Former Duke basketball players Chris Duhon and J.J. Redick paid a visit to D.C. on Friday night for shabbat dinner a basketball game between the visiting Orland Magic and Washington Wizards.
Before the game, I was able to talk to each about their days playing for the Blue Devils -- which seemingly spanned the entire aughts -- and what they remember about going up against Maryland, especially playing the Terps in College Park, Md.
Any Terps fans with an inferiority complex about the Duke-North Carolina rivalry -- especially in light of Wednesday's shellacking -- should follow the jump for Duhon's trip down memory lane.Duhon said he watched Wednesday night's game, and that North Carolina and Maryland are the dates he circles on his calendar before every season.
"My first four years in college, Maryland was just as tough as playing against North Carolina," Duhon said. "I know for a fact my first two years those were some of the greatest basketball games I’ve been a part of."
So the basketball was good, but what about the Maryland students? Well, they were the worst.
"You could feel the hatred that they had amongst us, and you know obviously we didn’t care for [Maryland] too much, the same way," Duhon said. "I think they were (the worst), especially after what happened in ’01 when we came back. It just kind of escalated"
For his part, Redick said the hate at Maryland wasn't much different, since the Blue Devils were hated wherever they went. Perhaps he just blocked out that one famous chant directed at him.
At any rate, surely this will only further endear him among the Terps faithful.