Photo credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

UNC Product Ridicules Top Duke Rookie Jared McCain

Originally posted on FanNation Blue Devil Country
By Matt Giles | Last updated 2/16/24

Expressed contempt between the UNC basketball family and Duke basketball's "Brotherhood" pops up year round. But the weeks separating the rivals' two annual regular-season battles often brings out the ugliest remarks. That's been the case this week, evident in Thursday night's episode of The Field of 68: After Dark podcast.

This time, it was former three-year Tar Heel big man John Henson (2009-12) who delivered the rivalry-fueled insult. He did so while chatting with fellow guest Kevin Sweeney of SI.com and host Rob Dauster about the No. 9 Blue Devils (19-5, 10-3 ACC), who suffered a 93-84 loss at now-No. 7 UNC (19-6, 11-3 ACC) two weeks ago.

Sweeney opined (beginning at the 33:30 mark in the video below) that Duke basketball freshman sensation Jared McCain's "continued emergence" is the key to head coach Jon Scheyer's second batch of Blue Devils succeeding in March. That comment seemed to set off Henson.

The 33-year-old Henson, a former lottery pick who spent eight years in the NBA, used the opportunity to question the toughness of McCain while poking fun at the ebullient 19-year-old's millions-of-followers-strong presence as an entertaining dance/karaoke specialist on social media:

"Bro, bro, bro, bro, bro, if I played and Jared McCain was singing on Instagram and all that stuff, man, we would have Reggie Bullock and been like, Look, man, put him in a locker. Man, this dude is not getting off on us. He's not gonna get off on us. So, he's a good player — don't get it twisted — but if he's a dawg, man, what did Paul Pierce say?

"Like, what kind of dawg is he? Is he a pit bull? Or is he a golden retriever? We can't call everybody dawgs. But he's a good player."

McCain, one of Duke's few bright spots from the defeat at UNC with his 23 points and 11 rebounds in his rivalry debut, is averaging 15.5 points across his past 16 outings and has grabbed double-digit boards in four of the past five games. He's a frontrunner for ACC Rookie of the Year and arguably the Blue Devils' most consistent weapon of late.

Henson, a former two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year in Chapel Hill, finished with a 2-5 record against Duke. And it's worth pointing out that he was on Coach K Court for Jon Scheyer's Senior Night, ending in the Blue Devils' memorable 82-50 blowout win over the visiting Tar Heels.

NEXT DUKE BASKETBALL GAME: at unranked Florida State (13-11, 7-6 ACC), 2 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN)

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This article first appeared on FanNation Blue Devil Country and was syndicated with permission.

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