While the two programs haven’t met on the court since 2007, the North Carolina Tar Heels and Arizona Wildcats‘ basketball programs are striving to develop a bit of a rivalry off the court.

First, it was the Tommy Lloyd situation with North Carolina reportedly pursuing him before he opted to stay in Tuscon with the Wildcats. Now, a recent quote from a former Tar Heel and current Wildcat is making the rounds to ignite the rivalry a bit.

While appearing on The Field of 68, former UNC guard Derek Dixon was speaking on why Arizona was a fit in terms of his transfer there. But in the answer, he revealed something that is troubling to hear for UNC fans or even college basketball fans in general.

“They all seemed to reallly know my game, they had recruited me out of high school and they had just kept up with me throughout the season,” Dixon said.

“They (Arizona) kept up with me throughout the season”

Can’t argue against tampering because almost every school does it now and they’re rarely punished but it’s definitely a choice to admit it on a talk show 🤷‍♂️😅 pic.twitter.com/SCNQfYwg6k

— UNC Zone (@unc_zone) May 27, 2026

Look, tampering is a big issue in college athletics right now with how the transfer portal and NIL has expanded.

Programs are recruiting 365 days and checking in with players on other teams. I don’t blame Arizona or Lloyd at all because all of college basketball is doing it, so why not? This speaks to the bigger problem we have with college athletics overall.

There’s no end in sight for it, either.

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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: Derek Dixon reveals Arizona kept up with him in season