The highly anticipated Duke-UNC Final Four clash did not disappoint.
Fans across the country witnessed North Carolina’s No. 8 victory over the Duke 81-77 in a historic match that ended legendary Mike Krzyzewski’s 42-year career.
Krzyzewski, 75, is the best college basketball coach of all time, setting an impressive 1202-368 record. In addition, he holds NCAA records for games he’s coached with 131 and 101 wins. He has led Duke to 27 Sweet 16 games, 17 Elite Eight appearances and five National Championships (1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, 2015).
The in-state competitors have played 255 again, but this was the first time they had a confrontation in an NCAA Championship. There is no doubt that the iconic showdown resulted in numerous celebrity sightings at the Caesars Superdome on Saturday night.
Here are the celebrities who were spotted watching the Blue Devils wrestle with tar heels in Final Four:
Scott Drew
Drew is the head coach of the Baylor men’s basketball team. He led the Bears to win the program’s first NCAA Championship in 2021, defeating Gonzaga in the final.
Since joining the Bears in 2003, he has racked up a record 621-399 and was named the 12th Coach of the Year for three consecutive years (2019-2022).
Shane Butter
Batyr played basketball for the Blue Devils between 1997 and 2001 under Krzyzewski. He was a medalist twice representing the United States in men’s basketball at the Goodwill Games in Brisbane (2001), a gold medalist and the FIBA World Championships in Japan (2006) and a bronze medal. In 2019, he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Battier went on to play in the NBA, competing for the Grizzlies, Rockets, and Heat. He was a two-time NBA champion with the Heat (2012, 2013).
Charles Barclay
Barkley is best known for playing in the NBA for 16 seasons on three teams: the 76ers, the Suns, and the Rockets. He was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 1993 and twice earned an Olympic gold medal as a member of the US national team (1992, 1996). He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Since his retirement, Barkley has had a successful career as an NBC analyst working for TNT’s “Inside the NBA”.
Jamie Foxx
Foxx is an actor, comedian, and singer who first gained attention for his impersonations in the comedy show In Living Color. He landed his own sitcom “The Jamie Foxx Show”, which aired for five years in 1996.
He is also a Grammy Award-winning musician and has produced four highly successful albums: Billboard 200: Unpredictable (2005), Intuition (2008), Best Night of My Life (2010), and Hollywood: A Story of a Dozen Roses (2015).
Daniel Jones
Jones is the quarterback for the New York Giants. Before he was drafted by the Giants in the 2019 NFL Draft, he signed a four-year rookie contract worth $25.664 million, including a $16.7 million signing bonus, playing college football for Duke.
As the starting quarterback for the Blue Devils, he completed 270 of 430 passes for 2,836 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Tyler Hansbro
Hansbrough played college basketball with Tar Heels from 2005-2009. After becoming the first ACC team player in history to be named an All-ACC four times and a first team All-American four times, he won the NCAA Championship in his first season in 2009.
In the 2009 NBA Draft, Hansbro was selected by the Indiana Pacers, where he competed for four seasons. He went on to play two seasons with the Raptors and one for the Hornets. Currently, he is competing with the Sichuan Blue Whales team of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).
Roy Williams
Williams coached Kansas for 15 years and North Carolina for 18, setting a massive career record of 903-264.
He led the Tar Heels to three National Championships (2005, 2009, 2017), five Final Four games and three ACC Championships.
Williams, who graduated from UNC in 1972, was named ACC Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year for two seasons each. Williams, 71, retired from coaching in 2021.
Kenny Smith
Smith played college basketball in Tar Heels (1983-87). In 1987, he went on to play in the NBA. Compete for Kings, Hawks, Rockets, Pistons, Magic and Nuggets over 10 seasons. He won back-to-back NBA Championships with Houston (1994, 1995).
After retiring from the NBA, Smith became a basketball commentator on TNT’s “Inside the NBA.” He also works as an analyst at CBS/Turner during March Madness.
Eric Church
Church, the famous country singer, has announced that he is canceling his completely sold-out concert in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday for a Duke-UNC match.
In a statement to his fans, he said, “This Saturday, my family and I will stand together to cheer on the Tar Heels as the team reached the Final Four. As a Carolina basketball fan my whole life, I’ve watched Carolina and Duke compete over the years but have them compete in the Final Four for the first time.” In the history of the NCAA Championship is the dream of any sports fan.”
Chruch was born in Granite Falls, North Carolina
