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Senior Day `94 basketball supplement

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Duke-UNC showcases 2 talented classes**

Before the season, all the college basketball experts figured that the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season champion would be decided before the second Duke-North Carolina game.

They were right. But they were also wrong. You could say they were a shade off. A shade of blue, that is.

The Blue Devils (22-3, 12-3 in the ACC) clinched the ACC crown on Wednesday night by winning at Maryland 73-69 while the Tar Heels (23-6, 10-5) fell to Wake Forest 68-61.

"It's something we really wanted to accomplish this year and a lot of people didn't believe that we really had a chance to win the regular season, because we lost some great players," Duke senior forward Antonio Lang said. "It's even sweeter because it`s my last year here. It's something special for this team because we've had rough times and we were able to pull through."

"Its going to be a special day, and a great way to finish a career," Clark said. "What better way to end a career -- being at home, in front of family and friends, the best fans in the country, national TV, with two great teams and two great coaches. All the elements are there. What else could you ask for?"

How about the reward of a top seed for Duke in the NCAA Tournament? Though the pairings will not come out until after next week's ACC Tournament, a victory over the Tar Heels would go a long way toward securing such a top spot for the Blue Devils.

North Carolina can draw on the experiences of its senior class for motivation as well. The Tar Heel seniors came to Chapel Hill in 1990 dubbed "The greatest recruiting class ever," led by Eric Montross, the high school player of the year according to some recruiting analysts.

While they lost that moniker to the Fab Five of Michigan just a year later, they have managed to win an ACC regular season championship, an ACC Tournament championship, two Final Four berths and last year's national championship during their first three years in Chapel Hill.

But no current UNC players have ever won a game in Cameron Indoor Stadium, and this season the Tar Heels have struggled to meet expectations of greatness. With six of last year's top eight players returning, including last year's Final Four Most Outstanding Player Donald Williams, and three highly-prized recruits for added depth, the Tar Heels were supposed to leave everyone in the country, much less the ACC, playing for second place.

"Everybody thought Carolina was going to go undefeated," Duke center Cherokee Parks said. "But then UMass fortunately got to them early and people were like `Wait, they're not invincible, they can be stopped.' And then a few people got them in the league, so we'll have high hopes for Saturday."

Injuries have slowed UNC during the regular season. Senior point guard Derrick Phelps has missed several games and Williams was unable to play for two different stretches during the year, including the first matchup with Duke.

But everyone is healthy again and the freshmen have lived up to the hype surrounding their arrival. Jerry Stackhouse, Jeff McInnis and Rasheed Wallace have been valuable additions, contributing in all areas for the Tar Heels. McInnis and Stackhouse grew up in North Carolina, as did Duke freshman guard Jeff Capel, and all can be expected to raise the level of their play due to the fact that they will be playing in a Duke-Carolina game at Cameron for the first time.

"It's something you always dream of as a kid in the back yard," Capel said. "It's definitely something I've always dreamed of. Its going to be a great game."

UNC is hoping to make it a great game by improving its intensity and offensive execution. The Tar Heels need to get back on track quickly in time to make another assault on the NCAA championship. Losers of three of its last six games, UNC desperately wants to take a step in the right direction by winning against Duke in Cameron.

"I think they're a better team than they were the last time we played them," Lang said. "We're definitely a better team than when we played them the last time. We just have to go out there and do the things we've been doing. When things are successful, you don't fix things that aren't broken."

One area where Duke has improved is defense. North Carolina got 39 points on 16-of-27 shooting from its post trio of Montross, Wallace, and Kevin Salvadori in the earlier contest against the Blue Devils.

"I think we've got everything kind of smoothed out," Parks said. "If we stick to our game plan, our defensive game plan we've had the last couple of games, I think we'll be fine."

The numbers support Parks' claim. Duke has gradually tightened the screws since that game. The Blue Devils have held their last five opponents to just 35 percent shooting.

"Duke's going to be ready to play," Clark said. "We've got to come out and establish ourselves defensively because its going to be a war."