DURHAM, N.C. – Silently, the 34-point underdogs walked in. One or two murmurs lifted above the silence. “It’s small,” one whispered. The players sat on their bench, but just for a moment. It was 9 p.m. on a warm North Carolina Sunday night, and it was time for their shoot-around.
For a few minutes, the only noises were balls bouncing off the Cameron Indoor Stadium floor. As basketballs found rim and net – and on occasion air – the murmur rose to quiet chatter. Sneakers squeaked on Coach K Court and it seemed like the Boston University men’s basketball team was settling in – just a bit.
“I don’t know if it’s totally sunk in yet,” said BU coach Dennis Wolff, sitting on Duke’s bench.
Today, the Terriers open their 2005-06 season in a Preseason National Invitation Tournament first-round match-up against the Blue Devils, the nation’s top team. The NIT would be hard-pressed to find a more distinctive underdog.
“We’ve spent a little bit of each practice for about a week talking about the things we need to do to try to give ourselves a chance,” Wolff said. “I’m sure there’s a certain amount of excitement with starting the season anyway, and then when you add into it starting the season versus the No. 1 team in the country on national TV – then its doubly exciting.”
The odds are stacked against BU in tonight’s 7:30 p.m. match-up, as it will be facing off against two likely NCAA Player of the Year candidates in seniors J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams (also preseason All-American first-teamers) and one of the most legendary college basketball coaches of all time in Mike Krzyzewski.
The Terriers, on the other hand, enter tonight’s game without their three top scorers from last year’s campaign – Rashad Bell, Chaz Carr and Etienne Brower. The trio accounted for 59 percent of 2004-05 points and one led the BU scoring in 26 of 29 games.
“We’re starting three guys who have never started a game for us in a very hostile environment,” Wolff said of tonight’s contest.
Those three guys are 6-foot-8 redshirt-freshman Ibrahim Konate, freshman guard Corey Hassan and Miami Dade College transfer Brian Macon, to be joined by senior captains Shaun Wynn and Kevin Gardner.
“I hope that we’re gonna be able to show some mental toughness beyond the ages that we are,” Wolff said. “What we’re trying to do is not lose any of our defensive concepts and try to work these new guys in offensively to make up for the loss of scoring.”
But it won’t just be Duke’s fast-breaking offense, stingy defense and pure power of intimidation that the Terriers will have to deal with tonight. They’ll have to handle the infamous Cameron Crazies, the Blue Devils’ rowdy student section, as well.
“You probably say to yourself, ‘You know, this place isn’t that impressive,'” Wolff said during Sunday’s shoot-around. “And then when you walk in here tomorrow night and you can’t hear yourself think, and there’s 9,000 people going crazy – then it’s a different thing.”
He should know. Tonight will be Wolff’s ninth game at Cameron Indoor, making four appearances as an assistant coach for both Wake Forest and the University of Virginia.
“The first five minutes of the game are important to us to keep composure,” Wolff said. “I think if you appear to be totally shell-shocked … then you’ll have a problem.
“I think we’ll compete,” he added. “What I want to see is us competing on every possession.”
By 9:40 p.m., the young Terrier squad had found peace on the legendary court, beneath scores of Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA banners. They were laughing, playing games and just having fun.
“We’re addressing [today’s game] just like we have every other game,” Wolff said. “But I’m sure in the back of their minds, they know we’re playing the No. 1 team in the country at home.”
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