When North Carolina and Kansas face off tonight in Allen Fieldhouse, it will represent a meeting of two of the bluest of college basketball blue bloods. The Jayhawks are the second-winningest program all-time with 2,393 victories, trailing only Kentucky, while the Tar Heels rank third with 2,373.
The programs also have a shared history, thanks to the cross-pollination of legendary coaches.
Dean Smith played for a national championship team coached by Phog Allen at Kansas before winning two titles at UNC and retiring with the most wins in NCAA Division I history. Former Tar Heels star Larry Brown raised a banner with the Jayhawks by winning the 1988 national championship with Danny Manning and the Miracles before being replaced by Roy Williams, Dean Smith’s understudy who eventually returned to Chapel Hill to restore UNC to glory after a successful run in Lawrence. Williams is so emotionally attached to both schools that he’s decided not to attend tonight’s game.
“The unique relationships of Coach Smith, Coach Williams and Coach Brown, and the legacy that they have left at both places is rare and unique,” said current Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis, who scored 25 points for UNC’s loss to the Jayhawks in the 1991 national semifinal game.
The showdown will be the 13th time the Tar Heels and Jayhawks have met on the hardwood. They’ve split the previous dozen right down the middle, with 12 wins each including one apiece in national championship games. UNC won in double overtime to finish off an undefeated season in 1958 while Kansas got its revenge by rallying for a three-point triumph in 2022. Friday’s game, however, will be only the second time they’ve played on one of their home courts. The first was in 1960 in Lawrence. The teams will play for the first time in Chapel Hill next November.
UNC guard RJ Davis, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, admitted during a media availability on Wednesday that he didn’t know much about the history between the Tar Heels and Jayhawks. But the most recent meeting three seasons ago in New Orleans is still fresh on his mind. Davis had 15 points and 12 rebounds in the championship game, but the Heels blew a 15-point halftime lead and lost, 72-69. “We were just one rebound away from winning it,” he said. “The following year I was rewatching that game over and over again because you (were) close to your dream that you set as a freshman or as a high school athlete. Just to be that close was definitely heartbreaking for me.”
While Davis had to be filled in on the details of the history between the Tar Heels and Jayhawks, he’s well aware of the opportunity that stands before him and his teammates when they take the floor at Kansas’ historic arena. “You only get these types of games, these types of moments once in a while,” he said. “It’s definitely something that you want to look back on and definitely something you want to take advantage of.”
Duke’s Maine man
Cooper Flagg is the main man on Duke’s loaded roster this season and the projected No. 1 overall pick in next spring’s NBA Draft. But he’s also, arguably, the most heralded athlete ever produced by the state of Maine. Because the freshman sensation is all but certain to have a one-and-done college career, Monday’s season opener against Maine — the school he rooted for growing up and who his twin brother has committed to play for next year — is as close to a homecoming game as he’s going to get.
Flagg showed some signs of nerves in his first regular season game in front of the Cameron Crazies. He was just 6 of 15 from the floor, missed all four of his 3-point attempts and committed a pair of turnovers. But he still filled up his stat sheet by contributing 18 points, a team-leading seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and one SportsCenter Top 10 quality dunk in the Blue Devils’ 96-62 win against the Black Bears.
“(Maine) was really the only college that I’d go watch growing up, Division-I-wise, so I was a fan of them growing up, dreaming of going there someday.” Flagg said after the game. “I’d say it was definitely emotional. It definitely meant a little more.”
While the 6-9 wing played second fiddle on the score sheet to fellow 5-star freshman Kon Knueppel, who finished with 22 points in his Duke debut, coach Jon Scheyer had nothing but praise for his young star. “I’m proud of him for just impacting the game and playing every possession,” Scheyer said. “I think that’s great that he can admit and say that he was emotional. That’s natural. I think anybody is (emotional) for their first game, let alone that he’s playing Maine, where he’s from and where his mom went.”
Even though Flagg’s mother Kelly was a team captain at Maine who led the Black Bears’ women’s team to four NCAA Tournament appearances, she was a Duke fan on Monday, as was almost everyone else in Newport and a lot of other places around the state. “If you knew where he’s from, how small the town is … it’s a storybook thing that’s going on with him right now,” Maine coach Chris Markwood said. “The whole state is fully behind him and excited for him and rooting for him. I think we’re all a little bit in awe, because you just don’t see it happen a lot in the state of Maine. For us, it’s a big deal.”
Around the Rim
- Before tipping off its new season, N.C. State took one last look at its magical postseason run last spring by raising banners for its ACC Tournament championship and Final Four appearance to the rafters of Lenovo Center. It was an emotional ceremony that helped light a fire under the four returning players from the 2023-24 team. Michael O’Connell, Ben Middlebrooks, Jayden Taylor and Breon Pass all played major roles in the Wolfpack’s 97-66 win against USC Upstate. “What a beautiful night,” coach Kevin Keatts said. “It’s not very often that you get a chance to drop two banners and for us here at NC State, it’s been 37 years. It was beautiful. … I’m glad the game went the way it went, because we dropped the banners. I didn’t want to hang two banners just to have an okay game.”
- If you were expecting Virginia to take on a new look or assume a different personality after Tony Bennett’s abrupt retirement less than three weeks before the start of the season, you’re going to be disappointed. The only things new about the Cavaliers in Wednesday’s 65-56 opening win against Campbell were interim coach Ron Sanchez on the bench and freshman wing Jacob Cofie coming off the bench to score 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting in 29 minutes. UVa was a little more perimeter-oriented than usual and thanks to Jalen Warley’s decision to enter the transfer portal, it doesn’t have a true point guard. But it was just as deliberate on offense and aggressive on defense. So be prepared to keep embracing the pace.
- Louisville took the first steps toward putting the forgettable Kenny Payne era behind it on Monday with a thorough 93-45 beatdown of Morehead in its first game under new coach Pat Kelsey. The Cardinals lost 24-plus games in each of the past two seasons. But with a roster stocked with 12 new players, including leading scorers Kasean Pryor from USF and J’Vonne Hadley from Colorado, they looked like a competent, cohesive unit on offense while holding their opponent to just three field goals in the first half and 23 percent shooting for the game.
- SMU had six players score in double figures on Monday to win its first game under new coach Andy Enfield and first game playing as a member of the ACC. Wake Forest transfer Boopie Miller led the 96-62 victory with 21 points. Kario Oquendo and Chuck Harris scored 16 points each, BJ Edwards had 13, Keon Ambrose-Hylton 12 and Yohan Traore had 10. It was the first time the Mustangs had six players put up 10 or more points since a win against Hampton on Dec. 17, 2015.
