Carolina-Duke Memories: UNC Staff Recalls Playing Vs. Blue Devils

Six members of Carolina's coaching and basketball staff played for the Tar Heels. Here they share some of their memories playing against Duke in what many observers call the Greatest Rivalry in Sports.

HUBERT DAVIS
Hubert Davis played 11 times against Duke, including the 1989, 1991 and 1992 ACC Tournament championship games. He averaged 18.8 points over six games vs. the Blue Devils as a junior and senior, including 23.3 in three games in 1992. That included a career-high 35 points at Duke, when he made 13 of 19 shots from the floor, including 6 of 8 from three-point range.

I remember the first time I played against Duke; it was my freshman year. We're playing at Duke and they were the number one team in the country. I had been playing just out of the regular rotation. But Jeff (Lebo) hurt his ankle at Virginia the game before and couldn't play. I remember Coach Smith said the day before, "Look, I'm going to put you in the game." I didn't know what to expect. But that was the game that gave me confirmation I could play at North Carolina. We ran sort of a Four Corners in the first half, taking a lot of time off the shot clock and I went backdoor for a layup. In the second half, King (Rice) threw me a pass and I hit a jumper. I don't know why I was on the floor at the end of the game, but I made four free throws. I have no idea why I was in the game. But that's the game that gave me confidence. The loudest I had ever heard a crowd was at that game was when Robert Brickey dunked the ball in the first half. It was deafening. I was like, "Oh my gosh, this is wild."

I was at the free throw line late in the game. I made the first shot and for whatever reason I looked over to the bench. And what gave me the confirmation was Coach Smith looked at me (and nodded). And he was like you are good enough to play here.

The 1989, 1991 and 1992 ACC Tournament Finals
It meant something in Atlanta in '89. For all of us because we lost on senior night at home for Jeff (Lebo) and Steve Bucknall. Playing them in the championship game was important to send out Jeff and Buck out as champions. The same thing happened in 1991. We lost on senior night for King, Rick (Fox) and Pete (Chilcutt) so we were ready to play Duke again in the ACC Tournament in Charlotte. We played great that day and beat the bejeebies out of them (96-74). In 1992, my senior year, they were better than us. They were better than everybody. We knew we could beat them because we won earlier in the year in Chapel Hill. But we played in the 9 o'clock game in the quarterfinals because we lost four out of five at the end of the regular season, then had to play in the afternoon against Florida State in the semifinals, a team that had beaten us twice, and we beat them. And then we got Duke at 1 p.m. in the finals on Sunday, and they were already better than us and we were tired. We just didn't have anything left.

The 1992 game at Duke when he scored a career-high 35 points
The funny part about it is Christian (Laettner) struggled at the beginning of that game. He didn't score for the first 12 or 14 minutes. Then something happened that ticked him off and he just went off.

I remember in the second half, I hit a three. Bobby Hurley and I were teammates on the World University Games team the previous summer. We weren't best friends, but we were good friends. I hit a three in the second half and Bobby runs by me and said 'Hubert, stop it. Calm down.' And I started laughing.

There are two shots in my college career I wish could do different. One I didn't take and one I think would have made a difference if I made the shot. The one I missed was against Kansas in the Final Four in '91. Coach Williams went to a zone and I couldn't believe he did that. I had a 'J' and it just went in and out, which would have either tied the game or given us the lead. I remember looking at Coach Williams thinking, "Y'all got lucky there." I felt if I hit that shot, we would have won. And then the '92 game at Duke we were ahead in the second half. Coach Smith talked about getting a great shot. So, I jab-stepped Grant Hill and he bought on it. I was really hot and all I had to do was just take one dribble and pull up for a three. But I drove it, drew the defense and passed it off, but we missed a layup. If I had hit a three there, I think we would have won.

On preparing to play Duke
We don't practice any different. We don't prepare any different. We don't do anything different. Everybody else does stuff different when they play Carolina or Duke. It's different for those teams, but not us. We go to arenas, they put out towels for the fans, they don't put out towels when they play someone else. For us, it's a game. It's a fun game, a competitive game, but it's a game. We have another one on Tuesday (at Clemson) that is just as important.

