Feb. 18--DURHAM, N.C. -- A grin shoved Jahlil Okafor's cheeks to the side.
A year ago, the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Duke center from Chicago's Whitney Young could only imagine playing North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Now, he has to imagine no more.
Okafor was a spectator the March evening that his pal, Jabari Parker, scored 30 points in Duke's 93-81 victory. On Wednesday night he will go to work when the No. 4 Blue Devils host the Tar Heels (8 p.m., ESPN).
"The entire game I wished I was able to put on a Duke jersey and be part of the game," Okafor said. "I remember looking to the Cameron Crazies, cheering for Jabari and cheering for the other guys. ... I remember thinking to myself, 'I can't wait to be a part of this legacy.'"
The thought that Wednesday's meeting will be the freshman's first -- and likely last at home -- against the No. 15 Tar Heels (18-7, 8-4 ACC) wasn't at the forefront of Okafor's mind this week.
"Just trying to make sure I'm not overdoing it or overthinking it because it's such a historic rivalry," Okafor said. "Just doing my best to treat it like I would any game.
"When I committed to Duke, this was definitely one of the games I marked on my calendar."
Okafor is a front-runner for national player of the year honors and is a favorite to be the top pick in this year's NBA draft, should he leave school. He leads Duke (22-3, 9-3) in points (18.2), rebounds (9.3), blocks ( 1.5) and field-goal percentage (66 percent) and is averaging 1.3 assists per game.
Thus, Okafor, naturally, was at the forefront of North Carolina's mind this week for a rivalry ESPN tabbed the second-best in sports behind the Yankees-Red Sox.
"He has the size of an NBA center, there's not much you can say about that," North Carolina junior guard Marcus Paige said. "Okafor is gonna be tough to completely stop. ... He's a guy who's going to get his because of the amount of touches he gets. We just want to make it hard for him, maybe pressure him, get him out of his comfort zone."
That could mean North Carolina leaving its defensive comfort zone and double-teaming Okafor. The teams meet again March 7 in Chapel Hill, N.C., to close out the regular season.
"He's a load, but he's very gifted," Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "He's got great feet, great hands, turns to either shoulder, has got touch when he turns, shooting 66 percent from the floor.
"You have to make some allowances for him."
