Duke vs UNC The 2026 Thread (Tobacco Road is Back)

#1
RDU VOL#14

RDU VOL#14

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#1
Okay everyone, the thread that some of you have waited for, some of you hate and some that just can't wait to get on here and talk crap about Duke vs UNC... The greatest basketball in college basketball and a top 3 rivalry in all of college sports, and a top 10 rivalry in American Sports.


Lots of questions for both as we're already in Mid November. Can Duke and Coach Scheyer finish? This Duke team is loaded with another spectacular recruiting class, led by son of Blue Devil great Carlos Boozer. He's a double double machine and a potential 1st team all american. There is loads of talent that can get Duke back to a Final Four, but can they finish and avoid late game collapses like they had against Houston in the Final Four ?Duke was the best team in the country last year, but didn't close out games. Duke has championship talent and will be tested early against a very difficult non conference schedule that started with a win over Texas, Kansas tomorrow night, and includes Arkansas, Michigan St, Florida and Michigan. The ACC should also be much improved this season with NC State hiring Will Wade, Louisville bringing in G -League guys (how is that allowed?) and of course that brings us to the Heels. Can Hubert save his job this season? Right now they look pretty legit with the freshman Caleb Wilson leading the Heels. He's looking like a top 3-5 pick in next summer’s draft, which is something that has been missing from a UNC roster for quite sometime. That's something I never thought I'd type after growing up watching the likes of guys like JR Reid, Stackhouse, Wallace, Carter, Jameson and so many great players that have gone through Chapel Hill, some of which I've hated more than others... UNC looks athletic and big always been part of the recipe for success. I've only seen parts of a few games for the Heels, but they play differently than they have for the past few years. I think they can finish top 3 in the league, but they have to finish top 4 in the ACC to save Hubert’s job.

I think both have the talent to deep into March and maybe even early April. As a Duke fan you can’t help but notice that the Final Four is in Indianapolis, where Duke won National Titles in 1991, 2010 and 2015. If Duke reaches Indy, they might be able to repeat history and cut down the nets.

This season won’t be boring !

GTHC
IMG_9527.gif
 
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#5
#5
RDU VOL#14 said:
Okay everyone, the thread that some of you have waited for, some of you hate and some that just can't wait to get on here and talk crap about Duke vs UNC... The greatest basketball in college basketball and a top 3 rivalry in all of college sports, and a top 10 rivalry in American Sports.


Lots of questions for both as we're already in Mid November. Can Duke and Coach Scheyer finish? This Duke team is loaded with another spectacular recruiting class, led by son of Blue Devil great Carlos Boozer. He's a double double machine and a potential 1st team all american. There is loads of talent that can get Duke back to a Final Four, but can they finish and avoid late game collapses like they had against Houston in the Final Four ?Duke was the best team in the country last year, but didn't close out games. Duke has championship talent and will be tested early against a very difficult non conference schedule that started with a win over Texas, Kansas tomorrow night, and includes Arkansas, Michigan St, Florida and Michigan. The ACC should also be much improved this season with NC State hiring Will Wade, Louisville bringing in G -League guys (how is that allowed?) and of course that brings us to the Heels. Can Hubert save his job this season? Right now they look pretty legit with the freshman Caleb Wilson leading the Heels. He's looking like a top 3-5 pick in next summer’s draft, which is something that has been missing from a UNC roster for quite sometime. That's something I never thought I'd type after growing up watching the likes of guys like JR Reid, Stackhouse, Wallace, Carter, Jameson and so many great players that have gone through Chapel Hill, some of which I've hated more than others... UNC looks athletic and big always been part of the recipe for success. I've only seen parts of a few games for the Heels, but they play differently than they have for the past few years. I think they can finish top 3 in the league, but they have to finish top 4 in the ACC to save Hubert’s job.

I think both have the talent to deep into March and maybe even early April. As a Duke fan you can’t help but notice that the Final Four is in Indianapolis, where Duke won National Titles in 1991, 2010 and 2015. If Duke reaches Indy, they might be able to repeat history and cut down the nets.