JEFF LEBO
Jeff Lebo played against the Blue Devils nine times from 1985-89, missing the game at Cameron Indoor Stadium his senior season with an ankle injury. He scored in double figures in six of the nine games, averaging 12.0 points per game, with a high of 18 as a freshman in Durham. He scored 11 points vs. the third-ranked Blue Devils in 1986 in the first game in the Smith Center and had 13 points and three steals vs. Duke in the rugged ACC Tournament final in Atlanta in 1989.

On the pressure of winning the 1989 ACC Championship for the first time since 1982
The game I remember the most about the rivalry was 1989 in The Omni (in Atlanta). At that time, the rivalry was in a bad place. You could cut the tension with a knife. It was the most intense game I was ever part of at any level in my basketball career. There were a lot of reasons why, but that one was a fistfight. As players we felt the pressure to win the ACC title immensely. We knew Coach Smith was getting a little bit dinged up in the media, so we had players-only meetings for four consecutive nights. We wanted that championship. In fact, we may have wanted that ACC championship even worse than the NCAA Tournament that followed for some odd reason. We wanted to win as players, but we wanted it more for him.

We put so much energy into winning that title that I just remember coming back on that flight everybody on that plane was dead asleep. Just everybody was exhausted, mentally and physically from going through what we did to try to win that. And we were so excited for ourselves, but even more so for Coach.

Opening the Smith Center
The 1986 game to open the Smith Center was obviously a huge game. We had to play the next night at Marquette and almost lost that game. I remember going over to Duke as a senior and I was hurt. And the Blue Devil mascot gave me some flowers. But we won anyway. It's kind of funny how it works. You lose a lot of those memories of games you played in, but for some reason, the Duke memories stick with you as a player. You remember a little bit more about those games.

How much did the players in your era not like each other?
We didn't get along for those 40 minutes. It was off the chain for those two hours, but we actually kind of did get along. But for those 40 minutes, twice a year, it was an all-out war. It wasn't hatred, but it was an escalation of competitiveness, to want to win that game so badly.

How different is the intensity in a Carolina-Duke game?
It's hard to explain to people, but it's different. It's just different. The feel is different. The electricity is different. The pressure is different. The expectations are different. It's hard to explain to somebody who hasn't really been part of it, but I can assure you it is. It's different.

SEAN MAY
Sean May played in five games against the Blue Devils, missing both regular-season games as a freshman in 2002-03 due to a fractured bone in his foot. He returned to action for the first time in 22 games when the Tar Heels faced Duke in the 2003 ACC Tournament semifinals, one week after UNC upset Duke in the Smith Center. He scored four points and had three rebounds in 10 minutes before suffering a re-injury that forced him to miss UNC's three games in the NIT that season. In his four starts against Duke as a sophomore and junior May averaged 19.5 points and 19.5 rebounds. He had 15 points and 21 rebounds in the overtime loss at home and 14 points, 15 rebounds at Duke in 2004, 23 and 18 at Cameron in 2005 and 26 points and a Smith Center-record 24 rebounds in what proved to be his final game at home on March 6, 2005.

My favorite memory has to be at the Dean Dome in 2005 when we won the ACC regular season outright. We were down nine with three minutes ago. Both teams were really good and there was a lot at stake. For us, that was the moment we knew we could probably win the whole thing. We had lost a close one at Cameron earlier in the year, but we were trending in the right direction at the right time. So that was kind of a statement win for us.

You had 26 points and 24 rebounds in what turned out to be your final game in the Smith Center. At the time did you already know that was your last home game?
No, I hadn't made that decision. I didn't really start thinking about the NBA Draft until later. It wasn't like, "Hey, I'm going go out of here with a bang." But it's cool to think back on it now, especially when I talk about it with our players. Playing in this big of a game is always something special, but to play like that with all the stakes that were riding on that game and it ends up being the last game I ever played on the Smith Center floor, is all pretty special.

How tough was it for you to miss the first two Duke games in 2003 due to injury?
Extremely difficult. It made me make a dumb decision to come back and try to play in the ACC Tournament when I wasn't fully ready. I knew I was close to coming back. When we beat Duke here without me, I'm like, "Well, how much better would we be if I was out there?" We played them five or six days later in Greensboro and I wasn't ready, and I ended up getting hurt again. It just hurt our team. But it was hard for me to sit there and watch the first two games for sure.

