Opposing players and the Crazies

[Lord Ash]

Tonight, after being waved at for a solid four minutes, Johnson from UAB went over to take a seat... and as he started to sit, the Crazies started to cheer "SEE YA!" and? He didn't sit, and a little sneaky smile came over his face. The Crazies laughed, and eventually got him, and gave him a nice round of applause to boot... makes everyone smile, and while the player fouled out he DOES get a nice last laugh.

I always LOVE it when an opposing player has a good time with the Crazies, and the Crazies have always loved it too. General Grievis loved being at Cameron... and who was it who took that dollar in the shooting contest?

Anyone have any good stories of the Crazies and opposing players who have played along?

[OldPhiKap]

Tonight, after being waved at for a solid four minutes, Johnson from UAB went over to take a seat... and as he started to sit, the Crazies started to cheer "SEE YA!" and? He didn't sit, and a little sneaky smile came over his face. The Crazies laughed, and eventually got him, and gave him a nice round of applause to boot... makes everyone smile, and while the player fouled out he DOES get a nice last laugh.

I always LOVE it when an opposing player has a good time with the Crazies, and the Crazies have always loved it too. General Grievis loved being at Cameron... and who was it who took that dollar in the shooting contest?

Anyone have any good stories of the Crazies and opposing players who have played along?

I'll give you a good coach one. When we played NC State sometime in the mid-80's, Jim Valvano was on the sideline giving the refs an earful. The crowd shouted "sit" "sit" "sit" -- so he sat on the floor at the corner of the coach's box, criss-cross-applesauce, still giving the ref an earful.

I want to say I saw him do a lay-up with his team in warm-ups one of those games, too, but I may not be remembering it correctly. I'll blame the distance of time for that.

[gam7]

This was before my time, but didn't Dennis Scott eat a twinkie that a Crazie threw at him?

[moonpie23]

This was before my time, but didn't Dennis Scott eat a twinkie that a Crazie threw at him?

props on the sig line.....

[Lord Ash]

This was before my time, but didn't Dennis Scott eat a twinkie that a Crazie threw at him?

I think it was Scott, but I didn't remember so didn't post it... someone I am sure will have the story... I hope?:)

[OldPhiKap]

I think it was Scott, but I didn't remember so didn't post it... someone I am sure will have the story... I hope?:)

Dennis was, um, a bit soft around the middle.

[cspan37421]

This was before my time, but didn't Dennis Scott eat a twinkie that a Crazie threw at him?

That sounds like an urban legend. Dennis Scott was sometimes the butt of food jokes among the Crazies for his Barkley-esque physique (esp. as he progressed through his years in a GT uniform). I'm not saying it didn't happen, it just seems to fit the caricature a bit too well.

[OldPhiKap]

I remember when we played LSU Shaq's freshman year ('90, maybe?) he went up for a slam but was a bit far from the basket. So, instead, he did a really nifty draw-down-and-under while in the air and it went in perfectly.

The crowd started chanting "Shaq can't slam! Shaq can't slam!"

The look on his face -- one of those "you kids must be kidding me" smiles -- was priceless. He definitely enjoyed the joke.

[OldPhiKap]

That sounds like an urban legend. Dennis Scott was sometimes the butt of food jokes among the Crazies for his Barkley-esque physique (esp. as he progressed through his years in a GT uniform). I'm not saying it didn't happen, it just seems to fit the caricature a bit too well.

IIRC, the Twinkie was left on the edge of the scorer's table by a student. Going second or third hand, though -- not there.

[davekay1971]

IIRC, the Twinkie was left on the edge of the scorer's table by a student. Going second or third hand, though -- not there.

I was there. Dennis had trimmed down remarkably in the off season and we had brought the twinkies to throw. Dennis did, indeed, pick up a twinkie (one which was still in the wrapper) and ate it. He also accepted a challenge from the crazies to shoot it from near halfcourt in warmups. My memory says he drained it, but I'm not sure about that detail. But, heck, he drained everything else he put up that night, so why not?

[Faustus]

There is a famous story from back in the early 70s when Maryland had a kid named Brian Magid who was no great player but did have legendary range, and during warm-ups a Duke student hopped out onto the court and laid a dollar bill on the floor about 35 ft. from the basket as a challenge. Magid dribbled over to the spot, nailed the shot, smiled to the crowd, picked up the bill and slipped it into his shorts to wild applause. I suspect someone on the forum can confirm/correct this Tale From the Past. (I graduated in '75 but somehow don't recall actually witnessing it myself.)

[Verga3]

I remember a lot more moments where our opponents did NOT play along...they are legion.

I do, however, remember in the early 80's when Duke grad and Maryland Coach, Lefty Driesell was in Cameron. Everybody remembers those skull caps behind the MD bench. Really funny, and Lefty was always a good sport about it. Does anyone else remember the game (2nd half) where Lefty called a timeout and reached back quickly at a heckling Cameron Crazy to rubbed his skull-capped head for luck? I also think once during pregame warmups he even borrowed a skull cap to try on....What a character.

[sagegrouse]

There is a famous story from back in the early 70s when Maryland had a kid named Brian Magid who was no great player but did have legendary range, and during warm-ups a Duke student hopped out onto the court and laid a dollar bill on the floor about 35 ft. from the basket as a challenge. Magid dribbled over to the spot, nailed the shot, smiled to the crowd, picked up the bill and slipped it into his shorts to wild applause. I suspect someone on the forum can confirm/correct this Tale From the Past. (I graduated in '75 but somehow don't recall actually witnessing it myself.)

