Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Oh, Danny boy! Carolina at Duke Memories

By Davis Wallace

DURHAM, NC - MARCH 03: (L-R) Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils talks to head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels before their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - MARCH 03: (L-R) Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils talks to head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels before their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on March 3, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Everyone that knows what college basketball is knows that Carolina and Duke face-off this week. You can’t mention the battles of Carolina and Duke without bringing up The Danny Green dunk.

The greatest rivalry in college sports adds a new chapter to the book on Wednesday night as North Carolina travels down the road to Durham to take on No. 1 Duke.

The Blue Devils stand alone atop the Atlantic Coast Conference standings with just one loss and are a game ahead of both UNC and Virginia entering play. UNC is coming off a week in which they lost a close one to Virginia but rebounded to dominate Wake Forest on the road.

Wednesday’s game is huge for the conference title as a win by the Blue Devils would give them a two-game lead over UNC. But a win by the Tar Heels makes things very interesting.

It’s no secret UNC hasn’t played well in Durham as of late and it seems like they have a lead sometime in the second half before watching Duke rally to win. The Tar Heels last win at Duke was in 2016 to clinch the ACC regular season title but before that they have struggled.

There was a time where UNC dominated the rivalry at Durham, going 4-0 from 2006-2009 with the recruiting class of Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Marcus Ginyard, Bobby Frasor and Michael Copeland. During that stretch, there’s a few moments that stand out but we wanted to spotlight one of our favorites.

So let’s set the scene:

Date: March 8, 2008

Cast of Characters

Danny Green – The dunker

Greg Paulus – The dunkee

Marcus Ginyard – The assist man

Kyle Singler – The assistant to the dunkee

Wayne Ellington – The left-handed layup

Gene Hansbrough – The proud dad

Coach K – The ref yeller

Synopsis

A talented group of aspiring National Champions gathered at Cameron Indoor Stadium for their rematch with their rivals from Durham; looking for their third-straight win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Scene

UNC is leading 34-26 with 2:43 left in the first half when Danny Green grabs the rebound off a Greg Paulus missed three. Paulus backpedals to get back on defense. Green takes a couple of dribbles as he starts the four-on-one fast break. Green sees Marcus Ginyard to his left and passes him the ball. Ginyard passes it right back to a trailing Green down the middle of the paint.

Paulus in prime position to draw a charge, or so he thinks. However, Green elevates over him and goes in for the jam! Green glances at the fallen Paulus before scurrying back on defense; Kyle Singler came to aid of the abashed Paulus.

The next possession Duke turned the ball over, and Wayne Ellington eventually lays it up with his left hand to push the Tar Heel lead to 12. Insert the proud dad, Gene Hansbrough.

Although his son, Tyler Hansbrough wasn’t involved in this sequence  Hansbrough was shown on camera with the cliche “that’s my boy” look on his face just as Duke calls a timeout. Speaking of the Duke timeout, this is where Coach K enters as seen on TV yelling profanity at the refs.

In the end, Carolina scored the final 10 points to win the game by a count of 76-68. However, the first half Green hammer is all any UNC remembers.

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