NEW ORLEANS —- North Carolina vs. Duke in the Final Four. The stage couldn’t get any bigger. The Tar Heels take on the Blue Devils in the Superdome on Saturday night and have a chance to face either Kansas or Villanova in the National Championship Game.
As expected, many former UNC basketball players will be in attendance on Saturday to watch the ultimate showdown of the rivalry. Inside Carolina acquired the preliminary list:
Antawn Jamison: 1995-98
Tyler Hansbrough: 2005-09
Bobby Frasor: 2005-09
Wes Miller: 2003-07
Buzz Peterson: 1981-85
Marcus Ginyard: 2005-10
Joel Berry II: 2014-18
Peter Chilcutt: 1987-91
Scott Williams: 1986-90
Donald Williams: 1991-95
Jeff McInnis: 1993-96
Derrick Phelps: 1990-94
Shammond Williams: 1994-98
Cameron Johnson: 2017-19
Nassir Little: 2018-19
JR Reid: 1986-89
George Lynch: 1989-93
Al Wood: 1977-81
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UNC head coach Hubert Davis feels he has prepared his team for the magnitude of Saturday’s matchup.
“I feel like our guys are in the perfect place because one of the things that I think they’ve done a great job at is turning the noise down or turning it down,” Davis said Friday. “And we’ve talked about it at great length and turned down the noise from the phone – family, friends and fans – and focused on what allows us to be our best. And I think when you have great kids and great players like Armando and Brady, they understand that our preparation, our practice and our hard play are really important to our success on Saturday and that’s something we did in the second duel Duke needed.
“We had to block out the noise. We had to focus on what was real so we could do our best. And I believe that they have found benefit and success in it. And so what they exude is the confidence to be in this situation and be able to play the kind of basketball that they’ve been playing all year, especially the last two, two and a half months.
Davis never lacks passion for the game. He conveys it to his players every day. It’s an approach he’s followed all season. It worked against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“It never runs out in terms of emotion. And that’s why I want to play today. But there’s enough emotion to play tomorrow,” Davis said. “And I’ve told the guys there’s no difference between game day, Final Four and a summer shoot-around or pickup versus a midweek practice. Every time you step on the floor it’s an opportunity to get better and it’s an opportunity to compete and it’s live action.
“And so we don’t have to turn it up, we have to turn it down. It’s on and the light stays on all the time. And so today’s practice is live action and tomorrow we’re ready to go.”