The magnitude of Saturday’s rivalry is never lost inside the North Carolina locker room, and as the Tar Heels get ready to face Duke this year, players on the roster understand what it’ll take for them to win this game.
For freshman star Caleb Wilson, much of that has come from head coach Hubert Davis, whose personal experiences in the game have helped him understand the moment for a team that will need all of the help it can get heading into the contest against arguably the best team in the country.
“He was talking about how he remembers all of his 11 matchups with Duke,” Wilson said, per Shelby Swanson, “I can almost see him thinking back in his head when he’s talking about these stories... especially these stories he’s been telling us as of late about Duke, I can see him in his head thinking and envisioning exactly what was going on.”
Those talks, Wilson said, have made film sessions important and something UNC has been taking as seriously as ever throughout the week.
For senior guard Seth Trimble, he understands that this is his last home game in the Duke vs. UNC rivalry, and he’s ready to make the most of it.
“It’s my last home game with the Duke-UNC matchup, so I’mma just make it the best that I can,” Trimble said Thursday. “But I’m doing a pretty good job of letting the guys know how much tension there is during this matchup. You know what the stakes are. You know the history.”
Trimble has taken on the role of being the leader of this team, and when things get tough on Saturday, he needs to do so. Regardless of whether UNC wins or not, things will be challenging at one moment or another. UNC and Duke always play some of the best games of every season.
Toughness will be needed, and for Davis, it’s something he’s ready for his guys to understand. He even said that he has nothing crazy ready for Saturday and expects that his guys will be ready to go.
“I mean, if you can’t put on that uniform and be in that locker room and run out of that tunnel and play on that floor... then there’s a problem here,” Davis said. “I have nothing cooked up for Saturday, other than to be here.”