Dear Cooper Flagg,
Look, kid, if you thought that with your two-meter frame and arms like cranes you came to college just to play basketball, you were gravely mistaken. Welcome to Durham, welcome to hell. It doesn’t matter that you’ve only played twenty college games, it doesn’t matter that ESPN and everyone who knows where Maine is already predict you as the No. 1 NBA pick, and it certainly doesn’t matter that you’re technically just a freshman – the only thing that matters is Saturday’s game against that damn UNC.
Because, Cooper, here in North Carolina, basketball is religion, and Chapel Hill is—at least from your current perspective—the devil’s playground. Never mind that you just turned eighteen – how you perform against that light blue army will follow you for the rest of your life. Don’t be surprised if, at fifty, in some random BBQ joint in Missouri, some guy in a stained tank top asks, “Hey kid, how’d you do against the Heels back in the day?”
Don’t believe it? Ask Michael Jordan, that guy from sneaker commercials—you might have heard of him. He says people don’t ask about his NBA rings or championships, but how he played against Duke. Or ask Jay Bilas, that bald guy from ESPN who constantly analyzes you, who still remembers the exact score of Duke’s win over UNC in 1984—77:74, in case you’re wondering. Because that wasn’t just a win. That was a statement. That was history.
Don’t think you’re off the hook just because you win one game—here, debts never close. Zion Williamson? His shoe exploded 36 seconds into the game against the Heels in 2019. Gerald Henderson? He broke Tyler Hansbrough’s nose and became a permanent nightmare for UNC fans. Or take it back to 1961, when Larry Brown and Art Heyman started a full-scale brawl that spread across the entire campus. This is not just a game. This is war.
Forget current stats. UNC is seventh in the ACC? Who cares. That team can crush your dreams regardless of rankings. Hubert Davis might be on the brink of getting fired, but he knows that records mean nothing when these two teams collide. Just ask Duke’s 1995 team—they were so bad that Coach K left the season for back surgery, yet they still played one of the most legendary games in this rivalry’s history.
So, Saturday, 6:30 PM, ESPN, Cameron Indoor Stadium. You vs. the Heels. Be ready, because the moment you step on the court, you step into history. The only question is—will you be the next Capel, the next Laettner, the next Jordan… or just another footnote in this rivalry’s stat sheet?
Good luck, Cooper.
Everyone in North Carolina.