Tyler Hansbrough is undoubtedly one of the best to wear North Carolina blue. His jersey hangs in the rafters at the Dean E. Smith Center, forever cementing his legacy as a Tar Heel great. But what likely makes the program love him even more is that he’s a passionate Duke hater. However, you know what he could have actually been a Blue Devil himself—if only he hadn’t flat-out refused Mike Krzyzewski’s offer. 

What followed next was a legendary collegiate career at North Carolina. The baller was the first player in ACC history to earn first-team All-America and first-team All-ACC honors in each of his four seasons. He finished his college career with a league-record 2,872 points, a school-record 1,219 rebounds, and an NCAA-record 982 made free throws. And obviously, he became the OG “Psycho T.”

But what went wrong with Duke? Coach K did try to recruit him, but Hansbrough barely gave it a second thought. When asked how hard Coach K pursued him, he was blunt, “It wasn’t a real long recruitment, and yeah, I think I moved on pretty early on. It wasn’t a fit for me.”

So was he clear-headed about heading to the UNC? Shockingly, the former Pacers star wasn’t some die-hard UNC fan growing up either. He shared on “The Field of 68” that he actually rooted for Missouri. But when Roy Williams came calling, things changed.

And from that moment on, Hansbrough never looked back. He’s always had massive respect for Williams, constantly crediting him for shaping both his basketball career and his life.

“For me, I met my best friends, enjoyed college, I had a great, great time,” he once said. “I played for the best coach I could possibly have in Coach [Roy] Williams. He taught me a lot about life.”

Even when Williams retired in 2021, Hansbrough had nothing but love for him. “We always knew it was on the horizon,” he admitted. “I was a little surprised because I thought the coach would go a few more years, but I am happy for coach.”

But how did he react when Coach K retired back in 2022? He did not have the same energy for the obvious reason.

If you thought Hansbrough was going to shower Krzyzewski with praises, you must not know Psycho T. Instead, he took a straight-up savage shot at Mike Krzyzewski’s farewell tour. 

During an ACC Network appearance, Hansbrough compared it to an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Albert Brooks threw himself a funeral while still alive just to hear people say nice things about him. 

“The only thing I can really compare it to… is Larry David’s show,” he said. “This season, they have a guy that goes to his funeral while he’s still alive so people can tell him how good he is. Hey, K deserves a lot of respect, but Tar Heel fans, we love that.” 

Brutal. But if you have been following college basketball, you already know that the UNC-Duke rivalry is real. 

Years after coach Mike Krzyzewski’s tenure, the Duke-UNC rivalry burns on

From Coach K to Jon Scheyer and from Roy Williams to Hubert Davis, the fire between Duke and North Carolina stays the same. Since 1977, these two programs have dominated college basketball, winning 77% of ACC regular-season titles and a ton of national championships. 

No matter how many years pass, when these two meet, things are fiery. This season, though, Duke came in as the clear favorite. With an unbeaten streak since November, they were rolling. 

UNC, on the other hand, has been struggling. And when the two clashed, well, the Blue Devils took care of business, winning 87-70. UNC had actually won three of the last four matchups at Cameron Indoor. But this time, Duke came out swinging, jumping to a 16-0 start and never looking back. 

The Tar Heels had no answer for Duke’s offensive firepower, and their defensive struggles only made things worse. But, if you’re looking for a silver lining, at least UNC showed some fight in the second half, which gives hope for their coming matchups. 

They did cut the lead to single digits at one point, but it just wasn’t enough. So, while Duke continues to shine as the No. 2 team in the nation, things aren’t exactly great in Chapel Hill. Let’s see how this season turns out for both. Also, deep down, we eagerly wait till they meet the next time because you better believe UNC will be looking for revenge!