Paolo Banchero “Haunted” by loss to UNC basketball program

As he reflected on his lone season at Duke, Paolo Banchero made some interesting comments about their loss to the UNC basketball program in the Final Four.

Paolo Banchero is on his way to the NBA, but still has some regrets about his lone season in Durham.

In his lone season on campus, Banchero played a huge role in leading the Blue Devils to 32 victories. Individually, he was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and is in line to be a top pick in the NBA Draft.

However, even with his personal success, the loss to the UNC basketball program in the Final Four is still something that the former Duke standout will never forget.

Banchero sat down with Zion Olojede of Complex as part of a pre-draft interview, and the topic of this Final Four battle with the Tar Heels came up in discussion. According to Banchero, the loss is one that will haunt him and his teammates for a long time.

Here’s what Banchero had to say when asked by Olojede if he was over the loss to North Carolina:

"“I don’t think I’ll ever fully get over it. The first month I told myself: ‘Just stop. Stop dwelling on it.’ To say ‘get over it’; I’ll never get over it.”"

Olojede followed by asking Banchero if he felt like the loss would haunt him forever, and the former Blue Devil certainly had a pretty definitive answer to the question:

"“Oh yeah, I feel like we were the best team in the country. We were playing so good and the way we lost coming down the wire like that … it could’ve went either way. The fact it didn’t go our way is going to definitely haunt me a bit.”"

Now, UNC basketball fans will definitely disagree with Banchero’s belief that the Blue Devils were the best team in the country, as the Tar Heels defeated them in two of their three matchups. However, you can’t fault Banchero for thinking this way, as he had confidence in his team, one that ultimately fell short of their desired goal.

With the retirement of coach Mike Krzyzewski, this season’s battles between the two arch-rivals will definitely go down as some of the best games between these two historic programs.

For Tar Heels fans, if it wasn’t enough that the UNC basketball program single-handedly ruined Coach K’s farewell tour, they’ll now have some extra satisfaction knowing that the win over Duke in the Final Four will haunt Paolo Banchero forever.

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