head coach of North Carolina.

“That moment was kind of like the icing on the cake of ‘We’re here now,’” Manuel said. “We reached a point of what we all dreamed about, and we can celebrate not just as a team, but as a Carolina family, the Carolina fan base, that we were back.”

20 years later

Roy Williams gets chills just talking about it. The date was March 6, 2005, when No. 2 North Carolina trailed No. 6 Duke, 73-71, with 19.4 seconds remaining. UNC guard Raymond Felton was at the foul line with a pair of free throws and the chance to complete a 9-point comeback in the final three minutes of regulation. Felton took the first shot. Nothing but net.

By Cade Shoemaker Senior Writer sports@dailytarheel.com

game-winner

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNC ATHLETICS

Marvin Williams (24) makes a 3-pointer during a game against Vermont on

Dec. 21, 2004 in the Dean E. Smith Center. UNC won 93-65.

Read the full story online.

“So for us to be able to get back at him, that was a shining moment.”

The Smith Center crowd, along with the team, completed the comeback. “The fans were just as eager to beat Florida State probably because Sam Cassell called our fans cheese and wine,” Lynch said.

Florida State didn’t score again. The fans stormed the court.

The Seminoles inbounded the ball. Charlie Ward picked up his dribble near half-court and launched an arcing pass to an open Bob Sura. As the ball neared Sura’s outstretched arms, UNC’s George Lynch raced up the court, plucking the ball out of the air and slamming home a two-handed dunk.

Little by little, the Tar Heels worked themselves back into the game. With just under two minutes to go, Eric Montross hit a shot to cut Florida State’s lead to one.

TONIGHT!!”

“HEY SAM! HI ESPN! NO WIN(e & cheese)

One fan waved a banner that read,

“cheese and wine crowd” dig, calling the fans laidback and casual. And for the first 30 minutes of it seemed that they might roll over the Tar Heels again. With 9:30 remaining, UNC was down 20. But the crowd stood and cheered.

Starcevic, Anabella Mikels, Amber Angelillo

Johnstone, Jack Morris, Gabriel Thumm, Emma Evans, Emily Eschleman, Claire Moran, Angie

Cockman, SK Henderson, Tae Hong, Regan Sumy, Nakayla McConnaughey, Madison Swain, Kylie

Audience Engagement: Sam Hodges, senior staffer; Ava West, senior staffer; Shannen Horan, senior staffer; Ellery Bankirer, senior staffer; Ashley Hinostroza-Villacorta, senior staffer; Anna Tingelstad, senior staffer; Neva Diers, senior staffer; Pranav Uppalapati, Sydney Sasser, Shirley Meunier, Madeleine Denechaud, Emily

Ava West; Cassidy Reynolds; Collin Guenther; Connor Ruesch; Elyssa Mothershed; Emma Denman; Emma Green; Emma Plumly; Gage Austin; Hailey Patterson; Haydon Bode; Joseph Moore III; Kate McCullough; Khue Nguyen; Lillah Hayes; Mason

Soderman; Halle Tourian; Ana Katherine Weeks; Ava Wells; Dayna Wilkerson; Katie Zarzour

Copy: Jordyn Balam; Emily Brietz; Donna Celentano; Sean Doyle; Tyler Gupton; Kaitlyn Harmon; Mia Holub; Lillian Johnson; Katie Mohr; Madelyn Pendry; Jonathan Pitcavage; Natalie Pollock; Aakanksha Sinha; Alexa

Stoner, Jiayi Zhang, Lauren Zola, Jordyn Balam

Hooten, Claire Kwon, May Proctor, Lizzie

Audio-Visual: Kshitiz Adhikari, senior staffer; Will Kleinschmidt, senior staffer; Emma Kate Lauf, senior staffer; Lauren Mallett, senior staffer; Luther Walker, senior staffer; Lucy Wu senior staffer; Maria Fernanda Barriga-Mateos, William Becker, Ashley Hinostroza, Daley

Charlene Wu, senior staffer ; Aditi Paitl; Ella Cluff; Emma Taylor; Ifeoma Obioha; Ivy Nangalia; Jiyoon Moon; Lucy Ballentine; Michelle Yang

The year before, the Seminoles conquered North Carolina in their firstever ACC game. Former Florida State guard Sam Cassell chided the Smith Center faithful, coining the infamous

Three months before hoisting the trophy, in January 1993, Florida State rolled into town.

“‘The last game, the championship game, there was some luck involved in that, whether you won or lost, but you know the 35 games that came before that, that’s not luck.’”

“Of course [coach Smith] wanted to win, but he would say, ‘Getting there is a lot about how hard you worked, how much preparation you made, the sacrifice that everybody made,’” thenassistant coach Dave Hanners said.

UNC christened the Smith Center with its first national championship banner born out of the colossal facilities in 1993.

1993

Kiger said. “The game [was] frenetic, exciting, back-and-forth. It was everything that you could ever want to imagine for the first game in the Smith Center.”

“There was an incredible bolt of lightning and electricity that was maintained for the entire event,”

It was UNC’s 18th straight win to begin the season. Eleven future NBA players appeared in the game.

