Even in the 80s, Duke and UNC were among the elite in college basketball. The two teams ended up playing for the ACC Championship in Atlanta, Georgia on March 12, 1989 and the Blue Devils fell to the Tarheels 77-74. Fans in attendance spoke of how physical the game was and how they had never been in such a hostile environment in basketball. After the game, J.R. Reid of North Carolina was named tournament MVP.
What a lot of people don’t realize, are some of the now-famous faces that were a part of that game. Current Good Morning America host and former ESPN sportscaster, Robin Roberts reported during the game and former NBA star, Rick Fox, was on the winning Tarheel team. Fox went on to play for the Celtics and Lakers later in his career. After he retired from the NBA, Fox pursued an acting career, appearing in movies like Holes and Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns.
As of today, we are two weeks away from the 2014 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Both Duke and North Carolina are in the Top 5 ACC teams; could we have a repeat soon? It’s definitely possible.
