The North Carolina Tar Heels handed Mike Krzyzewski a disappointing end to his time with Duke, as UNC took down the Blue Devils in their Final Four showdown on Saturday. Of course it sparked plenty of reactions from the NBA world, with former Tar Heels like Vince Carter and Danny Green among the first ones to comment on the big win.
UNC used a big second half to pull away from the Blue Devils, who went up 37-34 at halftime. Caleb Love top-scored for the Tar Heels with 28 points, but he was not the only one who made a winning impact. Another standout performer was Armando Bacot, who collected 21 boards on top of his 11 points. That monster double-double helped North Carolina control the game and edge Duke in the closing stages.
Carter, who was tuned in on the game, couldn’t help but be proud of his collegiate team. And he showed how happy he is for the Blue Devils with one perfect tweet:
Mannnnnn stop playing with that perfect shade of BLUE!!!!🐑 pic.twitter.com/mWf8fPqGLB
— Vince Carter (@mrvincecarter15) April 3, 2022
Meanwhile, unlike Vince Carter, Philadelphia 76ers sharpshooter Danny Green couldn’t help but restart that UNC-Duke rivalry among NBA players with his mocking reaction, telling the Blue Devils to “get out.”
Get em outta here!!!!!!
— Danny Green (@DGreen_14) April 3, 2022
Hey, Duke refused to shake hands with the Tar Heels, so that definitely counts as getting out.
Other former Tar Heels who are now in the NBA like Harrison Barnes, Nassir Little, Montrezl Harrell and Reggie Bullock also have mixed reactions, sharing how proud they are of North Carolina and also poking fun at Coach K and Duke for that ending that they did not see coming.
Coach K sick about that one and losing to #tarheels🐏
— Montrezl Harrell (@MONSTATREZZ) April 3, 2022
Bye bye 😘🤣🤣🤣🤣
— Nassir Little (@2ez_nassie) April 3, 2022
I’m just saying, you suppose to GREET THAT MAN HUBERT DAVIS with a better going OUT like that! Literally shake and walk…disrespectful 🤨 keep walking home 😂😂😂😂🤣
— Reggie Bullock (@ReggieBullock35) April 3, 2022
So proud of this group!!! @UNC_Basketball #GDTBATH
— Harrison Barnes (@hbarnes) April 3, 2022
It hard to blame these NBA stars for their comments. It was definitely a wild game worthy of all they hype it got. Had it ended in a blowout, the reactions wouldn’t have been this lively. Of course credit should be given to Coach K and his Duke for playing hard from start to finish, but it was not just meant to be and North Carolina was just really the better team when it came down the wire.
The job is far from over, though, as North Carolina now face the Kansas Jayhawks in the National Championship. Surely, more NBA stars will keep an eye on that game since Kansas itself has produced lot of professional players.
