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Charlieyca
04-23-2009, 09:51 AM
Im a high school teacher and basketball coach in Wilmington, NC. On Tuesday night the Barnstorming Tour composed of UNC and Duke seniors played the high school seniors from our county. I had the honor of coaching the high school guys. I use the word coaching lightly because my only job was to sub and make sure every from each school got equal playing time.
As much as i enjoyed the floor seat something stood out to me that i wanted to share with all the duke faithful. After the game, David Mcclure reminded me why I am a duke fan. As I walked into our team locker room the UNC players were all leaving the locker room very quickly heading to the bus. My girlfriend and I alone asked the carolina players if they had time to sign the actual gameball (sorry she is a UNC fan). Without a response they kept walking. Let it be noted, this was not a mob of people trying to get autographs, but one guy asking for one autograph.
After starting to wash our game jerseys i hear a knock at the door and to my surprise David Mcclure needed to come change. He was the only player to stay on the court after the game and sign autographs. In the lockerroom he took pictures with both me and my girlfriend, signed one duke basketball and then offered to sign more. As I offered to give him some privacy i was once again shocked as he asked me how our season had went.
I know not every player in the Duke program can be represented by David Mcclure and vice versa with the UNC guys representing their program, but David Mcclure IS what duke basketball is all about. Players like Dave, not wins or championships, is why i am a Blue Devil.

allenmurray
04-23-2009, 10:02 AM
I've posted this before but it bears repeating here - David Mcclure gets his hair cut by the same barber as my son and I, so we have met him a few times at the shop. You can search far and wide - you won't find a nicer person or a better representative of Duke University than David McClure. I wouldn't want Duke to trade him for all the banners in the Dean Dome.

Acymetric
04-23-2009, 10:47 AM
I've always thought Dave was a great guy and enjoyed having him on the team. I hate it for him that he had some injury troubles, I think his career could have been very different (and its not like it was bad to begin with) had he been healthy all 4 (instead of 5) years. Great guy and a huge piece of the team. Best of luck to him in whatever he does next!

DukieInKansas
04-23-2009, 11:00 AM
Charlieyca - thank you for sharing this story. Welcome to the boards - I hope you stick around - come over and visit us on the OTB sometime.

Shammrog
04-23-2009, 11:06 AM
After the ACC tourney final here in Atlanta, we took our 7 year-old daughter down by the tunnel to see the players. They were all being actively rushed on by the various officials, but nearly all of them at least gave a wave and acknowlegement to the waiting fans.

My daughter has a (kind of unexplained) fascination with Zoubek, and has all year long. He came over and was nice enough to sign my wife's hat for Abby. She treasures it, and now keeps it in her room.

I got a quick handshake and thanks from Nolan Smith.

Olek also came over briefly and signed an autograph. My mom is from Poland (and was there); I said "Nad Zdrowie" to him, which means "Cheers!" in Polish - he laughed and thanked me.

Keep in mind this was all in passing during the rush to get them to the locker room. Class all around; K knows how to recruit great kids and they all seem to positively rub off on one another. GO DUKE.

CameronBornAndBred
04-23-2009, 11:26 AM
Someone on the WRAL boards posted very much the same story about the unc players.
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/unc/forum_topic/4992104/?d_comments_page=1

At first I was unsure, but you seem to corroborate the story, and you were at a different event.

johaad
04-23-2009, 11:29 AM
Im a high school teacher and basketball coach in Wilmington, NC. On Tuesday night the Barnstorming Tour composed of UNC and Duke seniors played the high school seniors from our county. I had the honor of coaching the high school guys. I use the word coaching lightly because my only job was to sub and make sure every from each school got equal playing time.
As much as i enjoyed the floor seat something stood out to me that i wanted to share with all the duke faithful. After the game, David Mcclure reminded me why I am a duke fan. As I walked into our team locker room the UNC players were all leaving the locker room very quickly heading to the bus. My girlfriend and I alone asked the carolina players if they had time to sign the actual gameball (sorry she is a UNC fan). Without a response they kept walking. Let it be noted, this was not a mob of people trying to get autographs, but one guy asking for one autograph.
After starting to wash our game jerseys i hear a knock at the door and to my surprise David Mcclure needed to come change. He was the only player to stay on the court after the game and sign autographs. In the lockerroom he took pictures with both me and my girlfriend, signed one duke basketball and then offered to sign more. As I offered to give him some privacy i was once again shocked as he asked me how our season had went.
I know not every player in the Duke program can be represented by David Mcclure and vice versa with the UNC guys representing their program, but David Mcclure IS what duke basketball is all about. Players like Dave, not wins or championships, is why i am a Blue Devil.

Great story. While it is tough for me to pick a favorite Duke player, David McClure is definitely up there. He displays the class that I associate with Duke Basketball. Like you, its not the wins for me either. It is players like him that make me proud to be a Blue Devil.

Shammrog
04-23-2009, 11:36 AM
Oh, I should also note that Greg Paulus couldn't stop (he was being whisked along) but gave everyone a smile and a wave and PROFUSE thanks and apologies to the crowd that he just couldnt stop. You could just tell that he is a considerate and classy person.

Side note - after the semifinal, we saw a bunch of the FSU players in the concourse. They were very nice as well; Abby got her picture taken (by my wife and her ever present digital camera) with #32 (Ryan Reid), who after the photo said "thank you, sir" to me (!) Very nice kid.

johaad
04-23-2009, 11:40 AM
Oh, I should also note that Greg Paulus couldn't stop (he was being whisked along) but gave everyone a smile and a wave and PROFUSE thanks and apologies to the crowd that he just couldnt stop. You could just tell that he is a considerate and classy person.

Side note - after the semifinal, we saw a bunch of the FSU players in the concourse. They were very nice as well; Abby got her picture taken (by my wife and her ever present digital camera) with #32 (Ryan Reid), who after the photo said "thank you, sir" to me (!) Very nice kid.

I don't mean to get this into an FSU love fest, but I met Jordan Demercy the day after the Duke at FSU game. It was at a breakfast place in Tallahassee. He too, was a very nice guy who didn't seem angry at all that I had my Duke shirt on. I told him he played a good game and he seemed real appreciative. Good kid.

4decadedukie
04-23-2009, 12:27 PM
Obviously, life is about a good deal more than sports, including collegiate basketball. David McClure -- like many other Dukies -- is a fine person, which transcends his athletic abilities. In the LONG RUN of life, the academic and character educations individuals receive (in part) at Duke and through Coach K's program, will be decisive for many players.

shoutingncu
04-23-2009, 03:25 PM
For whatever it's worth (and I assume not much), I have two pictures with Tyler and an autographed sign.

I was at one game where he was whisked to the bus, but did stop for the couple children asking for autographs.

That WRAL story is from the comments section, much as this post is from a message board, and both should be taken as such.

weezie
04-23-2009, 05:04 PM
They really are a thin-skinned bunch of sore winners, aren't they?

Shammrog
04-23-2009, 05:06 PM
They really are a thin-skinned bunch of sore winners, aren't they?

Yes. They are.

beltwayBD
04-23-2009, 10:09 PM
What a great story, thanks for sharing.

Son of Jarhead
04-24-2009, 02:30 PM
Thanks for sharing your story... keep coming back.

Dave has been great... we will miss him in many ways going forward. He will undoubtedly be a success in whatever he does because he is just such a solid guy. Thanks, Dave!