Who will be the one and done winners Saturday?
Carolina and Duke have had players who stepped onto the court for the first time in the blue blood rivalry and led their teams to victory in what has become the most famous regular season home-and-home series. Both programs have had dozens of NBA draft choices over the years, and the number of players has increased.
In 2022, Mike Krzyzewski was coaching his last games at Duke after announcing his retirement and before turning the program over to Jon Scheyer the following season. The Blue Devils had two first-round NBA draft picks, Paulo Banchero and A.J. Griffin, who combined for 36 points in the 87-67 win over the Tar Heels. One and done Brady Manek led UNC to an 94-81 upset in the rematch at Duke.
Banchero was the first pick in the 2022 draft by the Orlando Magic, and Griffin went No. 16 to the Atlanta Hawks. Manek continued his star-studded career overseas.
In 2024, third year Carolina coach Hubert Davis revamped his roster and signed one-and-done transfers Cormac Ryan and Harrison Ingram, who led the Tar Heels to a sweep over Duke and clinched the ACC regular season championship. On March 9, Ryan set a career record with six 3-pointers on his way to 31 points and the upset of the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor Stadium to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Ryan has played in the NBA and G League teams since graduating from Carolina.
Duke got even the next year when one and done first-round draft picks Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel swept the Tar Heels and led the Blue Devils to the Final Four before losing to Houston in the semifinals. Flagg stars in the NBA for the Dallas Mavericks and Knueppel plays for the Charlotte Hornets.
The first of two games this season is at the Dean Dome, and both programs have freshmen who are projected as first round NBA draft picks and will be highlighted on ESPN for the 6:30 Saturday and the rematch, also on ESPN, on March 9.
The Tar Heels have 6-10 Caleb Wilson who is currently tabbed as the No. 4 pick. The Blue Devils have the slated No. 3 pick in 6-9 freshman Cameron Boozer, who is the son of former Duke All-ACC forward Carlos Boozer who had a long NBA career himself.
They both have stunning professional careers ahead of them, but they play for two of the most celebrated college basketball programs in the country. Duke has produced 56 first-round NBA draft picks and UNC has 54.
Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas, Michigan, Indiana, Arizona, Syracuse and Louisville have sent players into the NBA and various semi pro leagues, thanks to Hall of Fame coaches like Dean Smith and Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski who built the most recognized blue blood rivalries in the college game.
Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
