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There’s little luster left in the Carolina-State rivalry.
The Tar Heels and Wolfpack resume what was among the fiercest rivalries in college basketball for three generations – the Case-McGuire era of the ‘50s, the Smith-Sloan/Smith-Valvano era of the ‘70s and ‘80s followed by the Williams-Whoever slaughter of the early twenty-first century.
State certainly had its moments, but the numbers all favor the Tar Heels who lead the overall series 167-81 heading into the 249th renewal Wednesday night unless the snowstorm or a military emergency like the 1991 Gulf War postpones another game.
Indianan Everett Case, the godfather of ACC Basketball and ACC tournament, dominated Frank McGuire their first four years competing, but the Irishman almost caught him in his last three seasons that included the 1957 national championship.
Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge throttled State in their decades together, winning 66 and losing 31. Roy Williams admittedly “hated” the Pack forever and coached like it, with a 33-5 record. Hubert Davis is 6-2 going into this game.
But what happened off the court that followed the fighting 1950’s was less pugnacious but even more salacious. Smith was dominating Case’s successor Norman Sloan until David Thompson showed up in Raleigh instead than Chapel Hill.
The Tar Heels were in the early lead, then Thompson’s street in rural Shelby was suddenly paved by a State alumnus. Smith found out about the “pave for play” from his alum who knew their alum. The Pack went on probation for a year (an undefeated 1973 season), but the violations paid off with an NCAA title in 1974 at the Greensboro Coliseum. The coaches were bitter enemies until Sloan left for Florida, where he had been before going to State.
Smith got along better with younger Jim Valvano, who famously said, “I’m not gonna out-coach him, I’m gonna outlive him.”
Sadly, Jimmy V died of cancer in 1993, 22 years before Smith’s passing. Valvano was followed by a line of coaches, some pretty good, some really bad. Kevin Keatts’ dramatic run to the 2024 ACC tourney championship saved his job, but he is back on the hot seat this season.
The rivals continue to have great games, most close and most won by Carolina, a few on last-second shots like Marcus Paige made in 2014 and 2015.
State lost virtually the entire team from the magical run last season, but still played a close game in the first meeting at the newly renamed Lenovo Center, where Smith nor, of course, McGuire nor Case coached a game. Reynolds Coliseum was their venue.
The Wolfpack, 3-11 in the ACC, is not going back to the NCAA Tournament. That work in progress is for Carolina, which must play like this is truly an elimination game.
One more loss over the next five games will leave the Tar Heels needing some kind of miraculous run of their own through the ACC tournament.
As coaches have liked to say for the last 60 years, play ’em one at a time.
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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.
Chansky’s Notebook: The Battle Within Chapelboro.com.
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