For the first time since 1953, North Carolina is on East Carolina’s men’s basketball team’s regular season schedule and Pirate coach Jeff Lebo and his team are excited about the prospect of taking on the No. 21 Tar Heels.

“To give (our players) an opportunity on that stage in that atmosphere, I think, is going to be really helpful to our team,” Lebo, a four-year letterwinner at Carolina and 1989 graduate of the Chapel Hill school, said at a news conference on Thursday in Minges Coliseum. “(UNC) coach (Roy Williams) has been unbelievably gracious throughout my whole coaching career. ... The only thing would be if I could get him to come (to Greenville). I don’t think that’s going to happen.

“People have asked me about this rivalry. Well, it’s been two games, one they had to make you play (in the 1993 NCAA tournament). I don’t see a rivalry in that, but I’m fortunate that he agreed to play the game and it’s going to be big for our kids and hopefully big for our fans. It’ll be nice to have a game that maybe the people behind the bench don’t heckle me too bad.”

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