BP: You are back at Duke today looking sharp in a suit. Lately I have seen you around playing ball with our guys and working out. What are you up to C-Well?
Chris Carrawell: I like to play ball with the guys to see how they’re doing and to stay in shape. Today, I have an interview for a Duke Athletics community-relations job. It might be time to make the transition, Dave. It could be time to make the transition [stop playing pro basketball]. I always wanted to work in the NBA after I was done playing pro so I would love to be a scout. I need to talk with Coach too to see what he thinks.
BP: What do you miss about not being here at Duke every day?
C-Well: I just miss the family atmosphere. One thing we had here at Duke was that it was all about the family. The teammates, the fans, the coaching staff, everything was just a family atmosphere. And then just playing in front of the Cameron Crazies was just the best experience I had in college during my four years. Playing in front of that crowd, playing in Cameron Indoor Stadium, the college students camping out… I miss those things.
BP: You played in quite a few gyms in your day. How does playing in Cameron stand out from the other gyms you have played in?
C-Well: It was definitely the best atmosphere, if not in all of sports then definitely in all of basketball — college or pro. I’m probably a little biased, but you ask anyone that has every played in Cameron Indoor Stadium and they say it’s just electrifying. I would say it doesn’t compare to anything else.
BP: What do you value most about being part of the Duke Basketball Family?
C-Well: Just being a part of greatness. Coming to the program, the thing that sold me on it was getting a chance to play for the best college team in the country and the best coach in the country, and one of the best of all time. He gets you in that back room and sells Duke to you and for me, I remember on that flight back to St. Louis just going like, “I’m going to Duke.” I just didn’t want to go anywhere else and think, “what if I would have gone to Duke.” All of the great players playing for Coach K, the great coaching staff, the Cameron Crazies, and then academically and socially it was great for me as well. I came from an inner city and for me to come to a place like Duke and fit right in, for me that was amazing, I can always tell my kids one day what Duke did for me. I had a great time.
BP: What is your best memory for playing for Coach and what has he meant to you as a mentor and a friend after your playing career concluded?
C-Well: Well, I go back to going into my senior year. The best memory I have of Coach is after just losing the national championship game to UConn and Will and Corey had just decided they were going to leave and Coach had just had hip replacement surgery. So myself, Shane, and Nate had decided we were going to see Coach at his house and I didn’t know what his feelings were at the time. I knew with all this stuff going on at the time and with his hip replacement surgery, we wanted to go in and check on him. We just went over there and talked to him a little bit. We said, “Look Coach, we lost a lot of guys and have a young team coming in, but we believe that we are going to be great. If you see it then we’ll believe it and we’ll have a great year.” And I just remember that conversation being the start of a two year run that ended in a national championship. Unfortunately for me I didn’t get the opportunity to win a national championship, but I think that year 2000 we had a great year even with guys leaving and going to the NBA. Shane had a great year. Nate played well. And then the freshmen played really well and then that next year was the end of a two-year run that ended in the national championship. The national championship that they won began that day that we went over to Coach’s house, in my opinion. Coach has been such a great father figure and a great role model. I didn’t grow up with a father in St. Louis and I had guys in my life fill that role and Coach K has definitely been one of those guys. I thank him for everything.
BP: If you had to name one single thing that stands out when you think, “I’m a Duke Basketball player,” and makes you most proud, what would that be?
C-Well: Just being a part of a winning program — a winning team — not just on the court but off the court as well. I played four years at Duke but I think the connections I made off the court have been even more overwhelming. For me, coming from St. Louis, you never imagine the things like Duke that you see on national TV. The chance to play every game on national TV in front of great fans, Madison Square Garden one night, LA one night, and traveling around the country is great. But the off-court friendships, the off-court connections, have definitely been the best thing for me.
BP: You mentioned you came from inner-city St. Louis and made it at Duke. To me, your story represents everything that is right about college athletics. What does it mean to you today to have graduated from Duke University?
C-Well: It’s very important. And I’m going to go a step further. I wasn’t a typical “Duke guy” or typical “Duke student.” I was a guy that came from a tough background in inner city St. Louis with a single-parent household. For me to come to Duke was a grand opportunity but it was different. I was different than some of the other guys that came into the program. What’s so special about Duke is that they accepted me. I dove right into it and I wasn’t afraid to come here and try to succeed. I was a guy who people might have thought wasn’t a “Duke guy,” but I made it here and showed that you can make it. That’s my message for anybody who wants to do anything in life. Definitely go after your dreams. At a place like Duke with the great hospital, the great professors here, the great students, and great sports atmosphere, you can come here and make it. I think if I wanted to give any type of message that would be the message that I’d want to give.
BP: When you made your decision to come to Duke, a tough decision as you said with your background, what were the main factors in your choice and how do you look back on that decision today?
C-Well: Like I said, on the plane ride going back home after my visit, I didn’t want to go anywhere else thinking, “Man, I should have gone to Duke.” And then Coach K and the program just speak for themselves basketball-wise. But for me it was more about whether I could handle it academically since it’s a tough academic school. Would I be able to graduate? And socially, being from a different background, how would that be? But when I came on campus I fell in love. The atmosphere was great and the people were nice. It was just different. For me, I couldn’t think of any other place in the country where I’d rather be. I took all five college recruiting visits and there was no comparison. For me it is definitely a decision that I look back on and I don’t regret. Sometimes you look back and think, “Ah, I should’ve done this” or “I should have done that,” but I can’t say that about my Duke experience. It was everything that I could have ever imagined.
BP: Over the last two decades, Duke has probably played more games on big stages than any other program. You yourself played in many games like that and had a big impact on those games. Talk about playing in games like that and how you felt about that exposure and how it helped you.
C-Well: It was great. Every game was a pressure-packed game for us. I can remember my freshmen year playing in Madison Square Garden going against Bobby Knight and Indiana. Playing in every top venue, in every NBA arena, getting ever other team’s best game is something that every kid dreams of. You want to be in the big-time games. Let’s be honest, I wanted to be on TV. I wanted to be on ESPN with Dick Vitale at the games and Jay Bilas announcing. It was great. And for me, playing in those type of atmospheres brings out the best in you. You don’t know what you’re capable of until you’re put in pressure-packed situations and at Duke every game for us was a pressure-packed situation. I think the cream rises to the top and if you’re able to do those things you have a great chance of being a great player at Duke University.
BP: What do you remember best about Coach K and his coaching style both offensively and defensively? What are your memories of that?
C-Well: I think the most important aspect that I can take from Coach is that he was a great motivator. Of course he was great at the X’s and O’s and offense, and he’s top three defensive coaches of all-time. But he was a great motivator. I think 90% of getting players to be their best is getting them to play at a high level every game whether you’re playing against the North Carolina’s or the Maryland’s. We played against the North Carolina A&Ts and the schools that weren’t as prominent as those other schools in the ACC and played at a high level every game out. And when I saw Coach give a speech before the game, I was ready to go put everything on the line for him. What he stood for and what the coaching staff stood for just sent chills down my body. It was great. I think anything — X’s and O’s, offensively, defensively — he was great. But motivation, there’s no one better. In my playing career playing overseas and in different leagues the last seven or eight years, I still haven’t had that coach to just bring it out of you every game and every situation. That’s the thing that impressed me the most about Coach K.
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