Magid played two years at Maryland, 1976 and 1977, before transferring to George Washington for his last two years.

Here's a link (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=23687) to the Magid story by Al Featherstone.

sagegrouse

[gam7]

During the late '90s I recall a "you can't dunk" chant during a Wake Forest pre-game layup line, leading to a Wake player dunking and shattering the backboard. Player and crowd got good laughs out of it.

Also, I remember Jeff McGinnis having a lot of back and forths with the Crazies. In particular, I remember him pointing and laughing at my favorite sign in Cameron history. McGinnis was rumored to have slept with Phil Ford's wife and the sign said, "McGinnis, have you driven a Ford lately?"

[-bdbd]

I remember a lot more moments where our opponents did NOT play along...they are legion.

I do, however, remember in the early 80's when Duke grad and Maryland Coach, Lefty Driesell was in Cameron. Everybody remembers those skull caps behind the MD bench. Really funny, and Lefty was always a good sport about it. Does anyone else remember the game (2nd half) where Lefty called a timeout and reached back quickly at a heckling Cameron Crazy to rubbed his skull-capped head for luck? I also think once during pregame warmups he even borrowed a skull cap to try on....What a character.

Actually one time he was asked by one of the skinhead guys behind the visitor bench to autograph the kid's dome. So Lefty grabbed a sharpie, leaned over and signed the skinhead (skull cap) with a big "X". He later explained, "I went to Duke, so I never learned to read or write...":rolleyes:

[devildeac]

I'll give you a good coach one. When we played NC State sometime in the mid-80's, Jim Valvano was on the sideline giving the refs an earful. The crowd shouted "sit" "sit" "sit" -- so he sat on the floor at the corner of the coach's box, criss-cross-applesauce, still giving the ref an earful.

I want to say I saw him do a lay-up with his team in warm-ups one of those games, too, but I may not be remembering it correctly. I'll blame the distance of time for that.

Lore also has it that after Valvano obeyed the Crazies, they started chanting "roll over, roll over."

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I remember a lot more moments where our opponents did NOT play along...they are legion.

I do, however, remember in the early 80's when Duke grad and Maryland Coach, Lefty Driesell was in Cameron. Everybody remembers those skull caps behind the MD bench. Really funny, and Lefty was always a good sport about it. Does anyone else remember the game (2nd half) where Lefty called a timeout and reached back quickly at a heckling Cameron Crazy to rubbed his skull-capped head for luck? I also think once during pregame warmups he even borrowed a skull cap to try on....What a character.
Don't leave out another Lefty funny..... instead of the skull caps from the party/costume store, everyone had a poster with Lefty's picture which had a gas gauge on the forehead. The gauge was on E.

Loved the Fruit of the Loom Night following some State players having a little problem in a retail store.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Lore also has it that after Valvano obeyed the Crazies, they started chanting "roll over, roll over."
Many of us regulars upstairs used bet on how long it would take for Valvano to rip the inseam of his trousers or some part of his jacket as the result of his passionate interaction with the officials.

[dukebsbll14]

In my short time at Duke I have one

-At this years Miami(Ohio) game, there was a player named Julian Mavunga. We had a list of a bunch of Julian's tweets on the cheer sheets and during warm-ups I would scream things like, "JULIAN! Are you gonna tweet during the game! JULIAN! Are you gonna tweet that missed lay-up!" He came over and I asked if he would tweet during the game and was like "Yeah I will!"

Then I would just scream his name whenever he ran by and he would start grinning. Then he would just look at me and I would smile and wave and he would start laughing. He was a great sport. After the game I tweeted him saying it was fun heckling him that day. He responded saying something along the lines of he had fun and told me he'd be back in our building someday. Good kid. Hope he goes places.

[cspan37421]

Many of us regulars upstairs used bet on how long it would take for Valvano to rip the inseam of his trousers or some part of his jacket as the result of his passionate interaction with the officials.

Heck, I saw Coach K do that. I was behind the Duke bench a few rows and he made one of those Hulk-like motions (best and most concise way I can describe it!) at the officials. Riiippp went the jacket along the seam down the middle of the back. I think he may have then taken it off and, um, set it down for the rest of the game, but my memory is foggy after that. I can't even remember which game it was.

Subsequently, I would use that motion (gently) use to test the fit of suit jackets.

[cspan37421]

I was there. Dennis had trimmed down remarkably in the off season and we had brought the twinkies to throw. Dennis did, indeed, pick up a twinkie (one which was still in the wrapper) and ate it. He also accepted a challenge from the crazies to shoot it from near halfcourt in warmups. My memory says he drained it, but I'm not sure about that detail. But, heck, he drained everything else he put up that night, so why not?

That's hilarious! But even then, he didn't necessarily bust his diet. It's calories in, calories out, as far as weight is concerned (not health - weight), and it can't really be any other way.

Dennis Scott was a great outside shooter. I think they had another guy after that who could bomb accurately from deep, but I forgot his name.

