When March Madness tips off, Larry Goldstein, MD, has a strategy.
“If Duke and Kentucky ever end up playing each other… you can find me somewhere in Europe,” he said.
Dr. Goldstein, chair of neurology in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, spent 30 years at Duke University before coming to Lexington. His professional roots run deep in Durham — and so does his family’s basketball loyalty.
“My daughter Sarah was born with Duke blue blood in her veins,” Goldstein said.
That loyalty only intensified over time. His daughter attended Duke for her residency after completing medical school at the University of North Carolina — a move that tested her allegiance but didn’t shake it. Today, she and her husband — both physicians — recently moved to Northwestern University after training at Duke. Goldstein’s grandchildren proudly wear Duke gear.
“It’s almost a homozygous genetic background at this point,” he said.
So when Goldstein accepted the opportunity to lead neurology at UK, he knew his March loyalties might get complicated.
“When I told my family we were moving to Kentucky, they said, ‘No, you’re not,’” he said. “And then it was, ‘Well, okay — as long as you don’t root for UK.’”
The compromise? No Wildcats sports gear at home.
“I can wear something that says UK College of Medicine, Neurology, UK HealthCare,” he said. “That’s acceptable. But nothing that’s a sports affiliation.”
A tale of two Blue Bloods
Kentucky and Duke are no strangers to high-stakes basketball history. Both programs are perennial national contenders, each with multiple national championships and decades of March moments that have shaped college basketball lore. Iconic matchups — including the one still replayed in highlight reels decades later — have cemented the rivalry in the minds of fans.
Both programs are also entering new eras. Kentucky is now led by alum Mark Pope, while Duke’s program is guided by alum Jon Scheyer — signaling a return to leadership rooted in program tradition. For Goldstein, who transitioned from Duke to Kentucky after three decades, the idea of honoring legacy while moving forward feels familiar.
“I try to maintain careful neutrality,” he said.
From Durham to Lexington
In Durham, basketball allegiances were often divided block by block.
“You could see a Duke flag, a UNC flag and an NC State flag all on the same street, sometimes on the same house” Goldstein said.
His own household once represented the full Atlantic Coast Conference triangle: he and his wife on faculty at Duke, a daughter at UNC and a son at NC State.
But in Lexington, basketball culture feels different.
“Here, you walk around town and all you see is UK,” Goldstein said. “It’s very UK-centric.”
The intensity doesn’t surprise him. During his time at Duke, he witnessed firsthand how deeply basketball was woven into campus culture. Former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski would even speak at medical grand rounds, drawing parallels between team dynamics on the court and collaboration in patient care.
“The angle was team building,” Goldstein said. “High levels of communication, coordination — that translates well to medicine.”
At UK, he sees a different but equally powerful connection: the way the program extends beyond campus and into the broader community.
“The team visits kids in our hospital here and does so many great things throughout the state,” he said. “There’s just a very strong connection to the entire community.”
Friendly fire, but all in good fun
Despite his careful neutrality, the rivalry remains alive within his family.
“If I told you I was going to root for UK, my family would disown me,” Goldstein said. “If I said I was going to root for Duke, nobody here would talk to me again.”
For now, he follows both teams — and avoids making bold predictions.
And if the tournament bracket ever forces a head-to-head battle of the blue bloods?
“I probably wouldn’t be able to watch,” he said.
Through it all though, Goldstein knows what matters most.
“Just don’t get me fired from my family,” Goldstein said.
In the end, whether the shade is Kentucky blue or Duke blue, Goldstein has learned to appreciate both and has mastered the art of cheering — very carefully — from neutral territory.