Harrison Barnes, Seth Curry Share Thoughts on North Carolina and Duke Rivalry

Ahead of the biggest rivalry in college basketball on Thursday, Harrison Barnes and Seth Curry are confident in each of their former collegiate teams earning a victory.

It was a somber mood in the locker room as the Mavericks just lost their second straight game and more importantly, another loss to a team they are fighting with for one of the last playoff seeds out West; the Portland Trail Blazers.

But despite the heart-break from a last second shot to lose the game, smiles came out when I asked Harrison Barnes and Seth Curry about the biggest rivalry in college basketball taking place on Thursday.

North Carolina vs. Duke.

“It’s always a great day in the year basketball wise. I think we play that night so it’s going to be tough to watch it,” former Duke guard, Seth Curry, said when talking about the Mavericks playing at the same time on Thursday night.

Curry started off playing his freshman year at Liberty University (my alma mater) in Lynchburg, Virginia where he would go on to transfer to Duke University. Curry would play three years (2010-2013) at Duke where he averaged over 17 points a game and shot 43% from behind the arc his senior season.

With North Carolina and Duke tipping off at 7:00PM CT and the Mavericks tipping off with the Utah Jazz at home at 7:30PM CT, Curry is right when he says it ‘might’ be tough for them to watch it.

Harrison Barnes came into North Carolina as the #1 ranked high school player in the country where the pressure on his shoulders was much different from the transferred Curry into Duke. Barnes played two years (2010-2012) at UNC where he led a Tar Heel team that was a Kendall Marshall injury away from potentially winning a National Championship his sophomore year.

For Barnes, it brings almost a nostalgia feeling to him as he reflected on playing in that rivalry.

“It is some of the greatest games I have ever played in…that rivalry is special,” Barnes said when I asked him about his memories playing for North Carolina in that storied rivalry. “You just never forget that.”

North Carolina comes into their first matchup with Duke this season ranked 8th in the country with a 21-4 record. After bringing back key contributors from their championship game run last year in Joel Berry and Justin Jackson, UNC possesses one of the better teams in the country once again.

"“Obviously we have a good team this year and I am confident UNC will get the win. Hopefully we will get a win and it will be a good night for everyone,” Barnes said in talking about his confidence in a UNC win on Thursday."

But just a few feet across the locker room, Seth Curry shared his own confidence when I asked him if he expected Duke to take the win. His grinning response was simply, “Of course”.

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Barnes’ loyalties to North Carolina goes beyond just his time spent in Chapel Hill. Anytime UNC is brought up in conversation with the media, he mentions players by name and talks about specific details of the roster.

Ever since the beginning of the season, Barnes has kept the 2016-17 UNC team guide in his locker at the American Airlines Center. He told me that UNC sends the guide to all of their former players in the league, which is a neat gesture from the school.

So with two players on the same team confident in each of their former schools earning the win, is there any rivalry or trash talk between Curry and Barnes?

Not yet, but it’s on the horizon.

“Nah we haven’t talked about it yet…I’m sure me and HB will have some fun with it,” Curry joked.

Barnes echoed the same sentiment when he said “Ahhhh we will get there. Craig, our equipment guy, is a huge Dukie so he’s been talking nonstop leading up to it. It will be a good one.”

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Whether Curry or Barnes is right in their predictions, one thing is almost for certain. That Harrison Barnes is right when he says “It will be a good one.”

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