Duke basketball: UNC nepotism puts ACC Network in peril

By zooming in all next season on the UNC program — rather than Duke basketball or another conference member — the Tar Heel-led ACC brass isn’t doing its new network any favors.

Former UNC athletic director John Swofford, who has now generously served his alma mater as the ACC commissioner for 22 years too long, once again requires a Duke basketball watchdog.

Tar Heel born. Tar Heel bred. Tar Heel til the ACC Network is dead.

The “Good Ol’ Roy Network” announced Thursday the plan to begin airing garbage programming in October: All Access: A Season with Carolina Basketball. Following the news, one might have thought some fanbase other than Duke’s would have put on its big boy britches and finally stopped cowing to the Heels’ top-down network of influence over the conference and all its happenings.

Once again, to no surprise, an unapologetically heroic Dukie must volunteer to shoulder the load of exposing the stench of Tar Heel favoritism from the ACC’s throne.

Here are two whiffs of common sense:

If the big wigs’ goal was to maximize ratings after the ACC Network launches on Aug. 22, they would’ve chosen to follow the #TheBrotherhood all season instead; after all, Duke basketball lovers and envy-fueled Duke basketball haters have fueled ESPN viewership dating back decades. Last season, the existence of Zion Williamson led to Duke games averaging a quarter million more ESPN viewers than NBA games. Sure, an occasional UNC game lands on most-watched lists, but typically only when the Tar Heels play the Blue Devils and piggyback on their popularity.
If the big wigs’ goal was to hide their favoritism, they would have instead chosen to offer an inside look at any ACC program other than the commish’s old stomping grounds — at least for the network’s inaugural season, which figures to be its last if someone doesn’t soon put an end to the tomfoolery coming from Swofford and his minions.

Yes, it’s true ESPN+ did provide the same sort of behind-the-scenes coverage of Duke last season — though only at the beginning of the season. Obviously, a key difference is ESPN+ does not have the “ACC” tag. Plus, the goal of ESPN+ programming is to leave a sports fan no choice but to shell out a few dollars a month for the subscription channel.

Without Duke on the same court, UNC is not must-see TV — certainly not to the extent that loads of outsiders would pay for it.

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Go ahead, ask an average college basketball fan to reel off names of Blue Devils from this decade — schedule ample time to listen. Next, ask the same person to name recent Tar Heels — expect a brief response.

Heck, even typical Tar Heel fans stop paying attention to the Tar Heels whenever the team struggles (anytime UNC is playing poorly, wine-and-cheese Dean Dome patrons either stop cheering or just give up on the squad in order to beat traffic). And after losses to the Blue Devils, the average UNC fan childishly reacts by mocking Duke fans for caring so much about basketball in the first place.

ALSO READ: Nothing finer than Zion Williamson muting Carolina

Therefore, considering 1) the puke-fest program will air on the new network throughout the season and 2) the 2019-20 Blue Devils have a far deeper collection of proven weapons than their Tobacco Road neighbors, one can expect the only people tuning in by late February will be Duke fans viewing the behind-the-scenes content as comedy.

ALSO READ: Three reasons Duke will sweep UNC next season

Don’t expect Swofford to learn any lessons, though.

Do expect more highly questionable moves from the ACC so long as Swofford remains at the helm. Take, for instance, a couple of past examples of glaring nepotism:

Last season, as is the case seemingly every season, the Tar Heels caught a “coincidental” scheduling break. Exactly 25 hours after the Virginia Cavaliers faced fellow ACC perennial power Duke on Feb. 9, they had to play the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill — the quickest turnaround of any team across the entire ACC regular season. The intended beneficiary? UNC, of course. Did it matter? Nope, the Heels lost — but not likely due to a lack of effort from the schedulers.
The ACC helped sweep the UNC program’s widespread academic fraud under the rug by endorsing the NCAA’s concoction of an absurd reason for exoneration. NCAA officials deemed the fake classes just a dishonest move from the university as a whole — as if the sports programs are not part of the university — and neither they nor anyone from the ACC dared to recommend any punishment for the basketball program (despite the program’s hands being as dirty as any).

Oh well. Whatever. Doesn’t matter.

Duke basketball fans don’t have to watch any channel other than the primary ESPN in order to get their fill — and then some — of the Blue Devils.

The handful of Tar Heels who aren’t too cool to care about basketball year-round (especially when coming off a loss to Duke) will enjoy watching Roy Williams’ squad up until February. At that time, though, Duke sophomore point guard Tre Jones will begin using his lockdown defense to extinguish the hype surrounding UNC freshman point guard Cole Anthony.

ALSO READ: Three reasons Duke wins 2020 NCAA Tournament

After that, the Blue Devils will again step up to generously foot the ACC’s bills — this time, by pumping life into the new network’s disappointing ratings.

A behind-the-scenes look at a Tar Heel team as the team is crumbling while its supporters tap out for the season?

Pass the popcorn.

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