The one thing that pushed me over the edge was Dick Vitale was watching our practice before the game at home and he told Coach (Matt) Doherty I was the best player out there. He couldn't believe I wasn't playing. That's what really sparked the interest. I was like, yeah, why am I not playing? We were playing better; we beat Duke at home and I thought I should go out and be a spark for our team.

Were losses to Duke harder to take than other losses?
No question. The 2004 one at home (when Chris Duhon drove in for a winning basket) we felt we had that game and they made one more play than us. You just always rewind that one play in your head. Well, if I would have done this, or if he would have done that, you know, could we have gotten that one? The one at Duke in 2005 when we turned it over on the last play…if I would have done this instead of doing x, so you always end up second guessing. That's what makes this rivalry so good – it never disappoints. There's all these moments and things that happen you reflect on that make for such a great rivalry. Two great programs where iron sharpens iron.

The fans think the players all hate each other, but most of us have played against each other for years or we played on the same teams and we're all recruited by the same people. So, you develop these relationships over time. As competitor, you want to play against the best. And historically, both UNC and Duke have had great programs with great players that have allowed for this rivalry to be so good. It's one of the reasons why you come here, and it's one of the reasons why you go there, for the opportunity to play on this stage. Where the world is watching with all the stakes on the line.

BRAD FREDERICK
Brad Frederick walked on at Carolina and played three seasons on the varsity. He was part of the 1997 and 1998 teams that won the ACC Tournament and NCAA East Regionals and played in the NCAA Final Four. He started against Duke in his final home game in 1999.

My number one memory was the 1998 game at the Smith Center. It was a top-five matchup, both teams were great. And specifically, because of the failed lob to Vince Carter from Ed Cota. We had practiced that play earlier in the season at Georgia State. Ed threw the ball off the backboard, Vince came down the lane, and I had never seen anything like that. Fast forward to the Duke game. We had kind of built a lead and it started to come down, but Ed throws the ball off the backboard, Vince goes up for it and if you watch the replays you can see how crazy our bench goes because we had seen it before. And Vince missed it. Shammond (Williams) rebounded it and knocked it in and then from then on, we took that lead way back up.

The other amazing thing about that game in '98 was Antawn (Jamison) scored 35 points and ESPN kept track of how long he touched the ball and it was some crazy stat like 35 points in 57 or 58 seconds. He was just incredible. Vince and Antawn were great all year long, but certainly they were even more special during those games against Duke. In the huddle we kept saying, "Just keep getting the ball to 'Tawn."

He was great again against Duke in the '98 ACC Tournament final. We had played them a week earlier at Cameron and had blown a 17- or 18-point lead. That was kind of a disaster. I remember in the ACC Tournament in the Greensboro Coliseum they lined up both teams in the back hallway getting ready to take the floor, which was sort of awkward, but then we came out and won.

You started against Duke in your final game at the Smith Center in 1999.
Obviously, it was special to be starting any game for me at Carolina, but certainly to be starting the Duke game, guarding Trajan Langdon and they were unbelievable that year. I got the chance to play and we had a basket early where I set a screen for Brendan Haywood and he came open and Scott (Williams) got the assist. For Scott and me that was a really cool moment to have that play be successful when we started.

JACKIE MANUEL
Jackie Manuel played in 10 games against Duke. On Senior Day in 2005, he scored 12 points in Carolina's 75-73 come-from-behind win, which secured the ACC regular-season title for the Tar Heels. He had nine points in the 2003 win in Chapel Hill, when unranked Carolina knocked off No. 10 Duke.

What is like to play in a Carolina-Duke game?
You feel the energy before the game starts from the media and the fans. Once you get into the game, there's no time to think about what's going on out there. There was no time to think about the pressure or the magnitude of the game, because I'm chasing JJ (Redick) here, there. And we're trying to execute offensively.

Those games are absolutely the best, especially at Duke because Cameron's size and the proximity of the fans makes it feel like a high school environment. So, it was comfortable even though the fans are on top of you. It just made it fun to try to beat them on their own court.

