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More UNC-Duke Stories
February 5, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2004
Special Moment
I was only 16 years old when the classic overtime game between Duke and Carolina was played. As all Carolina fans know, that game is the 8 point rally with 16 seconds left in regulation. My Mother asked me to run an errand at this precise time. I told her, the game's not over yet. She insisted that there was no way that a team trailing by 8 points with only 16 seconds left could possibly win the game. I told her, with Carolina, any time left on the clock there is always a chance. I told her we have enough timeouts to do it. As the game played out and Carolina did eventually win in overtime, She and I were yelling uncontrollably. It's the best memory I have of any game the Tar Heels have played over the years. The reason - because I got to enjoy this game with my Mother watching. It was her first time watching the Tar Heels play and she fell in love with Walter Davis and Bobby Jones. She had tears of joy when she exclaimed to me, "Had I not seen it with my own eyes, I'd never had believed it." My Mom died in Dec. 1976 and the memories of that game with her will always bring joy and happiness to me. Oh yeah, and if I had missed the rally, I would still be suffering now. Love you Coach Smith! ! ! I learned from this game that you don't ever give up as long as there is time left on the clock.
Don Davenport
Gastonia, N.C.
Vince Leads The Band
Sibling rivalry isn't a new concept ... but I felt I took it to a whole new level when I became a Tar Heel in the fall of 1996 while my borther was starting his junior year at Duke.
While I had four years of great Tar Heel basketball (and amazing players like Vince Carter and Antwan Jamison) including three trips to the Final Four, my brother's years at Duke were not as successful.
ut I don't think it ever got much better than 1998, my brother's senior year. Duke came into the game in Chapel Hill ranked number one in the country. UNC was ranked number 2.
This game was SO huge, and I was prepared to wait in line or camp out as long as needed to get my hands on a ticket (even if it only was to be an upper level seat). But then I found out that I had won a block of seats in the lower level with a group of friends. Not only that, they were THE prime seats ... the first two rows from center court to behind the Tar Heel bench. I was ecstatic!
And the game was awesome; I had never sat so close to the action before, and never would again. We didn't just win, we blew out Duke by 24 points! The students all rushed the floor and I was right in the center of the madness. To top it all off, Vince Carter (a former high school drum major) leaped onto to the scorer's table and lead the band in playing the alma mater.
A night to remember!!!
Andrea Wolfson
In 2001 the website goheels.com was having a Tar Heels trivia contest. Every week, for the entire year, there were 3 questions asked. The prize was two tickets to the UNC vs. Duke game at the Dean Dome.
As the contest went along, the original field of 500 contestants was widdled down. At the end, there was a three-way tie between myself, my brother and one other individual. I won the contest. The game was scheduled for Thursday January 31, 2002 in Chapel Hill. Although my brother and I were ecstatic about attending the game, there was a problem. We live in Wisconsin, and I was getting married on Saturday February 2nd less than 48 hours after the game. Logistically it was a nightmare. How were my brother (who was a groomsman) and I going to be back in time to assist with last minute items and attend the rehearsal? It would be a tight schedule even before factoring in the chance of bad weather and plane delays. My fianc? was stressed out to begin with. A melt down was certain if one groomsman and her groom were stuck in another state hours before the wedding.
Luckily, the promoters of the contest understood my predicament and let me exchange the tickets to the 2003 UNC vs. Duke game. So instead of seeing an 87-58 defeat in 2001, I was able to see UNC beat Duke by a score of 82-79 in 2003. This was only the second game that I have had the opportunity to attend in person. My first in the Dean Dome. So, without a doubt the 2003 home game of UNC vs. Duke will always be a favorite of mine. However, now the problem is since I've been to one, I want to go to all of them!
Mike Jones
Listening On The Radio in 1974
I no longer remember what year it was that Carolina won its famous victory over Duke in the last 17 seconds, while 8 points down at the start, but I remember where I was and all about it as though it were yesterday. I had been away from Chapel Hill on a trip and was returning home from the airport while the game was underway. Of course, I had the car radio on and was following the action. As I was approaching Glen Lennox, Carolina was down 8 points and things looked pretty bleak. Time out. Regroup. Carolina scores and cuts the margin. Time out again. Carolina scores again and cuts the margin further. As I reached the top of the hill and was approaching the cemetery, I saw a crowd of people walking away from Carmichael, some with a small radio held to their ear. Then, all of a sudden I saw most of them stop in their tracks, then turn and start running back to Carmichael. I guess a few of the faster runners and lucky ones made it back in time to see the end of the game. I heard every minute of the final action on my car radio and laughed all the way home as I thought of those pessimists who left the game early because they didn't believe that a Carolina team could overtake Duke just because they were 8 points down and time was running out. What a game!
Ann & Gerhard Lenski
Learning The Hard Way
As I sit here and write this I don't remember the date of the game; but everyone knows which game I am going to write about. It was 2nd Semester, 1974. IT WAS MY SENIOR YEAR. It was the last b-ball game of the year. My best buddies had headed for the beach, home or somewhere . . . even though, it was the weekend of the home DUKE-CAROLINA game. It had not been a great year, in our opinion. Our arch-enemies then were NC STATE and Stormin Norman, so no one really cared much about duke. . .all expected us to take them easily. Still it was BOBBY JONES' last home game and he had carried the team on his back, literally and deserved all to attend. So off I went alone, climbed into those rickety student bleachers for the last time in my life and watched the horror unfold. It was so sickening, so sad . . . what a way to end your college career at UNC . . . to see the Athletic Deptartment's prize program lose to Duke. . . I could not stand it. Literally with tears in my eyes, I left those bleachers and Carmichael with about a minute left in the game and Carolina losing badly. I was parked across the street, across from Woollen Gym where the New Library is now located. Of course, just as I opened my car door a thunderclap like I've never heard before exploded all around me . . . it was coming from all the dorm rooms where students were obviously crowded around their radios or TVs. Still, it was obvious, something had happened at Carmichael. . . so off I ran back across that lot and the street. . .only to get to the door of the Auditorium to find IT WAS LOCKED!!!! I POUNDED ON THE DOOR, only to have some security guy look at me, smile broadly and shake his head negatively. I could see, though, enough of a scoreboard to see that the score was TIED so off I ran to another door. . . only, to meet a similar fate. I ended up back in my car, with the radio on, listening to the overtime and the GREATEST CAROLINA COME FROM BEHIND VICTORY that was going on just across the street. THAT IS WHEN, WHY AND HOW I LEARNED YOU NEVER, NEVER, EVER GIVE UP ON CAROLINA and believe me in the 30 years since, I have never walked out on them again. Thankfully, I have not had too many chances to do so.
John Carter (B.A. 74, J.D 77)