Duke-UNC: Day of the Seahorse*

A Story by Abishai100

A fan showcase of why the Duke-UNC rivalry in NCAAB is the greatest rivalry arguably in all of American sports.

Since I got a lot of looks on my dark Alien piece and a positive comment, I thought I'd lighten things up with a last look at the cheering side of American college sports, and this one is a toast to the timeless Duke-UNC men's college basketball rivalry that reminds us why the pre-Coronavirus era was all about dancing! Enjoy (signing off),

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Duke University has begun to stand-out in the post-Wooden/UCLA era under the great Coach K. They'd reached countless Final Fours until finally starting to win national titles (91, 92, 2001, 2010, 2015) as well as countless ACC titles and earning regular-season #1 ranking honors as well as #1 birthing-seeds in the NCAA tourney. Many considered the Duke Blue Devils the worthy successor to Wooden's golden UCLA Bruins. However, the one team that stood as the real worthy rival of Duke was the UNC Tar Heels, coached by two awesome coaches, Dean Smith and Roy Williams. Now, the angels deemed it worthwhile to pick an idealized 5-on-5 squad matchup game between the Blue Devils and Tar Heels. Who'd be on each squad?

RASHAD MCCANTS (Guard): This Tar Heels firecracker made his offense a show of great spontaneity.

RASHEED WALLACE (Center): This Tar Heels center made it tough for Duke players to claim presence inside!

BOBBY FRASOR (Guard): This Tar Heels guard helped choreograph excellent offensive intelligence for North Carolina.

GEORGE LYNCH (Forward): This gritty shooting forward had the ability to ingest and dissect defenses.

SPORTS-WRITER: In my estimate, any Tar Heels squad must be matched by a Duke squad of equal presence and thrills.

JEFF CAPEL (Guard): This Duke guard knew what it took to balance shooting with court presence!

SHAVLIK RANDOLPH (Center): This authoritative shooting center can combine elegance with power.

TRAJAN LANGDON (Guard): This shooting guard is a 3-point magician as well as a great dribbler for the Blue Devils.

ELTON BRAND (Center): No one counts out the presence of the big inside-man, Elton Brand.

SPORTS-MANAGER: I want to see the 5th man of this Blue Devils and Tar Heels rivalry be a real diamond.

MONTROSS (Center): This relentless Tar Heels center would score prolifically and defend like a monster!

MIKE DUNLEAVY (Forward): This small shooting-forward had the right gifts to give Duke a touch of class and mystique.

The timeless game with stars from multiple generations jumped for the ball and started this iconic 'angel game' in virtual reality. The Duke Blue Devils came out to an early 20-12 lead thanks to great 3-pointers from guard Trajan Langdon. However, UNC's tough center Eric Montross helped the Tar Heels claw back with quick and furious 2-point baskets to reach a 34-29 lead going into halftime. When the second half began, it was all about the rivalry of 3-point and 2-point shooting between the Duke guard Dunleavy and Tar Heels guard Frasor and then the inside rebounding and layup show contest between Duke's Randolph and UNC's Lynch. This was a great matchup, friends, and one that kids and adults alike would hail as the totem to the evidential diarism of the timeless/legendary Duke-UNC rivalry, arguably the greatest rivalry in American collegiate athletics! God bless America.