This season won’t be boring !

GTHC
View attachment 790238
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Poor Cayden! His existence doesn't even get acknowledged by a Duke fan.
 
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#9
#9
RDU VOL#14 said:
That's something I never thought I'd type after growing up watching the likes of guys like JR Reid, Stackhouse, Wallace, Carter, Jameson and so many great players that have gone through Chapel Hill, some of which I've hated more than others...

GTHC
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Thanks for this thread! I feel like theirs a big gap between JR Reid's time in CH and that of the other four. I think JR Reid remembers when they added the three point line in college basketball. But to today's kids, Stack house and Wallace are who their granddads cheered for, too. Maybe I'm just old. 😂
 
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#10
#10
BlinghamptonVol said:
Thanks for this thread! I feel like theirs a big gap between JR Reid's time in CH and that of the other four. I think JR Reid remembers when they added the three point line in college basketball. But to today's kids, Stack house and Wallace are who their granddads cheered for, too. Maybe I'm just old. 😂
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The funny thing is that JR Reid, Stackhouse, Wallace, Carter and Jameson never won National titles and were very good pros (maybe not Reid) but the guys that were there between them that were really good college players (George Lynch, Montross, Donald Williams) did in 1993. My first real memories of the rivalry were Danny Ferry vs JR Reid, Quinn Snyder vs Jeff Lebo, Rick Fox and Billy King. That was an awesome time to be a little kid growing up in Durham. Followed of course by Laettner, Hill and Hurley.
 
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#11
#11
RDU VOL#14 said:
The funny thing is that JR Reid, Stackhouse, Wallace, Carter and Jameson never won National titles and were very good pros (maybe not Reid) but the guys that were there between them that were really good college players (George Lynch, Montross, Donald Williams) did in 1993. My first real memories of the rivalry were Danny Ferry vs JR Reid, Quinn Snyder vs Jeff Lebo, Rick Fox and Billy King. That was an awesome time to be a little kid growing up in Durham. Followed of course by Laettner, Hill and Hurley.
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Those were awesome times when Duke was trying to get to the mountaintop. It made 91 so special. Crazy how many amazing players Carolina had that didn't win titles, but I feel like Duke had a lot of those too - Dawkins, Brand, Reddick, then all the one and dones. Hopefully Scheyer has learned from last year's team not being able to finish to give this year's team a little more umph to close out games.
 
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#12
#12
BlinghamptonVol said:
Those were awesome times when Duke was trying to get to the mountaintop. It made 91 so special. Crazy how many amazing players Carolina had that didn't win titles, but I feel like Duke had a lot of those too - Dawkins, Brand, Reddick, then all the one and dones. Hopefully Scheyer has learned from last year's team not being able to finish to give this year's team a little more umph to close out games.
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At this point I’d say Duke has had as many, if not more great players that didn’t win titles. I don’t think Duke losing to Houston last season was as bad as Duke losing to UCONN in 99, but it was close. That’s the Tennessee equivalent to losing to LSU in 01 to me. The Zion, Barrett should have won it and the 2004 team that also lost to UCONN in the National semifinals was tough too. I’m still bitter about Luol Deng going rogue the last 3 minutes of that game. If you stack them altogether, 86, 89, 99,02, 04, 19, 22 and 25, those teams should’ve or could’ve put up a banner. IMO, Duke was the best team in 99 and 25, probably 86 also. UNC’s 1984 squad was insanely stacked w/ Jordan, Sam Perkins, Brad Daughtery and Kenny Smith. Their 94 through 98 teams were incredibly talented too, along with/ their 2012 teams. I’m pretty lucky that I’ve been able to see a lot of these guys play in person and in some cases in the early 2000s play pickup against guys that were on the teams. Played against a couple of guys on both sides in high school too.
 
