Spring Break
The Daily OrangeWinners stay off the court
By Chris Snow
Posted: 2/20/03, 1:32 AM EST Section: Sports
To all of you who pogo stick around sections 102, 103 and 104 of the Carrier Dome like it’s Cameron Indoor Stadium, fantastic. Really.
But do everyone a favor — fully imitate Duke students and STAY OFF THE COURT.
The most recent court storming that Duke Director of Sports Information Jon Jackson can recall occurred five years ago. On Feb. 28, 1998, No. 1 Duke rallied from 17 points down to upend No. 3 North Carolina for Coach Mike Krzyzewski's 500th win. Fifteen-hundred students had camped out for six weeks to be among the 9,314 inside the hallowed gym. By all means, make like Parisians on July 14, 1789.
At Kentucky, the Wildcat faithful have never in the course of 326 wins over 27 years rushed the court at Rupp Arena. Not once.
"We're used to winning," said Walter McCarty, a Boston Celtic forward who played for the Kentucky team that beat Syracuse for the 1996 national championship. "That's nothing new to us. We're used to winning big games. We have seven national championships. When you go out on the court, you are expected to win. (Storming the court) is just for teams that don't expect to win."
Makes sense. The problem here seems to be that many students either don't agree or don't know how good Syracuse generally is. Fact is, since the start of the 1999-2000 season, Syracuse's overall winning percentage (.742) ranks ahead of Kentucky's (.730). SU's all-time home winning percentage in the Carrier Dome is .836. That figure this season is 1.000 (15-0).
Why then, have so many students here come to believe that for $85 per season comes the right to storm Jim Boeheim Court like fourth-graders at recess? Why have some students rushed three times — five if you count the Feb. 1 hat trick — for No. 11 Missouri, No. 2 Pittsburgh and No. 10 Notre Dame?
For starters, how about Jim Boeheim? There is a reason (think that whip he displayed at one press conference) that students never flooded Indiana's Assembly Hall floor until after Bobby Knight was fired.
But do everyone a favor — fully imitate Duke students and STAY OFF THE COURT.
The most recent court storming that Duke Director of Sports Information Jon Jackson can recall occurred five years ago. On Feb. 28, 1998, No. 1 Duke rallied from 17 points down to upend No. 3 North Carolina for Coach Mike Krzyzewski's 500th win. Fifteen-hundred students had camped out for six weeks to be among the 9,314 inside the hallowed gym. By all means, make like Parisians on July 14, 1789.
At Kentucky, the Wildcat faithful have never in the course of 326 wins over 27 years rushed the court at Rupp Arena. Not once.
"We're used to winning," said Walter McCarty, a Boston Celtic forward who played for the Kentucky team that beat Syracuse for the 1996 national championship. "That's nothing new to us. We're used to winning big games. We have seven national championships. When you go out on the court, you are expected to win. (Storming the court) is just for teams that don't expect to win."
Makes sense. The problem here seems to be that many students either don't agree or don't know how good Syracuse generally is. Fact is, since the start of the 1999-2000 season, Syracuse's overall winning percentage (.742) ranks ahead of Kentucky's (.730). SU's all-time home winning percentage in the Carrier Dome is .836. That figure this season is 1.000 (15-0).
Why then, have so many students here come to believe that for $85 per season comes the right to storm Jim Boeheim Court like fourth-graders at recess? Why have some students rushed three times — five if you count the Feb. 1 hat trick — for No. 11 Missouri, No. 2 Pittsburgh and No. 10 Notre Dame?
For starters, how about Jim Boeheim? There is a reason (think that whip he displayed at one press conference) that students never flooded Indiana's Assembly Hall floor until after Bobby Knight was fired.
