Patrick Ewing was very nearly a Tar Heel.

In an interview on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday morning, Ewing revealed that he was all set to attend the University of North Carolina, until an incident on his official visit changed his mind.

This was back in 1980 when Ewing was still a senior at the Cambridge Ringe and Latin school and was being heavily recruited to play at UNC, where he wanted to join coach Dean Smith. That all changed when he went down to Chapel Hill for his visit. From the interview:

“I was close. North Carolina was a very good school, but you know, 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 was like, you know, I’m not coming down here. I’m staying my butt back in Boston.”

Ewing settled on Georgetown when coach Smith recommended coach John Thompson, one of Smith’s good friends.

Ewing, now an assistant for the Orlando Magic, is being considered for several NBA coaching positions. His son tweeted out some disparaging words yesterday when Jason Kidd was hired for the New Jersey Nets head coaching position and not his father.

(Thanks to Big Lead Sports for sharing.)