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#16
#16
When North Carolina goes to the Big Ten or SEC in two or three years, what conference does Duke end up in—the big 12 or The American/ACC merger?
 
#17
#17
HeavenUniversity said:
When North Carolina goes to the Big Ten or SEC in two or three years, what conference does Duke end up in—the big 12 or The American/ACC merger?
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That’s a good question. I think Duke is a better fit in the Big 12 or the Big East for basketball , but I think it would be foolish for any conference expansion to break up the Duke vs UNC rivalry . If Carolina joins the SEC, why not bring Duke also? I know it’s about football, but you automatically have the best basketball conference in the country, the addition of tv viewers for basketball will outweigh every other conference and the football is still the best, even though competitively Duke and UNC don’t add much value. Duke and Carolina gives you at least 6 marquee blue blood basketball games between Duke, UNC and UK. The casual viewer will watch those games.
 
#18
#18
RDU VOL#14 said:
That’s a good question. I think Duke is a better fit in the Big 12 or the Big East for basketball , but I think it would be foolish for any conference expansion to break up the Duke vs UNC rivalry . If Carolina joins the SEC, why not bring Duke also? I know it’s about football, but you automatically have the best basketball conference in the country, the addition of tv viewers for basketball will outweigh every other conference and the football is still the best, even though competitively Duke and UNC don’t add much value. Duke and Carolina gives you at leastense pressure to 6 marquee blue blood basketball games between Duke, UNC and UK. The casual viewer will watch those games.
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The other issue is North Carolina State. Supposedly, there will be intense political pressure to keep them together.
 
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#19
#19
HeavenUniversity said:
The other issue is North Carolina State. Supposedly, there will be intense political pressure to keep them together.
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I’ve heard that too. I don’t know what to think about State. I think they’re a better culture fit for the SEC than UNC, Duke or UVA, but I don’t feel like they bring that much value in terms of eyeballs to streaming services or cable services . State isn’t that interesting to the casual viewer, but they are a very loyal, passionate fan base and they damn sure hate some Carolina.
 
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#20
#20
RDU VOL#14 said:
I’ve heard that too. I don’t know what to think about State. I think they’re a better culture fit for the SEC than UNC, Duke or UVA, but I don’t feel like they bring that much value in terms of eyeballs to streaming services or cable services . State isn’t that interesting to the casual viewer, but they are a very loyal, passionate fan base and they damn sure hate some Carolina.
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Back in the mid 90s when State still played at Reynolds’s Coliseum, I caught a weekend down there where both State and UNC played home games. The crowds were like night and day. State fans were much more into it. UNC fans, especially, in the lower section seemed like they were at a play .
 
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#21
#21
HeavenUniversity said:
Back in the mid 90s when State still played at Reynolds’s Coliseum, I caught a weekend down there where both State and UNC played home games. The crowds were like night and day. State fans were much more into it. UNC fans, especially, in the lower section seemed like they were at a play .
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That’s the wine and cheese crowd.


Also, UNC and Duke are a package deal. 100%
 
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#22
#22
RDU VOL#14 said:
That’s a good question. I think Duke is a better fit in the Big 12 or the Big East for basketball , but I think it would be foolish for any conference expansion to break up the Duke vs UNC rivalry . If Carolina joins the SEC, why not bring Duke also? I know it’s about football, but you automatically have the best basketball conference in the country, the addition of tv viewers for basketball will outweigh every other conference and the football is still the best, even though competitively Duke and UNC don’t add much value. Duke and Carolina gives you at least 6 marquee blue blood basketball games between Duke, UNC and UK. The casual viewer will watch those games.
Click to expand...

As much as it pains me to say it Duke is the bigger brand right now. Carolina and Duke will a package deal to a conference down the road. There isn’t a conference commissioner out there stupid enough to ignore the draw they instantly create for a conference.
 
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#23
#23
Genuine question, because I have a hard time wrapping my head around those that root for non Vol teams in other sports. Do you root for Vol basketball at all?
 
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