The N.C. State vs. UNC basketball rivalry has been upstaged in recent seasons by the Tar Heels’ series against Duke.
But dating back to the earliest days of the ACC, the Wolfpack and Heels have staged as many unforgettable games as any other in the nation.
GREENSBORO - The horde of cameramen surrounding Mike Krzyzewski as he walked onto the court would have seemed more appropriate for a visiting head of state than a basketball coach.
But Krzyzewski was about to surpass one of the most sacred numbers in a sport that’s approached with religious fervor in North Carolina. Everything else took a back seat Wednesday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The game was never in doubt because top-ranked Duke and Krzyzewski entered the game undefeated, while UNC Greensboro was winless in 11 games. So all eyes were on Krzyzewski as he won his 880th game to move past former North Carolina coach Dean Smith into second place on Division I career coaching victory list.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams can’t help but “hate it” that Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski could pass Dean Smith – one of Williams’ mentors – on the all-time wins list, as soon as Tuesday night. But at the same time, he can’t help but respect it, too.
“I think that Mike said this, I think he said that Coach Smith had set the standard for all the other coaches, or something like that,’’ Williams said. “Well, that’s what Mike has done. He’s going to set a standard for the rest of us to try to see if we can keep up.”
Krzyzewski enters Wednesday’s game against UNC Greensboro at Greensboro Coliseum tied with Smith on the Division I victories list with 879 wins. Bob Knight tops that chart with 902.
Earlier this month, Williams shared his thoughts with the N&O about Krzyzewski approaching Smith’s mark:
updated: 10:56 p.m.
DURHAM – Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski reached 879 career victories Monday night by building a program, not just a team.
Much like former North Carolina coach Dean Smith – whose mark Krzyzewski tied with the top-ranked Blue Devils’ 98-72 victory over Elon at Cameron Indoor Stadium. And whose record he could surpass as quickly as Dec. 29, vs. UNC Greensboro, which would push Krzyzewski to second on the all-time victories list and make him the winningest coach ever to have worked in the ACC.
“ No one’s done a better job in the ACC, by far, than Dean,’’ Krzyzewski said after his team stayed unbeaten (11-0) by shooting 49.2 percent and out-rebounding the Phoenix by 15. “We’ve done our share, but what he did is set a standard that the league had to adopt or else you drop by the wayside.
“And he’s one of the great pioneers, great coaches … he built a program when most people didn’t know what a program is. And he built one hell of a program at a great school by recruiting unbelievably great great kids, building great relationships with them, and they played a brand of basketball where they showed up every night. And we’ve, I think, done a lot like that in our own way.”
Fans, players and coaches enjoyed a star-studded North Carolina Professional Alumni Game at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill Friday night to kick ... more
Former North Carolina coach Dean Smith didn’t make the trip to Detroit, but he liked what he saw the Tar Heels do from afar Monday night.
“That was sensational, a good start and a good ending,’’ said an excited Smith, who watched the national championship game on television from his home in Chapel Hill.
“It was the national championship. Tyler [Hansbrough], he was jumping up and down. That’s why they [several key players] came back.”
Staff photo by Robert Willett
DETROIT — Since he didn't do it when North Carolina won the 2005 national championship in St. Louis, Michael Jordan doesn't plan to speak to the Tar Heels before they play Michigan State for the NCAA title tonight at Ford Field.
But if he was to talk to them, he said he'd repeat what legendary coach Dean Smith told him before the 1982 national championship game: "Just go out there and have fun. These are the games that are a lot of fun, because the expectations are a lot higher, the craziness is a lot higher, the stakes are a lot higher — but that's what you live for. That's the fun part, so just go out there and be who you are and have fun."
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina’s 104-74 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday marked the eighth time this season the Tar Heels have reached the triple-digit mark, securing the traditional
two-sausage-biscuits-for-a-buck deal at a popular chain of chicken joints.
Forward Tyler Hansbrough said it's good to break the 100-point barrier, because “ I don’t really go to Bojangles, but I know everybody around here loves Bojangles, so it’s big for the fans to go in and get their little discount. But it also shows we’re scoring as a team and playing pretty well.”
Has Hansbrough — who set the NCAA mark for career free throws made during the game — ever taken advantage of the deal?
HBO takes a stab at corralling the Duke-North Carolina men's basketball rivalry in a documentary called, "Battle for Tobacco Road: Duke vs. North Carolina." The hour-long show on the greatest rivalry in college sports premieres tonight at 9 p.m.
First, a key statistic from the program: Duke 57, UNC 53.
When you've beaten N.C. State as many times (26) as UNC has since 1994, the victories tend to run together but here are five to remember for the Tar Heels, who are 11-1 against the Wolfpack under coach Roy Williams:
"Herb's Waterloo"
