It's State-Carolina rivalry week and the Dorn family is in an unprecedented position.
NC State guard Torin Dorn Jr. and North Carolina defensive back Myles Dorn grew up Tar Heels -- their father Torin Dorn Sr. played four years of football at UNC, where he met his wife Rhonda.
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"That rivalry is a big part of what shaped me growing up," Torin Jr. said. "Going to Carolina games, being a Carolina fan."
Now this Tar Heel family pulls for the Wolfpack, too, and the juxtaposition is something everyone is still adjusting to.
"It's different," Myles said. "I've probably been to State (basketball) more than I've been to Carolina, honestly."
Friday at noon, brother and father Torin, Rhonda and 11-year-old brother Nicholas will be in Carolina blue in Kenan Stadium rooting against NC State.
Saturday afternoon, the same group will arrive at PNC Arena decked out in red to pull for NC State against Loyola (Chicago).
You can take the Tar Heels out of Carolina blue but...
Torin Jr. decided transfer to NC State in June 2015 after being named Conference USA Freshman of the Year at UNC-Charlotte.
Torin Sr. -- or TD, as he's called when the family is all together -- was immediately, humorously honest about how tough a pill to swallow rooting for the Pack would be.
"The best deal for him was NC State and I told him straight up, I said, 'I don't know about wearing Wolfpack stuff, but I sure do look good in red,'" TD said.
"It doesn't say 'State,' but I do wear the colors," he added. "And believe me, he's brought me some State stuff home, I have several articles of State clothing but he hasn't seen me wear those yet."
Raleigh's signature red and black were a departure for the family's only member of the Pack, too.
"I've got countless baby pictures in Carolina gear, but now that I'm here at State, I'm the rebel of the family," Torin Jr. said. "It's kind of funny that I came here. When I first came here is the first time they've ever rooted for State in their lives."
Call the Dorn family's fandom a partial conversion.
"They pay for his school, so he had to do it," Myles said. "We won't get at him too much. We calmed down after a few months, now it's just normal -- we are a Tar Heel household, but we support NC State basketball."
...Can you take the Carolina out of the Tar Heels?
TD believed he'd have two sons playing for his alma mater's rival for the six months between Torin's commitment and Myles' December decision to play for the Tar Heels.
"I thought (Myles) was going to be at State with his brother because they're so close," the father said. "So I thought I was going to have two people in the house with that red and black on."
From 1986-89, daddy Dorn rushed for 1,071 yards at UNC, then started every game as a senior at cornerback. He played six years in the NFL for the Los Angeles Raiders and St. Louis Rams.
But the college ball carrier and cornerback turned professional playmaker didn't pressure either son to follow in his footsteps.
"I didn't want to push any particular school on (my sons)," he said. "My whole thing was: Wherever you choose to go to school, make sure that you would go to that school if you weren't playing ball, that you want to be there and feel comfortable being there."
The Tar Heel parents have one true Tar Heel son, but according to Torin Jr.'s teammates, they may still have two.
"The team gives me a hard time," the older brother said. "They say 'Oh he doesn't go to State for real, he just plays here. You're really a Carolina fan at heart.'
Chris Corchiani Jr. gives Dorn a particularly hard time. Torin gets it -- Chris' dad played for the Pack from 1987-91, graduating as the NCAA's all-time leader in assists, it's as much in his blood to pull for the Pack as it should've been in Torin's to root for the Heels.
Corchiani has a case: Torin's Carter-Finley attendance record raises question of his loyalty.
He went to every Carolina home football game this year, plus traveled to the Georgia Dome and Wallace Wade Stadium and only watched Dave Doeren's team (5-6, 2-5 ACC) host William & Mary and Wake Forest.
"Corch's like 'Yo, I can't stand it,' and we bicker back and forth," Torin said. "I'll say 'Myles is going to kill against State.' He says I can't be half-and-half, that I've got to be all State all the time."
Whether red or blue, blood matters most
Make no mistake, it's neither State, nor Carolina all the time: the Dorns root for family.
There's much to root for when Mark Gottfried's former-Tar Heel takes the floor and a lot in Chapel Hill to rep this fall, too.
The 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore plays a team-high average of 35.4 minutes per game and making those minutes count.
Of seven players that have played in all five of NC State's (4-1) games, Torin is the most consistent shooter from the floor (63.0 percent) and from behind the arc (50.0 percent). He's third in team scoring (84 points) and only center Abdul-Malik Abu (44 reb.) has more rebounds that Torin (33) so far.
“We saw Torin every day in practice last year and he was impressive about every day," Gottfried said. "He’s made big shots for us. I think he’s a tough matchup when we play four guards.”
Torin's goal of getting his dad into one of those Wolfpack shirts can be accomplished by meeting one of Gott's team's goals.
"If they get to the big dance, out there to March Madness and are doing well, I'll put it on because I will support family," TD said. "I'll take (NCAA Tournament) First Round because last year they didn't even make it. If they return to the tournament, I'll definitely have it on. I may even wear it a little bit sooner depending on how they're looking once they get into ACC play.
"But I did not say that I'd have it on without having a Carolina shirt up underneath now."
Larry Fedora's Tar Heels (8-3, 5-2 ACC) are getting production from their rookie.
UNC's freshman DB puts in work on the Tar Heels return teams and defense and has played in all 11 games, recording 14 individual tackles plus 12 assisted,1.0 tackle for loss for minus-3 yards and a fumble recovery (vs. Georgia Tech).
The youngin's numbers don't stack up against his teammates' quite as well as his big brother in Raleigh's do, but the plays he made in his debut vs. The U are moments Tar Heels fans should make note of.
In the fourth quarter, Myles stopped Miami Hurricane Joe Yearby's 42-yard run just six yards from the goal line, then held running back Mark Walton at the four-yard line two plays later, helping Carolina post the stand and force a field goal attempt. It was the second unanswered scoring drive by the Canes and Myles' tackles helped UNC hold on to a touchdown lead before sealing the win.
"For him to not have any jitters and go make those plays speaks volumes to how much he's grown," TD said.
The Vance High School graduates both seem to be adjusting to their new teams well, even if the adjustment to the rivalry makes for good jokes on both sides.
"When it comes down to football, I'm rooting for Carolina all the way and when it comes down to basketball, I'll root for Carolina until it comes down to State," TD said. "Then when (the Tar Heels) play State, I'm rooting for Torin -- I've got to go State, I've got to go with blood."
"Anytime my brother's on the court, of course we're rooting for them," Myles said. "When they're playing Carolina, I don't think there will be a bad win or bad loss."
He picked a different school, but the lone Wolf's allegiance is the same.
"I want my brother to succeed, I want him to do well," Torin said. "He loves to win so but I'm not going to go on record saying I'm rooting for Carolina, I'm rooting for Myles to do well. That's family -- blood over everything."