The Duke basketball experience: What else is inside

In the week leading up to Duke basketball's home-opener Friday against Davidson, The Blue Zone will run a five-part series examining a different part of the fan experience each day.

Today The Chronicle's Daniel Carp will take a look at what else you can find inside of Cameron Indoor Stadium.

From the opening whistle, all eyes in Cameron Indoor Stadium are focused on the basketball. But when the buzzer sounds, one of college basketball's most storied arenas does not lose it's allure. Here are some things fewer people notice when they take in a basketball game at Cameron:

The Duke Hall of Fame

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Nestled in the Schwartz-Butters building that connects to Cameron, fans can takes in all the sights and sounds of some of the greatest moments in the history of Duke athletics. The first thing you'll notice is all four men's basketball national championship trophies prominently displayed in the center of the room. The closing minutes of the 2010 national championship game are on a running loop on a nearby TV screen, as is a recently-produced documentary of the lacrosse team's run to the 2013 national championship. Countless other accolades and accomplishments across all 26 Duke sports can be seen just a stone's throw away from one of the most sacred spaces in college basketball. It's a great place to pass the time before or after any game.

The hanging history

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During a stoppage of play or at halftime, take a second to avert your gaze to the rafters for Duke's greatest hanging history lesson. Taking in the retired numbers and championship banners hanging above gives fans a broader perspective into the history of the Blue Devils. For younger fans, this is a great chance to learn about more than the Duke stars of the '90s, but to look back at the days of tough guy Art Heyman and two-sport star Dick Groat. For seasoned veterans, it's a chance to be taken aback by the number of Final Four appearances, No. 1 AP rankings and ACC Championships that reside in Cameron's rafters.

Another day at the office

Cameron is more than where Duke basketball players go to work—in the halls behind the court lie offices where countless Duke Athletics employees go about their business each day. Ranging from travel coordinators to sports information directors to the administration that presides over the Iron Dukes, employees of the Blue Devil programs take pride in having offices in such a historic venue.