Sadly, I went to a home GT game at which Craig "Noodles" Neal had a great shooting game, and they beat us. He taunted the crowd afterward, and let's just say it wasn't received well. We did not like that guy ... of course, it's a lot easier to applaud a great performance by a visiting player when that valiant performance is part of an ultimately losing effort. But even then ... we really didn't like Noodles; I don't think we'd have applauded him even if he got 30/10/10 in a loss.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Heck, I saw Coach K do that. I was behind the Duke bench a few rows and he made one of those Hulk-like motions (best and most concise way I can describe it!) at the officials. Riiippp went the jacket along the seam down the middle of the back. I think he may have then taken it off and, um, set it down for the rest of the game, but my memory is foggy after that. I can't even remember which game it was.

Subsequently, I would use that motion (gently) use to test the fit of suit jackets.
With Coach K, the ripping of his jacket was a single episode if my memory is correct. With Jim Valvano, it was part of every game, especially when State played Duke or Carolina.

[cspan37421]

With Coach K, the ripping of his jacket was a single episode if my memory is correct. With Jim Valvano, it was part of every game, especially when State played Duke or Carolina.

I don't think it reflects badly on K if his suitcoat didn't hold up to vigorously begging to differ. But for Jimmy V, consider the too-slim cut of men's clothing in his era.

"It's easy to grin, when your ship comes in, and you've got the stock market beat; but the man worth while, is the man who can smile, when his shorts are too tight in the seat.'"

[4decadedukie]

There is a famous story from back in the early 70s when Maryland had a kid named Brian Magid who was no great player but did have legendary range, and during warm-ups a Duke student hopped out onto the court and laid a dollar bill on the floor about 35 ft. from the basket as a challenge. Magid dribbled over to the spot, nailed the shot, smiled to the crowd, picked up the bill and slipped it into his shorts to wild applause. I suspect someone on the forum can confirm/correct this Tale From the Past. (I graduated in '75 but somehow don't recall actually witnessing it myself.)

I have heard the same story countless time, I believe it is true (although I cannot substantiate it), and I really want be believe it is true. With this said, were this to happen today, I suspect Maryland would receive some sort of NCAA violation for a player accepting unsanctioned monetary benefits.
:)

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I don't think it reflects badly on K if his suitcoat didn't hold up to vigorously begging to differ. But for Jimmy V, consider the too-slim cut of men's clothing in his era.

"It's easy to grin, when your ship comes in, and you've got the stock market beat; but the man worth while, is the man who can smile, when his shorts are too tight in the seat.'"
My comment wasn't intended to indicate that Coach K's lack of ripping his jackets was a negative reflection on him. As a graduate of the West Point, one would expect him to behave just as he does.

The point I was making about Coach Valvano is that he was passionate and demonstrated it sometimes to predictable extreme..... thus the ripped clothing. This was a regular part of his time on the court.

[JayZee]

I was there. Dennis had trimmed down remarkably in the off season and we had brought the twinkies to throw. Dennis did, indeed, pick up a twinkie (one which was still in the wrapper) and ate it. He also accepted a challenge from the crazies to shoot it from near halfcourt in warmups. My memory says he drained it, but I'm not sure about that detail. But, heck, he drained everything else he put up that night, so why not?

I will never forget this display. Dennis ended up alone in Cameron at the end of warmups. He kept shooting and stepping back, never missing. Just unreal. The crazies were definitely into it. And Dennis was having a ball.

He actually would dribble around. He faked taking a few half court shots and the crowd would definitely gasp a little each time he did. Finally as he looked to be leaving, he stopped at helf court, whipped around and, nylon. He raised his arms and walked off the court to a standing O. In today's age this would have been caught on video and posted immediately on YouTube. Alas it in only seared in a few thousand kids brains.

[mbd1mbd1]

During the late '90s I recall a "you can't dunk" chant during a Wake Forest pre-game layup line, leading to a Wake player dunking and shattering the backboard. Player and crowd got good laughs out of it.


Football player and basketball walkon Ed Kargboogarogie (something like that).

[grit74]

"You shot the sheriff."

broke him up.

[dukestheheat]

So, when I was at Duke, we used to throw tennis balls over the court while the players were warming up before the game. At any one time, there'd be three cans of balls popping over the court, and usually, each was confiscated by the Cameron Police. Funny thing is they never came out and said we couldn't throw them, so throw we did.

I did have a not-so-great interaction with Clemson's Horace Grant and the tennis ball that landed with me, so I'll leave it at that.

Tech had a guy who didn't seem like he could dunk (at all), at least in the warm-ups. Remember, back then we'd get into Cameron 1.5 hours before the tip so we a lot of time to mess with the poor victims. Well, we got on this guy with the 'you can't dunk' cheer, and I remember Dennis Scott leaning over to him whispering to him, and the guy goes over, grabs a basketball and proceeds to dunk two-handed with a twist and his back to the goal as he slammed it through.

I truly detested King Rice. They beat us by 20 my last year at Duke, and I'd been in line for two years it seemed, waiting to get into that game. After the game, we were all pretty stunned and as I was leaving the court, here comes the King out of the dressing room to do an interview for ESPN. He runs right by me (six inches) and gets in my face and yells 'HAAAAAAAAAAA!'.

Anyway, some of the best times in my life were spent right there in Cameron and I wish for those days to somehow channel back for me. Back then, I didn't really have to pay any bills. Now, a bill seems to come in the mail every two days.

