Saturday, January 12, 2002
Five questions with Duke's Carlos Boozer
By Michael Perry
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The uncommon sight was Duke losing a game. The expected sight that followed was Florida State fans storming the court after upsetting the Blue Devils last Sunday, ending the defending national champion's 22-game winning streak. Duke's Carlos Boozer, the team's No. 2 scorer and top rebounder, was on the floor as the Seminoles fans celebrated all around him. “It's one of the worst feelings because we expect ourselves to win and obviously others expect us to win, and when we don't perform as well as we can, then we all of a sudden get degraded,” he said. “It's definitely a down moment. ... It's not news if we win, if we beat a Kentucky or we beat a top-ranked team; it's news if we get knocked off our pedestal.”
Despite the loss, Boozer took some time this week to answer five questions from Enquirer reporter Michael Perry.
Q: What does it mean to be a Duke Blue Devil?
A: It means a lot of tradition, a lot of loyalty. We're like a family. The players that came before us, we're kind of representing them, so we have to be aware of the people who came before us. We want to uphold the tradition and keep the excellence of winning going. Everybody who's on campus is part of the Duke Blue Devils. It's something that's bigger than ourselves, and we cherish it.
Q: What opponent do you love to play against?
A: I would have to say Lonny Baxter. There's obviously a Duke-Maryland rivalry going on now, but individually I think Lonny and I have a little rivalry between ourselves going on. We obviously go against each other as hard as we can and get the best out of each other, but for some reason I just get pumped up for that matchup and that series.
Q: What's the best practical joke you've witnessed or performed within the team?
A: We had to ride back from Charlotte (after beating Davidson on Jan. 2), and we locked Mark Causey, one of our freshmen, in the bathroom on the bus for about the last 45 minutes of the drive. It was definitely a team effort. He was trying his hardest to get out.
Q: Is there a player from any era you'd like to play one-on-one against?
A: From my position, I would want to say Moses Malone. As a power forward, he was just dominant. He was physical, relentless on the boards, always hungry to score. He was my ideal power forward. Any player? A tossup between Dr. J and Pete Maravich.
Q: What was the best part about winning the national championship last year?
A: We all needed each other. It was one of the best feelings because even though we had marquee players like Jason Williams and Shane Battier, everybody contributed. Casey Sanders. Andre Buckner. Everybody. We needed each other for support, to make plays, to get confidence from other people. It was like everything paid off; everything we worked so hard for had finally come true.
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Five questions with Duke's Carlos Boozer
