After “Gut-Wrenching” Loss to Coach K’s Duke, NBA Star Recalls Questioning His Basketball Career

The North Carolina-Duke rivalry is celebrated as one of the greatest in college basketball history. Located within a mere eight miles of each other, Duke and North Carolina first clashed on January 24, 1920, a game that ended with a 36-25 victory for the Tar Heels. This matchup gave birth to a historic rivalry that has been going on for over a century. However, beyond their local rivalry, both Duke and North Carolina have stood as powerhouses of NCAA basketball.

Amidst of the legacy of these prestigious schools, the players entangled in the North Carolina-Duke rivalry undoubtedly face immense pressure. Most recently, former Tar Heels player turned NBA Star recalled questioning his career after a loss to Coach K’s Duke.

NBA Star recalls questioning his career after a loss to Coach K’s Duke

Brooklyn Nets star, Cameron Johnson used to play for the prestigious Tar Heels. Joining the University of North Carolina in 2017, he had a two-year tenure at the school, when he became known as one of the country’s best shooters and a fan favorite, making valuable contributions to the Tar Heels. However, playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels meant taking on Coach Duke’s mighty Blue Devils.

With a record of 1,202?368, Mike Krzyzewski, or Coach K is undoubtedly the winningest coach in college basketball history. Furthermore injecting completion to the Duke’s roster was Grayson Allon and Zion Williamson. He recently recalled how Coach K’s Duke left him questioning why he even played!

Appearing on a recent episode of ‘2nd Wind,’ he stated, “I would call it the biggest rivalry in sports,” referring to the Duke-Carolina rivalry.

He recalled, “It’s a heck of an experience bro. Like um, you play at Duke…. small gym… intimate. Way more people in there than there should be. Loud. We lost one time at Duke when I was at Carolina. Gut-wrenching… bottom. I’m literally talking about… I kid you not I close my eyes and I can look around the gym I remember standing at half court there might have been a minute left,?and we were down six, we’re?up 15 in the second half….and I was like ‘Man is this hoop… is this hooping for me? Man, this is a bad feeling.'”

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To make things worse, it was also his birthday that day.

He continued, “So I’m thinking, at Duke, up 15 second half yeah and I felt like ‘Man what where did I go wrong? Like how… I missed a couple threes in the second half that I probably should have hit I’m like this on me. And just it’s like it’s a low yeah.”

Coaching for a historic 42 years at Duke, Coach K served his last season as a head coach in the 2021-22 season. Taking over the reign as the head coach was Jon Scheyer, a former Blue Devil who played from 2006 to 2010. Furthermore, he has also been an assistant coach since 2014.

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While replacing Coach K is a pretty daunting task, Jon Scheyer’s inaugural season as head coach has been nothing short of a fairy tale. The team, under his leadership, has soared to a remarkable 23 victories in the regular season. With this accomplishment, they set broke the record for the most wins in a first season. Yet, with a legacy that boasts 17 Final Four appearances and 119 tournament game wins, Scheyer’s reign over Duke is just getting started.

What are your thoughts on the Duke-North Carolina rivalry? Let us know in the comments below!