Saturday’s loss to North Carolina was a bitter pill for Duke as Mike Krzyzewski’s farewell party at Cameron Indoor Stadium was ruined by rival Tar Heels.
Immediately afterwards, Duke’s aide Chris Carrawell was in no mood for after-game pleasantries. Carrawell, who played at Duke from 1996 to 2000, walked through the handshake line next to the scorer’s table. When North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis held out his hand, Carrowell walked past.
Davis, of course, drew attention to this. How could he not? He told reporters after the game that he did not know what caused the snub.
“I don’t know what it’s about,” Davis said. “I didn’t play against him. I don’t know him personally.”
Davis, like Carrowell, has long been familiar with the Tobacco Road rivalry, having played in North Carolina from 1998 to 1992 before joining the coaching staff as Roy Williams’ assistant in 2012.
The Raleigh News & Observer addressed Carrowell on his side of the snub. He told N&O that it was a retaliatory move.
Davis “didn’t shake hands with us before the game,” Carrawell told N&O in a text message.
Hubert Davis was denied a handshake after being played by Duke’s Chris Carrawell. (Jared S. Tilton/Getty Images)
According to the N&O, Davis and Krzyzewski shook hands at some point before the game. Davis was not on the court for the traditional pregame handshake when Duke’s staff entered the court during Krzyzewski’s victory celebration.
It seems familiar
Whatever the explanation, the rejection of the handshake will go down in the annals of the Duke of Caroline. But he won’t be the first. Back in 2003, another pair of former player-turned-managers made the news with disdain. It featured Johnny Dawkins and Matt Doherty.
Dawkins was Krzyzewski’s assistant at the time. Doherty was in the third and final season of his ill-fated tenure as North Carolina head coach. The regular season finale between the two teams at Chapel Hill became physical when players and coaches from both sides got into a late-game brawl.
When the teams met again in the semi-finals of the ACC tournament, Dawkins was not interested in Doherty’s handshake before the game.
The story goes on
Unlike Carrawell and Davis, Dawkins and Doherty met on the court as players in the early 1980s. Their personal rivalry lasted for several years. But Dawkins’ dismissive attitude had more to do with the scandal from the previous match.
While an in-game contact between Duke’s Dantay Jones and UNC’s Raymond Felton caused a fight, things escalated when Doherty and Duke’s assistant Chris Collins ran into each other.
Dawkins was obviously not ready to leave the past in the past.
Long live petty. Long live Duke-UNC.