Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving may not have gotten to play against UNC in his college days, but he had some words to say about his alma mater Duke's rivalry with the Tar Heels today. The Celtics will play the Charlotte Hornets in their first preseason game of the year tonight.

Interestingly enough, the game will take place in the Dean Smith Center, the home of the Tar Heels. Irving acknowledged the magnitude of the rivalry in the locker room before shootaround.

“It's pretty cool. Seeing it on TV and obviously experiencing it as a fan on the side when I was watching Duke play here,” Irving told ClutchPoints. “Watching my teammates at the time, Nolan and Kyle go after it against UNC, you know how loud this environment got.”

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The two schools are a mere 10 miles apart. The two teams have battled each other a total of 258 times since January 24, 1920. UNC leads the all time series 137-111. They also claimed victory in their latest contest earlier this year. While Irving was a freshman at Duke, they beat UNC 79-73 in their own Cameron Indoor Stadium.

However, they were on the wrong end of an 81-67 routing in the Dean Smith Center in their last game of the regular season later that year. This rivalry will be one that will stand the test of time for years to come.

Names like Michael Jordan, Grant Hill and Christian Laettner are just a few of the legends that will always be intertwined in the lure of this endless squabble. The two schools blatantly dislike one another, but also acknowledge the opposition's success. The two teams have combined for 11 NCAA tournament championships. This number will only continue to grow.

Kyrie Irving

“It's just so historic. It's a great rivalry between Duke and UNC. There's an incredible respect between both universities because of what we've accomplished over time. Being so enriched with tradition, it's awesome,” Irving continued.

Irving averaged 17.4 points, 5.1 assists and 3.8 rebounds through his first eight games in a Duke uniform. In the team's ninth game, he suffered a right toe injury that caused him to miss the remainder of regular season play. Irving returned for March Madness and helped Duke reach the Sweet 16 in 2011. His 28-point performance in a loss against Arizona ended up being his last collegiate game.

While his college career was short-lived, he showcased enough to be selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. After all, he scored in double figures in every appearance, demonstrated his aptitude to be a distributor and shot the ball efficiently.

Courtesy Ameer Tyree/ClutchPoints

His skills have clearly translated well to the NBA, as Irving has grown into a five-time All-Star and NBA champion. An operation on his knee caused him to miss the end of last year, but he appears to be ready to contribute to his loaded team this time around.

Kyrie Irving arrived on UNC's campus sporting a gray Duke hoodie. His teammate Jayson Tatum had some Duke blue attire on of his own. While both are NBA stars now, neither one of them has ever won at UNC. While it'll only be a preseason game, they'd both like to put a tally in the win column against Hornets.

The Celtics will be a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference this year. If Irving returns to last seasons's form, they'll be tough to beat. Right now, he's just looking forward to playing at full speed and getting back into a routine. He'll play in one of the most storied arenas in college basketball history for the first time tonight. Duke nation will surely be proud if he comes out on top.