After two years and four intense battles on opposite sides of the biggest rivalry in college basketball, [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] and [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] might need to learn to get along.
After the Utah Jazz took Filipowski in the second round of this week’s NBA draft, they reportedly signed Bacot, the former North Carolina center, to a contract as an undrafted free agent. The Athletic’s Tony Jones reported the deal.
Bacot spent five seasons with the Tar Heels and played 169 games for the program, including 10 regular-season battles with the Blue Devils. He also helped defeat Duke in the Final Four back in 2022, the last game of Mike Krzyzewski’s legendary career, when he pulled down 21 rebounds during a single game.
The run, combined with a victory in Coach K’s final home game, made him one of the most hated UNC players in rivalry history on Duke’s campus.
Filipowski only spent the last two years in Durham. He and the Blue Devils swept Bacot and the Tar Heels in 2022-23, the first year of the Jon Scheyer era, before UNC took both games last season.
The Utah Jazz are signing Armando Bacot to an Exhibit 10 contract, League Sources tell The Athletic. Bacot is a 6-10 big out of North Carolina. He had been one of the best players in college basketball
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) June 27, 2024
Filipowski averaged 20.3 points and 8.0 rebounds in his four collegiate games against Bacot, including three 20-point performances and one double-double.