And, JR Reid was known for moving people out of the way in the lane with his backside. Well, they'd put a brand new sound system in Cameron, and we put up that old rap song 'Doin' the butt', and the Blue Devil comes out with at least 5 pillows stuffed into his backside and a Reid jersey on and that song is blaring over the new sound system while the Holes are warming up; we would insert 'JR's gotta big ole butt! Oh yeah!!' into the lines of the song. Reid saw this and seemed pretty inflamed by this little skit. Reid also was involved in some altercation at Shooter's Disco over in Raleigh, so we merely got a good chant going about that, singing 'let's go to Shooter's' (clapx5). This really, really honked him off.

dukestheheat.

[gvtucker]

"You shot the sheriff."

broke him up.

That was the Alabama game, first round of the NIT in 1980. (Not 100% positive, but pretty sure.)

[jimsumner]

The Magid story is definitely true. Saw it myself.

One time Lefty showed up on crutches. One of the Crazies sat right behind him with cructhes. Lefty loved it.

Mrs. Norman Sloan used to sing the national anthem at State games. When State played at Duke, students would dress in drag and ostentatiously sing along with the NA.

Sloan was not amused. Actually, not much amused Norm Sloan. A starker personality contrast than that between Sloan and Valvano can scarcely be imagined.

My favorite occurred in the middle 1980s, when Carolina came to Cameron. Steve Hale was out with a punctured lung. The students chanted in-hale, ex-hale, in-hale,ex-hale at Hale. He loved it. Kudos to all concerned.

[davekay1971]

I will never forget this display. Dennis ended up alone in Cameron at the end of warmups. He kept shooting and stepping back, never missing. Just unreal. The crazies were definitely into it. And Dennis was having a ball.

He actually would dribble around. He faked taking a few half court shots and the crowd would definitely gasp a little each time he did. Finally as he looked to be leaving, he stopped at helf court, whipped around and, nylon. He raised his arms and walked off the court to a standing O. In today's age this would have been caught on video and posted immediately on YouTube. Alas it in only seared in a few thousand kids brains.

Thank you for keying my memory. You're right about those details, and it was stunning to watch. His in-game display was equally as stunning, though far more anxiety-inducing.

Because of that night, especially his pre-game fun, Dennis Scott remained one of my favorite non-Duke players for a long, long time.

[cbnaylor]

So, when I was at Duke, we used to throw tennis balls over the court while the players were warming up before the game. At any one time, there'd be three cans of balls popping over the court, and usually, each was confiscated by the Cameron Police. Funny thing is they never came out and said we couldn't throw them, so throw we did.

I did have a not-so-great interaction with Clemson's Horace Grant and the tennis ball that landed with me, so I'll leave it at that.

Tech had a guy who didn't seem like he could dunk (at all), at least in the warm-ups. Remember, back then we'd get into Cameron 1.5 hours before the tip so we a lot of time to mess with the poor victims. Well, we got on this guy with the 'you can't dunk' cheer, and I remember Dennis Scott leaning over to him whispering to him, and the guy goes over, grabs a basketball and proceeds to dunk two-handed with a twist and his back to the goal as he slammed it through.

I truly detested King Rice. They beat us by 20 my last year at Duke, and I'd been in line for two years it seemed, waiting to get into that game. After the game, we were all pretty stunned and as I was leaving the court, here comes the King out of the dressing room to do an interview for ESPN. He runs right by me (six inches) and gets in my face and yells 'HAAAAAAAAAAA!'.

Anyway, some of the best times in my life were spent right there in Cameron and I wish for those days to somehow channel back for me. Back then, I didn't really have to pay any bills. Now, a bill seems to come in the mail every two days.

And, JR Reid was known for moving people out of the way in the lane with his backside. Well, they'd put a brand new sound system in Cameron, and we put up that old rap song 'Doin' the butt', and the Blue Devil comes out with at least 5 pillows stuffed into his backside and a Reid jersey on and that song is blaring over the new sound system while the Holes are warming up; we would insert 'JR's gotta big ole butt! Oh yeah!!' into the lines of the song. Reid saw this and seemed pretty inflamed by this little skit. Reid also was involved in some altercation at Shooter's Disco over in Raleigh, so we merely got a good chant going about that, singing 'let's go to Shooter's' (clapx5). This really, really honked him off.

dukestheheat.

DA Butt! That's great. Here's the video for the young ones who don't recall this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypcs4c7ihSo

[Faustus]

The Magid story is definitely true. Saw it myself.

One time Lefty showed up on crutches. One of the Crazies sat right behind him with cructhes. Lefty loved it.

Mrs. Norman Sloan used to sing the national anthem at State games. When State played at Duke, students would dress in drag and ostentatiously sing along with the NA.

Sloan was not amused. Actually, not much amused Norm Sloan. A starker personality contrast than that between Sloan and Valvano can scarcely be imagined.

My favorite occurred in the middle 1980s, when Carolina came to Cameron. Steve Hale was out with a punctured lung. The students chanted in-hale, ex-hale, in-hale,ex-hale at Hale. He loved it. Kudos to all concerned.

Thank you Jim, and others above. If it was '76 or '77 that would explain why I didn't get to see it. I was, however, present at what must have been the year or two before that when Maryland did lose, and Len Elmore last night again referred to only losing in Cameron once in his career. What he failed to add, of course, is that Maryland was heavily favored in all of those games... Let's take them down yet again this Sunday for old time's sake.

