RALEIGH, N.C. — Dean Smith had Durham on lock.
North Carolina's legendary head coach was beloved in the Black community in Durham, and it wasn't just because the Tar Heels won a lot of games. Smith's recruitment of Charles Scott as the first Black scholarship men's basketball player at UNC and Smith's efforts to integrate the town of Chapel Hill put him in high regard.
With a parade of star players who were Black marching through the program, it was, frankly, a lot easier for Black people in Durham to identify with, and root for, Carolina. Duke was still viewed as a "white" program. Danny Ferry and Christian Laettner were viewed as the prototype players for the Blue Devils more than players like Johnny Dawkins.
