Denzel Washington comes to Duke

From (W)NBA stars (often sometimes Duke alumni) to NFL QBs to Longhorns fans who wore Duke T-shirts opposite Kate Hudson, Cameron Indoor Stadium could be considered North Carolina's Staples Center (UNC gets some stars too. There's that Michael Jordan guy). Add Denzel Washington to that list. Washington made an appearance in Cameron Indoor Stadium on the last night of the decade to cheer on his son Malcolm Washington, a five-foot-nine freshman guard for the University of Pennsylvania Quakers. University Editor Lindsey Rupp and I were Tweeting up a storm about the Oscar winner at the game. At one point, the Crazies we're shouting "Man on fire" to the younger Washington, but Denzel seemed to keep spirits high, giving a tip of his UPenn hat to the crowd when they cheered for him. All of this in spite of Duke's one-side trounce of the Quakers (114-55). As the Crazies say, "More than double."

In the locker room, when pressed about the Hollywood star, junior Nolan Smith said, "I'm going to get dressed real quick and see if I can catch him."

(NB: Malcolm is a freshman, which means he was probably born in 1991, which is right around the time his father would have signed on for his Oscar-nominated turn as the title character in 1992's Malcolm X. Inspired?)