[jimsumner]

Thank you Jim, and others above. If it was '76 or '77 that would explain why I didn't get to see it. I was, however, present at what must have been the year or two before that when Maryland did lose, and Len Elmore last night again referred to only losing in Cameron once in his career. What he failed to add, of course, is that Maryland was heavily favored in all of those games... Let's take them down yet again this Sunday for old time's sake.

For the record, Duke defeated Maryland 68-59 on 2-26-72 and 85-81 on 2-3-73, both at Cameron. Gary Melchionni had a game for the ages in 1973, with 39 points.

Elmore played in both games.

Duke did not beat Maryland in College Park during Elmore's tenure and Maryland defeated Duke in the 1974 ACCT.

[OldPhiKap]

My favorite occurred in the middle 1980s, when Carolina came to Cameron. Steve Hale was out with a punctured lung. The students chanted in-hale, ex-hale, in-hale,ex-hale at Hale. He loved it. Kudos to all concerned.

My favorite game in Cameron. Senior night for Johnny, Mark, Jay, Hendu . . . .

And a big Duke victory.

I actually snuck a bottle of champagne into the game. Took the wire basket off the cork with about a minute to go. Dean, of course, somehow made the last minute of game clock time drag out to about 10 minutes. The cork went off by itself somewhere in that time span, never knew where it came down.

Sounded like a gunshot, though.

[devildeac]

The Magid story is definitely true. Saw it myself.

One time Lefty showed up on crutches. One of the Crazies sat right behind him with cructhes. Lefty loved it.

Mrs. Norman Sloan used to sing the national anthem at State games. When State played at Duke, students would dress in drag and ostentatiously sing along with the NA.

Sloan was not amused. Actually, not much amused Norm Sloan. A starker personality contrast than that between Sloan and Valvano can scarcely be imagined.

My favorite occurred in the middle 1980s, when Carolina came to Cameron. Steve Hale was out with a punctured lung. The students chanted in-hale, ex-hale, in-hale,ex-hale at Hale. He loved it. Kudos to all concerned.

My daughter roomed with his daughter for 1 session of summer school in 2008. I told her this story at the time and she just howled. She didn't have the heart/courage to discuss it with her then.

[devildeac]

For the record, Duke defeated Maryland 68-59 on 2-26-72 and 85-81 on 2-3-73, both at Cameron. Gary Melchionni had a game for the ages in 1973, with 39 points.

Elmore played in both games.

Duke did not beat Maryland in College Park during Elmore's tenure and Maryland defeated Duke in the 1974 ACCT.

His memory is getting as bad as his commentaries.

[4decadedukie]

This thread -- and it's a great one -- has concerned opponents reacting with élan, humor and taste to our Crazies' antics. Please permit me to offer an absolutely factual incident where an adversary behaved in a less-than-classy manner.

During my son-in-law's last year at Fuqua, he was a rabid Crazy and he especially detested UNC (hardly surprising, and certainly appropriate); it's important to understand that Jason is about 5'8" and weighed perhaps 120 pounds. Serge Zwikker was Dean Smith's starting center when the Heels played in Cameron in 1997. Jason had a terrific seat and was able to ride Zwikker mercilessly during warmups and throughout the first half. As the Heels left the floor at halftime, Jason yelled directly into Serge's face, "Hey Zwikker, you suck," at which point Zwikker attempted to jump into Cameron's bleachers to go after Jason. Only the speedy physical cohesion of the Crazies saved Jason from Zwikker (either of whose legs were probably larger than Jason). I often thank our fellow Crazies for permitting our grandchildren to bless our lives.

[Kdogg]

That was the Alabama game, first round of the NIT in 1980. (Not 100% positive, but pretty sure.)

It was a preseason exhibition game in 1996.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

For the record, Duke defeated Maryland 68-59 on 2-26-72 and 85-81 on 2-3-73, both at Cameron. Gary Melchionni had a game for the ages in 1973, with 39 points.

Elmore played in both games.

Duke did not beat Maryland in College Park during Elmore's tenure and Maryland defeated Duke in the 1974 ACCT.
We sucked when I was an undergrad - the worst 4 years in Duke's history 72/73 to 75/76. But we did beat top 5 Maryland in 1973 (the Melchionni game) and in 1976 (the Terry Chili game) for the only huge upsets of that period. Still 2 of the loudest games I've ever heard in Cameron! But the incident I'll relate happened in 1975 when we played Maryland, a game we lost. They had a player named Jap Trimble. I sat in the 4th row behind the visitor's bench, just behind the "buffer zone". At the end of the game, as Trimble was running along the sideline from mid court towards the bench he jumped onto the first row bench, reached into the stands and punched a student in the mouth about 5 seats to my left (nearer center court) and then kept running down court and towards the locker room. We were all stunned, to say the least. Fortunately is was only a glancing blow and no teeth were lost.

And of course, I sat there behind the visiting bench with my air horn, blasting it into team's huddle during time outs and any time I wanted to (there was no rule saying I couldn't, even during play, and NO ONE ever stopped me for 3 years.) Today of course there is the Ozzie rule and no artificial noise makers are allowed in arenas. 3 years ago at the Iron Duke football tailgate, I introduced myself to Lefty Driesell and told him I was the guy with the air horn. He did remember me. Vividly. We had a good laugh over it. I told him I still have it at home (I do) and that some day I'll bring it to one of these things so I can get him to autograph it! He said he would.

