By Louis Fernandez, WRAL Sports

I was at nearly every Duke men’s basketball game at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season. Two moments stand out as the loudest:

• The Cooper Flagg dunk against PItt (it’s in a Gatorade commercial now, it was that good)
• Every moment graduate student guard Spencer Hubbard runs to the scorer’s table.

Warm-ups off, sliding to halfcourt, sitting in front of a sign that reads “Cameron Indoor Stadium,” a lot goes through your mind in a moment like that.

“I’d say initially, just the rush of adrenaline to be getting in the game,” Hubbard said.

Then the roar of the Cameron Crazies as the crowd comes to the realization: Hubbard is about to hit the hardwood.

“To hear you know, a legendary fan base be cheering for you like that, it’s amazing,” Hubbard said with a smile.

Amazing like his journey to get to this point. Hubbard started as a practice player his freshman year under former head coach Mike Krzyzewski. He earned a walk-on spot the next year.

In his five seasons, he’s played with all kinds of talented players – Paolo Banchero, Mark Williams, Dereck Lively II, Kyle Filipowski and Jared McCain. There will always be stories to share, but more than anything, Hubbard said he’s happy to have got to learn who they are as people.

“I’ve been fortunate in the past, just growing up playing grassroots AAU stuff, to be around high-level basketball players my whole life, which has definitely helped,” Hubbard said.

Last season, he earned a scholarship. See, that’s the word with Hubbard: earned. He’s not a mascot that everyone just cheers for, he’s made a big difference for this Duke team now just a few wins away from a national championship.

“Just the hours he puts in behind the scenes, not a lot of people see it and we all see it, we all have so much respect for him,” junior guard Tyrese Proctor said after Hubbard scored in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Mount St. Mary’s. “Me guarding him, I think that’s how my defense got to the level that it is at today.

“He’s just really a pest and also he’s so fast,” freshman Kon Knueppel said with endearment. “As a scout team point guard, it’s really hard to guard him in ball screens, so it really prepares us for the opponent.”

So next time you see number 55 pull up from deep in the final minutes, you’ll know why the crowd goes wild.

“I’ve been watching (Jon) Scheyer, Nolan Smith, brotherhood guys since I was a little kid growing up, it’s really a dream come true,” Hubbard said.

1-seed Duke will face 4-seed Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday night at approximately 9:30 p.m. in Newark, NJ.

Source: wralsportsfan.com