The Duke basketball program's recruiting prowess goes far beyond Coach K, even though he's the greatest coach in the history of college basketball. The Blue Devils saw their entire 2024-25 starting five get drafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, including three in the top ten, which other blue blood rival North Carolina can't say.
Duke has continued to be one of the most dominant squads in college basketball even after Mike Krzyzewski's departure. In three seasons with Jon Scheyer, the Blue Devils have already made a Sweet Sixteen and a Final Four. And in terms of developing talent, Duke still remains at the top.
Scheyer saw his three star-studded freshmen get taken in the top ten of the 2025 draft: Cooper Flagg went No. 1 overall to the Dallas Mavericks, Kon Knueppel went No. 4 overall to the Charlotte Hornets, and Khaman Maluach went No. 10 to the Phoenix Suns. Scheyer also saw his two other starters from this past season get taken, as Sion James went 33rd overall to Charlotte and Tyrese Proctor went 49th overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
However, the Tar Heels haven't had the same success since Roy Williams left Chapel Hill.
The Heels had one player get selected in the 2025 Draft, as Drake Powell went 22nd overall to the Brooklyn Nets. UNC hasn't had multiple players be drafted in the same class a single year since Davis took over as head coach, and didn't have anyone drafted out of the program in 2023.
Beyond sending their athletes to the pros being a struggle in the Davis era, UNC hasn't had much success on the court through this tenure either. This past season was an extremely disappointing one for the Tar Heels, as UNC barely squeaked into the NCAA Tournament as one of the last four teams in despite being a preseason top 10 team.
North Carolina hasn't won a single ACC Tournament Championship under Davis, and has had little March Madness success. Sure, the Heels made a miraculous run to the national championship game in 2022 as an 8-seed, defeating the Blue Devils and ending Coach K's career in the Final Four, but that's about it.
The Heels became the first team ever to enter the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and miss the NCAA Tournament entirely in 2023, and after earning a 1-seed in 2024, UNC fell in the Sweet Sixteen.
North Carolina hasn't been bad, but there's no question that Davis is now on the hot seat, and Heels fans have the tough reality to accept that Duke hasn't missed a beat despite losing its Hall of Fame coach, but the UNC program just isn't the same.