[Verga3]

This thread -- and it's a great one -- has concerned opponents reacting with élan, humor and taste to our Crazies' antics. Please permit me to offer an absolutely factual incident where an adversary behaved in a less-than-classy manner.

During my son-in-law's last year at Fuqua, he was a rabid Crazy and he especially detested UNC (hardly surprising, and certainly appropriate); it's important to understand that Jason is about 5'8" and weighed perhaps 120 pounds. Serge Zwikker was Dean Smith's starting center when the Heels played in Cameron in 1997. Jason had a terrific seat and was able to ride Zwikker mercilessly during warmups and throughout the first half. As the Heels left the floor at halftime, Jason yelled directly into Serge's face, "Hey Zwikker, you suck," at which point Zwikker attempted to jump into Cameron's bleachers to go after Jason. Only the speedy physical cohesion of the Crazies saved Jason from Zwikker (either of whose legs were probably larger than Jason). I often thank our fellow Crazies for permitting our grandchildren to bless our lives.

God bless your son-law-in....and your grandchildren were obviosly never in question after that awesome display. Serge was big, but Jason (and his Crazies friends) were as astute and nimble as ever....Box out! Thanks for the neat personal story!

[jdj4duke]

Must have been 1971 when South Carolina came to Cameron. Sometime during warmups, the cheerleaders and a group of students raced around the floor with a larger-than-life fiberglass statue of Col. Sanders, secretly borrowed from a local Kentucky Fried Chicken, wearing a giant "Fry the Cocks" sign around his neck. I think they made one lap around the floor before running back out. Not sure if Harlan ever made it back to his restaurant but the Carolina (South) players found it amusing. The coaches I think not so much.

While not really a memory of a specific player reaction, but the recollection of Col. Sanders being hoisted on the shoulders of a bunch of students and paraded around the court is still pretty funny.

[ricks68]

Must have been 1971 when South Carolina came to Cameron. Sometime during warmups, the cheerleaders and a group of students raced around the floor with a larger-than-life fiberglass statue of Col. Sanders, secretly borrowed from a local Kentucky Fried Chicken, wearing a giant "Fry the Cocks" sign around his neck. I think they made one lap around the floor before running back out. Not sure if Harlan ever made it back to his restaurant but the Carolina (South) players found it amusing. The coaches I think not so much.

While not really a memory of a specific player reaction, but the recollection of Col. Sanders being hoisted on the shoulders of a bunch of students and paraded around the court is still pretty funny.

You do know that the actual Colonel Sanders used to eat occasionally in the cafeteria during the late 60's when I was a student. He would stay at the Holiday Inn downtown while on the Duke Rice Diet that was very popular in Durham at the time. When I saw him occasionally on campus eating, he would be dressed in his white suit and sported the little goatee just as advertised. Sometimes he sat at the same table as Nurmi. :cool:

ricks

[Grey Devil]

...at that game! It was hilarious. (And I seem to remember even seeing the real Colonel at one of the games, too, but that may have just been an hallucination....:rolleyes:) Back before it became KFC, we called K-Y-Fried.

And thanks for the memory of Nurmi, too. What a gentle soul he was.

Grey Devil

[ricks68]

In keeping with the theme of the thread, during my years at Duke, the freshmen BBall players were not allowed on the varsity. Before the varsity games, the freshman team would play the visiting ACC team. In out-of-conference games they would often play a visiting prep school, etc. Well, the prep school they were playing one night happened to have a gangly kid with a bowl haircut of pretty thick hair who sported some floppy over-sized looking high socks. At the beginning of the game, he takes the ball downcourt and puts up a shot somewhere between five to ten feet after hitting the half-court line. It clanked off the rim. We began to raz him pretty good after that. Since he would be taking the ball downcourt after the inbounds pass, we had the opportunity to then scream out "shoot kid, shoot" every time he passed the midcourt line. It got pretty loud in the Indoor Stadium of, course, but that didn't seem to deter the kid.

He torched us for over 40 points that night (and that's when those shots only counted for 2 points) because that's one of the few shots from that area he ended up missing that night. He was magical. We kept screaming "shoot kid, shoot" after that first miss, but after the next ones went in, we changed our tone quite a bit to really mean it---and he responded. His passing and moves were just incredible to watch.

While we ended up winning, we cheered him on throughout the game and gave him a standing ovation at the end. Unfortunately, his father (who was coaching N C State at the time) left for LSU the next year and took the kid along. Too bad, as he might have even eclipsed David Thompson for the greatest player ever to play in the ACC.

C'mon Crusties, tell the young 'uns who that was.;)

ricks

[Grey Devil]

C'mon Crusties, tell the young 'uns who that was.;)

ricks

Pistol Pete Maravich! Who else could it be? Even in my late 60s hallucinatory state I would know who that was....

Grey Devil

[ricks68]

Pistol Pete Maravich! Who else could it be? Even in my late 60s hallucinatory state I would know who that was....

Grey Devil

And I might add that the back of his hair would rise way up every time he came back down from a shot and then flop back onto his neck. A perfect match to his floppy socks.:D

ricks

[BD80]

... I did have a not-so-great interaction with Clemson's Horace Grant and the tennis ball that landed with me, so I'll leave it at that. ...

