Paolo Banchero may be Duke royalty now, but growing up, the Orlando Magic star had a soft spot for the enemy.The former No. 1 overall pick — one of five Blue Devils to hold that honor and a path Cooper Flagg could soon follow — admitted he actually liked North Carolina as a kid.
“I ain’t gonna lie, growing up, I actually liked the Tar Heels a little bit,” Banchero said on “The Pivot.” “I can’t lie because my Rotary team, my elementary through high school AAU team, is Carolina blue colors. So, that was my colors I wore playing so we always liked Carolina. And my mom, she also had a player that she coached in high school go on to play at North Carolina.”
Before becoming an NBA All-Star, Banchero earned second-team consensus All-American honors and was named ACC Rookie of the Year at Duke during the 2021-22 season. The former five-star prospect helped lead the Blue Devils to the Final Four, where they fell to UNC, 81-77, in the final game of legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski’s career.
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“There were some ties there to North Carolina,” Banchero said. “But I ended up being a Blue Devils. I’m proud to be a Blue Devil.”
Banchero rated as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2021 class coming out of Seattle (Wash.) O Dea. He held numerous offers with visits to Duke, Gonzaga, Kentucky, UNC and Tennessee. The McDonald’s All-American committed to the Blue Devils in August 2020 before signing that November.
After a stellar one-and-done season at Duke, Banchero declared for the 2022 NBA Draft and was selected No. 1 overall by Orlando in a somewhat surprising move. Ironically, he later signed a multi-year footwear and apparel deal with Jordan Brand — the company founded by six-time NBA champion and UNC legend Michael Jordan.
“Just to be able to sign with Jordan and be a part of that brand and just the greatness that is associated with that brand and me trying to build my own greatness, there’s no better place to be for me,” Banchero. “So, really excited about that.”
