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Exclusives: From
the Cheap Seats
By Matt Golden '94 When the July 6 press release landed on my desk, my eyes bugged out. It announced that the Princeton men's basketball team would open the 2000-01 season at Duke in a preseason NIT game on November 14. The game had it all: a legendary coach (Mike Krzyzewski), a top-ranked team (Duke), a perennial giant-killer (Princeton), national television (ESPN), and it was being played at Cameron Indoor Stadium, in the middle of college basketball's heartland - ACC country. And most important, I would be courtside - though at least a few seats removed from the easily excitable Dick Vitale. The Tigers had a talented and veteran squad returning. They were supposed to win the Ivy League and might have been capable of shocking the Blue Devils - ranked first or second nationally in most preseason polls. The "Cameron Crazies" -Duke's famed and rabid fans - were sure to be fired up for the 9:00 P.M. tip-off after some serious pregame tailgating. It was going to be, as Dickie V might say, "AWESOME BABY!" Then, defections (Bill Carmody, Chris Young '02, Spencer Gloger '03), absentees (Ray Robbins '02), injuries (Ahmed El Nokali '02, Nate Walton '01), and illness (Chris Krug '03) dismantled the Tiger roster during the preseason and robbed the game of its luster. But the 14th came, and I boarded a twin-propeller airplane bound for North Carolina. The falling rain, the fact that I was boarding a flying deathtrap, and the cold reality that, in all likelihood, this game would be a blowout, dampened my enthusiasm. My spirits changed two and a half hours before game-time. I arrived at the arena, and there were already thousands of Duke fans lined up outside Cameron. The weather was frigid, but many stood shirtless with the letters D, U, K, and E emblazoned on their chests in blue body-paint. One fan wore full superman garb, but this man-of-steel's uniform was adorned with a picture of Coach K, not an S. After wading through a sea of blue-and-white, I reached my seat at the press table and surveyed the arena. The energy of the crowd was incredible, and the noise was deafening. The fans bellowed in perfect unison, and, when they began hopping up and down simultaneously in the bleachers, the court itself would move. I was caught in the moment. And when Nate Walton, hobbled by a sprained ankle and not expected to play, was introduced with the starting lineup, there was a fleeting moment when I could envision a monumental upset. The Tigers took the court for the opening tap. Freshman point guard Ed Persia stood near his Blue Devil counterpart, Jason Williams - an All-America candidate and former national high school player of the year. Next to Williams was teammate Shane Battier, possibly the best college basketball player in the country. Joining them was Mike Dunleavy, a sweet-shooting six-foot, eight-inch guard whose father happens to coach the NBA's Portland Trailblazers. I glanced back at the Tigers and reality slapped me in the face. I wondered: Do these guys in the orange-and-black uniforms know what is about to happen to them? The Blue Devils were as good as advertised. They pressed; they dunked; they ran; they jumped; they passed; and they shot like a championship contender. They gave the Tigers a more ruthless beating [87-50] than the rains did my rickety old plane. But the experience was worthwhile, even if I have to endure the return flight. Princeton has faced the best team in college basketball in front of the country's most raucous fans. They are prepared for anything they will see during the remainder of the season.
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December
6 , 2000