You must have cojones larger than those tennis balls - Horace was a big dude


... Zwikker attempted to jump into Cameron's bleachers to go after Jason. Only the speedy physical cohesion of the Crazies saved Jason from Zwikker (either of whose legs were probably larger than Jason). ...

You mean the Zwikker who needed a running start to jump over the baseline? Zwikker was so slow, your son could have had a latte and still have had time to avoid Serge's surge.

[davekay1971]

During my son-in-law's last year at Fuqua, he was a rabid Crazy and he especially detested UNC (hardly surprising, and certainly appropriate); it's important to understand that Jason is about 5'8" and weighed perhaps 120 pounds. Serge Zwikker was Dean Smith's starting center when the Heels played in Cameron in 1997. Jason had a terrific seat and was able to ride Zwikker mercilessly during warmups and throughout the first half. As the Heels left the floor at halftime, Jason yelled directly into Serge's face, "Hey Zwikker, you suck," at which point Zwikker attempted to jump into Cameron's bleachers to go after Jason. Only the speedy physical cohesion of the Crazies saved Jason from Zwikker (either of whose legs were probably larger than Jason). I often thank our fellow Crazies for permitting our grandchildren to bless our lives.

Zwikker wasn't the only Carolina guy to be less than amused with our Crazies. A guy I know who went to Duke relates the story of giving Dean an earful as Carolina exited the court (I believe it was after a Carolina win), and Dean stuck his tongue out at this Dukie. The Duke student leaned forward to rebut, a move that Deano's personal bodyguard/hitman, Steve Bucknall took exception to. Steve responded by punching the Dukie squarely in the chest. Scholarship earned...

[Atldukie79]

As mentioned earlier, NC State coach Norm Sloan had no sense of humor. Watching his weekly TV show was painful to say the least, but necessary viewing in the pre-internet age for insights to our competition.

On one show, Norm Sloan would whine and whine in his humorless droning voice about the Duke students...particlarly noting how they would be drinking hours before the game and were drunk and unruly. I vaguely recall chants to Sloan at games along the lines of "have a drink norm sloan, have a drink- clap,clap".

Flash forward to Jom Valvano entering Cameron for the first time as the State coach...as he entered, he was carrying an inflatabe booze bottle over his head with a big grin on his face. He was grinning ear to ear and got a huge roar from the Duke crowd.

He knew how to have fun. What a showman (even if I did despise him at the time). He loved playing with the crowd.

[jdj4duke]

You do know that the actual Colonel Sanders used to eat occasionally in the cafeteria during the late 60's when I was a student. He would stay at the Holiday Inn downtown while on the Duke Rice Diet that was very popular in Durham at the time. When I saw him occasionally on campus eating, he would be dressed in his white suit and sported the little goatee just as advertised. Sometimes he sat at the same table as Nurmi. :cool:

ricks

I had completely forgotten about that! And the escapades of the Rice Dieters- now that is another off-topic thread. Nurmi looked about 100 when I was there, and I think he made it another 20 or 30 years.

[Indoor66]

I had completely forgotten about that! And the escapades of the Rice Dieters- now that is another off-topic thread. Nurmi looked about 100 when I was there, and I think he made it another 20 or 30 years.

Elvis used to come to town for the diet. He stayed in a railroad car parked over by West Durham Lumber on Hillsborough road.

[OldPhiKap]

Elvis used to come to town for the diet. He stayed in a railroad car parked over by West Durham Lumber on Hillsborough road.

Dom DeLuise was on the rice diet at some time during my tenure.

On-topic: I remember in '86 when Len Bias torched us for 40+ points. Back in the day before the three pointer, and when we had the absolute best defense in the country. He got a standing O from the crowd when he finally fouled out, and he looked genuinely appreciative of the recognition.

[Indoor66]

Dom DeLuise was on the rice diet at some time during my tenure.

There were (and probably still are) many others. Elizabeth Taylor, Buddy Hackett, etc. were regulars.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

There were (and probably still are) many others. Elizabeth Taylor, Buddy Hackett, etc. were regulars.
Burl Ives was a regular participant when I was an undergraduate. I was once mistaken for his much younger wife while in one of the X-ray clinics at the medical center.

[TheTrain]

I was there. Dennis had trimmed down remarkably in the off season and we had brought the twinkies to throw. Dennis did, indeed, pick up a twinkie (one which was still in the wrapper) and ate it. He also accepted a challenge from the crazies to shoot it from near halfcourt in warmups. My memory says he drained it, but I'm not sure about that detail. But, heck, he drained everything else he put up that night, so why not?

The real story is as follows. I brought a box of doughnuts to the game and was sitting behind the GT bench. My Stonehenge colleague, Lionel Betsch took the box, walked on the court, and approached Scott. Brian Oliver met them as well at the top of the circle. Lionel being the impish soul that he is, offered him a doughnut. Scott picked it up and said that if he ate it, he would be good for 40 that night.

As for the challenge....it was noneother than Seth Davis (then a Freshman) who challenged him. Seth, IIRC threw up several airballs. Scott hit his shots and won. As he was leaving the court to the visiting teams locker room he hit a turnaround jumper from the midcourt circle and promply trotted to the visiting team's locker room to a standing O

[Tom B.]

On-topic: I remember in '86 when Len Bias torched us for 40+ points. Back in the day before the three pointer, and when we had the absolute best defense in the country. He got a standing O from the crowd when he finally fouled out, and he looked genuinely appreciative of the recognition.


