Lots of people idolize a player as they grow up. For a certain generation it was David Thompson; later, for many it was Michael Jordan.
For an earlier generation though a lot of Duke fans chose Mike Lewis. And a lot of UNC fans chose Larry Miller (who of course didn’t choose Duke).
Most people didn’t get to form a bond later in life with their heroes like Nancy Currie Demorest did with hers, Miller.
Barry Jacobs has the story and it’s pretty great, even if it is a UNC thing.