David McClure of Duke goes for a loose ball against Boston College during the second round of the ACC Tournament on March 13, 2009.
Mar 18, 2009
Greensboro, N.C. — David McClure has a clear memory of the experience.
Five seasons ago, he was a freshman on an experienced Duke team. He was excited about going to his first NCAA Tournament.
And, even better, the Blue Devils would get to play within North Carolina — just a couple hours down I-85 in Charlotte.
“We kind of expected to kind of be coming into a home-court environment,” McClure said.
Even upperclassmen such as senior Daniel Ewing and juniors J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams held that same belief.
Sure, the Blue Devils would be playing at the same site as rival North Carolina. But they expected that both teams would be well represented, if not equally.
Yet when they took the court for their practice session, the Devils were in a shock. Any cheering was drowned out by loud booing from the Tar Heels faithful and, plausibly, others who decided to join the hate party.
“When we walked out for our practice and during the game, it was just a bunch of Carolina blue, if not more than Duke blue (during Duke’s game) out there,” McClure said.
“Then when we went to our next site in (Austin), Texas, there seemed to be more Duke blue there than there was in Charlotte.”
The occasion marked the first time that Duke and North Carolina have been placed at the same NCAA Tournament site. And although the Devils won two ugly games to advance to the Sweet 16, it wasn’t the most pleasant experience — if only because of the shock factor.
But now, as the second-seeded Devils (28-6) prepare to take on No. 15 seed Binghamton (23-8) Thursday night, they know what kind of atmosphere to expect. For the second time, they’re at the same site in North Carolina as the Tar Heels.
They know which team will garner more fans, more applause, and which one will receive the most boos.
“It’s something that we’ve tried to prepare everybody for,” said McClure, a fifth-year senior. “Obviously, we’ll have some fans here. But don’t be freaked out if you hear some boos and things like that.”
The Devils got a taste of what to expect a week ago at the ACC Tournament. When they took the court for their first game, against Boston College Friday night, they were booed by a crowd that featured many Tar Heels fans even though the Heels had played several hours earlier.
Many of those same fans stuck around after their team had been eliminated Saturday to cheer against the Devils, who were taking on Maryland in the semifinals.
Of course, Duke came out all right — winning the tournament.
So, suffice to say, the Devils aren’t worried about who’s cheering for them here in Greensboro.
“Whether it’s people cheering or people booing, those people will be there,” Jon Scheyer said. “So (it) gets us exited to play.
“The one thing — we’re used to being booed, so that’s not really a big deal for us. If we have come out and we’re booed at all (or) cheered the whole time, (that’s fine).”
Coach Mike Krzyzewski waved off the fan reaction as a non-factor Wednesday, instead saying he’s pleased Duke got rewarded with an in-state location and praising Greensboro as the heart of North Carolina’s basketball pulse.
“We won’t win or lose because of the atmosphere,” he said. “We’ll win or lose because of how we play. … So to have two of the storied programs from our conference playing under the same roof I think is a great thing. I’m looking forward to it.”
And so are the players. McClure is the only current player who was on that 2005 team, and he has talked to his teammates about the experience so that they’ll know what to expect.
Elliot Williams is the lone freshman in the playing rotation, and he’s ready for the spectacle — even if it has the feel of a road game.
That could be the case Thursday, also considering the upset factor: Neutral fans will almost definitely root for the Bearcats if they can make it a competitive game.
“I enjoy playing on the road, having fans go against you and coming out with a victory,” Williams said.
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