Duke Legend Nolan Smith Discusses the March Madness Experience

Former Duke Blue Devils basketball star Nolan Smith talks about the NCAA Tournament, March Madness without Duke and having a season during a pandemic.

Last Sunday, after the Pelicans knocked off the Clippers, 135–115, Pelicans All-Star Zion Williamson was asked who he thought would win the NCAA tournament.

The Duke All-America’s answer fell in line with the Duke mantra “The Brotherhood.”

"If Duke ain't in, I'm not interested," Williamson said with a smile.

Nolan Smith, a former Duke star who currently serves as the director of operations and player development for the Blue Devils, totally gets it.

“I see what Zion’s saying,” Smith said. “But the tournament will still go on.”

The Blue Devils (13-11, 9-9) missed the tournament for the first time since 1995 after a positive COVID-19 test on the team forced them to cancel their ACC quarterfinal matchup with Florida State, ending their two-game winning streak in the conference tournament.

“We all love the NCAA tournament. We love March Madness—it’s still gonna be a very exciting tournament,” Smith said. “Now, from a business side of things, Duke is the brand and the school that people want to watch. They love either picking us to get upset or they love picking us to get wins. I still think basketball fans around the world are gonna be excited to watch.”

Most arenas prohibited crowds for the majority of the season, limiting teams' ability to pull energy from fans. Duke never allowed its famed Cameron Crazies—widely considered the wackiest and most creative group in college basketball—inside Cameron Indoor Stadium this season.

When asked if having fans at capacity would’ve changed the course of the Blue Devils' season, and ultimately resulted in them dancing in Indianapolis, Smith matter-of-factly said, “Absolutely!”

“What’s basketball without fans?” Smith said. “Cameron Indoor Stadium with no fans wasn’t basketball. It was just an eerie feeling to not have the best fans in the country, the Cameron Crazies, right there on top of you.”