Tobacco Road Rivalry

Like leaving Metamora, Indiana, we had a tough time leaving the small town of Wilson, but we had been looking forward to this day of the trip since we left Portland. Just an hour and a half west of Wilson is the college triangle commonly known as Tobacco Road. Duke University sits thirty minutes between Wake Forest University and the University of North Carolina. We were selective and chose to visit the two schools with the most historic rivalry in college basketball. Our first stop was Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Seemingly ranked in the top 10 every year, the Blue Devils, led by head coach Mike Krzyzewski, won their most recent national championship in 2010. Famed for being the loudest and craziest venue in college basketball, we were more than excited to step foot inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. 

Wolf standing outside Cameron Indoor Stadium.

It was surprisingly small. At times it felt more like a high school gym than a juggernaut arena of the college sports world.

They were very open about letting us walk around the arena.

It seemed like there was no more space in the rafters for any more championships or retired jerseys. Sorry Jon Scheyer.

Future inductee, Wolf, standing in the hall that leads into the basketball museum.

Congrats to Jamie Slade for making the Duke Hall of Fame and making it on the Peter and the Wolf blog.

Thousands of diehard students camp outside the ticket office for several days prior to big games. We assume this was taken before a game against University of North Carolina.

Peter standing within the National Championship exhibit.

A bonus picture of the Duke campus.

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After our great time touring the campus and enjoying a grass-fed burger at Geer Garden, we headed southwest to Chapel Hill. The University of North Carolina Tar Heels have debatably more tradition and success than Duke, with players like Michael Jordan and James Worthy. 

We arrived at the Dean Smith Center just as the security guard was locking up the doors for the day. We appreciated him letting us in and for what we were about to see. 

Here is Peter sitting comfortably in the stadium as the team scrimmaged. We recognized a number of the players and pondered which guys were future NBA players. 

Isaiah Hicks was a guy who caught our eyes. We learned he was a top-20 recruit and is an incoming freshman. Kennedy Hicks is in the mold of Cortez Kennedy. Joel James is a physical specimen at center. 

Dean Smith Center was much different than Cameron Indoor Stadium. It's much newer and feels like an NBA arena whereas Cameron Indoor had an old, McArthur Court type feel for those who knew Oregon's old arena.

Spooky Tooth - "Tobacco Road"