“Don’t you yell at my player, Mike!”
“Hey Dean, F**K YOU!”
These were the words of Hall of Famers Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski on March 12th, 1989 under the bright lights of the Omni in Atlanta, GA. They came in the midst of the most heated, physical, and emotionally-charged game that the Tar Heels and Blue Devils have ever played against one another. The 1989 ACC Championship Game was more than just a conference title game, and it was more than just a rubber match between two teams that had already won on each other’s floors that season: It was the emotional climax of a drama that had been building for years and featured bad blood both on and off the court.