Location: ACC Operation Basketball event in Greensboro, N.C.
Date: October 31, 2004.
Specific location: the men's bathroom.
Several years ago, in the middle of a wandering day of interviews with ACC players and coaches at ACC Operation Basketball, I took a little break. We had just finished sitting down with each conference coach at tables in the hotel ballroom and were awaiting the arrival of player representatives from every team.
I decided it was time for a pit stop and headed into the men's bathroom.
Upon my arrival, I recognized a well-known figure standing at the urinal with his back turned. It was Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Briefly, I had a conversation with myself about several generally understood "Man Laws". There were four urinals, each separated by a barrier. The bowls were close to the wall, not awkwardly protruding outward. Coach K was using the second from the left. Another guy was at the urinal farthest to the right.
So, the layout was (from left-to-right): open urinal, famous coach, open urinal, and random guy.
My options, generally accepted by men around the world, were as follows: 1) go use a stall; 2) sidle up to the far-left urinal, sacrificing awkwardness to pee next to a future Hall of Famer; or 3) pretend like I was going to wash my hands and speak with Coach K in that setting, rather than at the urinal.
I decided to go for the gold. For the sake of a good story, I edged up to the urinal to his left, grunted (as appropriate), and started to talk as if I didn't know who was going No. 1 at my right.
We talked about the upcoming presidential election (he wouldn't tell me Bush or Kerry, but noted that he is from Chicago, where dead people vote twice). We talked about SportsCenter and his real viewing preference (6 a.m.). We talked about how bad the lunch was at the hotel.
It was an extended pee for both of us. We never turned to look at each other, keeping within the bounds of Man Law by staring at the concrete in front of us.
Then, we washed our hands together. After another minute or so, we walked out of the bathroom, he to his world of prominence and I to the free pretzels.
While we were washing our hands, Coach K mentioned how tough an environment U-Hall was in Charlottesville and how Duke would "miss" coming to play there during the 2004-05 campaign. That year, Virginia and Duke just played in Durham because of ACC expansion.
I'm not sure if "miss" was exactly what Krzyzewski meant.
In 2001 and 2002, Virginia beat Duke twice at home during what is considered by many to be the height of the University Hall home court advantage for the Cavaliers. There were other instances of unexpected victories at U-Hall, but perhaps none as impressive as those against consecutive ACC champion Duke teams that ended both years ranked atop the AP national poll. In 2001, the Blue Devils went on to win the national championship, featuring Battier, Boozer, Williams, Duhon and Dunleavy.
But earlier that year and again in 2002, U-Hall proved it could be as tough as any environment in the conference, helping the Cavaliers defeat the heavily-favored Blue Devils.
Before and during the construction of the John Paul Jones Arena and since its opening, fans and the media debated how well the U-Hall home court advantage could be translated to a much larger arena.
Would the JPJ be "too much" and forfeit the collegiate feel of U-Hall?
Would it feel more like an NBA contest than a college game?
Could the fans ever fill it?
Even former coach Pete Gillen had his concerns, preferring a capacity closer to 12,000 than 15,000.
When the schedule was released this year, I circled one game on Virginia's home slate that would give us some answers about these concerns -- tomorrow's contest with Duke.
We always knew Virginia would put on a show to ensure home court advantage for the JPJ opener against Arizona.
Since Arizona, however, Virginia has not faced a team at home against which a win would constitute a significant upset. Though Duke is not nearly as talented as it was in 2001 and 2002, Thursday's game is Virginia's next opportunity to do so, this time without the hoopla of the season opener.
Tomorrow, we will begin to learn whether the home environment of the John Paul Jones Arena can match U-Hall's environment of several years ago. Although it remains to be seen whether the JPJ has too much of an "NBA feel," we will learn Thursday night whether the arena can be transformed at the will of its fan base into an intense home court environment.
So keep an eye on the environment tomorrow night, if you got a ticket. If you ever enjoyed an upset at U-Hall, compare it to the JPJ experience. And as we head into the second half of ACC play, judge for yourself whether the new arena can be a place, outside of the opener, that thrusts its teams to a victory over a more talented visiting opponent.
And if you ever see a famous person in the bathroom, don't be afraid to throw out all your manly inhibitions and sidle right up to them. Just do your best not to sneak a peak.
I promise that I didn't. Seriously.
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