Former UNC star Armando Bacot admits growing up as a fan of arch-rivals despite committing to the Tar Heels
All it took was a phone call with former North Carolina Tar Heels coach Roy Williams for Armando Bacot to commit to a program he despised growing up. While he recognized the high-quality basketball played in the program, Bacot's dislike of the Tar Heels came purely out of his love for the Duke Blue Devils.
In an appearance on the Run Yor Race podcast with ex-UNC star Theo Pinson and AJ Richardson, Armando Bacot reminisced about the time he pledged to North Carolina without visiting the university or consulting his parents and accepting that he was a die-hard fan of the Blue Devils. (Start at 18:46)
"Even committing to Carolina for me was crazy because a lot of people know I grew up a Duke fan," Armando Bacot said on the Run Your Race podcast. "And you can go to my Facebook and it surfaced on Twitter a little bit, there are pictures of me, I went to Duke basketball camp. I grew up a Duke fan, I love Jahlil Okafor, Jabari Parker - those are my two favorite college players," he added.
However, Bacot admitted he had a soft spot for UNC given that a couple of former Tar Heels were from his hometown of Richmond, Virginia.
"I'll never admit but I'll admit it now. So, I grew up a Duke fan, hated Carolina. But I had somewhat allegiance to them because Ed Davis went there and Kenny Williams from Richmond. I was a young boy when he was coming up, I watched him a little. But even committing to Carolina for me was like just out of nowhere," Bacot followed.
Bacot's decision to join coach Williams came while already being approached by Duke.
Interestingly, Armando became a program legend at UNC. He averaged 14.5 points, 10.3 and 1.5 blocks last season and became the Tar Heel's all-time leader in rebounds and second in points.
Armando Bacot might team up with a Duke star in the NBA
Armando Bacot went undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft but got another shot at his big-league dreams through an Exhibit 10 contract with the Utah Jazz. He will compete in the NBA 2K25 Summer League and Salt Lake City Summer League.
Exhibit 10 deals are one-year contracts on minimum salary which can be converted into a two-way deal before the commencement of the regular season.
If Bacot manages to impress, he could join former Duke star Kyle Filipowski, who was drafted No. 32 overall by the Jazz, in Utah’s main roster. However, his NBA future is not limited to the Jazz as other teams can also show interest in the 6-foot-10 big man.