Duke Allegiances Remain Strong For Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum Ahead Of Game At UNC

Jayson Tatum and Kyrie Irving only played 40 games between the two of them at Duke, but apparently it doesn’t take much for Blue Devils to immerse themselves in the school’s biggest rivalry.

Tatum, Irving and the rest of the Boston Celtics will begin their preseason schedule Friday night at the Dean Smith Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina. For both players, it’s a familiar building, as they both made the trip with Duke in games against UNC.

So, naturally, when they showed up for work Friday morning, both players made sure to let the world know on which side of Tobacco Road they reside.

Believe it or not, Friday night will be Irving’s first game at the Dean Dome. In his one season with the Blue Devils, Irving missed both of Duke’s game against Carolina. Tatum scored 13 points on just 4-of-13 shooting in a loss to the Tar Heels at Chapel Hill in Duke’s regular-season finale in 2017.