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CHAPEL HILL – As much as Hubert Davis wants to steer his team as far away from the hoopla surrounding this weekend, it just isn’t possible.
North Carolina and Duke will play a basketball game Saturday. It tips at 6 PM inside venerable Cameron Indoor Stadium. And for the last time ever, Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski will walk out through four sets of doors; the final one leading him through a roped-off area tucked in between Duke’s band and the Cameron Crazies.
From there, he will slowly walk along the baseline on the visitor’s end of the court, past the opponent’s bench – shaking hands with whatever coaches are there – and over to Duke’s bench. Krzyzewski has done this 646 times in his life for regular season games. Saturday will be his 647th and last.
It seems almost unimaginable that anything could supersede Duke-Carolina. Each installment of what many believe is the greatest rivalry in major American sports has its own DNA, its own fingerprints, and its own life. Often, that carries on forever.
The fight in 1961 still lives. So does Walter Davis’ shot in 1974. The "brawl" in Atlanta in 1989 won’t ever die. Jerry Stackhouse’s dunk and Jeff Capel’s shot in 1995 happens dozens of times each year. Gerald Henderson bloodying Tyler Hansbrough in 2007 lives on. Danny Green’s dunk, Austin Rivers’ buzzer beater, the crazy game in 2020, and so on.
Perhaps the Tar Heels and Blue Devils meeting in a Final Four would be the only thing that could garner more attention than when the nation sets its sights on this classic rivalry Saturday evening. There is a reason tickets on the secondary market are averaging more than $5,000 apiece, reportedly the most expensive basketball tickets for a game ever at any level at any time.
Amazingly, the Tar Heels will almost be an afterthought going in. After all, they lost to the Devils by 20 a month ago in their own hallowed hall, have six blowout losses on their resume, and are squarely on the NCAA fence. All of which are new experiences for the brand that is UNC Basketball.
But they won’t be the story Saturday, at least initially. And that is what their coach wants.
“We are not a part of that pageantry,” Davis said Thursday in a press conference advancing this game. “Our job is to go over to Durham and play a game… That’s all we are thinking about. That’s all we are talking about. And that’s all we are focused on.”
Simple as that, but not really.
In the middle of Davis’ reply to a question about the majestic event heading to Durham, he said he gave the team a Bible verse, Proverbs 4:25, on their practice plan. Keeping his kids focused on the task at hand is a massive challenge, but he is certainly trying.
‘“Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions,’” Davis said, quoting the verse. “Saturday is a game. And our job is to go over to Durham and compete. And that’s what we are focused on.”
Yet, the Tar Heels are excited about being a part of this game. Asking them to look away is like telling kids on Christmas morning to keep away from the tree and wait for mom and dad to pour cups of coffee before tearing into their presents.
It’s next to impossible.
“It's hard not to be able to take in and grasp what's really going on,” UNC junior forward and ACC Player of the Year candidate Armando Bacot said. “As soon as (Krzyzewski) announced he was retiring, that was one of the first things I realized, ‘Oh crap, we are going to be playing Duke at Duke on that last home game.’
“That’s like the first thing that came to our minds when we heard the news. I would be lying to you all if I sat right here and said, ‘Oh, this is just another game.’ I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of big-time people there. And it will be one of the loudest it's ever been. It will be fun. Like I said the other day, it's something we all sign up for when coming to UNC.”
The Blue Devils are 572-74 in games played at Cameron under Krzyzewski. They are 22-18 inside their fabled building under Coach K when the Tar Heels are also in there.
And in few, if any, of those previous meetings did pre-game psychological warfare much matter. Typically, Carolina and Duke are national championship contenders, aside from the occasional down year, and the level of respect both programs have had for one another just hasn’t lent itself for sending salvos.
There was some verbal sparring between Krzyzewski and recently retired UNC Coach Roy Williams in 2008, but that blew over by the time the teams met on the court. Some other minor exchanges generated half-hearted buzzes, but that’s about it.
Bacot was given an opportunity to offer up some bulletin-board material Thursday, when a reporter went fishing with a question about Duke’s big men, Mark Williams and Paolo Banchero, both of whom are likely first-round NBA picks this summer. Bacot didn’t take the bait.
But Saturday’s game has an edge outside the court propping it up so much that non-sports national media will be on hand. A legend is retiring. Maybe the greatest basketball coach to ever live is coaching his final home game after 42 years of incredible success.
THAT is the story. THAT is what most everyone is talking about. So, the buzz building isn’t as much about the game as it is Duke’s coach. And Davis isn’t giving it even a cursory glance.
Bacot said his 51-year-old rookie coach has been “locked in” all week. Davis refused multiple times Thursday to even slightly crack open the door. His game face appeared already on and well positioned.
“It's just a waste of time to me, it really is,” Davis said. “It’s a waste of time to focus on things you have no control over, and things that don’t help you achieve the things you want to achieve.
“To focus, to talk, to think, to dwell on anything other than our preparation, our practice, and our play. I just don’t see how that is beneficial.”
Yet, Bacot, a 21-year-old who was recently honored as one of the Athletic Director’s Scholar Athletes, is smart enough to know the temptation to soak in the moment is just too strong. So, he’s jumping into the deep end, though in moderation.
“If I would have told myself ten years ago, I would be able to play in this game, I would be excited,” said Bacot, who averages 16.4 points and 12.7 rebounds per contest. “I wouldn’t be sitting right here saying I am nervous or feel pressure to play in the game. It would be something I would want to do. I would have signed that dotted line back then and there to play in this game.”
The under-the-radar Tar Heels will now get that chance.
They will bear the brunt of usual serenades from the Crazies during warmups. The energy in the building will be at the typically unmatched Duke-UNC level. But the star of the show won’t be the players, at least at the outset. It will be Krzyzewski.
And getting past that hurdle just might be Carolina’s biggest test.
