Like or hate the Cameron Crazies, most college basketball teams will admit playing at Duke is no fun. Complaining of everything from eardrum-piercing noise to vicious taunts to--until this season--lack of air conditioning, teams look forward to their visit to Durham.
So this week, when the young Tar Heels (11-9, 2-5 in the ACC) saw a looming date with arch-rival No. 9 Duke (14-3, 4-3) tonight at 9 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium, North Carolina head coach Matt Doherty had a simple message.
"It really is a fun environment," Doherty said of both his playing and coaching days in Cameron. "Once kids realize they can [laugh at the taunting and] enjoy it, it can be a lot of fun. It's a great environment for college basketball."
Of late the storied series has been anything but fun for the Tar Heels as Duke has taken the last five meetings and 10 of the last 11.
And although the Blue Devils have a three-game road slide to contend with, they have, like many other young teams, been perfect at home. UNC, meanwhile, comes into the game having dropped four straight, including a recent 79-75 loss to Wake Forest in Chapel Hill.
"It doesn't matter if it's Duke or not, a win is the most important thing right now," said Tar Heel freshman Rashad McCants. "We need a win."
A win is also important for Duke, which finds itself in the middle of the ACC standings-an unfamiliar spot for recent Blue Devil teams. While a loss could end Duke's regular season ACC title hopes, a win would at the least help pace the Blue Devils toward conference leaders Maryland, N.C. State and Wake Forest.
The biggest "X-factor" in the all-important win for both teams could be their freshmen. Although the Blue Devils boast the best crop of first-years in the country, they only start one, shooting guard J.J. Redick.
At the other end, North Carolina's starting lineup contains a trio of freshmen-including ACC Player of the Year candidate McCants-and two sophomores, forward Jawad Williams and guard Jackie Manuel.
"There's never been a time [with so many freshmen] for both teams," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "But there's still a lot of talent on the court. This would be a little like watching the storied freshmen teams clashing in the 1960s. The talent level and intensity will be high. We're both very much developing teams."
One place the Blue Devils have been developing a lot recently is the frontcourt. Since being criticized as the team's Achilles Heel earlier in the season, the Blue Devils inside committee has come on strong, getting impressive production out of at least one member in almost all of its recent games.
Casey Sanders logged eight points and four boards for Duke down in Tallahassee, Fla., while freshmen Shavlik Randolph and Shelden Williams scored 24 and 18 in the prior two games, respectively.
Krzyzewski said that he was particularly happy with the play of junior Nick Horvath and Sanders, who have emerged as the leader of this young core.
Since losing first year Sean May to injury, UNC has struggled inside, while also using a play-by-committee system, but with less success. Unlike the Blue Devils, it has neither the senior leadership, experience nor skill to make a strong presence.
"We are still going to try not to let them get open looks," Randolph said. "Even though they haven't shot well we know they are a team that has the capability of getting hot real quick and if they get hot it is definitely not good for us. We want to be sure we get hands up in their faces and not let them get any open looks."
In the backcourt, Duke will face its strongest set of Tar Heels in Raymond Felton and McCants. After starting slowly Felton has been on a tear recently, and is currently playing the point guard position better than the slumping Chris Duhon.
McCants, meanwhile, is an incredible scoring threat, leading the ACC in that category, and can kill teams from virtually anywhere on the court. The Asheville native is also mildly injured and may not even start tonight.
Regardless, the Tar Heels seem to have their work cut our for them if they plan to take out Duke.
"We're going to have to be firing on all cylinders to win this game," Doherty said. "I hope we do."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.