The next time the University of North Carolina's NBA stars gather for the World's Greatest Alumni Game, they're going to have to add a qualifier to the previously indisputable title -- the Alumni Game Formerly Known as the World's Greatest Alumni Game. Either that or move the semi-annual summer gathering to Duke because that's the new source of the NBA's best collection of talent.

Between Michael Jordan's final retirement and the recruiting lapse at UNC from 1997 to 2001 -- which was overlapped by Duke's excellence during the same period -- the Blue Devils have surpassed their neighbors in terms of productive, dominant alums in professional basketball.

That's right, Mike Krzyzewski has done the previously unthinkable -- produce elite NBA talent. Not only is Coach K exceeding UNC's pro production, his proteges are improving once in the pros, a trademark of the NBA players schooled in the "Carolina Way" by Dean Smith.

With the emergence of Utah's Carlos Boozer and Chicago's Luol Deng, the current crop of Duke alums has buried the Devils' previous pedestrian image -- Alaa Abdelnaby, anyone? -- and, at least for the time being, interrupted UNC's NBA hegemony.

"We need to shut that [trend] down," said Boozer, of UNC producing better NBA talent than Duke. "There are a lot of Duke guys out there doing great things. It's exciting for our future."

That's not to say UNC has fallen off the map. The Heels still have a formidable group -- about to grow by two (Brandan Wright and Reyshawn Terry) compared to one (Josh McRoberts) for Duke.

It's just that Duke's group is better. During the 2006-07 NBA season, Duke had more players in the league than UNC (13 to 12), more starters (seven to five), and since 1997 has sent more first-round picks than the Tar Heels (12 to eight).

If Philadelphia team president and GM Billy King could build an All-Duke lineup, it would look like this:

Boozer, Deng and Elton Brand in the frontcourt with Corey Maggette and Chris Duhon at the guards. Grant Hill, Shane Battier and Mike Dunleavy could come off the bench. You could round out the top 10 with rookies Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick.

If Jordan, who's Charlotte's part-owner and personnel czar, could build an All-UNC lineup, it would look like this:

Antawn Jamison, Rasheed Wallace and Brendan Haywood (somebody has to guard Brand) in the frontcourt, and Vince Carter and Raymond Felton at the guards. Jerry Stackhouse, Marvin Williams, Sean May, Rashad McCants and David Noel could come off the bench.

Who would you choose?

Consider Sidney Lowe as Switzerland in the debate. The N.C. State coach spent more than 20 years in the NBA as a player, head coach and assistant coach, so he knows the league. He has also coached an alum from each side of the blue aisle -- Duke's Christian Laettner, in Minnesota, and Wallace, in Detroit.

"That's a tough call," Lowe said. "I really like [Duke's] group. One thing about them, as consistent as they all are, you're not going to outplay them, in terms of effort, and each one of those guys has improved every year that they've been in the league. That's because of their work ethic and what they learned from Coach K."

N.C. State and Wake Forest can't field a starting five, so they're excluded from this debate.

The Blue Devils were able to vault ahead of the Heels with a talent surge since 1997.

While Carolina sent only two players to the NBA from its recruiting classes from 1997 to 2001, Duke sent nine. Only Haywood remains in the league from that span for UNC.

"There's a gap between the strong, but growing, older group of UNC players and the young talented guys who had a cup of coffee under Roy Williams," ESPN analyst Bill Walton said. "Duke certainly benefited from the consistency of Coach K in that era."

Krzyzewski has always been able to keep pace with UNC's pro production, in terms of players in the league. Since he arrived at Duke in 1980, he has coached 32 players, and recruited all but three, who have made it to the NBA. UNC has sent 37 in the same span.

"My feeling is we've had good pros throughout," Krzyzewski said. "Being in this area, they throw a lot of stuff at you. 'Well, you didn't have [Michael] Jordan, [Sam] Perkins and [James] Worthy.' I guess you're right, we didn't have those guys, [and] they were great. [But] we'll match our pros with anyone."

(Staff writer Luciana Chavez contributed to this report.)