When Jay Heaps and Baker Perry joined the men's basketball team in January, they never expected to be big-time contributors. As a matter of fact, they weren't even sure if they would make an appearance on the floor of Cameron Indoor Stadium during a real game.
But with the team riddled with injuries and down to only seven healthy scholarship players, both Perry and Heaps may be called on to play during the ACC Tournament. While this appearance may stem from need, they deserve to be called into action simply based on their performance in the Blue Devils' regular-season finale against North Carolina.
Heaps entered the UNC-Duke game with the job of collecting fouls. He did that, but he also had three assists and a steal in a minute of playing time. One of those assists was to Perry, whose three-point basket cut Carolina's lead to five. Before the Blue Devils inbounded the ball after a technical foul, Heaps told Perry to shoot the three. It wasn't his own advice, however, as injured guard Trajan Langdon told Heaps to get Perry the ball. The impromptu game plan worked to perfection.
"I've been going to a number of UNC-Duke games," Perry said. "I remember how big of a thing it was to go to the game. To actually play a role in it, that's pretty exciting. It's a memory I'll have for my whole life."
When the duo joined the Blue Devils in late January, Perry was the lesser known of the two players. Most Duke students recognized Heaps for his heroics on the soccer field. As a member of the Blue Devils' soccer team, Heaps earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors and first-team All-ACC accolades. He played basketball for four years in high school, and was playing on East Campus every day when he was asked to scrimmage against the women's basketball team in practice. It was there that men's assistant coach Quin Snyder noticed his talents. That's when Heaps got the call to play with the men's team.
"I joined the team because they were in need of another dribbler to help work Steve Wojciechowski into the starting rotation," Heaps said.
Perry had been written up in The Chronicle for his success as the MVP of a semi-professional basketball league, but he was still an unknown to most of the student population. When first notified by the assistant coaches that the Blue Devils needed an extra body in practice, Perry thought that his role was to solely be a practice player. He didn't even expect to be on the team.
When the two officially made the team, their roles didn't change. Their main job was to challenge the players in practice and cheer hard on the sidelines. Still, Krzyzewski told them to be ready to play. Perry thinks some of that was just coaching talk to keep the two alert, but as it turned out, Krzyzewski's prediction came true.
Perry has been especially impressed with the play of Heaps as point guard of the team. His quickness has often surprised players in the closing seconds of ballgames. In just four minutes of playing time, he has accumulated four assists.
"I can't say enough about Jay," Perry said. "When he goes in there, he just runs the show. To have three assists in that [one minute] is amazing."
Heaps modestly said he didn't really think about the magnitude of the UNC game or his performance until afterwards. He said when he was on the bench and Coach K called him to the scorer's table he didn't have time to think-he just wanted to get the team back into the game.
Perry said the scholarship players have been especially helpful to himself and Heaps after they were thrown into the mix during the middle of the season. He said that they immediately considered them one of the team.
Perry also said the one thing he will always remember is the fan support. Cameron Crazies have always cheered louder for the walk-ons, and even with the team down by 15 points, the crowd went wild when Perry, Heaps and fellow walk-ons Jeremy Hall and Todd Singleton entered the game. It's a moment Perry will never forget.
"They were still cheering for us, going crazy, even though the game was over," he said. "To have that support is a special moment."
The duo may have some more special moments to come in the ACC Tournament. With senior Chris Collins injured, Wojciechowski will fill the fifth starting spot and someone will have to give him a rest once in a while. That person most likely will be Heaps, and he says he will be ready.
"I think that I am a competitor," he said. "I have to just go out there and do my role, whether it's for 30 seconds or a few minutes."
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