Duke (and for that matter UNC) fans will know that when the late Kobe Bryant graduated high school in 1996, he seriously considered playing for either Duke or UNC.
Keep in mind that in 1996, Duke was just one year past Mike Krzyzewski’s leave of absence following his back injury and the program was still recovering.
Coach K made it very clear that he would love to coach Bryant at Duke and sent this letter to one of his high school coaches: “Dear Mike, Nice win over Roman Catholic! You did a fine job with the kids.