The mid-1990s were not very enjoyable for Duke basketball against UNC until Chris Carrawell’s first start as a Blue Devil.
As Duke basketball prepares to face archrival UNC at Cameron Indoor Stadium at 6:30 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN), Wednesday night’s Fast Break with Jon Scheyer was broadcast from Coach K Court. Scheyer was not the only guest to answer questions from host David Shumate and the Cameron Crazies in attendance.
While Scheyer was demonstrating to the Crazies off camera that he still has the touch beyond the arc that he routinely displayed in Durham from 2006 to 2010, Shumate asked sixth-year Blue Devil assistant coach and former four-year Duke forward (1996-00) Chris Carrawell to reflect on his time as a participant in the game’s greatest rivalry.
His first encounter with the Tar Heels — Jan. 29, 1997, a date well recalled here in Blue Devil Country on SI.com, as it was the first Duke-UNC game this writer witnessed and legendary UNC head coach Dean Smith’s final trip to Cameron — provides an appropriate start to his journey.
As the 6-foot-6 Carrawell noted, the 80-73 home victory that night was a turning point, stopping the darker-blue hemorrhage in the series.
“In my freshman year, I made my first start against Carolina here. And I was in the center, jumping the ball. And the Cameron Crazies, I remember looking over and seeing them go berserk.
“We had already lost to them seven times. “We ended the losing streak.”And then my senior year, Senior Night was against Carolina, and we all know how that went. We finished with another triumph.
“So, those two moments right there, to start my career, first start as a freshman, and then to end my career in Cameron against Carolina, were two of my favorite memories.”
Carrawell finished 7-3 against the Tar Heels, including victory in each of his last five games and a 4-0 record in Durham. After he graduated, the Blue Devils won 10 of the following 12 games against UNC, capping off what remains Duke’s all-time greatest successful streak in the rivalry, 15-2 from 1999 until the first rematch in 2005.
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