The KKK And Noisy Crickets Stopped Patrick Ewing From Going To UNC

NBA legend Patrick Ewing went on the Dan Patrick Show this morning to talk about his new position as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Bobcats, and the conversation eventually turned to reminiscing about Ewing's college days. In particular, Patrick wanted to know exactly why Ewing chose to attend Georgetown instead of the University of North Carolina.

Ewing's response:

North Carolina was a very good school. But when I went down there they put me in that Carolina Inn, and there was a big Ku Klux Klan Rally in North Carolina when I was there. And I'm like, "You know what? I'm not comin' down here."

We're starting to think that there's entire book to be written about basketball players making career decisions based on trying to avoid contact with the KKK. It wasn't just the Klan that kept Ewing out of North Carolina, though. He was also bothered by all the damn crickets:

So they stuck me in that Carolina Inn, and at night down in North Carolina it gets pitch black. And I hear all the crickets and I'm jumpin like, "What the heck?" So I said, "Nah, I'm going back."

Virulent racists! An intrusive insect population! Shitty hotels! It sounds like North Carolina really used to have it all.