Bobby Hurley leads Arizona State into big-time experience at Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium

DURHAM, N.C. — It was Nov. 4, 2010, the first time I visited Duke’s famed Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Now, almost 14 years later, I’m back to cover the Arizona State men’s basketball exhibition Sunday in Durham, North Carolina, as Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley returns to the campus that placed him in the national consciousness.

It was David vs. Goliath

In 2010, I worked for the Southern California Newspaper Group and covered two Division II colleges in the area, one was Cal Poly Pomona, which had won the national championship in men’s basketball the previous March.

Duke had won the Division I national championship and brought in Cal Poly Pomona for an exhibition game to kick off the next season. It was a David vs. Goliath moment, for sure. It’s not often you get the reigning national champions squaring off, even if it is just an exhibition. It was a dream opportunity for Division II players.

Duke had an interesting team that year. It was headlined by Kyrie Irving, then a highly touted true freshman. And there were the Plumlee brothers, Miles and Mason, now a backup center with the Phoenix Suns.

When legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski stepped on the court, it was like the Red Sea parted. There will always be that kind of reverence for him there.

I also had never seen so many “assistant” coaches follow. There must have been a dozen. Who knows how many were actually assistants and which were support staff? But there were a lot more seats on the home bench than I had ever seen before.

Cameron is an old building, having opened in 1940. Yes, there have been renovations, the most recent in 2016 but it still isn’t a spacious venue, seating only 9,000. All the seats are close to the action, so, yes, that’s a huge advantage for the home team because the atmosphere can be loud and intimidating.

Spectators are so close to the press row, they can read the words on your laptop screen. When the Cameron Crazies are jumping up and down, you can feel the building shake.

Every fan base has those who…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bobby-hurley-leads-arizona-state-170706128.html

Author : AZCentral | The Arizona Republic

Publish date : 2024-10-25 17:07:00

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