Something similar happened when Carolina, of all teams, played in Cameron in 1992. Duke obviously had a great team that year, but Carolina had beaten us a month earlier in the Dean Dome. The game in Cameron was not only the rematch, but also the regular season finale and Senior Day for Christian Laettner and Brian Davis -- no way we were losing that game. We played well and ultimately won, but the one guy we absolutely couldn't stop was Hubert Davis. He single-handedly kept Carolina in the game and I think he finished with 35.

At one point in the second half, he went down with an injury of some kind -- nothing major, maybe a tweaked ankle or something like that, and he wasn't down for too long. He was able to get up and walk to the bench, and the crowd started to give him some polite applause. Then K stood up and started waving his arms up and down, as if to say, "C'mon, this dude is killing us -- he deserves a much better ovation than that!" The crowd responded, and the golf applause crescendoed into a full-blown standing ovation.

Despite being a Heel, Hubert Davis was generally recognized as being a good guy, so it was a pretty cool moment.

[dukestheheat]

You must have cojones larger than those tennis balls - Horace was a big dude



You mean the Zwikker who needed a running start to jump over the baseline? Zwikker was so slow, your son could have had a latte and still have had time to avoid Serge's surge.

...BD80, no, actually, that was quite by mistake, that little encounter with Horace/tennis ball. I did think I might die that night by the way. Guaranteed that if you meet him in an airport and ask him if he remembers that, he will remember it.

dth.

[davekay1971]

The real story is as follows. I brought a box of doughnuts to the game and was sitting behind the GT bench. My Stonehenge colleague, Lionel Betsch took the box, walked on the court, and approached Scott. Brian Oliver met them as well at the top of the circle. Lionel being the impish soul that he is, offered him a doughnut. Scott picked it up and said that if he ate it, he would be good for 40 that night.

As for the challenge....it was noneother than Seth Davis (then a Freshman) who challenged him. Seth, IIRC threw up several airballs. Scott hit his shots and won. As he was leaving the court to the visiting teams locker room he hit a turnaround jumper from the midcourt circle and promply trotted to the visiting team's locker room to a standing O

I'll defer to your memory of the event since there's a good chance mine has been fuzzied by alcohol consumed either at that time or shortly afterwards, and my details easily could be wrong. Only one correction: Davis graduated in 1992, so he should have been a sophomore at the time (unless he graduated early, which is entirely possible). That game occurred in spring, 1990 - my freshman year - and I graduated in 1993, sans laude.

[SupaDave]

I had completely forgotten about that! And the escapades of the Rice Dieters- now that is another off-topic thread. Nurmi looked about 100 when I was there, and I think he made it another 20 or 30 years.

I thought this was certainly worthy of off-topic discussion and started a thread.

[jimsumner]

Let me give you another one.

My freshman year, fall 1968, Duke hosted East Tennessee State. Easy win, right?

Pre-game warmups. The visitors got into a circle and started doing a Harlem Globetrotters routine, spinning basketballs, around the back, between the legs, looking good.

Bunch of white guys from the sticks channeling Meadowlark and Curly. It was hilarious. The students were having a great time with the whole thing.

Until the game started. Then Harley "Skeeter" Swift and his teammates torched Duke. Turned out those Hillbillies had game. Swift scored about 20, had about half that many assists and ETS won by eight.

Probably a lesson there.

[dukestheheat]

Something similar happened when Carolina, of all teams, played in Cameron in 1992. Duke obviously had a great team that year, but Carolina had beaten us a month earlier in the Dean Dome. The game in Cameron was not only the rematch, but also the regular season finale and Senior Day for Christian Laettner and Brian Davis -- no way we were losing that game. We played well and ultimately won, but the one guy we absolutely couldn't stop was Hubert Davis. He single-handedly kept Carolina in the game and I think he finished with 35.

At one point in the second half, he went down with an injury of some kind -- nothing major, maybe a tweaked ankle or something like that, and he wasn't down for too long. He was able to get up and walk to the bench, and the crowd started to give him some polite applause. Then K stood up and started waving his arms up and down, as if to say, "C'mon, this dude is killing us -- he deserves a much better ovation than that!" The crowd responded, and the golf applause crescendoed into a full-blown standing ovation.

Despite being a Heel, Hubert Davis was generally recognized as being a good guy, so it was a pretty cool moment.

.......about this event once over in Chapel Hill, at the Dean Dome when he was there shooting over the summer to prep for his pro season (Knicks?); I was over there on business and took the chance to walk through the building, and there he was. Really nice guy and he said he totally remembered being clapped for and respected by the Crazies to help him up from that injury (a slight ankle twist or something minor).

dth.

[Travi_K]

During the late '90s I recall a "you can't dunk" chant during a Wake Forest pre-game layup line, leading to a Wake player dunking and shattering the backboard. Player and crowd got good laughs out of it.

Also, I remember Jeff McGinnis having a lot of back and forths with the Crazies. In particular, I remember him pointing and laughing at my favorite sign in Cameron history. McGinnis was rumored to have slept with Phil Ford's wife and the sign said, "McGinnis, have you driven a Ford lately?"

I was at this Wake game and a walk on player is the one that did it if I'm not mistaken. They had to bring the goals down from the rafters and shot clock sat on the ground. It was the great 99 team. memorable chants of "you got Branded" When Brand blocked a shot and "whos your daddy Battier"