What about the Speedo Guy (in his sophomore year at Duke in 2003, a Duke fan dressed only in a blue speedo appeared in the crowd behind the basket when Manuel went to the free throw line)?
I remember the Speedo guy. I definitely remember that moment. I saw him out of the corner of my eye, but I was probably more nervous just to be in that environment in the first place. It was early in my career, a big game at Duke and I already had a lot of nerves there.

On defending JJ Redick
Obviously, guarding JJ and having our battles was fun for me. I always watched the Duke game before us and the game after they played us to watch him and see how other people defended him, He would shot fake guys and they were jumping and he would either get an and-one, an open three-pointer or go to the free throw line. I'm like, "Yeah, that's not happening here." He was just so different coming off screens and was always moving. Some guys I could just deny them the ball and that just frustrated them, but with JJ's constant movement you had to be very disciplined once he caught the ball. If you weren't it was three points. So, I was always in tune to studying him.

Duke won by 25 at Cameron your freshman year, but the win on Senior Day in 2005 brought it full circle.
2002, man, they had dudes. They had won the NCAAs the year before. Just being a college basketball fan, I was probably in awe of them half the time I was on the court. I was spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to stop Jason Williams. But my senior year, nah, that was our time. It was our moment. By that time, we had so many games underneath our belt and we definitely wanted to go out with a win against Duke. We were behind but we said, "We're not letting this happen." Marvin (Williams) made the and one and the place erupted like the loudest I had ever heard the Smith Center. I knew with that win were destined to win it all. That's the thing about the NCAA Tournament. It's about creating momentum at the end of the year to make a run, and that Duke game gave us the momentum that gave us the necessary confidence. We felt if we can win that game, we can beat anybody, anywhere.

PAT SULLIVAN
Pat Sullivan played in nine Carolina-Duke games, scoring a series-best nine points at Cameron in 1993. He played from 1990-95 (red-shirting in 1993-94), a five-year span during which the two programs won three national championships and at least one of the teams played in the Final Four in every season (UNC in 1991, 1993 and 1995; Duke in 1991, 1992 and 1994).

One of the funnier stories for me personally was at Cameron my freshman year. Coach Smith grabbed me and put me into the game and the Duke student section started chanting 'Oh, no, not Sullivan,' and they continued that for the rest of my career. I thought it was pretty funny.

I was friends from Jersey with Bobby Hurley. They used to play pickup games at St. Anthony's and Mr. Hurley (Bobby's dad) would allow some of my high school teammates and me to come down. I visited Duke, and Bobby of course went to Duke, but I didn't realize the intensity, the rivalry aspect of it then, but it almost to a point where we didn't really even talk that much anymore. Not that we had any animosity, but it just sort of grew apart in that way.

The level of intensity was so much you can throw the records out the window. Our 102-100 win in 1995 at Duke was like that. That game was incredible. You have to give their guys credit for that. We were super talented. It was the perfect example of each team's records meaning nothing. It was similar to our sophomore year in '92, the 'Montross' game. We were younger, ranked highly at the time, but probably not nearly as good as they were. They were defending national champs and for us to play the way we played was amazing. I remember the students came onto the floor, maybe one of the few times if it ever happened.

They were magical games, big games. Obviously, they meant a lot to us players, but they mean so much to the fan bases at both schools. It's Michigan-Ohio State football, or Yankees-Red Sox. This is up there with those, which is neat to be a part of.

Was there added motivation to win the NCAA title in 1993 after Duke winning the previous two?
Oh, for sure. I went on a recruiting visit to Duke, and I decided to come here, so for two years to watch that happen wasn't easy. Especially watching the Grant Hill to Laettner play. Obviously, we were sitting here rooting for Kentucky, so we didn't like to see them win it twice. So, us winning it in '93 kind of helped that, and to go back and forth like that was pretty neat.

On the high-profile nature of the games
You know going through it and you know as you leave Carolina and spend time in the NBA that it just means more on a national level. Everybody's watching that game, whether guys went to Carolina or not. You know the NBA coaches are going to watch the game. That's what makes it so unique because it is such a national thing. It's every bit as big as those other great rivalries in sports, if not bigger, because of all the winning the two schools do, the proximity and everything else.

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Carolina-Duke Memories: UNC Staff Recalls Playing Vs. Blue Devils

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