Carolina held on for a 95-92 victory.

Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski received a technical for protesting a call before the Tar Heels went on a 12-0 run. UNC led, 80-69, with just over five minutes to play. North

UNC’s Warren Martin scored on an assist from Kenny Smith.

1985.

The first game against Duke delivered an instant classic.

Ehringhaus said.

“And somebody, I think it was probably Skipper, said, ‘Well that’s the one time I won’t listen to him,’”

Everyone chuckled after Smith left the room.

‘I think it’s a terrible idea to name it after me. I think all this money ought to go to medical research.’ He said that dozens of times.”

Ehringhaus said. “First, he said, ‘You only name buildings after people who are dead, and I’m not planning on dying anytime soon.’ And second,

“He was dead set against it,”

Blucher Ehringhaus, the University’s assistant director of development assigned to the project, was at The Carolina Inn for a meeting with Bowles and other committee members during construction. They discussed naming the building after thencurrent head coach, Dean Smith.

Ground was broken for the new arena on April 17, 1982. More than 20,000 cubic yards of rock and about 150,000 cubic feet of dirt were removed from the site, once a wooded ravine near Mason Farm Road. The building took nearly four years to build. It stands 340-feet wide, 380feet long and 140-feet high. It needed a name.

Donations ranged from $1 to $1 million. The sole million-dollar gift came from Walter R. Davis, for whom Davis Library is named.

Bowles made speeches across the state to privately raise at least $35 million.

The initial goal was $30 million.

• Corrections are printed here and noted in the online versions of our stories, which are also edited to reflect the new information.

• Contact Print Managing Editor Sarah Monoson at print.editor@ dailytarheel.com.

as the error is discovered.

CORRECTIONS

Interest in building a new arena began as the program’s profile rose in the ‘70s. Support became strong when John Swofford was promoted to athletic director in 1980. Hargrove “Skipper” Bowles was tasked with leading the fundraising effort. Without public funding, some doubted enough money would be raised. The University commissioned a feasibility study that said the campaign could only be successful if there were major individual gifts of more than $5 million.

“Even in its best days, it was small,” said former UNC student Chris Newbury, who attended games at Carmichael and the first at the Smith Center. “It was cramped. It was hard to get around.”

UNC outgrew Carmichael Arena, the building that had replaced Woollen Gymnasium in 1965.

Origin

Banners and jerseys hang from the rafters. Four national championship teams have played there. But with recent discussions of a major renovation or even building a new arena, the timelessness felt on that opening day might reach an end date.

The official carried the basketball to center court. He tossed it up between Duke’s Danny Ferry and UNC’s Brad Daugherty. The moment marked the beginning of the Smith Center’s now-nearly-40year history. The original hardwood floor with a Carolina Blue outline of the state, now named after Roy Williams, is still at its heart. The building has become a cathedral of the sport. Players, coaches and classic games have created an enduring legacy.

“It was a time when all who were there thought we’d be in a building that would last forever,” Kiger said.

Freddie Kiger, who was on official stats for the broadcast crew, said the building resembled a palace.

The bright afternoon light poured in. A crowd of 21,444 packed the arena.

The date was Jan. 18, 1986. The occasion could not have been bigger. Undefeated, top-ranked North Carolina was about to square off against undefeated, thirdranked Duke. It was the first game in the brand-new Dean E. Smith Center.

Time stood still.

By Harry Crowther Senior Writer

Center

Sports: Harry Crowther, senior writer; Cade Shoemaker, senior writer Megan Smith, senior writer Beckett Brantley, senior writer; Anna Page Lancaster, Lauren Weider, Dylan Stalter, Molly Louison, Kendall Allen, Shannen Horan, Tess Alongi, Connor Gould, Alexandra Jones, Maris Suttles, Marvin Lee, Anna Laible, Sarah Stephens, Sofia Szostczuk, Lauren Mallett, Brian D’Aguanno, Sophia Gray

Design: Annabelle Henderson; Amanda Hess; Aubrey Word; Bridget Hight; Carly Evans; Erica Lopez; Helaina-Rose Ball; Isabela Nash; Jessica Baugh; Kaitlin Stratemeier; Katrina Dong; Liza Smith; Maria Chettoor; Meg Jenkins; Nick Lotz; Piper Winton; Sarah Fenwick; Shamil Luqman; Shannon McManus; Zoey Morris

Photo: Aayas Joshi, senior staffer; Abbey McKee, senior staffer; Dylan Thiessen, senior staffer; Grace Richards, senior staffer; Hannah Zinn, senior staffer; Jerome Ibrahim, senior staffer; McKenzie Bulris, senior staffer; Anthony Guerra Flores; Ava Sharon;

Miller; Michael Pearson; Rhea Gandikota; Sophia Gray; Taylor Nock; Zoe Werner

Data: Kate Bailey, senior staffer Lila Anafi, senior staffer ; Prithika Roy, senior staffer

PHOTO COURTESY OF UNC ATHLETICS

The Dean E. Smith Center underwent construction in

Duke’s Mark Alarie scored the first basket in the Smith Center.

and Beckett Brantley

Senior Writer