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Well This Can’t Be Good

SI covers never seem to work out

By JD King

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High School Basketball: McDonalds High School All American Games
Mar 28, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; From left to right McDonalds High School All American guard Tre Jones (0) and guard RJ Barrett (6) and guard Cameron Reddish (8) and forward Zion Williamson (12) who have all committed to playing basketball at Duke University pose for a group photo at Philips Arena.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

If you’re not familiar with the Sports Illustrated curse, it’s basically this: get on the cover and you’re screwed.

This is nothing new - a very nice UNC fan took the 1978 post-ACC tournament issue out of his mailbox and immediately trumpeted “a-ha! The kiss of death!”

It was Gene Banks and Duke fell in the finals to Kentucky.

Now? Duke’s freshman class is the cover.

On the other hand, UNC put Dean Smith and four starters on the cover in 1982 before the season started and the Tar Heels still won the national championship when some guy named Michael, who Dean wouldn’t let be on the cover since he was a freshman, hit the winning shot against Georgetown.

On the bright side, calling Duke’s class “The Fabbest Five” probably irritated the original Fab Five, so that’s a minor plus.

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