Wake Forest Athletics News - Wake Forest University Athletics

100% COTTEN

View from above.

Feb. 23, 2000

by Stan Cotten

In twenty seasons covering college basketball, nothing quite compares to Cameron Indoor Stadium on the campus of Duke University. I cut my teeth on basketball in the SEC. And Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, puts on quite a party and is one of college basketball's showplaces. But it isn't Cameron Indoor Stadium. Nothing is. It's my favorite place to broadcast a game from away from the Joel Coliseum.

It's small. It's usually hot, especially from where we sit in the catwalks hanging from the ceiling and overlooking the court. And it's loud. Cameron Indoor comes alive when the Blue Devils take the floor. Most opposing fans hate going there. But that's the whole idea isn't it? I mean who likes to go where nobody wins but Duke? Home court advantage deluxe.

Wake's trip to Cameron recently was no different. It was small. It was hot (in more ways than one). And it was loud. Despite a gallant effort by the Demon Deacons, Duke, as it had for the 64th straight time against an unranked opponent and the 39th consecutive time against an unranked ACC foe, won.

It was an event. Television couldn't do it justice. Neither could we on the radio. The printed word can't come close. And as much as visiting teams hate to go there, you really have to experience Cameron Indoor in person to appreciate what it means to the Duke team. No other ACC venue gives the home team a better chance to prevail. Not the Smith Center. Not Cole Fieldhouse. Not even close.

As Bobby Cremins says, "Duke is Duke." Well, Bobby, Cameron Indoor is Cameron Indoor. Enough said.

But as I watched Wake Forest fight to the finish against the second ranked Blue Devils, I saw from the rafters a glimpse of the Demon Deacon team that beat Temple. Beat Wisconsin. Won at Arkansas. I saw through the heat and noise a team reaching deep to rediscover itself in time to finish the ACC regular season race with its head held high and hope for an ACC Tournament run.

The Demon Deacons lost the war, but they might just have won a battle. A battle against themselves.

Think about it. Duke had a devilish start and converted field goals on 11 of its first 13 possessions. The Wake Forest team a month ago would have trailed by 25. This one was down only ten at halftime after taking Duke's uppercut without hitting the canvas. The Deacs hit the first two baskets of the second half and trailed by just six. Wake had two chances to get the lead inside six but couldn't manage to do so. Duke rained threes into the hoop and finished with twelve for the night, a pace the Deacons couldn't keep. But Wake didn't panic, and the Demon Deacons gained some self respect with their effort.

Nobody would have beaten Duke on that night. Nobody. Not Stanford. Not Cincinnati. But the Deacs didn't blink. And they can now look in the mirror and like what they see. They're getting there. It's late, yes. But they're getting there.

"We're a better team than we were before the game," said Coach Dave Odom afterward. I'm proud of my team. I am."

Wake Forest shot 52% for the ballgame at Cameron, one of it's better shooting performances of the season.

"We can defend," says guard Ervin Murray, who is doing his part to help revive the Deacons. "We go after loose balls, we rebound. If shots start going in and the ball starts bouncing our way, we feel anything can happen for us."

"I'm looking forward to winning and doing my part to help this team win games at the end of the season."

Against Duke at a place where it's hard to hear yourself think, much less concentrate, Wake Forest seemed calm and in control. That's something this team has been missing.

"We've been through some tough times lately," says Josh Shoemaker. "If we keep working hard, that break we need is going to come. It's going to come some time soon."

"We've just got to relax. When you relax, your confidence goes up. And when your confidence goes up you can do what you do best."

I left Cameron Indoor Stadium tired, hot and thirsty. And a little hungrier, too. Hungrier to face whatever remains of this season than I was before the Duke game. Cameron Indoor Stadium has the power to rejuvenate, even in defeat. But the Deacons did most of the work to stir me up.

Coach Odom said last week that there was "something good out there for this team." I, for one, am starting to believe him.