It is annoying that DR and others are obsessed with Duke and Cameron Indoor. Coach K was a singular hire - Duke's AD was either prescient or lucky or just a really good judge of potential, since there wasn't much in K's record to indicate that he would go on to be the GOAT. I would say it was a combo - lucky and a good choice. Trying to emulate something like that is fool's gold. But we don't have to - we have our coach. How successful will be be? Who knows. Will he be a Coach K - doubt it, but how many of those are there? (I don't like the guy but you can't deny his success. You can deny his class, in the face of all the people that worship him, but you can't deny the success.)
Similarly, Cameron Indoor is a relic that has become awesome and cool because Duke was smart enough to do minor updates and not replace it - they recognized what they had, once K started winning. Did you ever hear anything about Cameron prior to '86? I doubt it. That environment has been built by success - the arena focuses and emphasizes it. I've probably been to more games at Cameron than even DR, and I can tell you that the corners of the student section start being a little empty - even at Cameron - as soon as the team starts having a down year.
That being said, the configuration of Cameron is ideal for creating a raucous environment. I feel certain you could not build a replica today even if you wanted to - the bleachers are way too close to the court, little room for press row, fire exits are tiny, etc. But I would be in favor of taking our renovations to the Joel in that direction - smaller capacity, seating more vertical and closer to the court, etc.
The size of our student body is a real problem when it comes to deciding where to put them. Cameron only seats about 1100-1300 students in their famous student section and they have a larger student body and a much larger grad student body than we do - and decades of success has made these kids fans before they even get there. How many seats could we safely set aside for students and trust they would show up? Right now - like 50. After a year or two of success, I would hope 500. Assuming reconfigured seating as discussed, if I had my choice I would probably put just 2-3 rows along one sideline and the rest behind the visitors basket. You raise the donor seats behind those students along the side so they can see. Then you do everything else you can to set the program up for success so the kids get excited and it becomes the place to be.
For all the excitement around Duke basketball, the majority of Duke students do not go to games and half of them couldn't care less. You don't need everyone, you just need enough.
